ORANGE : High-Tech Lab Hailed by Students

Orange High School teacher Bob Meade has achieved one of the highest accolades in public education: Kids think his class is cool.

The high-tech lab he built is also at the cutting edge of a statewide push to teach high school students the rudiments of lasers, computers, aerodynamics and electronics.

“I feel like I’m a brand new teacher,” Meade said Friday as he surveyed students engrossed in work at various stations. “It’s a new curriculum. The thing about this lab that’s so important is that it’s a new step.”

A 29-year-old in his fifth year of teaching, Meade started politicking for the lab last year and quickly won support from Principal Robert Lewis.

A group of students helped Meade pilot the program last semester, painting bright orange-and-black designs on the walls and helping to build the work modules. A workstation that would sell for $1,700 from a school furniture supplier cost only $35 to build with hardware store materials and a little elbow grease, Meade said.

By the time solar stations and satellites are added to the laser, wind tunnel, airbrush and other tools, the lab will be worth about $50,000, Lewis said.

Meade said he is a firm believer that kids learn by doing. His pilot group seems to have been truly inspired.

“Time just goes so fast in this class,” said senior Dat Trinh, who was building a model house at the architect module. “You get hands-on experience. It’s great.”

Senior Tameka Terronez mapped out her future after discovering the rewards of drafting. “He has inspired me a lot just by his point of view and how he teaches,” she said of Meade. “He’s more than just a teacher. You can tell him anything and he understands.”

Meade based the lab on his philosophy that, “You find a student’s strong points and then you facilitate those strong points.”