Directions:
Fill in each blank with a proper word given in the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word that you do not need. A. alternative B. desirable C. initiated D. available E. nailing F. disastrous G. complex H. grant I. expanded J. housed K. sorting |
“Classroom on wheels” teaches woodworking skills to young people
Handing power tools over to young students could result in some 16 situations. But if those tools are combined with effective supervision and teaching, the students can learn valuable new skills and might even find a new career path.
One such programme, in Washington, DC, aims to teach woodworking and finished carpentry skills to teens and young adults. It includes a woodshop, completely 17 inside a truck, that acts as a kind of “classroom on wheels”.
The Mobile Woodshop programme was 18 by the non-profit Zenith Community Arts Foundation. It is currently based at Ballou STAY Opportunity Academy in Washington, DC. Ballou STAY is an 19 education programme that offers students job training and has a high school graduation programme for adults over age 23.
Margery Goldberg, Zenith’s director, said the goal of the woodshop is “to get people jobs”. Goldberg is an artist, wood sculptor and long-time member of the DC art community. She had long dreamed of creating a mobile woodshop to assist students. That dream finally came true in 2020, when the city gave her a large 20 for the programme.
Students at Ballou can learn the same skills as a beginning carpenter would. These include cutting, marking, measuring, 21 and how to use different tools. The class textbook provides step-by-step instructions on how to make things like simple wooden bird houses, to more 22 wooden containers and objects. The truck is equipped with all the instructional materials and tools necessary to operate as a complete mobile classroom. Mobile workstations are also 23 so students can work on projects outside the truck.
Joe Largess is a teacher at the woodshop. He said much of the class centres on teaching students “soft skills”. These are skills that are 24 in all jobs, such as teamwork, having a strong work ethic, being able to follow instructions and arriving at work on time. Students also learn basic skills like maths and how to read a ruler.
Goldberg believes woodshop programmes can help prepare the next generation of woodworkers. She said other schools in Washington have expressed interest in the mobile woodshop and the programme might be 25 in the coming years.