Ep 24 | Equipping Kids to Thrive

SPEAKER_00 0:00

One other thing that kind of just sets us apart as well is the fact that we have the opportunity to do a CAPE certification. It's an industry certification. So this thing that they do for about nine weeks is they study, they prep, they listen to the teacher talk to them about vocabulary, jargon that is vital and important to the bird's eye view of all eight disciplines of manufacturing and engineering.

SPEAKER_02 0:29

Welcome to the Voices United in Education podcast. Each week we showcase the teachers, administrators, and community members who go the extra mile to contribute to the success of every student in Escambia County. You'll meet the real people behind the titles and learn about the amazing resources to support every student's success. Forget FOMO. How about FOMU? Fear of messing up. Okay, I may have just made that up, but we've all had that crippling feeling. It's a feeling a lot of kids can relate to as well. Turns out there's a class for that, but it's probably not what you expected. My next guests are the fabrication and engineering teacher and assistant principal at Ernest Ward Middle School. And today they're going to share how the 27 students enrolled in this special academy are learning to think critically, communicate professionally, and learn from their mistakes. Selling soft skills and life skills, measuring twice, cutting once, Ray Sellers and Tyvana Bullinger. Thanks for being here. Thank you for having us.

SPEAKER_00 1:38

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 1:39

So, Ray, I'd love to kick things off with you. And can you help explain why this is different than like a regular shop class?

SPEAKER_00 1:48

Sure. We are a shop class that's basically on steroids. And what makes us a little bit different is we are like a traditional shop class, in meaning that we, you know, we sling hammers, we drive nails, we build stuff, we make noise, we make racket. But what kind of just sets us apart from everyone else is we have that ability to do uh 3D printing, we do some 3D modeling, uh, just give kids the idea of a spatial analysis of geometry, uh, teach kids about uh additive manufacturing versus subtractive manufacturing. Moreover, with that, we have the opportunity to do Vex robots. And with learning with robots, what happens is we can teach kids how a manufacturing automated process works, such as building cars or whatever that case may be. But moreover, with that, just adding to it, uh, you know, when I was a kid, shop class was basically for the boys. And that's where we just got nasty and messy and just made racket and tore things up. But what must what sets us apart is the fact that we have a lot of girls, a tremendous amount of females in the class. It makes it wonderful to have that dynamic to see how these kids work together and uh just make a good product. Um, one other thing that kind of just sets us apart as well is the fact that we have the opportunity to do a CAPE certification. It's an industry certification. So this thing that they do for about nine weeks is they study, they prep, they listen to the teacher talk to them about vocabulary, jargon that is vital and important to the bird's eye view of all eight disciplines of manufacturing and engineering. And they have the ability to take that test. And as a matter of fact, we're gonna take a test on Friday on this certification, and uh they'll have that opportunity to pass, which I know they will. I have all the confidence in the world for my kids, and they'll do a great job. And with that being said, um, you know, it'll it'll be a wonderful thing to have on their resume. The saying, hey man, I'm teachable, I'm learnable, I can learn new things, I can buy into a system and be a valuable asset to a community, to an organization, to an administration. And so that's what kind of sets us a little bit different than other shop classes.

SPEAKER_02 3:56

Oh my gosh. I mean, as soon as you said 3D printing, I was like, what the what? Because that's not a normal shop class. And then the robot thing is so cool because that is an industry with emerging positions that the kids could go into. Robotics is uh so cool. So I think I'm starting to understand why this has got the word engineering in it, because uh my husband works in engineering and I have come to appreciate it. I know too much about civil engineering, but I've learned that engineering is everywhere. It's what helps us have the technology to record this episode. It allowed the roads to be properly laid out for y'all to drive here. It's it's I think one of those um areas of study that I guess is the underdog of all other areas. And certainly the whole being afraid to mess up is also a benefit of engineering, I guess, that I never thought of. And so I'd love to ask you, Tyana, you've spent your whole career in education. Uh, you know, and obviously adults can really uh relate to that freeze, right? Of like, oh, I don't want to make the wrong decision. You know, should I wear get the black shoes or the blue shoes? I mean, for some of us it's in more areas than others. And it it can involve um being afraid to take risks as well, not just a decision, but you know, really that change, elements of change. And if I make this change, will it be the right change? Or absolutely if I break up with this person, is it the right change? So how that doesn't happen in middle school. Oh, right. Right, not at all, not at all. Right. So how does it happen in middle school is my question. What does that freeze and that fear of making a mistake, the FOMU, as we will now call it? Right, how does it show up in kids?

