Latest / The Recess-An Inside Look at the Auburn School District / Episode #29-Kyle Rees, High School Jewelry Teacher

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Episode #29-Kyle Rees, High School Jewelry Teacher · The Recess-An Inside Look at the Auburn School District

• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: Hello and welcome to the Recess Podcast.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_01: I'm your host, Dr.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_01: Alan Speciati, the proud superintendent of the Auburn School District, and we're back for another episode of the Recess where we tell the stories of the peoples and programs that make Auburn School District such an amazing place to be.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_01: We love being a great place to work, a great certainly focused on our students.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: We try to be student-centered and learning focused and really feel like we're an extension of the community here in the Auburn School District.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: To do that takes a lot of people.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes you hear from our students.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_01: We're getting close to when we start interviewing our seniors as they get ready for graduation.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: So I can't wait to do that.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_01: But we also interview teachers and support staff and try to give you a real sense of all the things that are going on and maybe some things that you hadn't thought about.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_01: And I think this is another example of that in the current episode where we interview a high school jewelry teacher.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_01: And I know we did not have a jewelry program in my high school.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: I went to I had a great experience in high school, uh pretty traditional kind of high school, I think.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um and it's always exciting when we do things that uh give kids an opportunity to experience new learning that uh we didn't personally have available to us as students.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so at this time it's my pleasure to welcome in Kyle Reese.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_01: And uh Kyle is a jewelry teacher, a career in technical education teacher uh as well, but uh specializing focused on jewelry as one of the arts um at Auburn Riverside High School.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_01: And I believe he's the first Raven, the first uh Auburn Riverside teacher that we've had on the podcast.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_01: We did have uh Rory Murray last year on the on the podcast.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you had her in class, but kind of through Raven Crew, yes.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, cool.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, all right, and maybe we can even talk about Raven Crew for a minute when when we get to that point.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Kyle, welcome to the podcast.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks so much, uh, Dr.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: Spochati.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: I'm excited to be here.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: Good.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: Well, uh, we're just gonna jump right in and let me ask you the question that kicks off every episode of the recess.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_01: Who is your favorite teacher and why?
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: Oh man, I've got a lot that I that have memorable places in my history through education, uh, but definitely the one that stands out the most was um in high school, uh Wendy Woldenberg was a huge inspiration in formulating and helping me understand my artistic abilities and moving forward and seeing that art was the career path that I was going to take.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and she just so happened to be my jewelry teacher at Auburn Riverside.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_01: And it's full circle again.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: I cannot tell you how many uh of these interviews, you know, we had a band director, assist band director.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: Uh we've had I had a family engagement liaison recently, uh, and and she actually short circuited my question, said, you know, my favorite teacher was my mom, and she works with parents, right?
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: So it's just like amazing to me uh how those early exposures can stay with you for a whole life.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: And I, you know, I've spoken a lot about my music teachers, and and I was one of those.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so that's really cool.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, she was monumental in helping formulate and help me figure out who I wanted to become, and then triggering that actually I want to get into education and I want to share my art with other kids so they can do the same.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: So really special.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: That's good.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_01: Uh let's start by talking about your path to becoming a teacher in the Auburn School District.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_01: And and I'm thinking as as an art teacher, as a career and technical teacher, uh, it's a little bit like as as a music teacher for me, it was impressed upon me early on that uh to be a music teacher you have to be a good musician.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um you have to have gone through that process of learning and applying uh music and it's it's not about like you soloed with a symphony or were on stage uh in a big uh you know, rock concert or whatever, but that y y y y you knew the discipline, you had you understand what it's like to um do the craft.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: And so I'm always interested to hear uh not just about your path to be a teacher, but in in this career path as as a teacher of the arts, uh how that background developed in you as well.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so yeah, tell tell us about your path to becoming a teacher in Auburn and especially uh as an art teacher.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: Well, after I graduated uh Riverside, I was highly encouraged by my teacher to continue with jewelry as an industry and to continue my craft and build that on my own.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: So I definitely went in and I started doing custom design work and working for myself as an artist, but then I kind of moved around and worked for other jewelers within the industry.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so right out of high school, I moved to uh New Orleans, Louisiana, and I got a job working for a production jeweler who was an idol jeweler of mine when I was learning jewelry in high school.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it was right after Hurricane Katrina.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: So there was a lack of uh people in the city to work these jobs.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: And so I got to take a workshop with this gentleman, and I finally stuck my neck out, and I was like, hey, I would love to learn more about jewelry, and I think it'd be really incredible if I can come and work for you and be an apprentice or work alongside somehow in your studio to learn more of the craft.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: And sure enough, he reached back out to me and invited me to come and work for him, and so I up and moved from my parents' house across the country to New Orleans, first place out of my parents, uh, not knowing a soul, but I got a dream jewelry job and it opened up so much of the jewelry realm in the world that really got me inspired and really wanted me to stick with it and keep moving forward.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_01: What an amazing story.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: Were your parents scared to death?
