Posted on: Thursday, March 17, 2005
EDUCATION
Carpentry helps some find their way
By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Education Writer
With the federal No Child Left Behind Act pushing schools toward narrow, test-driven curriculums, Central Middle School special-education teacher Branden Hazlet knew he had to find a way to help his struggling students realize there are other areas in which they can excel.
Photo courtesy Branden Hazlet "A lot of other kids were feeling discouraged and I thought there's got to be something for them to have pride in," he said. "Kids need to have that positive feeling."
The idea Hazlet came up with required the students to put away their books, pull out some tools and put their classroom learning to practical use. Their whole school will benefit from their efforts.
For the past month, Hazlet and some of his most disadvantaged students have been spending Wednesday mornings at Honolulu Community College, working with a carpentry class to build benches to be used in Central's lunch area. The activity has been such a success that Hazlet wants to seek money so the students can work on picnic tables next.
In addition to teaching the kids carpentry skills, the HCC experience has introduced them to some of the vocational training possibilities offered at community colleges.
"Kids that don't necessarily excel in the classroom can still find things in community college that suit their skills and strengths," Hazlet said.
Keys to success: The first thing Hazlet did was get the kids' enthusiasm over the project going, then they planned how they would build a bench step-by-step. How they did it: "I came and talked to Jeff (Uyeda) and he was enthusiastic from the start," Hazlet said. Uyeda and his students provided a good example and put a lot of effort into working with the kids. Hazlet put together a sample bench, taking pictures at every step so the students would have detailed written and visual instructions to guide them. The kids also used his finished bench to figure out for themselves what needed to be done to put it together. Sixth-grader Robert Graciidis, an aspiring basketball player, has found the carpentry work a pleasant change from book work. "I like to come and hang out here," he said.
The experience in the carpentry workshop has made college seem more accessible and less intimidating than classes focused on books and tests, he said.
Building the benches has inspired his classmate Keali'i Peters, a seventh-grader, to aim higher. He now wants to go to college to study carpentry, then build houses.
Darren Molina, 13, also wants to go into carpentry. "I want to do the same job they do," he said, pointing out the carpentry faculty and students.
Darren has had some experience with tools. He built his own clubhouse and helped an uncle with construction work.
He prefers the hands-on learning to working out of a book. "Building is better," he said.
Jeff Uyeda, head of the HCC carpentry department, said he and his students usually work with older high school students, but the middle schoolers have been doing a surprisingly good job. "They have a little bit of attitude, but they can handle. They're doing all right," he said.
The carpentry students who guided the Central kids through the project found the youngsters easy to work with.
"It's a good feeling to help these guys to see what's out there and show them the opportunities," said George Prentiss, who plans to teach industrial arts or photography in the secondary schools.
Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8014.
After watching student Joseph Fuller shine and break out of his shell during a unit on measurement, Hazlet began brainstorming ways for other students to discover their strengths.
Sixth-grader Robert Graciidis works on his hammering skills under the supervision of Lance Poentis of Honolulu Community College.
"Hopefully this experience can be a catalyst with students to encourage developing a dream for their future and seeing there is a place out there where they might fit into the educational landscape post-high school despite the fact that they may continually encounter the idea in our test-driven curriculum that they have little to offer," he said.
Lessons learned
