Home Improvements at Wells Middle School

Can you use a drill?
Do you know what a scroll saw is?
Could you fix a leaky toilet?
How would you measure a straight line across an eight-foot long board?

These are some of the very useful skills eighth grade students are learning in “Home Improvements,” a new elective being offered at Wells Middle School.

Over 200 students applied to take Glen Palmieri’s class. This semester, the class is building a mobile bathroom on “electrical steroids” fully outfitted with a frame, wheels, subfloor, floor, sheet rock walls, a toilet, and 18 electrical outlets–one for each student to install.

On Friday, the class is busy putting wheels on a wooden frame that will be the bathroom floor. They stand around the frame–all wearing clear plastic safety goggles–and take turns using adjustable squares to measure an inch and a half. After the measurements, they place a wheel in each corner of the structure. Every student then either pre-drills or actually drills in screws securing the wheels.

Wheels in place, Palmieri pivots to an eight-foot piece of plywood: the floor. He asks, “How are we going to draw a straight line–from point A to point B–all the way down this board?”

Cody Martine suggested a “right angle?”

“That’s a good idea,” said Palmieri, “but not long enough.”

Cody thought for a minute and asked “Can we use another board the same length?”

“Yes, that’s correct”, said Palmieri.

Cody Martine moves around the classroom with ease;his dad is a contractor and he has helped him with bathroom renovations and kitchen makeovers. Although he has used a drill before, Mr. Palmieri has taught him new skills.

“When I help my dad,” Cody said, “he does all the measuring. Mr. Palmieri takes measurements very seriously. He has taught me how to measure for a project.”

Cody then uses the measuring tape, marks the plywood and places the board down the middle of the plywood and uses a black marker to draw a straight line.

“Mr. Palmieri is the best. I took him last year in tech ed. I wanted to take this class because I like him and I wanted to learn how to fix stuff,” said Christopher.

“I also took Mr. Palmieri’s tech education class last year,” said Katelyn. “What we learn in this class is great because we can use it at home. My mother told me she wants me to build a fence around our house.”

Gabby has also had some past experience:”I once helped my dad build bunk beds for my little sisters.” She said Mr. Palmieri has taught her how to take “perfect measurements and mark and read points.”

After Cody draws a straight line down the center of the plywood board, the class–all still wearing protective goggles–stands around Mr. Palmieri as he explains the circular saw. He takes care to explain the blade and the lock and how to minimize how much blade is exposed.

“You’ve got to be aware of the safety guard. Set it right or it will kick back.” As Mr. Palmieri cuts the board, the noise of the blade touching wood, gets everyone’s attention. The smell of freshly cut, slightly burned wood, fills the classroom.

The students have taken Home Improvements for a variety of reasons: to learn how to fix things around the house, save money, gain independence, pursue a career in carpentry, contracting, or even engineering–Cody wants to be a civil engineer–but the immediate reason they have selected the course is Palmieri.

By the end of the period, the class has drilled in four wheels to make the bathroom mobile, measured and cut plywood for the subfloor, and cleaned up after themselves–not a shred of sawdust is left on the classroom floor when the bell rings.