After a fairly long career as a Custom Home Builder and Master Electrician, I decided to spend my remaining ‘working years’ as a Trades Teacher at my local HS in central VA.
I am looking for alternative ways to reach my students and am seeking any info that other professionals may be able to pass on regarding free Vo-Tech materials and training.
Certainteed.com has a wealth of online infomation and courses that I have used successfully in the past with my employees, and I am also looking for more of those types of sites.
If you have any information on either subject, please post them here or e-mail me through this forum.
Thanks in advance.
Joe Novack
Madison County High School
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
Skim-coating with joint compound covers texture, renews old drywall and plaster, and leaves smooth surfaces ready to paint.
Featured Video
Highlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
Welcome
You might want to repost your message with a title that more appropriate such as Vo-tech class help.
I remember that someone was in a similar situation about 2-3 years ago.
You might try the Advanaced Search (near the upper left).
Yea, there was a teacher asking about vocationl type videos for carpentry, etc Matt
Congratulations and Godspeed.
We need more skilled craftsmen in the trades and the youth need positive direction for their energy
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
tasers.
if that don't reach 'em, nothing will
Has anyone taken the tests that Certainteed offers? If so, did you get the book they offer as reward for completing two of the tests? I would like to get my paws on that.
that's my job...
proud member of the FOR/FOS club...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
mebbe you could give lessons
My friends are fond of saying that my last words on this earth will be something akin to, "hey y'all, hold my beer and watch this!" Well, I have outdone myself once again. No doubt you will see this true story chronicled in a Lifetime movie in the near future. Here goes.
Last weekend I spied something at Larry's Pistol and Pawn that tickled my fancy. (Note: Keep in mind that my "fancy" is easily tickled. I had gone into the Star Market to pick up some milk yesterday and I bought a super ball in the checkout line--50 cents. What a bargain! It tickled my fancy--still does That thing bounces soooooo high, and it has provided me with hours of entertainment. It just doesn't get any better than that, now does it? I'm so easily distracted. That dang super ball is so much fun.
So what were we talking about? Oh yeah, I bought something really cool at Larry's Pistol and Pawn last Saturday. The occasion was my 50th birthday and I was looking for a little something extra cool. What I came across was a 100,000 volt, pocket/purse sized Tazer gun with a clip.
For those of you who are not familiar with this product, it is a less-than-lethal stun gun with two metal prongs designed to incapacitate an assailant with a shock of high voltage, low amperage electricity while you flee to safety. The effects are supposed to be short lived, with no long-term adverse affect on your assailant, but allowing you adequate time to retreat to safety. You simply jab the prongs into your 250 lb. tattooed assailant, push the button, and it will render him a slobbering, goggle eyed, muscle twitching, whimpering, pencil neck geek. If you've never seen one of these things in action, then you're truly missing out--way too cool!
Long story short, I bought the device and brought it home. I loaded two triple-a batteries in the darn thing and pushed the button. Nothing! I was so disappointed. Upon reading the directions (we don't need no stinkin' directions), I found much to my chagrin that this particular model would not create an arch between the prongs. How disappointing! I do love fire for effect. I learned that if I pushed the button, however, and pressed it against a metal surface that I'd get the blue arch of electricity darting back and forth between the prongs that I was so looking forward to. I did so. Awesome!!! Sparks, a blue arch of electricity, and a loud pop!!! YIPPEEEEEE . . . I'm easily amused...)
