“I want you to be you.
Have you figured out what that is?”
”United by Spirit, Bonded by Name”
Portland’s Benson Technical High School
“every student by name will meet
or exceed academic standards
and will be fully prepared to make
productive life decisions.”
In the beginning student teams were formed and assigned
to imagine, and design, homes for house-less persons.
Today a moment of truth arrives for Benson’s Tech-Geometry class.
Today, each team pins up its ideas summarized and presented
as architectural drawings and scaled construction plans.
One design will be chosen…to be built in the school shop,
to be trucked to Dignity Village to be home for a house-less
to be warm and dry and safe. “To be or not to be”
A Message from Tech-Geo instructors Tim Hryciw and Amy Slaughter:
“Friday morning (January 31st) Amy and I took the Tech-Geo class to Dignity Village so they could understand how the structure they are building will be used and to also visit the occupants of the Village. The students also got to meet Melissa who will be living in the structure they are building.”
Amy teaches Geometry and Bridges Algebra 3-4. Her motivation for teaching is the enjoyment she receives from helping young people get a good math education.
And the kids speak for Tim: “totally cool” “AWESOME”
“knows his stuff.” “Take the class because he’s a good teacher,”
“You have to work hard though.”
Tim Hryciw (electric) and Amy Slaughter (math) integrate math in Career Technical Education, working together developing lessons that incorporate math common core standards into hands-on activities including the importance of teacher collaboration and student engagement in design, construction and math application.
TechGeometry: tangents, sines, cosines,
numbers-to-angles for tape, square and 2×4.
”Measure twice, cut once.”
Inspired teachers and students combine Education
with job training crafting the house for Dignity Village’
“We would like to invite you to our first building dedication!
The structure for Dignity Village will be delivered
and dedicated June 10th 2014 at 10:30 a.m.
TechGeometry Invites You
Please come and join us as we celebrate hard work
and encourage community engagement.
Many thanks for your continued support,
Mr.Tim Hryciw & Ms. Amy Slaughter
Dignity Village
9325 NE Sunderland Ave
Portland, OR 97211
We hope to see you there!!”