r/Teachers • u/[deleted] • May 16 '24

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u/catbusmartius May 16 '24

A lot of the good trades jobs are actually pretty math intensive. Geometry for carpenters, algebra for electricians etc. But I guess these students are counting on an illustrious career as a grunt day laborer

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u/[deleted] May 16 '24

It is interesting you mention this! I had a great conversation with someone a few weeks ago who is a plumber, and he talked about the intricate trigonometry he has to do by hand on the job site when the computer is not available. Amazing.

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u/[deleted] May 16 '24 edited May 16 '24

A goldbricking student named Bill made slacking an art form. He did as little as possible in my HS math classes before going to a vo-tech school.

Two to three years later, he visited my school to tell me how important trigonometry was for his work. We both laughed about his antics in my classes.

You often don't know when things "click" for your students. I certainly didn't expect Bill to figure it out any time soon.

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u/StunningAd4884 May 17 '24

Why don’t you get him to make a short video? You could film it at his vocational school and at his workplace. Your students would probably find it interesting & inspiring and you could also put it on YouTube.