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NOV. 22nd, 2023
Selena - RCP Newspaper
GETTING YOUR HANDS DIRTY: WOODWORKING
Woodworking is an elective at Palmer that teaches students how to apply all the skills they've learned across multiple subjects, as woodworking involves different techniques in math like geometry, calculus, arithmetics, and the like during certain projects.
It is a manual course in which students are independent and strengthens their critical thinking for why a certain piece doesn't look or fit the way it should, and how to creatively express themselves through decorative aspects in projects, like the "gumball machine."
The gumball machine is a project where students create said gumball machine, but are required to put extra flair on it by making shapes or bits that characterizes their project unique to them. Over time, the projects get more complicated and need thorough knowledge and understanding to complete, as the wood can get confusing to work with at some points.
The cutting board is another project in Woodworking, however, it is for a higher-grade level rather than the introductory level that the grade 8's are offered. The students create a cutting board that they get to display and take home, as with all other projects in Woodworking, and utilize.
Woodworking is important to young students, teaching them practical design and direct application which they do not often get from their other courses, at least not as immediately, from the way that the projects do not take much planning.
USEFULNESS
Many students enjoy the immediate gratification of woodworking, shaping, shifting, and molding the wood to the exact form demonstrated, and it builds a sense of agency, like the students can accomplish things by themselves, as it is almost always independent projects that occur in both the Wood and Metal Work classes. Woodworking is a fun and engaging class that helps students grow into future carpenters or learn handy tricks to repair their own furniture in the future.
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