Yeeee-Hah!!!

[John Moorhead]

Folks -

Well, FWIW, the guys in the white hats win, every once in a while!

I had applied for a part time teaching post as the Regional Occupation Program Woodworking Instructor about 3 weeks ago.... I got an interview, and frankly didn't think I did as well as I had hoped - Christ - I hadn't been on a "Job Interview" since Nixon was NOT in Cambodia. I've never taught before, but it's something that I have wanted to do, part of my "game plan"

Anyway, I interviewed in the requisite "Tool-Time" flannel, and walked into an "Interview By Commitee" Yeesh! A couple of the other applicants were also in que, and from what I was able to discern, they had more experience (read: teaching credential) and were wearing suits. Well, I'm from a small down, and did give it some thought, but I didn't really want to wear a suit - when I do, people somehow just assume that I am "the defendant". Go figure.

Long story short, I got the call yesterday at 5pm - They offered me the post at half-time, with flex hours. That's EXACTLY what I need right now. The existing postion is only for teaching through the end of the academic year, and that may change, but it's a start.

I was kind of hoping that working Mark Twain into a sample lesson plan that I drafted would help. I go over for assimilation on Tuesday, and will find out more.

The gig is teaching woodworking to Jr and Sr. HS students that want to go into the building trades. The program has been on hiatus, and I'll find out more about the structure next week.

If there are ANY other WW instructors out there, I would sure appreciate a ping, if you're up for some dialog from a "newbie" instructor.

More to come!

John Moorhead

[Will]

Congratulations.

Prepare -- stick to the lesson plan -- Prepare better next time.

Get the lesson right -- then don't vary it.

But you already knew that. :-)

John Moorhead wrote:

[Doug Miller]

Congrats on your new gig! Sounds fantastic. Keep us updated.

-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt. And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

[Leon]

Good for you John. The students will be lucky to have a teacher that wants to be there.

[Lew Hodgett]

Enjoy the opportunity and most of all, have fun, both you and the kids.

Lew

[A.M. Wood]

Congratulations

Some things I learned about teaching.

Prepare a detailed lesson plan and know it and by all means, before your first time in front of the class PRACTICE WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO SAY. Make sure that your lesson fits within the time allotted. Remember, you ARE supposed to be the expert. If you're fumbling for the next word and/or rambling from topic to topic, you're students will start to believe that is not the case and you will lose control of the class and they will hate you if you keep them late.

Always prepare demonstrations in advance and never demonstrate anything you have not prepared. (This goes back to the fact that you are the expert and things work for you.)

Anticipate and be prepared for questions. If you don't know something or can't recall the answer, throw the question back to the class for discussion while you think of a good answer. In the worst case scenario, note how great the question is and say that it is something you will have to look into and make darn sure that you have an answer the next day. (Remember, you are the expert and this is not something you can afford to have happen frequently.)

Be organized. Before class begins, write an outline on the board of the topics you will cover that day in the order they will come up. (This helps you stay on track too.) Start the class with a short introduction telling the students what will be covered. Cover the material. Take a few minutes at the end of the class to summarize what was learned.

Respect your students. They are all bright kids with different skills, so encourage them. Make the class interesting to them and make it fun.

Good luck!

[Paul Kierstead]

You mean the kluckers? Ugh.

Oh, ok. Congratulations! Very glad to hear you are getting to do what you want to do; it is a rare treat.

PK

[Walt Cheever]

Congratulations also on teaching what you love.

I agree with all the other comments, and:

Kids in occupational classes are probably there because they are "concept impaired." They think with their hands, not their brains. Don't spend too long on lecture--let them get started using their hands. They will learn more from doing than they will from listening. I fear in our emphasis on academic subjects these kids get left out.

Lots of things that come naturally to you are news to them. I was surprised how hard reading an architectural scale was for my students. I thought people were born knowing how to do that. If you have to back up to meet them where they are, be ready to do so.

Have some "no fail" work early. Most people need confidence builders that they aren't as dumb as they think they are.

Always tell them what they are doing right!!! They know damn well what they did wrong, and are pretty amazed they did something right. I tried to make one substantive positive comment for each negative one I had to make.

I always try to remember how I was taught, and do the things that I reacted positively to, and not do the things that grated.

And, as one older teacher told me, remember that there is always a leader in each classroom. If it isn't you, then it will be one of the students. Take charge and run with it--and have fun.

Walt C Who just retired from teaching in a 2 year technical college.

[Robatoy]

Great news, John!

A.M.Wood's reply pretty much says it all. Well put, Mr. Wood. I just wanted to add a couple of things.

Make the projects interesting. A soapbox derby ? A trebuchet? Something with a competitive edge. At every turn, push safety till it becomes second nature. Set up a staged scene, blade guard missing, long loose sleeves, no safety glasses etc and do a "What's wrong with this picture" Set up a reward/demerit point system for safety violations.

