MANSFIELD — Greg Morris doesn’t mind when his students make mistakes. In fact, he welcomes it.
Morris is the construction and building trades teacher at Mansfield Senior High School. He’s overseen students constructing little free libraries, sheds and even a tiny house.
“This shop has to be a place where kids make mistakes because that’s where you learn,” Morris told Richland Source in September.
“They’re making mistakes all the time and we go back and say, ‘OK, what does it take to fix them?’”
Morris was recognized as an ‘Every Student, Every Day champion’ during the Mansfield City school board’s Monday night meeting.
The person who nominated Morris did so anonymously, but referenced the little free library that seniors Dalton Riley and Chadalyn Whitmore created under his guidance.
“(Morris) wants his students to be involved in the community,” the nominator wrote. “His students are learning valuable skills and techniques of construction. They can learn from their mistakes in the classroom, rather than on the job when they graduate.”
Nikia Fletcher told board members that what sets Morris apart is his care for students.
“You’re always careful when you say you got a favorite teacher. I’ve got like 13 favorite teachers,” said Fletcher, who heads up the career tech and college readiness programs at Mansfield Senior High School. “But the one that kind of bubbles to the top really is Greg Morris.”
“He’s dedicated to them. He’s willing to push them forward,” Fletcher added. “That, for me, is what creates a teacher.”
Morris said he felt lucky to work with his fellow teachers and supportive administrators.
“We have our struggles here at Senior High, but finding other people that are fired up about serving students, about waking up and doing a great job to make education meaningful for students, it just makes it fun,” he said.
Prior to receiving the award, Morris updated board members and administrators on the tiny house his students are building.
The 200 square-foot home is built on a custom designed trailer with about 4.5 inches of insulation in the bed. By completion, it will feature a metal roof, vinyl siding, a mini heating and air conditioning system, full bathroom, a small kitchen with fold-out dining table and a sleeping area large enough for a full-sized bed.
Morris said the local electrician’s union recently came to inspect the students’ work and signed off on it.
“We passed that test. The next thing we’re moving on to is making sure plumbing is where it needs to be,” he told board members.
Right now, his class is in the process of installing luxury vinyl tile. Morris said they’ve had to start over three times. It’s all part of the process. When students start, they don’t realize just how much focus it takes to get something right.
But in an industry where a 1/16th-of-an inch makes all the difference, students soon realize the importance of precision.
“Learning those little lessons in a place where it’s safe to fail and then try again and get it right is just a cool opportunity,” Morris said.
Morris predicted the tiny house will be completed sometime during the first few months of 2023. A local auctioneer has volunteered to auction it off at no cost to the district once it’s finished.
Fletcher described the tiny house as a hands-on, comprehensive project.
“It’s not just about construction. It is about every trade that goes into making a house,” she said.
Riley and Whitmore also received student awards during the meeting in recognition of the little free library they created for Altrusa. Riley is in the construction and building trades program and Whitmore is in the STNA program.
Riley did most of the construction work on the project, while Whitmore painted and decorated it. The front of the little library has a striped silhouette of a tiger head.
“One of the things that I asked when they started this project was make sure that when people ride down the street, they know this came from Mansfield Senior High,” Fletcher said. “I think she met all those qualifications and nailed it.”
The school board also voted to:
- Approve two contracts with Plug Smart to update exterior lighting at Malabar Intermediate and Sherman Elementary School. The work will be funded by the Ohio K-12 School Safety Grant.
- Approve a Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) tax abatement agreement with 1027 Trimble LLC. Under the agreement, the school would receive 40 percent of the amount it would normally receive if the property owner was not tax exempt. That amount is estimated to be $80,236 annually for 15 years. After that, the property owner will have to pay the full tax rate for the property.
