Have you ever thought about taking a shop class but weren’t sure? Well you’ve come to the right place.

First of all, the shop classes we offer are mainly taught by 3 teachers:Mr. Baldwin, Mr. James, and last but certainly not least, Mr. Dunaway. All of these teachers have their specialty which you can experiment with through the Introduction to Trades class. You may choose to try working with Mr. Baldwin and his cars, or maybe Mr. James in his woodshop, whatever you choose, it’s a fantastic introduction to the class’ genre and a great opportunity to see what you may like to do.

Mr. Baldwin teaches car and auto related classes such as Auto Tech I and II, as well as car care. Beginning with car care, it is 1 semester long and covers the basics of taking care of a vehicle; truly a great class to introduce someone to car maintenance. The Auto Tech classes are two hours each and are intended to be taken one after the other but it is not required for you to take the second class. These classes are similar to Car Care but much more in depth and advanced for those serious about auto-motives.

Mr. James, on the other hand, teaches mainly wood and carpentry related classes. Those classes consist of Carpentry and Construction Trades I and II. However, Mr. James also teaches the electricity class. Carpentry is all about the essentials for learning carpentry and how you may use certain materials for certain projects. Similar to the auto classes, the Construction Trades I and II is a more in depth and advanced course in comparison to Carpentry. In classes with Mr. James and woodworking overall, some examples of what you may build vary from animal houses to plain planters. You get to learn hand, power, and construction tools throughout the semester, and in the end you have job experience you could put on a resume! Electricity is a little bit different than those classes and teaches about how electricity works in houses and modern applications of electricity, less woodworking than the others.

Mr. Dunaway teaches a variety of interesting shop classes, including Small Engine I and II, Machine Tech, and Car Care (just like Mr. Baldwin.) In the Small Engine class, it’s mainly small engine rebuilds, varying from motorcycles to lawnmowers to yard tools like weed-whackers and chainsaws. You can learn with hands on experience as well as in class lectures on small engines, basically applying what you learn almost immediately after learning about it.  Here at HHS Machine Tech is a class where you learn the steps/techniques for machining and manufacturing. Though

both Mr. Dunaway and Mr. Baldwin teach Car Care, the class is the same with either teacher.

Overall, shop classes are an easy and enjoyable way to experience the shop world, from building to welding, HHS has it all. The programs are all very hands on; when you’re in a shop class, you simply live and learn. The experience you gain from these electives can be used to help you career wise as well, with many chances to gain real work experience and opportunities to grow.