Submitted by Denair Charter Academy

It doesn’t matter that most of Barry Cole’s wood shop students came to his class this fall not knowing the difference between a band saw and a table saw or had never operated a router or drill press before. Cole’s patient instruction and infectious enthusiasm soon removed any doubt.

The brand new cutting boards, footstools and even a dog house made of pine and oak and poplar are testament to the curiosity and ingenuity of Cole’s Denair Charter Academy students. They bring him a picture of a potential project and he shows them how to make it. Along the way, the teens build more than a simple pencil holder. They gain confidence.

“This is about envisioning a project and developing the skills to complete it. It’s a feeling of accomplishment,” explained Cole. “It’s always a different kid, several times a day.”

Cole is a longtime teacher in the Denair district who moved to DCA’s independent study program last year. He coordinates the science curriculum across many grade levels, and also teaches a landscaping class in addition to his woodworking elective.

Cole’s grandfather was a carpenter, specializing in garage doors. As a young boy, Cole followed his grandfather around, learning the proper use of tools and enjoying the satisfaction of completing a project.

“I love the smell of the wood and I love making things, especially from repurposed wood,” he said.

It didn’t take much for Cole to convince first-year DCA Principal Brian LaFountain that a wood shop class would be a fun addition to campus.

“We started with 10 kids in one class on Monday and now we have 20 or so. We had to add another class on Thursdays,” LaFountain said.

Cole made calls, sent letters and beat the bushes for scrap lumber. Denair Lumber has been a generous donor as have local farmers and others in the Denair community. Some of the tools came from Denair Middle School, where Cole had used them as part of his science instruction. Others were purchased using a $5,000 budget. Continue reading “DCA Wood Shop Students Building More Than Projects” »