Question

school of hard knots by alex hanson
the typical apprenticeship with a japanese traditional boat - builder lasts six years, during which an apprentice can expect to spend a lot of time sweeping the shop floor and sharpening tools while watching the master ply his trade. work is conducted in silence, questions are answered elliptically, if at all, and, by the end, the master will have withheld key pieces of knowledge that the apprentice is expected to acquire through guile or outright theft.
even in japan, where traditional crafts are revered, this system is too grueling, too much at odds with modern life, to survive. it is no wonder, then, that as a generation of japanese boatwrights has retired, their knowledge has retired with them. vermont boat - builder douglas brooks is trying to ensure that the centuries - old designs for fishing boats and water taxis dont follow these craftsmen to the grave.
for more than two decades, brooks has researched traditional boatmaking in japan, and has done short, nontraditional apprenticeships to record boat designs. ordinarily, no westerner would have a hope of learning in a few weeks what usually takes years of patient observation to acquire.
“theyre willing to teach me because they realize whats about to be lost,” brooks says.
the challenge of preserving this art is largely pedagogical, and thats the subject of “ways of learning,” a slide talk brooks gives through the vermont humanities councils speakers bureau. through his talk, brooks has stimulated a debate about how traditional crafts are handed down. his american audiences expect collegiality and dialog between student and teacher and are often shocked to hear about the japanese method.
“japanese craftspeople do not teach in a way thats familiar to us as westerners,” brooks says. in part, thats because the apprentice is meant to develop a set of values as well as a set of skills. they must learn how to observe, and they must learn patience and cunning.
of the five masters brooks has learned from, only two had drawings of their boat designs, and even those were incomplete. unless an apprentice was the masters son, he could expect to have to steal essential pieces of knowledge from the master.
select the correct answer
what is a central idea of the excerpt?
a. americans are unfamiliar with the japanese art of boat building
b. the japanese art of boat building is a difficult skill to learn
c. americans are surprised that the japanese art of boat building is taught using unconventional methods
d. the japanese art of boat building may be lost because it is taught using unconventional methods

Explanation:

The text highlights the unconventional teaching methods in Japanese boat - building (apprentices having to learn through observation, sometimes even "stealing" knowledge) and how this may lead to the loss of the art as the older generation of boatwrights retires.

Answer:

D. The Japanese art of boat building may be lost because it is taught using unconventional methods