SPEAKER_01 5:51

Uh it manifests itself in many different ways, right? Um kids are anxious, they're anxious over testing, and we live in a in a high-stakes testing accountable world in education. And um, I just want to add one um one thing to we were talking about 27 kids in Mr. Sellers Academy, right? Although there's 27 kids enrolled in his academy, he has about 185 students that I teach. Really? That get to participate in these classes. Okay. Um, so any student at Ernest Ward can um elect to take Mr. Sellers class.

SPEAKER_02 6:28

So I will forget this question if I don't ask it now. What's the difference between your student and your academy members?

SPEAKER_00 6:34

So basically, our academy is a is set up for a sixth through eighth grade uh audience. So we do in sixth grade, basically they're just learning the the values of uh of soft skills, people skills, working together, working with tools, using them safely, going through an engineering process to know how to solve a problem and not be afraid to make a mistake when they're working with that problem. And then by extension, when we hit seventh grade, we kind of shift gears and we talk about aerospace, again, making the making the projects more open-ended with few criteria, very few constraints, but just reaching reaching in that ultimate goal of satisfaction, reaching that criteria, the set forth. And so with an eighth grade, that's when you're actually specialized in an academy and you're fully vested, you've learned all the all the basics, all the foundations, all the fundamentals, and then you have that opportunity to take that's uh that certification, like that I'd mentioned, uh, through engineering, and then you can feed it into another uh academy over at Northview High School's Automation Academy. And so that's what kind of how you segregate it or how you separate it for sixth and seventh grade versus eighth grade. However, that doesn't say that if you don't take my academ or my classes in sixth and seventh grade, you can still be in that academy in eighth grade, and you're a little behind the eight ball, but you can still catch up and gain that valuable knowledge, that insight, that information that you need to be successful.

SPEAKER_02 8:00

Okay, that makes sense. So the students that you mentioned is the sixth through eighth academy is the eighth.

SPEAKER_00 8:07

Correct.

SPEAKER_02 8:08

And that's where the 27 students and what, like 26 of them are girls.

SPEAKER_00 8:13

In in one class, I have eighth grade, it's it's twenty actually it's twenty-eight students, and I have twenty-one females, twenty-one girls.

SPEAKER_01 8:20

Yes. That is so cool. It's very cool. So going back to how freeze. FUMU, FOMU FOMO, FOMO.

SPEAKER_02 8:28

Yeah, FOMU. I think we put it you, fear of messing up. Okay, yeah. FOMU. Um It's okay. We just made up this term, so it's okay. We can get it wrong.

SPEAKER_01 8:36

We will perfect it then.

SPEAKER_02 8:37

We will.

SPEAKER_01 8:38

Yeah. Um it manifests itself in many different ways, right? Communication lacks when kids do not feel comfortable, right? Um, kids are often afraid to ask questions because they don't want to look silly in the classroom. One of the things that Mr. Sellers does very, very well is he makes sure all of his students are comfortable in his classroom. Um, his kids are allowed to make mistakes, but if they make a mistake, they have to figure out what went wrong, what happened, and then how do we fix that? Um, and I think I told you when I talked to you before my very first year at Ernest Ward, this is my fourth year, Miss Perry, our principal, was showing me around the school, and we walked into the um fabrication and engineering classroom, and there's this Adirondack chair sitting there. And it it's not um engineered perfectly, but it's not a bad chair. And I was like, oh, what are we doing with these chairs? Do we make them? Do we sell them? And you can talk about those things that you guys manufacture and sell in just a minute. They do have a um a manufacturing shop as well where they sell their items that they make. Um, and Miss Perry said, Oh yeah, Mr. Sellers, come talk about this chair. And his kids built this Adirondack chair, but it was wobbly and off balance, and it just was not like a sittable, you know, enjoyable, relaxing Adirondack chair. And um, so they had to reconfigure everything on that Adirondack chair and remanufacture that baby so that it was a relaxing, sittable, appropriate Adirondack chair. And um, we talked about, you know, did that affect their grades since the chair wasn't perfect. He was like, no, we just redid it. They they messed it up, they had to figure out what happened with it. Um, but that chair still sits there. And it's a reminder to me that in that room, kids are free to make mistakes and learn from their mistakes.