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, terrified.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: It was huge, especially because I got the phone call from the artist, his name is Thomas Mann, when I was at work.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I turned to my boss and I said, Hey, it's been great working here, but I'm giving you my two-week notice right now because I just got this job opportunity across the country, and this is my dream job.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: So I came home to tell them, hey, just a heads up, I'm moving across the country to work for this artist.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so they were shocked, but also I have the most supportive parents ever, and they have seen my love and my uh attention to detail in the craft, and they really wanted me to stick with it, and they knew that this was the best best trajectory for me.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: So I got full support.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_01: That is such a cool story, and and you do have great parents, and uh ironically, you go to the big easy, uh, you're in the professional jewelry world, and you end up right back where you started at your alma mater Auburn Riverside High School.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_01: So, okay, fill in that story for us.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: So, filling in the blanks there, so I had a great time.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: Uh New Orleans was fantastic.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I got so much, I got to meet so many incredible artists who knew this jeweler, and I made so many connections that really furthered my craft.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I found myself back in the Pacific Northwest.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: I worked for other jewelers as their assistants, and then I worked on my own craft.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: But at that time, I was still very close friends with my high school jewelry teacher because she was the only jeweler who I really knew to get things started, and so I leaned into her often to say, hey, what's this next thing that I can do?
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: How can I learn more?
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: What other aspects of the industry should I push myself towards?
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: And always echoing in the background, she's like, You should be a teacher.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: You want to come and work with me?
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: I think it'd be really great if we worked together.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: And that was never a path that I thought it would take.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: I knew I wanted to be an artist and create art, but I didn't think education was in it for me.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I never really saw that, although she did and she knew that.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: So she latched on, and year after year of our friendship would go by, and she would say, Hey, I think you should come and guest teach in my class.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: I think it'd be really inspiring for the students to hear your story and where you came from.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and to me it was kind of a neg.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, oh my gosh, still again, she wants me to come and do this thing that I wasn't so interested in, but she saw this spark and she got me in.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: And the day that I did come in and do a guest teaching lesson was the day that I learned, oh my gosh, this is my path.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: This is what I need to do.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um so I then looked into what it takes to become CTE certified.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's a little bit of a different realm.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't go to traditional college, I went straight into industry out of high school, and I gained my experience through jewelry working in the jewelry field.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: So I then went to Bates Technical College in Tacoma and I got CTE certified and got my certification there so I could begin teaching.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_01: That's a great career path, and uh, I appreciate you sharing that.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: I've spoken many times about how so many teachers are like me, uh, went to high school, went to college for four years, and either started subbing in schools or or got that teaching contract and have been in schools, you know, I've literally been in school since I was in kindergarten.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and I think that's common and uh and obviously that's a great pathway, but it's not the only pathway.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: And we have so much richness in like our retired military staff and folks out of industry, and um they bring, you know, usually some oftentimes age and maturity, definitely wisdom and perspective um, and help us get out of our bubble a little bit as educators uh because there's a big world out there that we're preparing kids for that is uh you know, it's bigger than high school and and uh it's it's good that we have folks who ha who represent that diversity of experience and um you know pathways and that we we don't be elitist and saying this is the only way to be a teacher when um you know s working alongside a master of his craft, if you're gonna be an art teacher, is probably the best development you could have.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's fantastic.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: You can only take so much design class to then move forward, but actually working in the industry and understanding how that design lays out and takes product to market and makes those sales is really gonna take you to that level.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: So I definitely learned day in, day out working as a production jeweler.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: My job was to go in Monday through Friday, eight hours a day and make jewelry.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: I really got to build my craft because I didn't only get to explore new things, but I got to learn those skills very deeply, repeating them over and over again and mastering those things.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: But to me, I get to look back on it now and share that with my students and help them understand this is a completely legitimate career pathway, and it's something that's perfect for some people and maybe not for everyone.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: But for me, it worked out great.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: And if it's something that they find an interest in, I would love it to help them.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, okay.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so we're gonna talk a little bit about your class in a few minutes.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but let's let's pan out and talk about the bigger picture for a minute.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um jewelry making, uh, at least in Auburn School District, is a current technical at CTE.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_01: You know, back when I was in school, they called a vocational class.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um so it's a it's a different kind of learning.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, more teachers who were prepared in a non-traditional way, um, and it it really resonates with a lot of kids, and I think it's important for all kids to have some exposure to CTE.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_01: So can you talk about the importance of career and technical education as an option for students?
