This site is a class blog space for new Career and Technical Specializations and Heathcare Science teachers enrolled in the New Teacher Institute (NTI) at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
2nd Financial Burden: Maintaining an adequate Tool Base
It's one thing to have the funds to by materials for a sizeable woodshop, It's another to maintain your shops tool base. If you don't have enough tools then it doesn't really matter if you have the material or not. Without tools you can't build anything anyway. I know that many of you are in the same boat. I wish I could get my students to care about our shops tool base. I found a tape measure that someone had tried to cut with a compound miter saw. A big chunk was taken out of it and you could clearly see that it was done by a large saw blade. Some of the kids have found that you can place a small block of wood under the saw, get the blade reved up and then just touch the blade onto the block of wood; it sends the block of wood reeling across the room! Well, in the process, the side angle indicator was broken off of the saw. If you don't hold the piece of wood that you are cutting then it could be sent reeling across the room or damage something in the process. In this case it was a $330.00 Compound Miter Saw that has been rendered useless if someone wants to make a compound cut. The piece that was broken off is made out of cast aluminum. I'm going to try and see if the Metals teacher can fix it. Sometimes it really makes you feel like giving up. Maybe what I'll do is go back to using just the basic hand tools!
Having encountered a similar problem, I "batter" the students with hand tools before they ever touch a power saw. Good luck with your $.
ReplyDeletejoec
I know how you feel. I have some really nice mannequins, blood pressure cuffs, stethoscopes, etc. I upsets me when the kids don't appreciate the nice equipment that we have. If they tear it all up, there will not be anymore for the next bunch of students to use. There is no more money in the budget. And next year's budget looks bleak.
ReplyDeleteI wish we could order enough books to issue each student a book. But I have 30 books. That's it. And it disturbs me when I see the kids deliberately drop their books on the floor. Or pick the book up by the front cover. Or write and draw in the book. Or "accidentally" tear the pages out.
Somewhere along the line they never learned respect for property. Whether it is your own property or the school's property, it should be respected.
When I was a kid, I treasured everything I had because I knew if I tore it up there would not be another one to replace it. It taught me respect for what I had. I'm still careful with everything I have.
Sometimes I think the youngsters are "victims of prosperity." Everything has always been provided at such a high level for them. Yes, many come from poor families, but think about poor today versus poor in days gone by. Any ideas for teaching respect for tools and equipment out there?
ReplyDeleteDr. J.