Okay, so I was home alone with this new toy, thinking to myself that it couldn't be all that bad with only two triple-a batteries, etc., etc. There I sat in my recliner, my dog Dog looking on intently (trusting little soul), reading the directions (that would be me, not Dog), and thinking that I really needed to try this thing out on a flesh and blood target. I must admit I thought about zapping Dog for a fraction of a second and thought better of it. She is such a sweet doggy, after all. But, if I was going to use this thing to protect myself against a mugger, I did want some assurance that it would work as advertised. Am I wrong? Was I wrong to think that? Seemed reasonable to me at the time So, there I sat in a pair of shorts and a tank top with my reading glasses perched delicately on the bridge of my nose, directions in one hand, Tazer in another. The directions said that a one second burst would shock and disorient your assailant; a two second burst was supposed to cause muscle spasms and a loss of bodily control; a three second burst would purportedly make your assailant flop on the ground like a fish out of water. All the while I'm looking at
this little device (measuring about 5" long, less than 3/4 inch in circumference, pretty cute really, and loaded with two itsy, bitsy triple-a batteries) thinking to myself, "no bloody way!" Bloody way--trust me, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
What happened next is almost beyond description, but I'll do my best. Those of you who know me well have got a pretty good idea of what followed. I'm sitting there alone, Dog looking on with her head cocked to one side as to say, "don't do it daddy," reasoning that a one second burst from such a tiny lil' ole thing couldn't hurt all that bad (sound, rational thinking under the circumstances, wouldn't you agree?). I decided to give myself a one second burst just for the hell of it. (Note: You know, a bad decision is like hindsight--always twenty-twenty. It is so obvious that it was a bad decision after the fact, even though it seemed so right at the time.
Don't ya just hate that?) I touched the prongs to my naked thigh, pushed the button, and.. Holy CRAP!!!... DADADAAAAMMMMMNNN!!!
I'm pretty sure that Jessie Ventura ran in through the front door, picked me up out of that recliner, then body slammed me on the carpet over and over again. I vaguely recall waking up on my side in the fetal position, nipples on fire, testicles nowhere to be found, soaking wet, with my left arm tucked under my body in the oddest position. Dog was standing over me making whimpering sounds I had never heard before, licking my face, undoubtedly thinking to herself, "do it again daddy, do it again!"
Note: If you ever feel compelled to mug yourself with a Tazer, one note of caution. There is no such thing as a one second burst when you zap yourself. You're not going to let go of that thing until it is dislodged from your hand by a violent thrashing about on the floor. Then, if you're lucky, you won't dislodge one of the prongs 1/4" deep in your thigh like yours truly.....
SON-OF-A-BEACH that hurt! A minute or so later (I can't be sure, as time was a relative thing at this point), I collected my wits (what little I had left), sat up and surveyed the landscape. My reading glasses were on the mantel of the fireplace. How did they get there??? My triceps, right thigh and both nipples were still twitching. My face felt like it had been shot up with Novocain, as my bottom lip weighed 88 lbs. +/- an ounce or two, I'm pretty sure.
BTW, has anyone seen my testicles?
I think they ran away.
I'm offering a reward
proud member of the FOR/FOS club...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
laughed my a** off the first time i read that.
I started laughing as soon as I started reading it again, and am still laughing.
its always best to learn from someone else's mistakes.
You know, anybody who would do that to themselves should not be looking for his testicle(s). And we, who crossed our legs in unison, saying OWWWWWW, should, in fact be taking the other one off and making sure that your "intelligence" stays out of the gene pool .......Quality repairs for your home.
Aaron the HandymanVancouver, Canada
IMERC,
Ya hahahahahaha!!! YOUCH!!! As soon as I read that you bought yourself a tazer I started saying "dont do it!! dont do it!! its gonna hurt!!". I tazered myself once too when I was in college. Was at the student union with two friends ( one guy, one girl). The girl had just bought herself a tazer, this one had the cool blue arc when you pulled the trigger. The guy and I had never seen one before so we where busy playing it ( we probably looked like Beavis and Butthead), pulling the trigger and watching the blue arc in amazement. We both wanted to test it out but where to chicken to actually shock ourselves. Would pull the trigger, get the tazer close to an arm, and then chicken out. Probably did this for 5 minutes before I got too close. With her tazer you didnt actually have to have the two probes touching you to get shocked. I jumped/ spazzed out of my chair screaming something. Sh*t did that hurt.
What you should try next is one of those shock collars that they use for the invisible dog fences. Now thats some fun. Talk about a fool (me) running around screaming in his front yard ( but thats another story or thread)......
m2akita
I had a regular customer that had one of those invisible fences installed.
One time I was over there, I noticed it, and she started telling me about how well it works.
I kinda wondered how much it hurt, and she said all 3 of her kids tried it.
They all said it hurt pretty good.
When I was a kid, I would have just convinced my little brother to try it, and be satisfied with that.
At least, until he told my dad.
