He is a guy on the taller side with a long beard. This makes him easily recognizable but, to some, a little intimidating.
“He seems super scary but he is actually super sweet,” Bella Aldrich said.
Corey Pettit is the teacher for industrial mechanics one, two, and three here at Lakeland High School (LHS).
However, his favorite class to teach is his Industrial Mechanics Three class because he has taught those kids for years.
He also enjoys seeing the growth from year one to year three.
He has been teaching for almost twenty three years of his life now.
His career began by student teaching at Moscow Junior High and then he switched to LHS after the job opened up.
Not only did he start out as the shop teacher at LHS, but he was also the woodworking teacher but later switched to full time in the shop.
He also worked two jobs in his first ten years of teaching because he needed to support his family.
Some of these jobs included being a machinist, welding over the summer, working in mechanics, diesel, operating a forklift at a shipping yard, and he also did CAT drafting.
“I got very little sleep, did not get to see my wife and kids very much, it sucked. But, you gotta do whatcha gotta do,” Pettit said.
However, this line of work was not always Pettit’s focus.
He originally attended University of Idaho to study mechanical engineering, but that career did not end up working out. It just wasn’t the right fit for him. So he switched over to general studies while he searched for a new career path.
Then, something interesting happened.
One of his friends suggested that he should become a shop teacher. Then, someone who was not connected to that friend in the slightest way told him the very same thing.
He took that as a sign and changed his major to industrial technology education.
Pettit’s college days took a turn for the better once he entered this major. Not only did his GPA rise but so did his spirits.
He has also had his welding students qualify for state for about twenty years. With only the first couple years of teaching missing that portion.
This year he has six qualifiers for state. Three for individuals and three for welding fabrication. This being the maximum amount that is allowed.
“The best part is giving the kids real world skills,” Pettit said.
Most of his students walk in knowing nothing about welding. It is rare that a student walks through the shop door with prior experience. So, because of this he gets a fresh slate where he gets to watch the students grow and improve over the years.
These types of classes are known as CTE’s which is an acronym for Career Technical Education.
These are creating workers for a growing industry.
“There is what they call the Silver Tsunami which is referring to the baby boomer generation who are all retiring,” Pettit said.
This occurrence is opening up numerous jobs for new applicants so it will make finding a job easy for these students.
“Pettit actually cares about his students and wants to see us succeed,” Zach Englebrecht said.
His class appears different and unconventional to others.
When walking in there are loud noises of students cutting metal, heavy machinery, and just overall chatter from the students.
Yet, the interesting part about this class is that these students are rarely found behind a desk.
Instead they are constantly moving around working on a new project or type of weld.
“To me when it is quiet, there is a problem,” Pettit said.
Since there is so much noise going on, it’s normal that Pettit becomes a little concerned when the noise starts to die down.
“When it goes quiet they are normally in a station talking or about to do something they shouldn’t be,” Pettit said.
Which is the exact opposite of what a stereotypical classroom looks like.
Students are expected to sit at their desk and do their own work independently or have all their attention on the teacher.
However this is clearly not the case in Pettit’s class.
This is what sets him apart from other teachers.
