OffSite Dirt host Audree Grubesic talks with Thomas Nichols, a high school shop class teacher. Thomas helps his students build high-performance houses. Thomas was a student that went into teaching including Matt Blomquist, trades instructor at Taylorville, Illinois High School. The introductory shop class starts with basic tool identification and then moves to woodworking projects and mechanical drafting programs before moving onto building projects outside the school. "It i

Matt Blomquist a high school teacher in Taylorville, IL is changing the way shop class is educating its students. Construction is not only about building, it is about understanding energy performance and the science behind it. "Our students are already learning these technics in math class." said Matt Blomquist. It's time to translate this information into building applications. Matt explains this new approach and why students are excited about learning it. Building in sh