Creative Woodworks & crafts 2005-03, страница 73

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Elements of the plan include:

• Starting a company

• Marketing a product

• Advertising a product

• Setting up a manufacturing run

• Using a computer to track production, sales, and inventory

• Generating financial statements

A student sands her project after turning the barrels. The sanding process uses graduated sandpaper grits, a typical step in wood finishing.

Fundraising Potential

Necessity was the mother of invention for Rachel Baxter, a Tech Ed teacher at Cook Middle School in Houston, Texas. Her course was so popular that the students wanted more lathes. So, the students had the idea to sell pens as Christmas presents to finance the purchase. "They picked out the items they thought would sell, created a price sheet, and then did a customer survey." The students found that the focus group preferred satin pen finishes with blue/black acrylics. The pens were so popular that demand exceeded the amount of pens the students were able to make.

Rachel notes a number of reasons that she loves the pen projects: "These projects are so user friendly that you can easily teach, monitor, and help many students even though they are all working on different projects. Parents and administrators can't believe what these kids can do, and how it builds their self-esteem. I have even had to call parents, because they thought their child bought the pens at a store and couldn't believe that he or she actually made it... The lathe projects are actual ly very easy, and students can complete one, start to finish, in 2-4 periods, depending on their level of commitment to finish. This is an excellent way to teach them quality control and the universal system model."

The Duplicator Advantage

Lathe duplicators make pen making even easier for younger students. Kent Crowell of Goddard High School in Midland, TX, is a fan of the duplicator. "It has let my 7th and 8th graders turn out a higher quality product than I would expect any beginner to be able to make. Our school has purchased two of the duplicators, several templates, hundreds of pen kits, as well as mandrels and other pen making accessories." The students proudly gave their handmade pens as Christmas presents to the Midland School Board members.

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Kven teachers who are not woodworkers are able to quickly Icam how to incorporate this system, and get a program started in his or her school. This is very rewarding for the teacher involved. The company's videos and instructional information allow schools to get up and running quickly, and the free "Lesson Plan" facilitates the integration of pen making into the curriculum.

Innovative Curriculum

Sheldon Porcmba, a Tech Ed teacher in Whitehall, PA, had never taught shop before but was anxious to develop an innovative curriculum that incorporated manufacturing. His class began as a smaller interest group, and flourished into what it is today. His classes emphasize many aspects of the pen-making process: "In addition to hand-eye coordination, I also enforce math fundamentals by emphasizing accurate measuring, adding and subtracting fractions, geometric calculations, and even some principles of physics."

Sheldon spends a great deal of class time on the identification of properties of the wood used in projects. Students are taught that wood species vary, and

Ted Weilberg's students turning barrels on a duplicator. Many teachers prefer using the duplicator because it simplifies the turning process, which is particularly useful for younger students.

that some are more appropriate than others for making projects. Pen making shows how certain woods are able to enhance die project's beauty. Finally, Sheldon includes a writing component to his lesson, where students describe their projects and the steps necessary to take it from inception to completion.