As shop teacher at CCS (Canora Composite School), Paul Geerdts is a strong believer in preparing students to be successful long after high school graduation.
On March 27, his Grade 10 to 12 students were nearing completion of their construction project, a 24 foot by 12-foot storage shed.
Geerdts said the shed is roughly a two-semester project, with the students working 20 hours per month.
The building is wood construction with two by four-inch stud walls, covered by tin on the outside.
He said the goal is that by the time the project is completed, the students will have gained skills in rough carpentry and finishing carpentry, ultimately improving their employability.
“At the start, I do a small section of the floor to show them how it’s done, then they finish the floor,” said Geerdts. “Then I do a small section of the wall, and they do the rest. And we continue on that way until the building is complete.
“They make mistakes along the way, but that’s the best way for them to learn.
“Sometimes they have a tendency to give up when a building project reaches a difficult stage. That’s when I encourage them to find the motivation to push through and get things done.”
Geerdts said he likes to work with each student near the beginning of the project, just to get to know where their abilities lie, and what areas they might need to work on.
“In each group there are usually two or three leaders,” he explained. “If I can answer questions and provide information to those leaders, they usually do a good job of passing that information along to their classmates.”
“Usually there is a lot of uncertainty at the beginning of a project, but I find the students often become more confident in their skills by the time the building nears completion,” Geerdts said. “For example, their cutting accuracy tends to become much better with practise.”
He said some students seem to be lacking in mathematical skills, but this type of project gives them practical opportunities to develop those skills.
The shed is meant as a storage facility for items such as quads, snowmobiles, yard equipment and so on, and will be available for sale upon completion.
Geerdts said he is hoping to recover the cost of the project, and reinvest that money back into the CCS shop program.
While some students finish up the first shed, others start on the next one. The first was constructed with a gable roof, while the second is a hip roof building, just to allow the students to develop different skills.
