Dear Pam,
Thank you for providing catalogs and kits for my pen-making teacher in-service sessions. I did a couple of presentations recently at the Texas Summer Professional Development Conference for Technology Educators in Houston. The title was: “How to make a pen on a lathe; Hands-on learning.” This was a joint in-service of the Texas Education Agency and the University of Houston.
With the help of several veteran teachers we set up the woodturning ‘module’. Attendees were asked to sign in as ‘Experienced’ or ‘New’ to making pens. After a 10 minute introduction I simply asked the newbies to find an oldie and have them guide them through the process. The remainder of time was used for hands-on learning. My list showed a total of 75 educators attended my sessions and all 100 of the handouts were picked up. I brought enough pre-drilled, pre-glued, pre-trimmed blanks to make 50 pens or 100 key rings. We used some of your super blanks to get a lot of production packed into a small time slot—sounds just like school. Not a single piece went unused. The machines included a couple of Delta Midi lathes I purchased in March from Penn State Industries with an Educational Opportunity Grant from the American Association of Woodturners. I also borrowed some Jet and Carba-Tecs from Andrews H.S. teacher Gordon Russell. Thanks again for all your help.
Sincerely,
Kent Crowell
Goddard Jr High School
Midland TX 79705