How do we make math fun for everyone
Rising Up:
“How do we make math fun for everyone?”—A view from the building trades
2023 | Written by Faith Schantz, Report Editor
When you’re driving around the city and you find yourself squeezing past yet another construction vehicle, you might think the construction industry in Pittsburgh is thriving. It’s true there are plenty of projects. Lance Harrell, director of Workforce Development, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Master Builders’ Association of Western PA, mentions the Lower Hill Redevelopment and other projects involving the universities, the hospitals, ALCOSAN, and the airport. But for the many available jobs in the building trades in this region, there aren’t enough workers qualified to fill them.
He believes many people aren’t aware of the wide range of jobs in the construction industry. Everyone knows about carpenters and electricians, but sheet metal workers? Boilermakers? Steamfitters? There are 16 building trades, as well as related fields such as engineering, architecture, and safety management. Harrell says all offer well-paying, secure careers. Workers begin as paid apprentices, sometimes right out of high school, after taking entrance exams in English and math. But students aren’t graduating with the skills they need to pass them.
Harrell is a lifelong Pittsburgh resident who graduated from Pittsburgh Brashear High School and Point Park University. In high school, he wanted to be an architect but felt his own math skills weren’t strong enough. Still, he credits his experiences in the wood shop at Brashear—along with a dad who was handy with tools—for leading him toward the construction industry, and ultimately his current position. Now, he wishes more students had opportunities to build things with their hands, regardless of what they plan to do with their lives.
The biggest question, he says, is “How do you make math fun for everyone?” His answer is to make it relevant for students by linking it to real world problems. Take the example of a Career and Technical Education (CTE) student in the Carpentry program at Pittsburgh Carrick High School or Pittsburgh Westinghouse 6-12. With a piece of wood you have to measure, “Now you want learn those fractions,” he says. “Now you know why you have to cut something at, what, seven and three-fourths. Or you may have to take a quarter inch off. That’s just the very basis of algebra. Or have you ever had to build a set of steps?... Well, that’s all fractions.” The Carpentry CTE program has been popular with students. Several of its 2023 graduates stepped into first-year carpentry apprenticeships. Harrell believes that for too many students, though, math consists of abstract knowledge that has little to do with them.
Harrell has been working to increase young people’s exposure to jobs in the building trades and related fields. A new web site, Buildwpa.org, is a “one-stop shop” for information geared toward potential workers, including students. What he refers to as a new “Rosie the Riveter” campaign will reach down as far as elementary schools.
He’s also figuring out ways to help students and recent graduates improve their math skills and knowledge. For those 18 and older, Literacy Pittsburgh offers free tutoring in reading and math skills, including help passing entrance exams for certain jobs. For high school students interested in possible careers in the trades, he is working on partnerships with colleges in the region who can provide math tutors. The tutors won’t be just any college students, however. The plan is to recruit students in fields like engineering and architecture who can link the content to skills that will be needed on a job site. Those fractions? Here’s why you need to know how to use them.
For information about mentorships, internships, scholarships, or tutoring for students interested in the building trades, visit Buildwpa.org, mbawpa.org, acementorwesternpa.org, partner4work.org/learn-earn, and literacypittsburgh.org.
Click here for tips on helping your child with reading or math.