OTC: Program blends classroom, construction skills

Steve Biermann is director of dual credit and tech prep programs for Ozarks Technical Community College.

Seventh- and eighth-grade students have combined math, science and communication arts skills to build a house at Ozarks Technical Community College

OTC has long been committed to the mission of providing high quality technical education to its students. Inherent to the accomplishment of this mission is the necessity to create a strong practical foundation for a future generation of college students. It must be a foundation that helps students hone their academic skills and encourages intellectual curiosity, critical thinking and citizenship. OTC is currently involved in an innovative project which does just that.

OTC, in conjunction with the Ozarks Tech Prep Consortium of area high schools throughout the state, recently presented the first of four opportunities for area seventh- and eighth-grade students from 20 schools to apply their formal education in a practical, hands-on setting through their participation in the "If I Had A Hammer" project.

During 14 days in September, approximately 300 area students had the opportunity to assemble a small, prefabricated house with three windows, siding, a porch, a door and a roof. Students worked in groups of 15 to 25 to complete the project, while maintaining involvement in several short question-and-answer sessions highlighting the relevance of mathematics, science, communication, arts and social studies to the project and to their school subjects.

The project is designed to supplement traditional learning methods through a physical experience and provide an educational atmosphere that stresses the importance of academic disciplines. Outfitted with tool belts, safety goggles, drills and hammers, students built a house. Each team of students raised color-coded, pre-built walls, installed roof trusses, and attached siding. As the project took shape, so did the vision of the founder.

Perry Wilson, the originator of the "If I Had A Hammer" project, struggled through grade school and was held back in fifth grade. His father helped him to take the setback in stride, and together they built a tree house, which helped to build Perry's self-esteem. Wilson worked his way through high school and junior college on his basketball abilities, only to be told by a college professor that he did not have the mental capacity for anything other than manual labor. Inspired by his father's lesson, Wilson found himself in the carpentry trade a short time later.

But the importance of the tree house never left the carpenter's mind, and a couple of years later, his career in construction took on a new dimension when the "If I Had A Hammer" project was developed. Since the early 1990s the program has gathered steam and has currently reached more than 200,000 children who have participated at colleges and science centers in more than 60 cities.

The Missouri Tech Prep initiative, aimed at helping students to see the benefits of technical education, recognized the value of the project and the impact it can have on students. The group organized an effort to take the project across the state to more than a dozen community colleges and an estimated 20,000 students statewide. The project will visit each campus two times a year over a two-year period.

The primary goal of the project is to provide an alternative learning style to supplement traditional education. Students are shown the relevance of learning and experience firsthand how core curriculum subjects such as math, science and communication arts are used in an industrial-type setting.

Hopefully, many will be inspired to continue their education beyond high school and prepare themselves to a higher degree than they had originally intended. Many lessons in life are presented throughout the session, expanding horizons in the minds of these students.

The "If I Had A Hammer" project will return to the OTC campus and be available to seventh- and eighth-grade students this spring, and again two times during the next school year. Students or school districts interested in participation should contact Ozarks Technical Community College.