Florida shop teacher has students make dog houses for charity

Barry Stewart is not your everyday shop class teacher. While many shop class teachers spend their time teaching their students to build things with their hands, their mind and their creativity, Barry Stewart does the same. However, while many teachers have their students in shop class building things that might or might not be useful for anyone but themselves, or potentially their classroom, Barry Stewart has another plan in mind. He realized that with the talent he has in his classroom, he could make a real difference in the community. Instead of having his students make things he or they could use, he has them building dog houses for the local animal shelters who actually need these items to help the dogs that they house.

He actually came up with the idea more than 14 years ago when he lived in North Carolina and heard of an organization that allowed the community to come together and build houses for dogs that needed shelter from inclement weather or just hot days in the sun. He decided to reach out to some of his local Jacksonville, Florida animal shelters and see if this is something he could do here, and they were more than happy to accept his help. He feels that his students are learning the basic concept of building an actual home on a much smaller scale, and they are also learning the importance of giving back to the community and doing good for those in need at the same time. His class is not just shop class.