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, 100%.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um it is so monumental, especially now in such a digital realm that we are in.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: Kids are constantly in courses where their coursework is online or on their Chromebooks, which is fantastic.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: But it is so important to use that other side of your brain and to be able to use hand tools and learn what it's like to manipulate tangible objects.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: So it's been something that I've loved to then get to teach them instead of technical mind work, but it's actual technical hand skills and dexterity, which is a really big part.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_01: That is a great point.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_01: I've thought about that a lot, like with athletics programs.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um you know, I had somebody say, Isn't isn't some of this less relevant now because so much of kids' lives are online?
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, no, it's it's actually more important.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: Like kids have to they have to uh be in community and uh and and do those physical and large motor and small motor and right uh achieve tasks that are that are tangible and um so I think everything you're you're talking about is is right on there.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_01: What skills do students learn?
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_01: You you mentioned some, but what skills do students learn in CTE classes?
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: I think one of the biggest in that so many of our CTE teachers are fantastic at teaching are the actual problem-solving skills that really come into day-to-day tasks in each of these programs.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, especially when you break down a class like jewelry, there you're manipulating a lot of metals and you're heating things with fire and you're using a torch to bind metals together, and things don't always go as planned, and you don't always have the option to start over, so it's how you can pivot and move forward and make things intentional and still get an outcome that's great.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um my students hate when things don't go as planned.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: They have ideas and they know, but I tell them it's the best way to learn when something goes wrong, because then you can pivot and figure out what's needed to get back on track, and taking that time to think about those things are huge.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, more than anything, I think it's just looking at the task at hand and figuring out what's the best way to achieve the outcome that I'm looking for.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_01: And I like to think uh w we talk a lot about transferable skills in education, learning skills.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: But I I think people have a narrow interpretation of CTE sometimes, like this is a pre-apprenticeship program.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_01: And it's it's a little more broad than that.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_01: I think you you you you you gather a skill set that you'll take with you into a trade, into a profession, uh, into college, whatever that pathway is that is gonna be really really helpful.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, utilizing those hand-eye coordination skills, working with tools and equipment, if you're somebody that wants to go and work a warehouse job, if you want to go into industry, I mean look at the dental field.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: There's so many crossovers, especially in the world of jewelry.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's massive.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: Great example there.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um tell me about the role of a jewelry program in a CTE program.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm gonna kind of give you the floor to talk about the value of a CTE class that is related to industry.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um but m most of your kids are not gonna go be professional jewelers.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_01: Right, yeah, exactly.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_01: So uh kind of make that case and under help the audience to understand what the value of taking a a a course like jewelry is uh as a CTE experience, but without like directly leading to that field of work.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, if if I have a student that wants to go into the jewelry industry, I'm so happy to help guide them.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: But like you said, it is not the most common pathway, it's not the goal for many kids.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but realistically, what I would love for them to do is find a way to create something and that level of working with your mind and finding something that you're interested in and figuring out a way that you can learn the skills and piece things together to make something that's custom and your own.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um it goes on to so many other ind industry pathways like we were talking about, but realistically, it's just working with your hands and wanting to create something and step aside from your normal day-to-day.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: Like you said, jewelry is not a common course.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: We are a very lucky school district to have three full-time jewelry programs, and even West has a part-time jewelry program, which is incredible, where there are so many people that, especially in the industry that I've talked to, have no idea that there is even a possibility in a high school setting.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_00: So getting to introduce students to a craft they would have never really known of is huge.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but really it's just giving them an opportunity to create and to make something is what I love.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_00: Super cool, good answer.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um one more thing about about CTE before we start to switch gears and really um bring it into the jewelry conversation.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um talk about the role of advisories in CTE programs, just so so our audience knows.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um you may know that Mr.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_01: Reese has taught how many years have you taught at Auburn Riverside?
