THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 21, 1996 TAG: 9601190276
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY NANCY LEWIS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
Bayside High teacher Tim Kennedy prefers to call himself a ``learning facilitator.'' Others might call the shop instructor an ``entrepreneur.''
For the third consecutive year, his enthusiastic students have taken on a woodworking project that offers them real-life training and residents a great deal on home furnishings.
Kennedy is not satisfied simply to have his students complete course requirements; he wants them to discover the potential within themselves.
``I want them to use their brains to problem-solve,'' said Kennedy, 30, showing off the dozens of chairs, benches, love seats and tables his manufacturing technology class designed and built this year.
He wants his students to realize that what they build serves a purpose and is not simply an exercise in construction.
This year, his first-bell class has produced a product to sell, and the proceeds will enable this dedicated teacher to add tools and other needed equipment to his classroom workshop.
The Adirondack chairs the students designed and built this year sell for $60, the love seats for $90. They look as authentic as any period piece that might adorn the porch of a mountain cabin. Well, except for the wear and tear, maybe. The treated lumber used for the class project protects their work from that weathered look.
The outdoor furniture project began with a nine-week design phase during which the ninth- through 12-graders, working together in small groups, honed designs from magazines and other publications. Then they created production flow charts for the projects, making sure that the end products were cost effective.
Next, the kids went shopping for the lumber, screws and bolts they needed, learning how to make selections that fit within their budgets. The students themselves paid for all materials to build the furniture.
Finally, the boys and girls made templates so that furniture pieces would be uniform, then cut out the parts and assembled them.
The individual prototypes were judged by the class, and the winning design was mass produced. This second nine-week phase resulted in a dozen each of the single chairs and the love seats.
The results are striking. Lined up in the large workroom is outdoor furniture that is reasonably priced, stylish and sturdy.
``It teaches them how products are mass produced,'' says Kennedy, directing the 30 students as they work together to assemble the pieces of a love seat.
During the year, the students also will learn job skills such as filling out employment applications and trouble-shooting production lines.
Other items Kennedy's students have made in years past include backboard hoops and penny-hockey games. All proceeds have gone to buy hammers, saws and other necessary, but expensive, tools.
It is Kennedy's fourth year at Bayside, his eighth in the profession. He has gained a reputation for preparing his students for the real world.
He wants them to acquire the skills they'll need once they leave the protected environment of the school - to learn that life requires them to pull together their problem-solving talents ``to get to where they want to be,'' whether they opt for a factory job or go to college. MEMO: Six single chairs and six love seats remain available for purchase.
Also for sale are eight outdoor storage sheds built by last year's
construction class. These cost $800 to $1,500. For more information or
to make a purchase, call 473-5050.
ILLUSTRATION: Photo by Nancy Lewis
Ben Reitz, left, David Calufetti and Desiree Coffer work on an
Adirondack chair as part of instructor Tim Kennedy's class at
Bayside High School. They sell the chairs for $60.
by CNB