What Does A Typical Homework Assignment Or Lesson Plan Look Like?
In addition to building their project, students are also re-
quired to create a project portfolio, which documents their work from start to finish. The first section is “Project Planning,” where students explain the project they chose to build, why they chose it, history of the project, and how they plan to finish it. The sec- ond section is “Construction,” where students must provide pic- tures and captions describing every major step of building their project. The third section is “Reflection,” where students must provide a written reflection on their finished project, explaining what they learned, and what they would change about their proj- ect (if anything) if they did it again.
In The Age Of Envi-
ronmental Issues, Do You Discuss
Alternate Tone Woods Or Wood Sustain- ability?
I do stress using lumber in the most ef- ficient manner to ensure as little waste as pos- sible. However, again due to time constraints, there is not any time to address alternate tone woods or wood sustain- ability in-depth with
my students. This is also something I would like to discuss in more detail when I have my classes for a full year.
Any Success Stories You Would Like To Share? Last year, I had a student who flat out told me that he hates
coming to school. His mother contacted me once to tell me that there were several days where he wanted to stay home from school, not because he was sick, but because he didn’t feel like go- ing. Each time, he would tell his mother, “I have to go to school, I can’t miss a day building my guitar in wood shop!”
In general, the pride and confidence this project gives to stu- dents and their parents is incredible.
Being Awarded Mercer County Teacher Of The Year And Appearing On Classroom Closeup-Nj, Who Are Some Of Your Mentors And Educators Who Inspired You?
Being awarded “Mercer County Teacher of the Year” and ap- pearing on Classroom Closeup-NJ was a tremendous honor for
OCTOBER 2014 47 & TEMPO
me. I owe those honors to two mentors/educators who have in- spired me. My father, Bill Friedman, inspired my brother Lee and I from a young age to be industrial arts/technology teachers, taught us all of our woodworking skills, and taught us how to be truly effective teachers. My other mentor is Duane Calkins, who without his willingness to share his 'Woodshop Rocks' program and luthier knowledge, I would not be where I am today.
Final Thoughts? Research continues to show that learning music assists learn-
ing in other subjects and develops skills that children inevita- bly use in other areas. The fusing of these two disciplines has created very positive benefits for my students. The benefits of the “Woodshop Rocks” program are too many to name. It has brought out an energy and enthusiasm from students beyond what I ever would have imagined. This enthusiasm translates from hands-on Woodworking skills directly to many newfound interests in music education.
Coda Here are two schools for “big kids” interested in learning
how to build guitars (the author personally knows and has seen the work of two luthiers who have attended these places, and they are highly recommended):
Kenny Hill, Hill Guitar Company 5905 Hwy. 9, Felton, CA 95018 800-262-8858; fax 831-335-3602
classes@hillguitar.com 10-day intensives, 2 or 3x/year, hands-on classical guitar building; all levels
Roberto Venn School of Luthiery 4011 S. 16th St., Phoenix, AZ 85040 602-243-1179; fax 602-304-1175
mail@roberto-venn.com 5 months, guitar making and repair
Thomas Amoriello is in his tenth year teaching General Music/
Guitar Class at Reading Fleming Intermediate School in Fleming- ton, NJ. He also teaches classical guitar at Hunterdon Academy of the Arts. He is a graduate of Rowan University and Shenandoah Conservatory and has presented guitar workshops for various music organizations including the NAfME, NJMEA, Guitar Foundation of America and Philadelphia Classical Guitar Society. You can learn more about Tom by visiting
www.tomamoriello.com
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