The handsome red oak table under the window in Jamael Lett’s classroom stands in sharp contrast to the standard-issue metal desks that take up most of the floor space.
On the underside of the table, the students’ names are carved along with the phrase “Math Matters,” because what makes this desk unique is that it was designed by seventh-graders using wood, screws, fractions, measurements and scale-model designs.
“We wanted to use this project to show the applicability of math skills … to let them know that what they’re doing is important,” said Lett, a first-year teacher and Teach Here program resident at Orchard Knob Middle School.
Lett partnered with local furniture maker Tommy Hobbs after the two met in church.
“There’s a lot of kids who, school doesn’t excite them. It’s hard to get them to focus,” Hobbs said, “I was kind of like that in seventh grade, like, ‘Eh, when will I ever use this stuff?'”