What our students say about our classes

The comments below are a reponse to the question, “What are things you liked best about this course?” I've also tried to respond to any negative reponses we receive. I truely enjoy reading these responses as they help me make changes to the school which benefit all of the students. If you have additional comments or questions please email me.

Sincerely
Rand Richards

• Excellent demonstrations, use of jigs, knowledgeable help and advise
• Quality instruction, hands-on help, frequent demonstrations, and chats with group about projects
• I like the way Rand makes fine woodworking seem like an attainable goal. He is so precise and relaxed when demonstrating a technique and so willing to patiently answer questions. I like that he shows a variety of ways to do the job at hand
• Learning new techniques.  Putting all tools and instruction to use to complete my project.  Each class I take in woodworking gets better and better.
• Small size [class}, personal instruction
• The instructor was excellent, the facilities were in good condition and the project was very instructional.  This was one of the best learning experiences in my life.
• The instructor rocked!  Mark is great at what he does and is always there for the students.  He is very enthusiastic.
• Everything!  I never had so much fun in a class before.  I learned so much and came so far in just one semester.  I’m looking forward to taking more woodworking classes.
• Rand loves his job and is very supportive of the students.
• Learning new techniques for using both hand and power tools.
• I particularly commend the instructor for encouragement, patience, and enthusiasm. I would recommend Rand to any prospective student with the highest approval
• I learned an enormous amount, and Mike and Jeff were always patient and helpful.
• Tim is a very good instructor. He was a wonderful and positive teacher. He was very positive, patient, and encouraging.
• Fast paced enough to keep you busy learning new things, but not so fast so it became hectic

The Negative Responses

• On the Carving Class - It would be nice to have a quiet place to work. - Response: We are working on acquiring more space, but without a lot of success. An idea in the works may solve some of those problem, but we'll have to wait and see. I hope it helps.
• On the Lathe Class - One negative comment was, "Buy more Lathes." Response, we did purchase a new Vicmark lathe this year and in the past 3 years we have purchased a total of three lathes. While the enrollment continues to rise we are constantly being forced to reduce our budget. Recent changes at the state and federal level have made it very difficult for us to get additional monies. The other constraint is room, which is discussed above.
• On the Guitar Class - We need more tools, and more space to work. Response; ..Read above. The college is always willing to accept donations. Furthermore, we are doing several "enterprise" type classes this summer. Any funds available as a result of those "enterprise" classes will be returned to the shop for tools and other needs.
• On the Guitar Class - More tools for the Guitar Students would be nice and maybe another area to work away from the other classes because a lot of time was spent waiting for other instructors to finish their lectures before we could begin our work. Response - I encourage all students to join in on the various lectures, it is always good to learn something new or perhaps a new approach. You will probably always have to wait during a lecture. If we didn't run concurrent classes, many of the smaller classes could not be run at all (for instance, without a larger Fundamentals class, we couldn't even offer the Guitar class). As far as more space - read above
• On the Finishing Class - The only improvement would be to either have a list of supplies students should have during the semester, or have a better supply of finishing material. Response - Great idea to the first suggestion, I think we'll do that. As far as having a better supply of finishing material - I really think we do fairly well in that category, but I will look into it - any real suggestion as to what we might need? Rand Richards
• On the Joinery Class - More application in joinery like in a product type production. How to set up a process for multiple joints. Response - Great idea! I think I'll try to add that to the class, thanks.
• On the Intro to Woodworking Class - A more detailed plan for the toolbox - rather than spend too much time for design changes. Response - A major portion of woodworking is the design process. Many schools, books, and instructors leave this vital concept out of the process. I think this is an extremely vital portion of the class, and to leave it out would be detrimental to the students and to my philosophy of woodworking. The design process will stay. I have considered giving more examples available to the students, but am hesitant as I enjoy seeing the mulitple of creative approaches being taken in the class (see Spring '05 Critique) .

Index | Courses | Degree Program | Shop | Projects
Fundamentals | Finishing | Critiques | Guitar Building
Strip Canoe | Cabinetmaking | Woodturning | Chairmaking

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