What’s Right With Our Schools: Chattanooga Woodworking Academy
CHATTANOOGA, TN (WDEF) – With A-I disrupting a wide range of businesses, the trades are becoming more attractive to young people. The Chattanooga Woodworking Academy lets students progress at their own pace, starting with basic carpentry. That’s a skillful example of “What’s Right With Our Schools.”
Bill Carney is the Director of the Chattanooga Woodworking Academy.
He explains, “We are the best kept secret in Chattanooga. We are a four-year trade school. We start out with students, basic carpentry, all the way through fine furniture. We have a two semester per year just like UTC. Most of our students here are from out of town.”
Student Eddie Batten says, “I am originally from Augusta, Georgia, but I have moved up here specifically for the schools.”
Brandon Levanion is also a student.
He says, ” What really got me going into it was, I saw… really nice furniture. And I wanted it, it’s too expensive; couldn’t afford it. And I might try to learn how to make it; figured I might be able to make it.”
Bill Carney continues, “I’d like to start it at the bottom because most people don’t know anything about wood. They don’t know how to use hand tools. They don’t know how to draw. We start drawing here day one: draft, drafting like an architectural school. Everything we build here we draw. First year, pretty much hand tools. The second year we introduce them to power tools. Third year they kind of pick a career path. And then the fourth year is building required projects that they have to design and build here at school.
Eddie Batten adds, “So, I’m making the frame for the drawers to slide in. Once I get my measurements here, I have side rails that I’m going to cut the length and more in two separate each drawer.”
Instructor Whitney Dickerson says, “I actually majored in furniture design in college. And then I got my Masters in Education. I’m actually one of the teachers and directors in school. I think it’s a lost art woodworking in general. I think it’s coming back. I think that it used to be shop classes and stuff like that in the high schools. And we kind of lost that and people are starting to realize the value of what we’ve lost and that we have a generation of people who don’t know how to do things with their hands.”
Eddie Batten adds, “So, when I started getting in to look at this. It was the skill that I was after. And Chattanooga woodworking Academy was about the closest to hometown that would give the skills and abilities to do stuff like this.”
Bill Carney concludes, “I want them to be able to use their hands to make their living. When they leave here if they go anywhere and work for the other man. they’ll be the best trained, best experienced person when they walk in the door. Just go online. We have a website chattanoogawoodworking.com.”