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_01: Eleven years.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_01: And uh I don't know if you're thinking this, but you might be thinking, well, that's nice that he had an internship in in New Orleans uh way back when, but you know, the information gets dated and probably a little bit less so in jewelry than some of our highly technical fields.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_01: But um the truth is that we have a direct connection with industry professionals who are very generous with their time and they're committed to our students and our community, and they come in and they're a part of advisories for our program.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_01: So can you explain that to the audience?
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so uh three times a year, all of the CTE programs get an opportunity to meet with advisors who are direct industry uh collaborators, is what I like to consider them as, because we reach out to these people and we ask the questions are the things that we're teaching relevant to this industry and to what these kids need in their future?
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um, are there ways that we can change what we're doing so it's going to better how these students are learning and giving them the opportunity that's going to give them the highest yield of outcome from our programs?
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and are there things that we need to focus more on than others?
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: And we just met this week.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: It was so perfect for this that we had our advisory.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and that was Monday.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: And so after school, we met with our advisors.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_00: We have teams of jewelers from the Seattle area, from Tacoma, from we have other high school teachers from across the state that meet together with us.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and the level of input that we get is monumental.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's really changed and formulated the best program because we're getting input from so many different vantage points.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_00: So we can really figure out what is going to be the best way that we can formulate and model and grow this program that's gonna be the best for our kids.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_01: Great relevant example and and timely.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, thanks for taking us through that, Kyle.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_01: Let's talk about your program.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_01: Because um I'm thinking I mentioned my school didn't have jewelry, I think many schools don't.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and probably most of the audience has never been in a jewelry program classroom in a high school.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_01: So just describe like your classroom, what's a what's a typical semester in jewelry, what's the sequence of courses if kids take it more than once?
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: Just explain everything about high school jewelry.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_00: Uh not only is it a great way to take an art class in school, but it is great that it is tied to career and technical education.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, my program at Auburn Riverside, I teach levels one, level two, level three, level four, and then there's a contract study program.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: So after you've achieved all four, if you wanted to come back, you can take an independent design program.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_00: So at that level, students have gained enough skills that they then get to turn around and tell me what they want to make.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_00: And so then I get to work alongside these students, and we get to really come up with some amazing award-worthy pieces, art show pieces, and beautiful custom designs.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but a normal day-to-day in the jewelry classroom.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um I've got full classes of 28 students.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_00: We have, I would have more if I could, but we can only fit so many benches in the classroom.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and for safety, we've got torches across the back of the room, we've got acid in the corner for adding texture and cleaning metal, we've got buffing wheels for polishing, we've got stations for setting gemstones.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_00: There's a whole plethora of areas and things that the students can learn and utilize.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: So uh it's a lot of controlled chaos, but it's the best uh to see so many kids creating and working with their hands.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_01: Give us a few examples of like the materials that the students work with and what is a project that you would do at each of those levels.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so um, I think intro jewelry or jewelry one, most of my students are gaining understanding on a more basic level, just of the hand tools and the tools that most jewelers work with on a day-to-day.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: So pliers and files and hammers and things like that.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um so the most that they're going to create or the biggest that they create is learning to use the torches and actually soldering.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: So we'll make a sterling silver band ring.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_00: So they'll get to add texture or patterns onto a strip of sterling silver, um, learn how to cut and measure it so that when it gets bent around and soldered together.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: That it's the size that they intended at the end.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: Using torches, we're talking 1500 degree flames, melting metal together, using acids to clean polishing and bringing it to life as a finished product.