First day teaching High School Woodshop

[Jack Frederick]

Frequently a teacher or any professional will have a wall full of diplomas and other things which do attest to completion of education and hopefully competence. In your case, Mike, you could wheel in that Federal Bar and set it on a table letting the kids look it over for a bit and then tell them you made it. They may not understand how accomplished you are because they don’t understand what it takes yet, but if they see it they will over time think of it and do as I do when I look at it. Wow, how do you do that…?

[Jim Koepke]

We just finished Adirondack chairs for the beginning students out of 1x12 inch pine and we have a ready supply, which is great because if I’m not watching kids average 50% waste!

Maybe there should be some percentage of the grade based on how efficiently the wood was used.

My potting benches made for sell at a farmers market were made to have minimal waste. The top used 19" long pieces that left about an inch of waste from the 1X4 cedar used to make the slats. The back legs were 5' and the front legs were 3', no waste from eight foot 2X4s.

A good design will consider the use of stock with as little waste as reasonable.

jtk

[Cameron Wood]

I did a few school projects when my kids were young. Birdhouses- lots of random scraps led to very creative and individual projects with colorful paint.
Tool boxes- young kids so wood pieces were precut. They assembled with nails, then made handle from EMT conduit. Cut, flatten and bend ends on anvil, drill, install with screws. The anvil part was a big hit.

For the jr college construction program, the final exam was to make a saw horse with hand tools. The results were later sold- I bought some of the better ones.

I think my best high school project was a tall stool with marquetry inlay on the seat, router beading, & turned rungs.

Here is a design for a shelf that I've done many times. A 1x2 rail of any length with shaped brackets notched to fit and screwed from behind. Shelf board fastened from above.
The trick is that the brackets can be placed at a pleasing spacing, and the whole shelf fastened to the wall studs through the 1x2, and with screws and button plugs it can be moved later- good for young folks.

[Tom Bender]

All those unnecessary machines - it may be that there was a budget to spend, 'if you don't spend it all this year you wont get as much next year...'

You really need advice from some experienced shop teachers. They know what works. And surely there are textbooks and lesson plans.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

FFA has a well established decades old curriculum. It might be worth taking a look at.

Nathan McDonald-SAE-Woodworking Lesson Plan - National FFA Organization

Woodworking Archives - National FFA Organization

[Lee Schierer]

We just finished Adirondack chairs for the beginning students out of 1x12 inch pine and we have a ready supply, which is great because if I’m not watching kids average 50% waste!

On the plus side there seems to be an institutional interest in supporting vocational/technical education. That’s what funded all the expensive stationary power tools in our shop. I hope I’m able accessible resources to fund hand tools- I guess we’ll see…

It sounds like an investment in a couple copies of Cut List Plus would be paid off pretty quickly by the savings in materials. It can be used on sheet goods or linear material.

[Mike Cherry]

Hey Mike, long time no see! By the way, I got a couple books of yours I need to get back to you. Listen, I am still up in Temecula and I’d be quite interested in volunteering to help you get up and running! I know you’ll be a great teacher because you literally taught me to sharpen hand saws in an afternoon haha!
I am still living my luxurious life of being a trophy husband so my days are wide open! Either way, we need to get together and catch up!

[Dan Sheehan]

Here is my perspective as a retired Wood Shop teacher. Just some suggestions to consider:

You don't teach woodshop. You teach students. It's about them learning about themselves first. How do they handle mistakes. What are their strengths and weaknesses. How can they help each other. Sharing resources. Clean up. Following directions. Being a good bench mate. Taking pride in their work... Above all safety.

Respect their uniqueness. Speak to every student every day. Use their name and ask their opinion about something. It doesn't have to be about shop. Just show interest in them.

Be generous with your praise. Recognize students for good work or acts of kindness.

Set up routines that demonstrate fairness, like sign up lists for tools or for your attention.

Doing nice work does not make you a good teacher. Read up on good teaching practice because you will be evaluated like the other teachers..

Teach measurement first. It will reduce scrap and bestow a life skill. I can share a great ruler lesson without math if you want it. It has a 100% pass rate.

Have a penalty system like hockey. Two minutes for no glasses, five for horseplay... etc. and call them like you see them.

DON'T bring in your own tools. They will break them. No doubt.

Teach one good skill building project at a time for intro classes. Advanced students should get more choice but limit the options with exceptions on a case by case basis. Some project ideas are just stupid, unsafe and bound to fail. A small success is better than a giant failure.

Reach out to the community for resources and recognize a helpful lumber yard or mill shop at the school board meeting. Ask a student to present a project to the superintendent. He or she will think of your program every time someone asks about it.

Invite the local newspaper into your shop for a public interest story and a picture. Eventually they will need to fill some space. Mention your supporters again. Have a student or two interviewed. Keep a copy for your wall.

Have a short lesson for the half days. I had great success with a hand tool Olympics. Sawing, nailing, boring with braces, maybe add a relay element. Drawknives are a favorite and teach grain direction but can eat up a lot of wood. BTW cleanup slackers are disqualified for the games.

