ELKHART, Ind. (AP) - Many people remember playing with Legos as a child.
But the plastic construction building toys have been used as learning tools to give eighth-graders at West Side Middle School some insight and hands-on experience into the recreational vehicle industry.
The lesson was part of Thor Industries’ Learn, Engage, Achieve and Perform program, an educational initiative founded in 2017 designed to capture students’ interest in the RV industry as a career opportunity.
The program has been incorporated at six school districts throughout Elkhart County - Elkhart, Goshen, Concord, Baugo, Wa-Nee and Fairfield, according to Rick Schutt, director of community engagement at Thor Industries.
“Many local schools have been telling us they want that real-world experience for their students,” Schutt said. “So we developed a program where we can help these students with teamwork, problem-solving and communication skills while introducing the RV industry to increase their awareness of what we do.”
At West Side, Thor Industries representatives were on hand to teach eighth-graders how to build RVs on an assembly line using Legos in the school’s library.
The first round was purposely flawed and set up to be difficult to engage the students to think of ways to improve and do better in the second round. Every student had a job they were responsible for on the Lego assembly line with a goal of building seven recreational vehicles in eight minutes.
“We then sit them down and let them answer questions of how they can improve and the students will start asking questions like, ’Why assembly stations were set up in ways that were inefficient, or parts were not labeled,’ and things like that,” Schutt said. “Then, we ask them what can be done to improve the process, cut down on waste and incorporate LEAN manufacturing.”
After the discussion, the students then go through the assembly line again, but this time, the parts were labeled better and instructions were improved to show how the RVs are put together. During the second round, they build about double what they do in the first round.
“It’s an avenue to show the students in an RV Lego build what we do because we build RVs,” Schutt said of the process.
But the skills learned could be utilized for any career. “Regardless of what career these students pick, they’re going to have to communicate, problem-solve and work together when they get out of school to succeed in their job,” Schutt said
Cami Berkey, a college and career readiness teacher at West Side, said the students have spent the entire semester looking at different job opportunities and learning the requirements needed qualify for the job.
“Since Elkhart County is huge in the manufacturing industry, we really tried to hone down on not just line work but what are all those other jobs that are going just to help the students understand that we have so many opportunities in Elkhart County to do the jobs that you really want and let them know exactly where they are and what they look like,” Berkey said.
“So this is just the very beginning piece of what that hands-on work will give them,” she said of the LEAP program.
Ava Houser, a student, said the program taught her how teamwork and communication are needed to have a successful outcome.
“We also learned that working in an RV factory isn’t just for people who are college-bound, but it’s for anyone who chooses to go down that career pathway,” she said.
Schutt said the program will be an asset in helping the eighth-graders choose a school of study when they go into high school next year
“It’s a great partnership for us to be involved in because we can partner with all the local schools and present the RV industry and let students know one day maybe they can come work with us,” he said. “We are the RV capital of the world - 80 percent of our RVs are made here in the Elkhart area.”
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Source: The Elkhart Truth
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Information from: The Elkhart Truth, http://www.elkharttruth.com
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