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_00: So it's a big one where you get to really learn all of the aspects of working with tools and flames and fire and all those aspects.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_00: So it's a pretty great one at level one.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_00: And then as you progress through the program and you take the more advanced level classes, level two through contract study, you're scaffolding your skills.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_00: You already then have that base understanding of those hand tools.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: So then you get to work a little bit more custom.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: So instead of teaching a project start to finish, I teach more of a technique and I teach them about how to layer different metals on top of each other.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_00: And then the students can design anything they want as long as they utilize that technique.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: So not only is it exciting for them because it really pushes their design abilities, but it's exciting for me because I don't have to grade the same thing over and over.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: I get to see the creativity of my students come through in each of these pieces.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's great.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: I I love it.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_00: And any other Oh, I mean, I there's so many different aspects.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_00: There's a really cool project in my third level class where we it's a it's a fairly old technique, but it's called cuttlefish casting.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're familiar with cuttlefish, it's a cephalopod, like a squid.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_00: And they have one singular bone in their body, and it's a flotation device.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: And for jewelry, it works great for making a texture.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_00: And so you can carve into this bone, and it's a great um wood grain type topographical map type texture, and you can sandwich this together and pull pour molten metal in between the bones, and it transfers that texture into the metal to make a really unique creative design.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: So the kids get to learn all about different anatomy of animals and how molten metal works at a level of working with different materials like bone and pouring things together.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's very exciting.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_01: Good.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_01: And then you mentioned kind of off to the side, you you have some of the uh processes that are uh, lack of better word, you know, more dangerous or need to be controlled uh for safety.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_01: And I know that you do some of those.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_01: Can you just describe one or two?
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: Well, this casting process is a great example of that.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_00: So when the students are most of the work that they're doing is the design and the carving of the process, which is very minimal tools.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_00: It's a very soft material, um, easy to carve into.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_00: But when they're ready to actually bring it to life with metal, we're taking small little pieces of metal and then taking them to a molten state.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_00: So that's about 2,000 degrees, giant flame, puddle of molten sterling silver, and then pouring that together.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_00: So we have a casting room where things are contained and you've got um fire uh-proof walls and everything is nice and safe.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's a great situation for just that.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_01: And do the students get to keep their work?
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_01: Uh do they pay for it?
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_01: What just just so everybody knows how this plays out.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, 100%.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_00: This specifically is something that Auburn School District has mastered, and I appreciate so much.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_00: When I took jewelry in high school, there was a lab fee, and students had to pay a fee to take their jewelry home at the end of their semester.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_00: And now I love that we have touched on the level of equity within our district, that we have cleaned away the lab fee.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_00: So every single student gets to make every piece of jewelry and keep every single piece of jewelry that they create.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_00: So I love that they get to make something and then take that home and keep that with them.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and it's very personal.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I know you know students will make things that they're excited about for themselves, but um uh that my son took your class.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_01: So uh he made something for uh my wife, uh, I think for his girlfriend, uh, and I struck out once again, but uh it's such a motivating factor for students uh to be able to make something real.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_01: And I mean these look, you know, like really per like something you would find at a at a good like art fair or farmers market or you know, I mean they they look like real world stuff and and it's just I think it's it's great for the kind of the confidence and the um inspiration of of the kids to to do that work.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I love to get to see them share their work with other people, and people are so shocked, they're like, wait, you made this piece?
