When I was in high school, I think the coolest (a.k.a. fun)
class was ASB or yearbook. And, the only real thing that made it cool was that
our teacher (same one for both) used to tape Beverly Hills 90210 and let us watch it in
class. Nowadays, there seems to be a plethora of fun classes. Especially if
you’re a skater—you can take skateboarding for PE, or, as I just read about in
the LA Times, you can take Create A Skate were you actually make a skateboard. It’s
wood shop for the modern times, how great is that?
The genius of Paul Schmitt, who owns PS Stix, one of the
biggest skateboard manufacturers in Southern California, the class is geared to
those in 5th to 12th grades. In it, the students may think
they’re just creating a skateboard, but they’re actually being taught lessons
about biology, science, and math—to name a few of the lessons. To pay for the
supplies, the kids stage fundraisers, and Schmitt encourages local retailers to
help out by offering discounts or letting the kids hold the fundraisers in their
shops. Schmitt points out that it’s a win-win—the kids get their funds for
materials, while the shop gets traffic.
The point of it all? Not only does Schmitt want to continue
to grow the sport and to give back to it, but he says that the program helps
draw a new audience to the skate industry. In theory, the program creates new,
young customers because they now know the ins and outs of skateboarding, such
as when to get a longer board for their skills or when they should buy bigger
wheels. Shop workers also benefit if they take the class—they do a better job
helping out the customer’s needs when they’ve created the product for themselves.
When it’s all said and done, the student gets the joy of
skating on something they created themselves—who wouldn’t want to do that?
For more info, check out the LA Times article from this past
Sunday.
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