While students in other classes scribble at desks, in room 331, the buzz of the miter saw in wood tech filters through the haze of sawdust.
Wood tech is an elective option for all grades, and emphasizes hands-on learning through the use of power tools and a dash of creativity.
Wood tech teacher Mr. Brett Thomas has always known that he wanted to work in the art department.
“I went to art school and I spent more time in the wood shop than anywhere else. And as a teenager, I always worked in construction, so it just made sense,” Thomas said.
By using machines such as the drill press, miter saw, band saw, and lathe, students build confidence in their real-world capabilities.
“I really enjoy watching kids make progress, and I enjoy watching kids own their mistakes, and when they admit that they have to start a project over because they know that it’s going to turn out better the next time around,” Thomas said.
Senior Keegan Mansor enjoys wood tech because she is able to make products that she can hold. Currently, the class projects include building a tissue box and making pens.
“It’s not like we’re sitting down the whole day,” Mansor said. “With wood tech, you actually get to bring it home after you work on it, and it’s something you accomplished. It’s really not just a grade.”
Mansor’s dream project, which she says she will likely work on after wood tech, is to build a resin table. Resin tables are characterized by their unique and often colorful mixture of resin and wood.
Other students are also exploring the opportunities wood tech opens up.
“It’s just giving me a new challenge. It’s realizing that I need to go back to basics and start classes. I know so much about other topics, but here’s something I don’t know a lot about, and so it’s cool to learn. It is a lot of new skills I learned, but it’s fun,” senior Annika Slootmaker said.
Wood tech not only helps students express their creativity but also encourages them to explore new perspectives.
“I guess just in the past week, I realized I’ve been in school for 12 years already and I thought I learned a lot of stuff, and here I am and learning brand new things,” Slootmaker said. “It’s a whole world that I just didn’t know about before…[it’s] teaching me that I can learn new things even when I didn’t think I could, and it’s making me more creative, like when I was a little kid.”