And have fun. Students will thank you for watching their games, helping them build a set for their play, attending a concert, judging the cupcake wars in Home Ec.... Parents will meet you tell you that the Woodshop report is always a topic at the dinner table. It can a little humbling.

By now you might see that I loved my job. It ended when a new principal decided that shop class "was too outdated" and replaced it with robotics and Spanish. The room is now a massive junk closet I am told.

Anyway, it is rewarding to see my students years down the road and have them remind me of some thing I said or did for them and to hear that Mom still loves her birdhouse. And I see them all the time.

These are just some suggestions, worth what you paid for them. I wish you every success with this new adventure.

Dan

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Dan Sheehan, That is a lovely outline! "Tool Olympics" brings to mind the belt sander races some naughty boys would have when the shop teacher was absent. Some of he rural school districts around us have done away with hands on shop classes as well. Liability concerns and a lack of teachers are said to be the reason. 40 years ago Glasgow MO's AG shop produced professional welders right out of high school due to the collaboration between the shop teacher and the two big industries in town. Sadly, welding is now taught on a welding simulator in most schools. The former shop teacher is still very active in the community and oversees Training, Safety, FDA and USDA compliance for the handling of AG chemicals, which makes him a very important person.

[Mike Allen1010]

FFA has a well established decades old curriculum. It might be worth taking a look at.

Nathan McDonald-SAE-Woodworking Lesson Plan - National FFA Organization

Woodworking Archives - National FFA Organization

Thanks Maurice this is really helpful! It’s nice to have some flexibility and lesson planning, but a basic structure/curriculum is helpful as a foundation – appreciate the coaching!

Cheers, Mike

[Mike Allen1010]

Here is my perspective as a retired Wood Shop teacher. Just some suggestions to consider:

You don't teach woodshop. You teach students. It's about them learning about themselves first. How do they handle mistakes. What are their strengths and weaknesses. How can they help each other. Sharing resources. Clean up. Following directions. Being a good bench mate. Taking pride in their work... Above all safety.

Respect their uniqueness. Speak to every student every day. Use their name and ask their opinion about something. It doesn't have to be about shop. Just show interest in them.

Be generous with your praise. Recognize students for good work or acts of kindness.

Set up routines that demonstrate fairness, like sign up lists for tools or for your attention.

Doing nice work does not make you a good teacher. Read up on good teaching practice because you will be evaluated like the other teachers..

Teach measurement first. It will reduce scrap and bestow a life skill. I can share a great ruler lesson without math if you want it. It has a 100% pass rate.

Have a penalty system like hockey. Two minutes for no glasses, five for horseplay... etc. and call them like you see them.

DON'T bring in your own tools. They will break them. No doubt.

Teach one good skill building project at a time for intro classes. Advanced students should get more choice but limit the options with exceptions on a case by case basis. Some project ideas are just stupid, unsafe and bound to fail. A small success is better than a giant failure.

Reach out to the community for resources and recognize a helpful lumber yard or mill shop at the school board meeting. Ask a student to present a project to the superintendent. He or she will think of your program every time someone asks about it.

Invite the local newspaper into your shop for a public interest story and a picture. Eventually they will need to fill some space. Mention your supporters again. Have a student or two interviewed. Keep a copy for your wall.

Have a short lesson for the half days. I had great success with a hand tool Olympics. Sawing, nailing, boring with braces, maybe add a relay element. Drawknives are a favorite and teach grain direction but can eat up a lot of wood. BTW cleanup slackers are disqualified for the games.

And have fun. Students will thank you for watching their games, helping them build a set for their play, attending a concert, judging the cupcake wars in Home Ec.... Parents will meet you tell you that the Woodshop report is always a topic at the dinner table. It can a little humbling.

By now you might see that I loved my job. It ended when a new principal decided that shop class "was too outdated" and replaced it with robotics and Spanish. The room is now a massive junk closet I am told.

Anyway, it is rewarding to see my students years down the road and have them remind me of some thing I said or did for them and to hear that Mom still loves her birdhouse. And I see them all the time.

These are just some suggestions, worth what you paid for them. I wish you every success with this new adventure.

Dan

Thanks Dan for the guidance and inspiration – I value and appreciate all your hard won insight and advice! Thanks, Mike

[Jim Koepke]

Teach measurement first. It will reduce scrap and bestow a life skill. I can share a great ruler lesson without math if you want it. It has a 100% pass rate.

Not sure if Mike is interested. I teach woodworking to my grandkids and some of the neighbor kids and would love to have a plan to teach them about using a ruler.

jtk

[Adam Grund]

Off topic a bit- but I wish I would’ve taken more interest in shop class when I was in school. I only remember taking it in 9th grade, though I probably did take it in 10th too. Not only because I have a current interest in woodworking, but there was a lot of stuff that Is relevant in every day diy life too.
I just remember my projects being awful- poor fitting, never square, ect. And I thought I knew it all, knew It wasn’t really a skill I was going to need so no big deal on pursuing it to be better. Typical dumb kid!