BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE merging of woodwork, technical drawing and visual arts into one subject pool at the Verchilds High School was no accident.
Rather, it was a deliberate decision to pool together subjects that would not only require an academic approach, but also plunge students directly into much-needed vocational training.
The department is called Building Technologies and provides a landscape of opportunities for students to learn more about the subjects while at the same time highlighting viable career options.
Senior students pursuing subjects in Building Technologies were given a challenge this school year to create their own household furniture, building plans and imaginative compositions. At the end of the challenge on Friday (May 28), they were able to display their pieces of work to their peers, parents and persons from the community.
A roomful of polished book holders, jewellery boxes, chests of drawers and night stands gave visitors an insight into the raw talent of the students and generated much interest in Building Technologies as a career.
Other products, including napkin holders, paper towel holders and picture frames and trays, stood as wooden proof that the students were able to apply what they learnt in the classroom to the shop. For many, the experience was tiring but rewarding and a strong lesson in skill building.
Fourth form woodwork major Lonzo Wilkinson told SKNVibes he was grateful that he learned a new skill and, although he admits that the work takes a lot of time and requires much patience, seeing other students marvel at his finished product was gratifying.
“People can go into business and make money or they can learn the skill to simply save money because they already know what to do. So, instead of hiring a carpenter to do your chairs and furniture for $300 and $400, you can just do it all by yourself with the same quality. You save yourself a lot of money when you know what to do.
“Most people say woodwork is just cutting wood, but it’s not just that. It’s more than that. As you can see, we had fun doing this and when we see our finished product, after putting in all your time and effort into that piece and it comes out to look so beautiful, that’s the best part of it,” he said.
Wilkinson’s surroundings are filled with furniture, ranging from the chair he sits in to the lamp stand and even the picture frame that holds his most memorable moments.
This, he explained, is reason enough to encourage anyone to learn the high demand trade. Apart from potential opportunity to earn revenue, the experience has also given the fourth-former a hobby to avoid bad company.
“By doing woodwork, it really keeps us out of trouble and out of gangs. In the afternoon, instead of just going to lime, I can just come into the shop and make something.
“It’s not all about the books, sometimes you also have to get your hands dirty; you also have to know how to use your hands,” Wilkinson said.
Late afternoons and early Saturday mornings would see some of these students, who would normally sleep in or allow the time to pass them by, in the woodwork shop or with a T-square and a set of shading pencils, sketching out their possible career plans.
For Ronez Mardenborough, a fourth form student, his affinity for technical drawing and visual arts has been encouraged by the hope that one day he would be able to put together the perfect architectural design for a business or home.
“It takes some time, but everybody wants a house so I would be able to draw the plan for their house. No matter how you look at it, this thing [Building Technologies] is a good thing,” Mardenborough told SKNVibes, adding that he looks forward to using computer software to design homes in the future.
The tour guide for the exhibition, Tristan Lake, was not one to stay after school to make furniture and he is not passionate about technical drawing, but with a few coloured pencils, he is able to wow any passerby with his artistic expressions. Lake is not alone. Many other students had the chance to showcase their work, be it graphic design, imaginative composition or still life drawings.
Again, this helped to give students a hobby and a number of them have shown their interest in using this skill to make money.
Candel Elliott, woodworking teacher for nearly 10 years, has seen dozens of students pass through the course and while most of the theory has remained the same, he stressed the importance of changing the approach to the subject.
“We are not just here giving them paper work all day. We are doing the practical aspect of it also in getting them to understand the trade and being able to leave school with some understanding of the work they want to do.
“A lot of the business owners and contractors are complaining that a lot of the kids are leaving school and…they don’t know enough practical. We have been listening to these persons and we want to try to approach the subject differently, showing more interest in the practical aspect and allowing them to showcase and do more hands-on work,” Elliot said.
Elliot noted his pleasure with the time and effort put into the subject by the students, describing the craftsmanship as “great” and “outstanding”.
Already, the work of the fourth form students has caught the attention of the juniors. Many have shown their interest in entering the field to gain a skill and be able to make furniture or draw plans on their own.
For current students, the subject has certainly heightened their love for the subject confidence they would be able to make a living with it.
