The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG – Substitute teacher Gene Wilkes completed his student teaching at Waitsburg High School and jumped at the chance to cover for Ag Teacher Nicole Abel while she was on maternity leave.

Wilkes, who covered for Abel from the first of the year until last Friday, March 27, made the most of his time working with students in the shop. Wilkes designed several projects that will continue to be used and appreciated by the students of WHS in the years to come.

Wilkes is trained as a social studies and history teacher but said he knew that teaching ag science, plant science, wildlife science and, especially, projects (shop) would be a good fit for him. "The shop work comes second nature to me as I owned my own furniture-design business at one time. Helping kids build things is fun, and I knew it would be incredibly rewarding for me, personally," he said.

Wilkes isn't the only one who was excited about the time he got to spend in the shop. At the March school board meeting, Superintendent Carol Clarke excitedly showed board members the bolt boards Wilkes had designed and built with his students. The boards, requested by high school special education teacher Patty Hazelwood, are often used by occupational therapists to improve eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills.

Typical bolt boards, which are surprisingly expensive, simply allow students to add washers and nuts to protruding bolts. Wilkes' version lets students to work from both the left and right sides and has an arm that can be extended and manipulated. "I decided to put a little thought into it so that students can get more use out of it. This way there are more challenging patterns as students progress through the layers," said Wilkes.

Wilkes also had fun designing display cases for a project several FFA students are involved in. Tristan Newman, Jonathan Peters and Kitty Lambert have been designing and making horseshoe jewelry as part of an FFA project. The project goes beyond simply creating a marketable product, which has been a challenge in itself. Students will also gain valuable business experience managing money, tracking inventory, marketing, and working with the public.

Newman says the jewelry making has taken some trial-and-error but advice from friends and YouTube videos have been a big help. He said they have the necklaces and bracelets perfected but are still working on finding the right tools and method for making rings. "The rings aren't there yet. We just need to find the right tool for bending them. And everything bends at a different rate," he said.

Dena Wood

Newman shows one of the horshoe nail necklaces he made during projects class. Newman shows one of the horshoe nail necklaces he made during projects class. Newman, Kitty Lambert and Jonathan Peters are making the horseshoe nail jewelry as part of an FFA project that teaches business skills. The jewelry will be displayed for sale in downtown Waitsburg at at the Dixie store.

The students are now readying to sell their wares, which is where the display boxes come in. The Waitsburg Hardware Store and Dixie Store have agreed to host displays, and Newman is hopeful they can get a few other stores to jump on board as well. A percentage of the profits will go to FFA and the rest will be split between the students to purchase more materials. The display boxes are self-contained (money is deposited directly into the box) and configured specifically for the products.

Wilkes said he has really enjoyed working with students on the projects. "You never know when an idea is really going to inspire a particular kid. As an educator, you sometimes throw something out there that is perhaps creative and maybe a little unusual. And now and then it can spark a fire of interest with a particular student. They take it and run. They make it theirs. It's this enrichment of a student's educational experience that really motivates me. I do appreciate regular class time, but helping an individual find something that will personally enhance their life and maybe the lives of others . . . it's hard to beat that," said Wilkes.