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's so uh inspiring for myself, but for them too.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: It's the biggest boost when they get to share what they've made with people, and it's like, wow, I did not expect for you to make something like that.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_00: Jewelry's not just putting beads on string, we're making things for metal and really impressive professional pieces.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_01: So tell us, uh I'm sure this is very gratifying work, and I'm gonna kind of combine two questions that I had thought about.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so you can take us any direction you want.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but you know what's a favorite aspect of teaching jewelry for you?
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and andor this may overlap, what's one of your best student success stories?
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_00: Oh man, there's so much that I do love with it, but honestly, it it is very tied to that success.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_00: And it is seeing a student feel like they've achieved something great in my program.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that is there's nothing better that I could ever ask for than a student coming in and achieving something that they were unsure that they could, or even that they could.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_00: Like I'm excited when they achieve something that they knew was a possibility because then they know that they can do that thing.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um, success is such a hard thing to judge, especially in the art realm for a student, because it's different by every single person.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I've had students that have competed in 18 and under international jewelry competitions and taken first place.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um incredible situation.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_00: We got to fly out to um Albuquerque, New Mexico, and be with world-renowned artists in the professional side of the competition, but then also to have them include the 18 and under student categories to see kids get inspired uh by these people around them and see what they've achieved.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, awards are huge, but at the end of the day, even the students that have achieved something that they felt they couldn't or they questioned their abilities, uh, getting a little message in my yearbook at the end of the year from a student who says, Man, I was really unsure about your class and I was nervous, but you encouraged me to create art my way, and you told me that it was legitimate and I have never been happier with an outcome or taking a class.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, to me, those are the same thing.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um it's every single year, every single day, I feel like I'm seeing new successes that inspire me more and more.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um recently at Riverside, I have partnered with our SLC program, and I've got to work with some really great students who in traditional classrooms may not be the best at achieving at the same level of their peers.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm seeing students walk into my classroom terrified of a torch, and then year four, they're ready to graduate, and they're back using a torch without assistance, and they're confident and they know the use of the tools and how to make things, and there's nothing more that would make me proud than seeing those kids achieve those things.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_01: I love it.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_01: I love it.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it's great to have opportunities that really engage all different types of kids and learning styles.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_01: Uh that's a great example with the the SLC students.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's so exciting to see such a diverse group.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I I am there with you.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um when I came into teaching, I was unsure what it was gonna look like.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_00: What what are the jewelry students?
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_00: Who are the jewelry students?
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um and at this point, I don't think you could really ever pinpoint it to a specific type of person, which is so exciting.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I like that I get to open up a field that I love so much to so many different types of people.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um I've got band kids, I've got artists, I've got athletes, um, I've got the AP students, like you name it.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_00: There's so many different people that can come through and find a way to connect with it.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it is a pretty broad class.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_00: You can take it to where you want to, which is very exciting.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_00: You can make simple basic things, or you can take it to a whole nother level and create very one-of-a kind individualized art pieces.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_00: So it's really exciting for me to see all of these different students come through the doors.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_01: And then you click connect with uh different students all across campus uh through your teaching.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um but you mentioned in the beginning that you work with Raven Crew.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_01: So can you just uh maybe just give a quick infomercial for what Raven Crew is?
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_01: Totally and and uh how that appeals to you as well.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so um I love and I've been working with Raven Crew Crew for quite a few years now.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but it is a program that we run that is based on an international program that is ways to mentor our incoming freshman class.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_00: So upperclassmen who we find to be leaders or want to be leaders in our school, we don't specifically set out to only have leaders in our program.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_00: But if we have teachers who say, you know what, I have this student in class and I think they would be a really great leader in school, I get recommendations from staff members, which is really cool.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_00: And it's a great way to then take kids who might have a possibility of leadership in their future, and then kind of formulate that and help teach them to be leaders so that we can then foster that incoming culture with our freshman class as they come through.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_00: So they get partnered with an incoming uh freshman group, usually 10 to 12 students, and then are connected with them through the year and touching base with them to make sure they're navigating their high school their first year of high school.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_01: Perfect.
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_01: Good.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_01: Uh well I appreciate you working that in since you mentioned it, and and uh most of our audience, I assume, uh doesn't know that.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_01: I think all three of our high schools have ways of onboarding their freshmen and including uh upperclassmen in that process.
