Roy Boomershine Posted September 21, 2014 Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 After being in my shop in downtown Springfield for a little over a year I've moved again. I'd made connections with Oesterlen Services for Youth and they kept asking me to move to their campus so I could work more with their residential kids. I finally gave in and made the move. They had an extra building that they weren't using so we are trying to get program going to give the kids some introduction to some vocational skills. There are two larger areas where I am setting up my main wood working room with the machines, and another area we will use for wood storage and probably some finishing. Down another hallway are smaller rooms which used to be dorm rooms. I'll be taking four or five of those rooms and setting up my printing equipment there so the kids will get an introduction to screen printing and small offset work. The electrician has been working on getting power run for all my equipment and he was supposed to be getting it finished up this weekend. Everyday the guys ask me when we'll be starting in the shop and I have to keep telling them it's going to be a couple more weeks. Right now they've got an open house scheduled for October 1, so I guess that makes it a little more definate. For the last four weeks I've been working with the girls for 2.5 hours in the morning and 2.5 hours in the afternoon with the boys doing some simple introduction to drafting work. Some of the are seeing it, and just like at high school, some of them just don't quite see it yet. One of my best students is a girl that all the sudden the lights just came on and she's getting it, but I think she may be leaving this week to go to a foster program in Columbus. All of these kids have some type of mental/emotional/behavioral issues and it can get a little challenging at times, but overall I'm having a good time with them. From what I'm understanding some of them could be there a couple years and some of them work through their program in four or five months so there will be a constant turnover. I was forced into an early retirement in 2010 when my school got a new superintendent and he decided to drop the industrial arts program as well as give the bus and custodial jobs to private contractors. It's good to be back working with kids again, even if they do make me crazy some days. (First time doing this on the new system so I don't know if I'm doing the pictures right or not.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lew Posted September 21, 2014 Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 Pictures look great, Roy! Looks like yo'll have plenty of room and it is nice to be able to separate off different areas of study. When I first started teaching Vocational Education (1970), the only labeled kids were those with profound physical and/or mental challenges. All the rest of the population was lumped together. As a teacher, I had no reason to treat one different from another- they were just my kids. Some caught on quickly the others, I just gave extra help until they got it. There were no teacher's aids, IEP, support personnel- hockey sticks we didn't even have bathroom breaks (true fact!). I had each kid all day, every day for three weeks. Then the second group of kids came for the same schedule. We rotated those kids back and forth all year. All three grade levels 10-12 at the same time, too. Sometimes it seemed like a one room school hose. I watched those kids grow from children to young men and ladies. As 12th graders graduated, new 10th graders took their place and on it went. We laughed, cried and grew together. I really miss those early years. No politics, no federal "core standards" and no standardized tests. I still substitute today, but, I have to tell you- I couldn't return to the classroom full time. The regime that teacher must struggle under today is so stifling to creativeness that very few find the profession to be truly what they had hoped for. Sorry, I'll put my soapbox away, now. BTW, Some of my best students were girls- both in electronics and computer technologies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Dudelston Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 Wow Roy, I wish I had that much room in m y shop. I'm sure you'll use it well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Moody Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 Roy that is a great looking setup and shop. I love all the room. My sides are sore from bumping into things in my shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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