Above all... have them build stuff they want to own. There is also no reason everybody has to make the same thing as long as many of the same methods are part of their projects.

Allow them to use their own designs. (If the school allows that sorta 'free' thinking.)

Safety and fun.

FWIW

0¿0

Rob

[Swingman]

Congratulations! Now, go buy a hickory baseball bat, take it straight to the shop planer and ..... oops. sorry. Wrong century! :)

[J T]

Sat, Feb 19, 2005, 4:24pm (EST+5) [e-mail] (John=A0Moorhead) spookiely says: I go over for assimilation on Tuesday,

Gods above, you make it sound like the Borg is taking people by appointment now.

JOAT Intellectual brilliance is no guarantee against being dead wrong.

- David Fasold

[Bob Bowles]

[Dave in Fairfax]

Do NOT make a trebuchet. In some places that'll get you in trouble with the police. The school board and the parents won't be amused either. Sounds like the school teacher who's going to jail for make the explosives to demonstrate "rate of reactions". Fun, but a BAD idea.

Dave in Fairfax

[A.M. Wood]

One more thought.

It sounds like these kids are going to use the classes as a basis for their future careers. With that in mind, get in touch with some of the local employers your students may look to for work after graduation. Find out the kinds of skills and knowledge those employeers are seeking and make sure your students know this stuff. For example, if you're teaching cabinetmaking, and local building codes require that homeowners obtain building permits for kitchen remodels, take some time to discuss the process and some of the requirements. Obviously they won't need to be "experts" on the subject, but they will at least be able to knowingly nod in agreement when the topic comes up and they can ask informed questions.

Also, if you can, arrange for these people to come in as guest speakers. It will give your students a chance to hear about different ways of doing things and provide them with a chance to meet and network with people in the business and maybe show off some of their own work.

[Robatoy]

I see your point. But I was thinking more of small trebuchet...nothing big. Just big enough to launch a Volkwagen the length of a football field.... maybe smaller...like a table-top version hurling an egg.

[Neil Larson]

After reading your post, I was all prepared to jump in with advice, then I read the rest of the responses and, WOW, I have to say this is the best group of responses I have seen to a post in a while.

Great advice from the group. Now, I have never taught WW but I have taught

10 years of adult education in Photography, communications electronics and computer systems so I'll add my $.02.

Prepare, practice, validate your ideas and then do it again. Someone posted about keeping it interesting, that is extremely important and remember to teach to the median of the group. As much as you would love to teach to intricate stuff, you have to keep the slower students interested. Someone else posted about bring real life experience to the class, like building permits, Another great idea.

Have fun, the nerves will calm down a few minutes into class if you are prepared and confident.

[Bruce Barnett]

Congrats! And high five. (And keep it that way.)

[Bruce Barnett]

FWIW - Here's a lesson plan with no plan. But it teaches something of value.

I had an interesting time with Cub Scouts. I had them make a simple box to carry tools. (No power tools). They had to cut five pieces of wood for the sides, ends and bottom, and drill a hole in the ends for a dowel. (I used a drill press to cut the holes for them, once they marked the position).

I gave them a general idea of what they had to do, and let them try on their own.

We tend to forget how much we know, and how little beginers know. I'm not a teacher, but I think they learned many lessons that day.

Like measuring, drawing a straight line, using a hand saw. Remembering to keep track of the width of the wood, clamping wood, the importance of square ends, the importance of consistent lengths, finding the center of a board, etc.

Once they do this, they really appreciate things like a bench hook, square, etc.

[Bruce Barnett]

Hmm. Would a mini-trebuchet also be a problem? It might, if one assumes the worst in people.

[John]

Congrats.

To the others' list of excellent advice I can only add:

- The first mistake that new teachers always make is to tell the class that "this is the first class I've ever taught." Doing so advertises your own natural anxiety at being up there at all, cedes authority and control to the students, and is just asking for trouble. To the students you should just be "the new shop teacher" -- which is something they already know -- so you don't even have to mention it. Just do your thing. When they see that you know what you're doing and that you love doing it, they'll be with you.

- The second mistake that new teachers make is that they have abolutely forgotten what it was like to have to learn the subject in the first place. You now work reflexively, without thinking. The kids are going to fumble about. No concept is too trivial, no demonstration too slow.

- The third mistake is that by "planning a lesson in advance" an instructor concerns himself mostly with the subject matter and the manner of its delivery. While important, that's not enough. The projects or assignments that you give should have been completed by you first, at home, as part of your lesson plan development. This is a corollary to mistake #2 above, I think.

As for positive suggestions, see what you can do to integrate some of the mathematics they're studying into your class. Trigonometry would be a natural fit.

And most of all, enjoy this. Teaching is absolutely, positively rewarding.

J.