I think another big point being made in this documentary is that jobs such as
engineers,
mathematicians and scientists aren't quite as appealing to kids any more. And
part of the
reason is we place too big an emphasis on making money and the glorification of
wealth.
Let's say you have 2 kids that come from a poor household. One is a great
football player,
but a bad student. The other is a good student who could care less about
sports. Is it
really fair to the good student that the football player goes off to college
for free? What
kind of message does that send to our high school kids? No wonder kids don't
want to
pursue careers in jobs like engineering, mathematics or science. No glory in
those jobs.
There's no "MTV Cribs" for engineers. Careers that require a high degree of
learning and
technical skills just aren't sexy enough.
But, there's hope. When I read stories like this it makes me really happy;
Float your boat: Hope Academy students build a skiff
BY NANCY SHIELDS STAFF WRITER FEBRUARY 14, 2008
ASBURY PARK There's no way to know for sure until they launch their salt bay
skiff in
one of the city's lakes this spring, but the eight students building the
12-foot boat at
Hope Academy Charter School are confident it will float.
Well, nearly eight.
"It has been challenging trying to make it fit together so we won't drown,"
said Jaison
Stephens, 11, the youngest of the builders and a sixth-grader. "That's why I'm
going
second, not first."
The students, all seventh- and eighth-graders except for Stephens, meet for an
hour after
school each Monday and Tuesday with Danise Cavallaro, a building instructor,
who works
for Project U.S.E. (Urban Suburban Environment) based in Red Bank.
Cavallaro, 26, started teaching students how to build the boats last year in
Newark and
still has two classes there. The kids at Hope Academy are her first
boat-building class in
Asbury Park.
The skiff, made of marine plywood, is flat in the back and curved in the front,
and can
hold 500 pounds, so perhaps three or four students will go out at a time when
they try the
boat out, most probably in May, they said.
During a recent class, the children worked on fastening the plywood sides to a
midship
frame, using a power drill and marine epoxy.
"I thought it would be a good experience I"ve never done anything like this
before," said
La'Treece Watson, 13, standing near a work table, a square ruler resting on her
shoulder.
"They get to apply a lot of scientific concepts measurement, density and
buoyance,
shape and structure, properties of water, and apply it to something they can
actually use in
real life," said the students' science teacher Sarah Blackbur, 29, who has
taught at the
charter school for three years and is the advisor on the project.
Project U.S.E.'s Cavallaro started teaching the students about boat building
after school
last October. They learned the nautical history of the area, how boats work,
why boats
work, and built small models to determine what shapes work best.
She said the students still have to attach the transom to form the stern of the
boat, finish
the bow, attach the bottom of the boat, and build seats and a mast.
Beaton's Boat Yard In Mantoloking is making the sails, she said.
"Our students aren't getting a lot of hands-on activities, and this helps them
become
more familiar with tools and measurements," said Peter Cheney, 62, who founded
the
charter school with director Alexis Harris and was co-director until he retired
in June. "You
don't see this type of hands-on activity you don't see wood shops in school
anymore."
As Michael Figueroa, 12, worked on the boat, you could see a blue sapphire tie
pin his
grandmother gave him holding his dark tie to the white shirt that is part of
his school
uniform.
He said one of the reasons he signed up for the class was to have a good
after-school
activity on his application when he applies for one of the county high schools,
perhaps
M.A.S.T. or High Tech High.
"I'm hoping to be an architect or a chiropractor," Figueroa said. "My mom said
I was good
with my hands, and I know all 206 bones in the body."
Terrell Curtis, 13, a basketball player, also said the class could help his
high school
application. In his case, he already has signed up to go to Christian Brothers
Academy for
ninth grade. Curtis said he's glad that he learned about water density,
buoyancy and the
proper names for the parts of a boat.
Julia Reyes, 13, said the class was a good opportunity to be with friends after
school.
Charles Felix, also 13, said he was happy to learn about the parts of the boat
and hoped
they'd decide to paint it red.
The Horner Education Trust in Allentown awarded a $5,000 grant for the program,
and
the Gerald R. Dodge Foundation matched that grant to fund the boat-building
class.
Cavallaro said Horner also provided money for Hope Academy students to
participate in
leadership and character development programs at Project Use's Wildcat Mountain
Wilderness Center in Passaic County.
The two other students participating in the class are Fuquan McDonald, eighth
grade, and
Cee-Asia Ricks, seventh grade.
"I thought this would be fun and it has been fun and hard work," said Jaison
as the class
finished up for the day. "I like labor work."
--- In AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com, "Jack Pitzer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> Yes, you can do both. The point of the documentary is more about what kids in
> the US,
> China and India do with their 2 million minutes spent in school. In China and
> India,
> students leave school with much better work ethics and are more equipped to
> head out
to
> the work place for tech jobs and others that require lot's of study.
> I had first hand experience with with this myself this past fall. I helped
> Pt. Boro HS make
a
> documentary about their football team, so I spent quite a bit of time with
> them. What
was
> surprising to me is how the members of the football team appeared to care
> less about
> academics then sports.
> Why should a student get a free ride to college just because they can throw,
> hit or catch
a
> ball?
>
>
> --- In AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com, "oakdorf" <oakdorf@> wrote:
> >
> > --- In AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com, "Jack Pitzer" <hinge98@> wrote:
> > > I'd love to see AP jump on the band wagon and start pushing students
> > to be more then ball throwers and catchers.
> >
> >
> > They used to be called "scholar athletes".
> >
> > You can do both.
> >
>
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