Posted: 5/16/06
Construction class helps school, students
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Brad Harguth was talking another language.
Youíll have to anchor the LVL into the plate, he told a dozen students on May 2 as they stood around the unfinished baseball dugout.
The front post will be the width of the LVL, he continued. He made a sketch on the concrete of the dugout. Then cover it with
T-111 and put bracing on the side, he told the kids. And donít forget the stringer with the birdís mouth cut on the side.
ìOK?î he asked.
ìSounds good,î someone said.
Howís that for homework? Itís just fine with students in Harguthís ag construction class at Caledonia High School.
They are learning the basics of construction and carpentry. They didnít seem to mind a May afternoon in the sun either.
ìA lot of time outside, which is always nice,î Michelle Meyer said in her usual frank fashion.
Students seemed to think it was a practical class. ìSince Iím going into carpentry, itís something good,î Mark Neumann said. He plans to attend Rochester Community Technical College this fall for carpentry.
Learning things about framing and measuring have been helpful, he said.
Justin Halverson, another senior, agreed with that. He helped put up the softball fence. He plumbed and set the posts into cement provided by Caledonia Ready Mix, then hung the fence.
ìItís nice to get outside and actually do something,î he said.
ìWeíve done enough book work,î Jeremy Myhre agreed.
Halverson said that learning about building codes has been helpful, as has framing and roofing work.
One thing that wasnít present at the construction site that day was cussing. It costs $2 a pop when you swear, said Clint Von Arx, who learned the lesson the hard way.
The school is benefitting too with some free labor on the projects. Students will build a shed for a private party next.
The ag construction class was put into the curriculum last year by teacher Andy McNamara, who has since left the district. Harguth took over, coming to Caledonia from Mabel-Canton. This is his 26th year of teaching.
He admits he is no building expert. He spent a summer helping Richie Meiners, and his farm upbringing helps too. But some of his students know a lot, he said; their dads are roofers, contractors, and concrete people.
ìItís ways to utilize resources of students,î Harguth said of his approach. ìThey know more than they let on.î
Sometimes theyíll ask a question and heíll ask one back. Sometimes heíll consult with people like Steve Bauer, Richie Meiners, or Gary Becker.
ìThey like seeing the kids get some of the exposure because some of these kids are going to be asking for work,î Harguth said.
Harguth tells other students that the things they learn may not be the exact thing that they do with their lives. But learning to pour concrete could be used to pour a basketball court or fix a driveway when they are older. ìI try to make them life applications in some way, shape or form,î he said.
Ag construction reaches students who are excited about school, Harguth added. But there is a good mixture in class of kids from both ends ñ those from the principalís honor roll and those who struggle. Heís happy when the class motivates them.
Some new offerings will be coming next year too, like basic electricity. ìIíve got to learn it ahead of the kids,î Harguth said with a laugh. There will a small engines curriculum too. Harguth received $8,000 in grants for textbooks, workbooks, 10 tool sets, and 10 new Briggs and Stratton engines.
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