Dale. a bud, tried one out on himself....
put on the collar, mashed the button and instantly hit the floor like a ton of bricks....
after a few minets he gets up and throws it in the trash... he said he wasn't putting it on his dog....
proud member of the FOR/FOS club...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
i can't stop laughing............
idiot!I Love A Hand That Meets My Own,
With A Hold That Causes Some Sensation.
bump
Justin Fink
FHB Editorial
that was FANTASTIC!
ok .. confession time .... musta been a college thing ...
same story as the other ... girl we knew carried one her Dad bought her ...
couldn't resist ...
didn't end up unconscious ... it too had the "lightening" ...
just a dab will do ya!
after me a a buddy each tried it ...
by the end of the night ... everyone in the bar that we knew got zapped.
So yers works better, huh?
Jeff
Buck Construction
Artistry in Carpentry
Pgh, PA
PBS has an educational support / help programs...
IIRC they offer a wide varuty of stufff....
yur states's contuning education extension programs???
proud member of the FOR/FOS club...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
What state are ya in?
What are ya tryin' to teach 'em?
Boss Hog,
I am in VA and my course centers around Carpentry with modules on the other trades.
See this about meetings...
http://www.despair.com/demotivators/meetings.html
I'm a former Vocational instructor. In my state the Vo-tech schools are well supported through the state University. As with most professional certifications, there are college courses that are required to maintain certification. They range from curriculum development, philosophy of vocational education, methods and materials, teaching students with special needs and so on. Many of the courses were set up for Saturdays. On some we had itinerant professors come to the school and give classes for the staff after hours. You may also be required to maintain first aid and CPR certification, available training through the Red Cross.
There are many organizations for vocational teachers. AVA (American Vocational Association), your states vocational association, out reach programs through your states Department of Labor, OSHA as well as student organizations such as VICA, (Vocational Industrial Clubs of America).
You have many responsibilities as a Vocational Teacher. Safety is the number one issue. You are responsible for the health of your students. If something terrible was to happen, you need to be able to prove that you were competent and responsible in your duties. This means solid documentation for everything you do.Here's an example of circular saw training I followed.
First class is a lecture/demonstration of the saws. Attendance is taken and kept on record. I would use the manufacturers manual. Make a copy to hand out. We would cover nomenclature, safety procedures, electrical issues, GFCI. Mid way through the class we would break out some saws and go through all the adjustments, blade choices, changing blades, checking guards, etc. This would follow with a written quiz, also kept on record. Student would have to pass the quiz 100% before they were allowed to take the next step of plugging them in.
Second class we would go into the shop. Each student would get a chance to make a few basic cross cuts on a 2x4 under my direct supervision. Each time I would goof up the settings. We would try cutting by sight as well as using a square for a guide. This also covered areas like having a pencil, using the square, wearing safety glasses, dressing properly, measuring and marking. Students that removed their glasses in the shop got detention. They would have to clean and polish, empty the dust collector, dust down the bar joists, etc. Three strikes and they were gone.
Third class we explored other cuts. angles, bevels, compound cuts and cutting larger materials, plywood 2x10's, etc. By this time I could break the students into small groups and issue saws to each group. At the end of the class each student would have to submit three pieces of 2x4 three inches long. It's always funny to line up all the pieces to see how close they came. By this time they were getting focused and wanted to do things well.
Fourth class, Each student would get a 2 x 4 x 8 with the task of cutting and assembling a square box 24" square. I didn't give any further instruction, letting them figure out subtracting for thickness. Watching them spike things together was always good for a laugh. We would then disassemble and start over with a 20" box. This time I would show them how to nail. Another take apart and re-size. This would result in a grade for the project.
By the time this class on circular saws was over, the students were quite capable of using the saw safely and actually accomplishing assembly of basic framing. I was assured they were competent and had full documentation of their activities. I always tried to have videos and other types of instruction available but I found many safety tapes were better for what not to do and used them for student critic rather than how to's.
If there is a VICA chapter at your school, get involved. At first it will seem hokey but you will soon find that participating students blossom. If you want to see what Vocational schools are capable of, you will want to attend the National VICA competitions that have been held in Kansas City for quite a few years. Students compete in a wide range of studies from jet engines to cabinetmaking. Their abilities will blow you away.
http://www.khake.com/page50.html
http://www.khake.com/page36.html