You are here

A Teacher’s Journey: Learning by Doing

Friday, October 21, 2022
Zak Kachel
Zakary Kachel

Probably every teacher has a heard a student ask, “Why do we need to learn this?” And teachers know the closer they come to providing a real-world scenario, the more likely students are to grasp a concept and engage in the subject. Zak Kachel is on his own real-world journey. Now in his third year as a Technology and Engineering education teacher (gr. 8-12) for the Mosinee School District, he is quickly learning how to engage his students.

“First thing I did here was I started a woodworking club,” says Zak. “We called it Tech Club. And we work with community members to produce products.”

One of their bigger projects was building a 13-foot-by-17-foot sign for the local brewery in town. Built out of the original flooring in their business, the job called on students to glue the floorboards to plywood and use the CNC router, among other hands-on steps. Students loved the project and came in on their own time in the summer to help finish it.

“They wanted to be in here working, and I wanted to get them connected with the community to showcase their talents and market themselves and their employability skills,” says Zak.

Last year with the help of his department, Zak started a SkillsUSA chapter, giving students another way to showcase their skills. “All my Tech Club kids joined SkillsUSA and then they talked to their buddies about Skills after our first competition,” he says. “And we just started growing.”

Susan Swinick
Susan Swinick

A big attraction for all Mosinee students is work-based learning including the Youth Apprenticeship Program. He credits Susan Swinick, a Family and Consumer Science Teacher and Mosinee’s School-to-Work Coordinator, for nearly a third of Mosinee’s students signing on for placements in work-based learning.

Mosinee currently has four regional career pathways: advanced manufacturing; architecture and construction; digital technology; and patient care. But even if a career interest is outside these pathways—such as interior design or veterinary science—Susan finds connections for students.

The bottom line is that work-based learning is a powerful motivator, not just for Zak’s students, but for ALL students. So much so, that Zak uses work-based learning opportunities as a carrot to teach the professional skills students will need to earn a youth apprenticeship.

Susan relates that, one day as she stood nearby, one of his students, who was waiting to hear whether he’d been accepted into the Youth Apprenticeship Program, made an off-color joke to another student.

“Zak just pulled him aside and wrote him up immediately,” says Susan. “It’s not like he was barking at him,” she explains. But he wants his students to understand the implications of their words and actions. According to Susan, he is very good at providing real-life scenarios. Instead of telling the student to make a change, he gets the student to see the need for change.

In this case, he explained to the student that his comment would be considered sexual harassment and asks, “What do you think is going to happen in that situation?”

Zak also uses humor. If a student is holding a hammer close to the head, he’ll hand the student a hammer with a short, sawed-off handle, saying, “If you’re going to use a hammer like that, I’m going to give you a short one.” Besides getting a chuckle, it gets the kid to consider that maybe he or she is using the tool incorrectly. Less talking, more doing, delivers the message.

Zak’s program is growing, and he is learning by doing, too. He’s growing along with his students in enthusiasm, determination, caring, knowing where to draw the line, with a little humor mixed in. And he’s grateful for the team around him.

“As long as we can stay committed to the passion that we all have for the kids and wanting to see them succeed, I don't think there's anything stopping this from growing leaps and bounds,” says Zak.