New drafting teacher has students working with other school groups

Written by: the Site Administrator on December 15, 2008 at 4:12 pm

A mist the tip-tapping of the keyboards echoing in the computer lab of the drafting classroom, new drafting teacher Robert Foley wastes no time in getting to work with his students.

With the computer room updated with the Auto C.A.D. 2008 program, his drafting students are equipped to complete the tasks he has assigned them.

At this time, the Drafting I and II students are divided into seven different teams to aid other classes with their projects, according to Foley.

“Three teams are drafting blueprints for the Welding shop’s special Coke Bottle BBQ pit and trailer,” said Foley. “Two teams are drafting ‘as built’ blueprints for Mr. Fry’s new classroom, a building inside of their new Building Trades building, while another team is drafting blueprints for the future tool room to be added onto their new building. Two teams are working on plans to create blueprints for Mrs. Segrest’s Robotics team’s robot.”

With this large a project in play, Foley won’t sit around and let his students build the tracks themselves. He said the projects that the teams are working on are truly “real world” projects.

“The teams will go head to head and present their work for acceptance by the groups they are doing the blueprints for,” Foley said. “As their teacher, I have been giving them one on one guidance for the instructional aspects of their drafting and given the teams the directions that a supervisor would give if they were working for a consultant company in the real world.”

When asked how his teaching methods differ from those of the former drafting teacher, he said he didn’t know exactly how the previous instructor taught.

“I can only tell how I am trying to educate my students,” Foley said. “I am trying to hopefully enlighten them on what it is going to be like when they leave the sheltered world of high school.”