Facilities and Demographics Disclaimer

OK, maybe the title is a bit much, but I just wanted to let anyone reading this blog (which, so far has a readership of zero as far as I can tell) a little about the school I teach at, and why the things I'm spouting off about will work in just about any school.

First, about facilities. I've been to visit other schools with brand new lab facilities, or remodeled 2,000 square foot auto shops. While those types of facilities made me jealous, I had to think as to the reason I was there. I was the one telling those teachers how things should be done. They had the great facilities, but I was the one that was making engineering work in my school.

My school was built in 1926. I have a classroom and a half, and only because someone in the past knocked down the wall between my room and the office next door. I have four tables and 28 chairs, and some lab benches with about 15 computers on them. No Internet. But it works, and if it works here, it'll work almost anywhere.

A quick note about demographics: Jacksonville is a large, urban school district, the 13th largest in the country (or thereabouts.) Our students are 63% black, and the rest a mix of white, Asian, and Hispanic. 43% of our students get free lunch. And Florida, in the land of paradise, is 50th in public school spending out of our 50 states. And we make it work.

So again, I'm just trying to quash any excuses about why this or that won't work. We need to get engineering concepts integrated into our schools from the bottom up. Whatever it takes.

(shoot, I'll probably use this as the intro to the book!)

TTFN