This week I started my observations with the courses I plan on teaching; high school sciences. It’s week 7, and science classes are very much the same between schools, and they aren’t that different from my university labs or lectures. Often times, the high school teachers are even covering the same content. So this week I decided to jump into the shop classes and am I ever thankful for that. PGSS has 5 open shop teacher positions and it seems like a pretty sweet gig. I’m personally nervous that I wouldn’t make a good shop teacher, but you could tell that some students thrived in this environment.
To become a shop teacher, apparently you have to do a separate BCIT program. One shop teacher informed me that I’d have to do at least an additional year of schooling, but looking at the BCIT website, it was indicated that the practicum was two years in addition to the ed program. It might be true that a band saw and the electron microscope used in my MSC probably require similar intelligences to operate, I’d never want to risk a student injury from my lack of experience. I think I’ll leave these departments to the experts for now.
Students in these spaces have very different behaviors than in other zones. You can tell that these students are engaged with almost every step they take. The young men are practically vibrating with excitement, and I was surprised to see such a large portion of the metal shop was female. In my HS experience there were only ever one or two women in the class but they always seemed to enjoy the program.
All of the shop teachers reported the same observations; class sizes were no longer full, and that most of the students were placed in these elective classes by their counsellors. The aim here is that students who are struggling academically will maybe find some passion in a hands on environment. This is unfortunately sad. I remember the distinction between “trades school” and “University” as uneven in my years, but I have come to admire and revere the trades training and financial stability of my non-academic peers. It’s incredibly sad to see that students are feeling pressure to leave trades when my family who work in these fields report many job openings and good pay.
I wonder if there is a way to incorporate a trades focus into academic classes. Can we incorporate carpentry into our math classes? What about welding and heat exchange into our science and physics classes? The theory is important to know but I think the students would get more out of seeing, feeling and smelling it, than just the book work.
