The Big Sandy High School Junior class has completed construction on a shed that is now for sale, with the proceeds going to support FFA. The project originally began as a joint venture with Clay Dixon, who fronted the money for construction costs. At the time, Mr. Dixon was planning on renting out storage sheds to the community as a business venture. After changing his mind about the project, the decision was made to sell the building. Actual construction of the building was started by the shop class last year. However, the project wasn't completed due to the lockdowns. This year, the junior class set out to complete the work on the shed.
Mr. Taylor explained the rational behind the project: "I think my calling as an Ag teacher is to expose kids to a lot of different things, many different career options and possibilities. Give them as much as experience at life as I possibly can. A lot of people think Ag is cows, sows & plows. And it's frustrating as a teacher, because you'll get kids that get turned off by that Ag mentality of 'I don't want to be farmer, so there's nothing for me to learn in Ag class.' And really, I'm just trying to prepare kids for life. There's different sections of agriculture that we try to cover... I try to cover some mechanical trades - whether it's wood construction and building with wood, carpentry, framing, electrical wiring, plumbing, roofing, all that stuff. We try to cover the building industry in Ag, too. We start them out on little wood projects when they're freshmen and sophomores and 8th graders. And hopefully, their skills are improving and then we take on a little bigger projects - and that's the shed. We learn framing. We lay out the floor layout, platform type framing. They lay out the rafters; they shingle it; they roof it. I teach a separate unit with it, where we also do electrical wiring."
Mr. Taylor explained the kids' excitement over the project: "The kids were super excited to take raw materials and build something of lasting value. It turned out really nice, and they were proud of it. With all of this, to take something with raw materials and develop it into something that they can be proud of and it looks good when they walk out the door and build some confidence. 'Hey, I made that', I think is important."
This shed is the second building project completed by a junior shop class during Mr. Taylor's time as the AG Ed instructor. The first was actually a cabin with drywall, a porch, and electrical wiring. The intent was for the fairgrounds to acquire several of the cabins over the following years and rent them out. By the time the project was completed, the county had changed their plans regarding the cabins. Instead, the county raffled off the cabin.
The new shed was initially planned to be 8 foot by 10 foot, which matched the dimensions of the cabin the class built for the county, but Mr Dixon and Mr. Taylor agreed that the building was a little narrow. It was redesigned to a 10 foot by 12 foot. In addition, the smaller class sizes the first year prompted the decision to combine the sophomore and junior classes for completing the project. The initial asking price of the building is $2800, which is competitively priced compared to similar sheds. The proceeds above the cost of materials will be going to the FFA . Mr. Taylor describes the challenge of FFA fundraising: "...You not only have a full-time job teaching, but you also have a pretty big part-time job fundraising. And we used to cut and sell 15-20 cords of firewood and deliver it in the fall. And we were doing things constantly, and we still do all the concessions stands that we work and we do Christmas tree sales, and other projects like that throughout the year to try and raise some money. If we can, we do some things that are in class, where they could learn a skill, and then be able to provide a product, be able to market that product at a competitive price, and then sell it."
If you are interested in purchasing the shed in support of our school's FFA program, please contact Clay Dixon.
