BIDDEFORD — Add electrician to the list of what some of the girls at Biddeford High School are interested in becoming after graduation. That’s thanks in large part to the Independent Woman class being taught for the second year by Technical Education teacher Michelle Lane.
Prior to taking the class, “I wanted to go into culinary arts,” said Kayla Fleurant, a senior, who is one of the 14 students in the all-female class. “Now I want to be an electrician.”
One of the initial subjects the students learned about was electricity. Learning how to wire an electrical outlet was one of their first projects.
Fleurant said she was very interested in learning about electricity, and that got her excited about a new career path.
Tabatha Copeland, a junior whose grandfather is an electrician, said she had thought about going into that field before taking the class. After learning more about the subject from Lane, she said, “I love the electrical stuff.”
Now Copeland said she’s seriously thinking of taking up the trade and taking over the family business after she graduates.
The students are also learning how to work with wood and how to use an electric sander, a table saw and other woodworking tools and equipment.
They are currently working on making lamps. The project combines their skills in both woodworking and electricity.
On Wednesday, the students were in the woodworking shop, and had already cut the pieces of wood they’ll be using for the base of their lamps.
Many were still sanding the wood, and others had already moved on to drilling holes in the pieces of wood into which nails will be hammered as they put the base together.
The girls will also be learning how to work with metal. They will drill into metal sheets to form a design and then the sheets will be formed into lamp shades.
In addition to the skills the students have already learned, Lane also plans to teach them about basic automotive maintenance.
They’ll even learn about how to research cars so they’ll be educated consumers when they’re in the market to buy a vehicle or apply for car loans.
Many of the students said the Independent Woman class is their favorite.
“I love this class,” said Copeland. “I always wanted to learn some of these skills.”
“We’re learning things most girls don’t know,” said Amy Goudreau, a senior ”“ even things “most guys don’t know,” added Shealeen Britton, a junior.
“It makes me feed good that I can do it,” said Britton about the skills she’s learning in the class.
“It gives me confidence,” said Danielle Ouellette.
Providing confidence and awareness on how to perform simple home and automotive repairs is one of the primary goals of the class, said Lane.
“I want to make them feel comfortable working on their cars or homes,” she said. Or, if something is beyond their ability to fix, she would like them to have the education to know how to hire the right person for the job.
Felicia Squires, a senior, said she is looking forward to learning about cars so she does not get taken advantage of when she needs her car serviced.
Gary MacMullen, the head of the Technical Education Department, said he thinks it helps that the class is being taught by a woman. Although there are some girls taking the woodworking class, he said, “a lot of girls are not secure enough come into the ”˜guy’s world.’”
Lane would like to change that.
She said she wants to show her students that they can be just as successful as their male classmates in traditionally male jobs.
She said she wanted to open up the students to a whole range of possible career alternatives.
Not everyone taking the class wants to be an electrician like Fleurent and Copeland. However, said Goudreau, the class “gives me a lot of ideas of what I want to do with my future.”
Ouellette said she’s undecided about what profession she wants to pursue, but she is thinking of going on to a technical college.
The course “opened my eyes to more things,” she said. “I don’t have to be in an office.”
Senior Jessica Perkins said she eventually wants to be small business owner and open a restaurant or coffee shop in the area.
Even those who plan to go to a liberal arts college, like Amanda Carnegie, also a senior, who wants to study psychology, is glad she took the class.
“It taught me to be more independent,” she said.
— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 324 or dmendros@journaltribune.com.
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