How Roarockit started
When Ted Hunter volunteered to teach classes in the woodshop of a visual arts center on the island of Maui, he was informed that the age group was under 15 years old. Ted was more accustomed to teaching 3D and furniture design to university students and he wondered out loud, what project he could do that would be safe for young students. His wife Norah (Jackson) randomly suggested that perhaps he could teach them to bend a skateboard out of wood.
Ted used his legacy and knowledge as “the wood bending guy” at the design university, as well as for his bent-wood artistic sculptures, to create a method that presses thin sheets of maple veneer over a mold in a vacuum press. The skateboard project result was a solid, better-than-mass-produced skateboard that involves using only hand tools and some elbow grease.
After a successful season teaching at the Maui art center, Ted and Norah realized that the process would be perfect as a teaching tool in schools, community centres, correctional institutions, etc. Rather than travel all over the country teaching the method, a simple kit was created so that teachers could learn the process themselves and teach it to their own students. Over the past 20 years, many more kits have been introduced and tens of thousands of skateboard projects have been built around the world!
Some of the best ideas happen by chance!
Roarockit has joined forces with Craig Morrison to fully support teachers and team leaders with combined knowledge of the power of this program to engage students with a hands-on “Push Pedagogy” project. Craig, (the Push Pedagogy Pro), was the first one to expand the concept and develop the world’s first high school with an award winning, full credit program.
Ted and Norah met Craig by chance, while doing a demonstration at the opening of a woodworking supply store in downtown Toronto. Craig instantly recognised the potential of the project. 15 years later, the Oasis Skateboard Factory is still engaging students who were possibly (probably) heading for failure but are now off to colleges and universities or working in skilled trades. Thanks to the chances taken, thousands of young people have enriched their lives and graduated high school with useful and important skills.
“This has been a great success story; the students have engaged in this opportunity to build their own boards and the results have been amazing.”
— Marcus McKinnon, Teacher
“There are more benefits than I can share or remember even. So far I believe that we have built over 240 longboards, and we have a 100% satisfaction rate.”
— Mike O’Brien, Teacher
“My students had a blast on this project. Your product is so classroom friendly that really anyone could make this work!”
— Chris Martin, Teacher
“Skate or longboard making is a great motivation for kids.”
— Denis Piskunov, Teacher
“I have never, in my entire career, had 100% engagement 100% of the time until now. Simply doing something that the students are truly interested in and is real/relevant to them shows them that they are valued in the classroom.”
— Dominic Yarbrough, Teacher