SPEAKER_02 10:27

Wow. So it's not like a mistake is not a permanent state of being, it's just part of the process. I love that. Yes, the manufacturer, the design process. 10-step design process.

SPEAKER_00 10:39

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 10:40

I feel like that is the most perfect segue for you to talk about the 10-step design process. You're welcome so much.

SPEAKER_00 10:46

Thank you so much. So you piggyback and back with Miss Belanger, you know, students, the hardest thing for students to do is ask questions, you know, because it is silly. And as a matter of fact, that is the first question. Is ask what your question is. What are we trying to do? Are we trying to make an Adirondike chair? Are we trying to figure a widget that we can make to make a door prop open that looks aesthetically pleasing or looks pretty? So once you identify the problem, then you can ask the questions. Well, what kind of material can I use? Ms. Perry, how much money can I use to sit there and make this widget to open this door or whatever that case may be? Third step is really the challenge. You don't want to sound like an idiot when you're getting in a group together, right? You want to sound like you're knowledgeable, you want to sound like you understand what you're talking about. What is a widget? I don't know what a widget is. So you have to do that research. You have to gain that, gain that idea, that background, the fundamentals, the basics. Once you understand that, you can get in your groups. And of course, you know, in school, we are all about getting in groups. So we have to do this thing where we brainstorm. You have an idea, you have an idea, I have an idea. We all have ideas. That's great. We're thinking, we're thinking critically, we're thinking outside the box. After we all have ideas in that process, you have to sit there and determine. You have to compromise, you have to have that soft skill to sit there and say, who's got the best idea? Is it yours? Is it yours? Is it mine? Who's it could be someone else's, who knows? And then once you have that best idea, that best option, then the hard thing is to design it. What's it gonna look like? What are we gonna make it out of? You know, how big is it gonna be? How big is the footprint? What do we want the aesthetics to look like? What do we want the ergonomics to look like? Do we want to be recycled or whatever? After we do that, we can build it. And you know, we can build it and we're probably gonna mess up. We're gonna test it. We'll know if it works. And if it messes up, great. That's where that's where the ninth step comes in. Oh my gosh, we have to redesign it. It happens every day. We have products that we're making better every day from phones, cars, uh, anything that you can think of, we're always making it better. People mess up, people think of different ideas. There's no such thing as a perfect design. Never and ever. And after that, once we've figured out a way to make the niche work and it's practical and it meets the goals set forth by the customer, then we can sell it, manufacture it, make money.

SPEAKER_02 12:57

This is so cool. I I am really starting to see how all of this together is really equipping kids to be uh unfrozen when it comes to the fear of making mistakes because you have social proof. Yes. So they walk into that room, they see the goofy at a rondok chair, and they're like, oh, uh no one from you know the grade above me died. Like no one was penalized or humiliated for this mistake. And yet the mistake is still here. We're not trying to hide the mistake. So that's a huge powerful thing because you know, just part of like childhood development is caring more about what your peers think than your parents think, and that's important. So, I mean, who would have thought this would have come from like what traditionally my generation would have called shop class? Right. And then you've got the um the learning aspect, you know, of okay, yes, this was a mistake. How can we correct and try again? So you've got that resilience piece. And then, you know, you're talking about working together. And so there's that social aspect of it because mistakes aren't always about what you physically do or make or where you physically go, but also mistakes in social situations, like, oh, I said something stupid, I asked a stupid question. And so I mean, this is so neat. You're creating a safe space for them to explore all of these corners of what essentially boils down to real life.

SPEAKER_01 14:28

Yeah, it's definitely a real world application. You know, we should try to stress all of that real world application, real world skills in the school setting. And that's what Mr. Sellers Academy and his class in general, even for the students who aren't in the academy. Um, that's exactly what it happens in his classroom. Kids collaborate and they work well together. Students who struggle to work in groups in other classes want to work with a group in Mr. Sellers class because they know that the ultimate outcome will be a project, a hands-on project that they get to create, something they get to take, and they have ownership of that accountability.

SPEAKER_02 15:05

A robot. Hello. That's pretty cool. So are these students electing to take this class or do they need to qualify?

