November 12, 2002

Its' really about life skills

Here's what Jerry Hochberg's students said about the course when asked what they had learned. First, four students who took Industrial Design.

Dan McGowan (left): "We got to know how a thing would look if it was done very professionally. We learned technical skills like electronics, things that electricians would learn also."
Yuko Kawabe (right): "The first project was the mouse trap. There was no textbook, we had to think for ourselves how to trap and exactly how it should work, the details. I learned that planning was very important."

Timothy O’Brien (left): "Mr Hochberg treats you more like an employee than a student. Someday you will be an employee so it’s a good thing to learn about someone’s expectations. The best thing is to start something and do it from scratch and to end up with something that looks nice and functions the way you want it to."
Akiko Abe (right): "We had to learn all the safety rules for using the machinery. I was afraid at first, but now I’m not afraid, that gives me a feeling of accomplishment."

The Jewelery Design students had these comments about the value of the course to them.

Tharinthorn Chenvanich (left): "On TV I saw Thai people making jewellery. I wanted to make it myself. But I didn’t think I’d have the opportunity to learn. Now I’m making a ring for my sister who’s away in college."

Crystal Anderson (right): "What I like is that nothing is ready-made. You get your silver in a bag and learn everything you need to do with it."

Kim True (left): "When I passed the room and saw the displays, I thought it was cool to make your own. I actually learn more than craftsmanship, things like decision making, working carefully, being responsible — skills you need in your career."

Amanda Nicholas (right): "I had always been interested in art, but this course gave me a chance to work with 3D art. It wasn’t the traditional drawing."

Elaine Sauliner (left): "The best thing is that we get to design things that are unique and that mean something to us and for people that we care about."

Ratavy Sun (right): "It takes a lot of discipline; there are a lot of things you have to learn at the beginning and he [Hochberg] has high expectations."

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