Last fall I had the pleasure of offering several presentations to teachers and students at the Project Lead the Way conference in Washington D.C.
At the end of one of these presentations a colleague of mine introduced me to a teacher from Pike Central High School in Petersburg, Indiana. His name was Ray Niehaus and he assured me that the work his students were doing with awe and inspire me. He invited me to come visit their school and see the program he was so obviously proud of. I make frequent trips to the area so I agreed to take him up on the offer.
Well now that I’ve been to the school and I’ve seen the work the students are doing I am compelled to share. I was offered an opportunity to spend an entire day with a group of students in their lab to show them what was possible in Inventor as well as a few other applications that I though would fit their needs. Even though I had a full day with them I could’ve used more time. These students weren’t asking how to use the software for the sake of learning features. They were asking how to use the technology to solve design problems, complex design problems. Evidently Mr. Niehaus recognized my surprise and showed my the workshop these students use. That’s where the shock came in. Almost two thirds of the class were Freshmen!
These students are involved in helping the top tier Universities, local industry, and inventor’s with their ideas. These students are learning how to create, how to build, and the value of engineering. Most of all they’re experiencing the pride, pleasure, and the sense of possibility that accomplishment brings. The problems they’re solving vary from the entertaining and interesting to things that can save lives; many lives. They are learning that manufacturing, the materials you have to work with, and the tools you have to work with have a tremendous impact on how
you can even approach a design process.
The success that they’ve had in helping the people of the community is reflected in the tools and support that they have. They have what is simply the most impressive shop facility that I’ve seen in any school including major Universities. The students at Pike Central High are showing what can be done in an environment where things are kept in perspective. Mr. Niehaus may not be an expert at any single aspect of all of the tools, design methodologies, or technologies that the students use but like all great leaders he has a vision and wholly believes that the students and their future is too valuable to place limits on. He is also their greatest fan and promoter. He coaches, encourages, challenges and expects the students to do the best they can and they respond. They see a clear path to use their imagination to do good things and they do good things that many can’t imagine. And the respect between them all is immediately evident.
To build a great program doesn’t take a lot of money up front. When a school is showing the public that supports it that they’re doing great work and building partnerships, they will get the support they need in time. Start out with focusing on challenging the students to exceed their expectations and continue to do so and amazing things will happen. Doing more with what you have is a better teacher than having everything except creativity or ambition.
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