What’s it Like Being a Shop Teacher v2.0

“Living On the Edge”

“On the Edge of Chaos”

Thankfully the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) limits my class size to 20 students.  Any bigger than that, it would be a challenge to keep an eye on everything happening in the shop.  It’s a challenge as it is sometimes.  To help keep students safe, I try to position myself near the power tools that are being used while also keeping an eye on student work at the tables and make myself available for questions and assistance.  It can get a little busy answering everyone’s questions, going back over instructions, helping students learn new techniques, while also monitoring tool usage.

“On the Edge of Patience”

I swear there’s a power that hides itself in doorways that sucks the memory out of my students.  There’s been a few studies by universities who call it “The Doorway Effect”, when a person forgets what they previously were thinking about when they enter another room.  Well… my students have to pass through two doorways going from the classroom to the shop.  I promise that we talk about the project and go over key information but when they get out in the shop they’re constantly asking “What are we supposed to do?”  Thankfully I have a chalkboard in the shop where I also post key information.

“On the Edge of More Chaos”

What do you do with students who work quickly through a project?  I try to give them more advanced projects or get them to prepare lumber for the next project.  But that also means dedicating time to explain, show, or demonstrate while also taking care of the needs of the students working on the current project.  It gets a little busy at times.

“On the Edge of Greatness”

I have some really good students who are picking this stuff up quickly, who are good, and want to learn.  They’re going to be incredible.  And we’re also increasing awareness of our program and getting support from the community which hopefully turns into jobs for my students and funding for our program.

“Did I Already Mention Being On the Edge of Chaos?”

Curriculum… projects… area builders association events… community connections… field trips… classroom visits… parent phone calls… student/teacher conferences… faculty meetings… IEP/504 meetings… material acquisition… shop maintenance… Yup.  It’s a lot.

“On the Edge of Quitting”

There are always those events that make you pause and think of why you’re working so hard when you feel that students, parents, or administration don’t appreciate what you’re doing.  I often think that life would be so much simpler/easier if I was just building chairs out of my home shop, but for some reason I keep showing up to work…

“On the Edge of Doing This Forever”

There are those events that make you feel so proud of your students and what they accomplished.  It’s students finishing up their project and learning new skills and techniques.  It’s students learning how to read a tape measure accurately.  It’s placing a student in a cabinet shop.  It’s students doing stuff at home.  It’s students learning how to use the tools safely and efficiently.  So many accomplishments that help to carry me through the challenging times.

“On the Edge of Overwhelmingness”

There are so many things that I would like to teach and do and have the students experience.  

Home building and all of the different career fields associated with it… 

Woodworking… 

Furniture making… 

Cabinetry… 

Boat building… 

I wish I could bring in experts from each discipline to talk and educate and motivate my students.

There are so many things that I want to do to the shop to make it better.  

Lumber storage… 

Efficient use of space… 

Tool storage… 

Project storage… 

Fresh paint on the walls and floor…

The shop was built in the 1980s and needs to be updated.

“On the Edge of Peace”

There’s never enough time to do it all and it’s impossible to have a perfect shop.

I try to prioritize and focus on skills, techniques, and projects that will allow my students to operate tools safely and give them the basic knowledge in several of the disciplines.  I then spend time talking about and showing videos and examples of other things and invite them to explore it on their own.

Thankfully, I have a supportive community that’s willing to come into my classroom to talk to my students about their jobs and also allow us to take field trips to job sites and their businesses to help inspire them.

The shop isn’t perfect but as long as the students have space to work safely, it’s really fine.  I maintain a list of things that I would like to do with the shop and slowly work on it either with my students or solo, trying to do something every day/week.