Hard hat math lesson for St. John students

St. John/Endicott students were on-site Friday in Steptoe to do math at a construction site.

“I get a lot of questions of ‘when am I going to use this in real life’,” said Heidi White, math teacher.

To give students the answer, White teamed up with Renstrom Homes―which is co-owned by her father, Ken Renstrom―for some on-the-job figuring.

Two groups of high schoolers came to the home construction site that day. Freshmen and sophomores visited in the morning, and juniors and seniors in the afternoon. They were divided into five groups and rotated through five stations to find the answers to the math challenges.

“We’re skimming it,” Renstrom told the students of the math application in his job.

Students had to calculate the scale of the house from inches to feet based off the blueprints; calculate the volume of the concrete to be poured for the foundation; determine the number of 2x4s based off the crew’s rules such as three 2x4s per corner, one every 16 inches and two per opening; calculate the pitch of the roof and how many shingles and plywood sheets would be needed for the roof.

Students also had to come up with a bid based on those numbers and prices given for the materials.

The visit also covered some employment issues too. White noted that many of the kids, especially the older classes, are ready for the work force and applying to college. Renstrom’s crew talked about what their original plans for work had been and how things had changed to land them in the construction business. They talked about finding what they enjoyed doing.

Students were also told they could be “fired” for not being on task, as if they were at an actual job. Teachers and construction crew had “you’re fired” cards for students who were not being attentive to their duties.

Part of staying on task was not using or looking at cell phones. White handed out calculators to assure students did not have an excuse to use their phones.

The different groups rotated to the five stations to gather the information they would need to calculate the amounts and costs.

Students unable to complete the challenges at the job-site could use class time back at the school.

By Jana Mathia

Gazette Reporter