Next, they’ll create precisely calibrated grooves that will allow it to accept
a bolt or screw. These are just a few of the techniques they’ll master in the
Machining and Manufacturing class, one of four courses that comprise the
Engineering and Science Technologies pathway at the high school. (The other
courses are Intro to Engineering, Robotics and Advanced Manufacturing, and
Engineering Applications.)
Some of these students are taking this course as a way to explore working
with metal or to nurture a budding interest in engineering. Others are
combining it with a prescribed series of classes that will allow them to earn a
Career Tech Education (CTE) certification, which can lead either to college or to
employment in the manufacturing field immediately after graduation.
All of them will leave this class with useful, working knowledge of some
pretty cool state-of-the art equipment. In addition to the drill press, students will
get hands-on experience with a band saw, mill, lathe, pedestal grinder, and a full
complement of hand tools that would be the envy of any professional machinist.
Getting Up and Running The new machining room was built, and the equipment installed, during the
pandemic; three classrooms were reconfigured to make one large work
area. The cost was underwritten by the Shaker Schools Foundation’s Innovation
Fund, established in 2018 at A Night for the Red & White, the annual benefit in
support of Shaker Schools.
Thanks to direct donations at that event, and subsequent contributions from
generous donors and corporate sponsors, the Innovation Fund soon grew sizable
enough to support a project of this magnitude, along with many others. The
Perkins grant funding is part of the CTE program.
The idea for the machining room funding was championed by Shaker’s
engineering and robotics teacher, Joe Marencik. He envisioned a space where
students could learn real-world skills that would open multiple doors for them,
whether at college or in the workforce, or both. He also envisioned the kind
of teacher whose passion for machining would be second only to a passion for
teaching. He found it in Marty McGuan, a former elementary teacher at Onaway
who is also a serious hobby machinist and self-described “creative and
divergent thinker.”
Coming on board during a pandemic was a challenge, as the first cohort of
students began learning in a remote setting. McGuan put his creative thinking
talents to work: He sent tool kits home for the students and had a video camera
installed in the machining room so he could demonstrate the equipment they
would eventually be using. By the time the students returned to in-person
learning in the spring, they couldn’t wait to get their hands on the real thing.
Naukiya Worley, Class of 2021, was blown away when she finally saw the
room in person. ‘I’d never seen this type of equipment in a school. I was excited
to use it because I feel like you can get the experience for yourself instead of just
hearing a teacher talk about it.”
It doesn’t take long for students in this class to apply what they’re learning
to the real world. This year, for instance, they built sheet-metal octagonal pits
used for the sport of gaga, a kinder, gentler version of dodgeball. The fruits of
their labor will be enjoyed by their younger peers at Woodbury Elementary
School during recess.
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