SPEAKER_00 15:12

They elect to take this class. Uh if they're coming in from sixth grade, they have the opportunity to use uh or go through the platform of school choice that's going on right now as we speak, and it ends around Christmas time, if I'm not mistaken.

SPEAKER_01 15:26

Yep, for Christmas, right?

SPEAKER_00 15:28

So they have that option in fifth grade coming to me. And then each year, as I register for new classes, they can either go through that school choice again and be guaranteed a lock in the class, or they if they elect not to do so, then they can on their uh on their paper that they fill out for their classes, they can pick me as a first option, second option, or third option, or whatever that case might be. So they do have the ability to choose the class. It's just a matter of whether or not there's room because I'm being honest and not being arrogant or conceited, the classes fill up really quickly.

SPEAKER_02 15:59

Okay, so you're talking about class choice. At first I thought you were talking about school enrollment. Those are different things, correct?

SPEAKER_01 16:06

Yes. If you're enrolled in Ernest Ward, um, you can select electives that you'd like to have. The students who apply to the academy get first choice of Mr. Sellers class if they have been accepted into that academy. Um so we place those academy students, um, the students who have been accepted into his academy, and then we have more kids who request Mr. Sellers class than Mr. Sellers classes can hold.

SPEAKER_02 16:30

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 16:30

Um he has two sixth grade classes, two seventh grade classes, and two eighth grade classes each year.

SPEAKER_02 16:35

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 16:36

Um students, the students not in the academy can elect to take his class.

SPEAKER_02 16:40

So earlier y'all talked about the certifications that they can get. So um what kind of jobs do you feel like that will set students up to qualify for? Because these are real certifications. I think that's an important piece of the puzzle. These are not a clean hands and face award.

SPEAKER_01 17:01

No, they're true certifications. Do you want to talk about what students must know in order to pass the certification exams?

SPEAKER_00 17:08

Sure. Uh with our certification exams, this technically is actually a high school certification. So really they do it ninth through twelfth grade. However, uh the state of Florida has given middle schools the ability to give this test to eighth graders, and it is legitimate. It is recognized by the CAPE funds through the state. And with that being said, uh what it does is it gives them the inside track for being an engineer of any sort, any discipline of engineering, whether it be civil, building roads, bridges, dams, or uh working with mechanical systems such as cars, pulleys, torsions, whatever. So I mean you just learn all that, those facets. If they if they don't want to go to the in if they don't do an engineering field, they can actually go into a manufacturing field because they you still you still need to know about forces, the forces that affect components of vehicles or whatever that case may be, whatever the object is. They need to know how to do robotics. We talk about robotics. If somebody wants to be a computer programmer, we we touch on that in middle school, but they have that ability to get that background, that knowledge, to pick that interest, and to help them make choices that would make them happier in life, if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_02 18:18

So they get the certification in eighth grade, and what does that help them achieve in high school? And is the certification still good when they graduate high school?

SPEAKER_00 18:29

That is a great question. As far as I know, the certification is good for perpetuity. Now, I mentioned that we actually feed into uh Northview High School. So once you my my certification is a pre-engineering certification. So when they get into high school at Northview or wherever they go, that the instructor teaches to that curriculum, they can get a robotics certification as well, which is huge. It's it's extraordinarily hard to get. Uh it's but there's a fruit out there for these kids to get which gives them an added advantage. You know, you'd mentioned earlier about robotics and the fact that you need people to know how to program these machines, how to make sure that that machine can actuate from one position to another to sit there and put the nuts on the studs to put your car tire on when it's being manufactured. People need to know how to do that. And this this gives them those students the abilities to be successful.

SPEAKER_02 19:22

And there's a growing uh need for people with knowledge for autonomous robots too, you know, like Ghost Robotics. They do a lot of, they're a private company, but they contract with a lot of um military entities. And our very own Panama City, Florida airbase is the first airbase in the whole United States to have deployment of autonomous robotic security dogs. Check that action out, right? So, how cool is it that your students are being set up to potentially interact with, work with if they do choose the military route, or maybe they choose the civilian route and they could be a developer at a place like Ghost Robotics. That is really exciting stuff. Um, I've heard that you're you offer other future workplace prep in the program. Is that true?

