Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Mr. Bockenhauer: The Man With the Shop Plan

By Elliot Haverland

It was the end of the first semester, and Potosi High School was in dire need of a new shop teacher. Hope was all but lost. Then a man by the name of Mr. Bockenhauer sent in an application for the position. He came in brimming with new ideas and changes needed to make the shop a better place to learn and have fun. His jolly and witty attitude brought a new atmosphere for the shop and for all of the students that enter the shop. Was he in a little over his head at first? Of course he was. “I always had a plan, but, like most things, plans change. I was never quite prepared for everything,” Bockenhauer stated. Bockenhauer’s first semester as a teacher at Potosi came to a successful close, and his first full school year is off to a great start. His ideas from last semester are still going full steam ahead, and he has even more changes to execute over the course of the school year.
Before he became a shop teacher, Bockenhauer saw himself as an Agricultural Education teacher, even going as far as pursuing his Masters and Doctorate degrees. With this goal in mind, he enrolled at the University of Wisconsin - River Falls, majoring in Agricultural Education. However, after seeing the rest of the students who also majored in Ag. Ed., he dropped out of the program and changed his major to Animal Science. Four years later, he graduated from River Falls with his degree in Animal Science and soon began his teaching career at Blackhawk High School as the Tech Ed. Teacher.
The commute between his home near Platteville and Blackhawk was beginning to wear on Bockenhauer. It was a long trip to take every day, driving from Platteville to South Wayne for work. He mentioned his concerns at a Youth Apprenticeship meeting he attended in Fennimore and was overheard by Potosi’s Ag. Ed. teacher, Mrs. Brunton. Mrs. Brunton told Bockenhauer about Potosi’s recently open Tech Ed. position, which would shorten the commute that Bockenhauer had to exhaust himself with on a daily basis. That was something that Bockenhauer just couldn’t pass up.
The first trick to starting the job at Potosi was jumping in at the start of the second semester, which meant little prep time to get plans going in the shop. One of the biggest challenges Bockenhauer faced was how his ideas would be perceived by the community and the school. Many of the changes were basic, such upgrading the tools and getting new ones. Adding new classes and changing other classes were among the bigger changes he had in mind, including adding the core course like Mechanics, Metals, Structures, and Woods. From there, the classes would branch into more advanced disciplines, such as Engineering Design and Workplace Management. With the help of Mrs. Brunton, he was able to add these classes to the curriculum for the 2018-19 school year. “My goal is to give the students experience and teach them what they need to know, as well as teach them how to apply what they know.”
Bockenhauer tackled his first semester as best as he could, and he’s now glad that students are having fun in his classes. Building relationships with the students was one of his greatest fears when switching districts. “I’ve always been lousy at building relationships; it took me a good chunk of time to get to know the kids at Blackhawk, and now I get to do it all over again,” Bockenhauer noted. Despite his worries, he never had any issues with getting to know the students. In fact, there are even more students in the shop classes than last year. “I’m glad that the students are out in the shop having fun and excited about projects, I really am. I’m glad that everybody is happy to go and work in the shop.”
Mrs. Brunton thinks he did a fantastic job during his first semester. “He took on a very dirty and unorganized shop and turned it into a very clean workspace for everyone to use.” Mrs. Brunton helped Bockenhauer throughout the first semester to get used to how things worked at Potosi, helping him with the Skyward and Educlimber programs.
With one semester at Potosi under his belt, he was able to better prepare for a full school year over the summer. He built up the new courses and planned out projects for the whole school year. As well as getting his classes organized, he also became an Assistant FFA Advisor to help Mrs. Brunton run the Potosi FFA. Besides just helping organize FFA activities, he also helps Mrs. Brunton avoid being away with the FFA teams so frequently for events, and allows her to stay in the classroom more often. Brunton notes Bockenhauer’s progress in the shop as well, “He has a very good plan on what he wants to teach. He knows what equipment he has and what he can offer. The administration is really beginning to notice the changes and is planning to provide lots more funding from a referendum coming up this April to update things and get new equipment.”
Over the time that Bockenhauer has been at Potosi, he has taken a liking to the culture and the community. He developed fantastic relationships with the students, “You guys as students, you’re all great.” The administration and his coworkers were good to him, and he also likes the facilities and the shop. He especially likes that his shop still needs work. “I liked the fact that the shop needed a good chunk of work. That way I could make it the way I want it and I can make it so it fits the needs of the students. I can create a great atmosphere for working and make a good workspace.”

The impact that Mr. Bockenhauer has made at Potosi is immense. He took an old run-down shop and is turning it into a fantastic area to work on projects and teach students skills to use later in life. He showed off his intelligence and ability when he started teaching in the middle of a school year, and continues to show everyone what makes him such a good teacher. He is very knowledgeable about what he teaches and keeps his classes fun and entertaining for every student who walks in the door. He knows each student as a friend and shows interest in their hobbies and interests. He likes to joke around and keep people on their toes, making things exciting at the same time. He treats every student with the utmost respect and makes sure everyone understands the game plan before moving on to the next topic in class, and he doesn’t tolerate excuses. His ideas and changes are what have turned the shop into the fun environment it is today.

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