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it it's a great way to connect with freshmen and it's a great leadership opportunity for the older kids.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um we are moving towards wrapping up.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so we're gonna do that.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna ask a question, and I think I might have a bonus question for you.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_01: But the question we usually end on, uh I'm gonna give you first crack at, which is what was your favorite thing to do at recess?
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_00: So this is very much I've learned later in life, so specific to the Pacific Northwest, but it was box hockey.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um I did not realize that is a first for the recess, but it's very popular, kids.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_00: Tell them about it.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_00: It is so popular.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so I did love volleyball, but I was vertically challenged.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_00: So reaching that uh volleyball to make sure that I would win was not always the best opportunity for me.
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_00: But box hockey is um pretty much a mini hockey game that students get to play in a tiny little box on the ground, and you drop a puck in and you start going.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_00: And for whatever reason, it was one of the most popular aspects of uh recess.
• 33:14
  SPEAKER_00: I actually went to Terminal Park Elementary, and that was what opened me up to the world of box hockey and how obsessed I got.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_01: I never actually like find out my guests recess item until that and the until the the moment we asked the question.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_01: And uh I have to admit, I was not expecting that.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_01: I get a lot of like tetherball and some of that, but uh box hockey, that is fantastic.
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um love it.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I I hung on to one thing too because usually I then pivot and encourage my guests to say, hey, be a kid, go out and you know, find a kickball game again, or do you know, d do whatever you used to do at at school, go jump rope and you know that kind of thing.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um but I know that you have a hobby that is unique, and uh I think our audience might just get a little kick out of it.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_01: They might uh be a little bit taken aback uh because based on the topic, but uh tell us about your hobby, and and I think you have some examples in your classroom, which is why I know that.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly, yeah.
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um well most of my students know me as Mr.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_00: Reese, but I'm also the bug guy.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um I have been an insect enthusiast, amateur entomologist, if you will, uh since I was a kid.
• 34:31
  SPEAKER_00: I've always been that kid that's poking around in the bushes and flipping over rocks and trying to see the next bug and find the next thing, and it took it to another level.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_00: So I now have insects as pets of my own.
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_00: So, yes, like Dr.
• 34:47
  SPEAKER_00: Spacati said, I have um some insects that live as our classroom pets in the room, uh, which most might be a little perturbed by, but we have uh hissing cockroaches and some tropical uh Indian cockroaches as our pets in the classroom.
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_00: It may not be for everybody, but it's definitely for me.
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's great.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_01: So we encourage our teachers, of course, to make connections with kids and sh and you know share their interests.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_01: And uh I I love that about Mr.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_01: Reese.
• 35:19
  SPEAKER_01: He he puts himself out there and the kids connect with it, and I think that they just recognize that you're a real person who is willing to let your guard down and be human around your students, and uh they reciprocate and um it's really a special program you have going, and I'm just thrilled that you've been able to share it with our audience.
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Kyle Rees, thank you.
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks so much.
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_01: This has been so great.
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_01: It has been great.
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and uh I think every time I record an episode, I think this might be one of my favorites, but uh this certainly goes for the last half hour or so with Kyle Reese, the jewelry teacher at Auburn Riverside High School.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_01: If you are interested in the arts, why don't you share this one?
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_01: We're trying to get the word out.
• 36:05
  SPEAKER_01: We want people to know what's going on in schools.
• 36:08
  SPEAKER_01: You know, not what you uh read in the paper or see on cable news.
• 36:13
  SPEAKER_01: Uh that's not real.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_01: It's certainly not the the only story about what's happening in schools.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_01: Every day we have kids who are amazing who are stepping up, and uh I'm so proud of them, and I'm proud of the Auburn School District for the opportunities that that our kids have.
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_01: So please share this, uh get the word out, and help us do our job serving our community.
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and I mostly want to thank all of you for tuning in.
• 36:39
  SPEAKER_01: This has been the Recess Podcast, and I'll see you next time.