SPEAKER_01 20:12

Absolutely. Um, Mr. Sellers does a fantastic job preparing his students um for the workforce, right? Um, of course, we're all about career and technical education. And um, what are kids going to do after school? Because it's great that we're pushing academics. We want every student to be successful in their core, you know, math, science, social studies, and language arts. Um, but that career and technical education is important as well. And um, we talked about the collaboration that kids, you know, um participate in in Mr. Sellers' class. He also teaches those soft skills. So toward the end of the year, sometime March-ish, I believe, um Mr. Sellers will have his students dress up for success. So they will come dressed, um, they have interviews, mock interviews with us. And um, of course, they practice for this, right? And often in those interviews, kids talk to me about how jobs, Mr. Sellers tells them, jobs that they will one day have have not even yet be have not been created, right? But when we're talking about robotics and engineering, um, I know how much it has changed just in my lifetime, you know, and these young people. Um, so the kids sit through mock interviews and um they have to maintain eye contact. They shake your hand when they come in. So he's teaching them all of those soft skills, the employability skills. Um, they're not late for their interviews. I was late. I didn't get to participate last year, but the year before I was late and the student called me out for being late to their interview. And I was like, yes, I was late, but don't call out your future employer, please. Like, but like they expect you to be punctual because they've been taught to be punctual. And so he teaches the kids um general employability skills, which I think is more basic. Beneficial than its weight in gold. You know, it's worth more than its weight in gold.

SPEAKER_02 22:05

Well, it's kind of back to that idea of um looking at people in our lives, people in the world as whole people, not compartmentalized people, right? Like your school life, your home life, your past, your present, and your future, all these things are connected. And yeah, that is pretty hippy-dippy, but it's also the truth.

SPEAKER_01 22:23

And I think a holistic view.

SPEAKER_02 22:24

Yeah, holistic view. And I'm so I'm grateful that there's programs and people involved that care beyond the test result. Right. You know what I mean? Because I think I have heard that complaint from parents, um, not of your school, of course, but that oh, the teachers they just teach to the test and they don't care anything else except for teaching to the test so that the student gets a good grade, so that the teacher will have good marks on whatever their evaluation is, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. What's so neat about so many of the people I've had on the show, but definitely your program is that's not your goal. Like if I'm hearing you correctly, your goal is to create good citizens that are successful, not only in their academics, but also as human beings and in their lives and their careers. Absolutely. I love that. Well, as we wrap up, uh, how would a parent who wants to enroll their kid at Ernest Ward, maybe they're like, oh dang, that's so cool. I I want to get my kid into that school, but they don't live in the area. How do they do that?

SPEAKER_01 23:32

It is so cool and it is a good opportunity. Um, and I know we're talking about Mr. Sellers, you know, Fabrication and Engineering Academy. That was the middle school career academy of the um 2021-22 school year, by the way. Humble brag. Yes. Um, you can apply to school choice. Parents can apply to school choice, apply for any one of our academies. Mr. Sellers Academy is a phenomenal academy. We do have other academies that you can check out on our website. Apply to the school choice office. That information can be located on the school district website. Um, but yeah, apply to school choice. Come come see what we're all about. I love that.

SPEAKER_02 24:10

Ray, any closing thoughts as we sign off?

SPEAKER_00 24:13

I just want to thank you so much for the opportunity that you've afforded us to come in and showcase some of the things about our classes, our academies, our school, our district. And I just want to appreciate, uh just appreciate that and thank you so much.

SPEAKER_01 24:25

Absolutely. Yeah, I think being in the in the far north end, um, we're so far, you know, out there. Um, so this is a fantastic opportunity for us to come out and showcase a little bit of the great stuff we have going on.

SPEAKER_02 24:37

Well, I think Escambia County is a special place in general because we are so far reaching and being from Escambia County doesn't mean one thing, you know. It could mean that you're a beach bum or you're a city kid. It could mean that you live in a high-rise condo, although high is, you know, we don't get too high in the buildings around here because of Hurricanes. But it could mean you're a country kid too. And I think it's nice to feature all of those corners of our county because um, you know, it's all part of the big picture. Absolutely, yes, ma'am. Thank you for having us. Absolutely. Thanks for listening. Be sure to subscribe and share. Voices United in Education is a production of Escambia County Public Schools.