Students hover above standards

A group of eighth-graders rode hovercrafts around the hallways of McDougle Middle School on Tuesday morning, yelling and cheering on their friends - and their teachers didn't stop them.

"I only ask the students to be quiet for the first three minutes and the last three minutes," said Peggy Dreher, the teacher of the Activities in Math and Science class. "This class breaks all the rules."

AIMS is an applied elective that encompasses math, science and a little bit of everything else, she said.

The program, found in almost 40,000 schools nationwide, was developed by the AIMS Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization. Its activities are aligned with key math and science standards, including many state standards.

"I have never been in a class where we get to ride on hovercrafts," said eighth-grader Austin Crook.

The students not only get to ride on hovercrafts - they also get to make them.

Each contraption was built out of plywood, a shower curtain, duct tape and engines that came from vacuum cleaners and leaf blowers.

"I liked building the hovercraft more than riding on it," said eighth-grader Jessica Todloski. "It is fun to build and be creative, and I could do it again. The materials are basic enough."

Since the seventh-grade writing test and a special African drum performance for sixth-graders were taking place Tuesday during the second period AIMS class, the students had the hallway to themselves.

They raced and bumped into one another, and one group's Barracuda blower engine was so strong it bent the plywood.

"You have to strategically cut the holes so enough air gets out and doesn't rip the plastic," explained eighth-grader Brian Miller. "At first I didn't think we could do it, then I was surprised that it worked."

The class has received a good amount of attention for its endeavor. School officials, students and newspapers have come to watch their inventions at work.

"Everyone wishes they were in this class," said eighth-grader Mariana Hernandez. "And we don't get in trouble when the principal walks by."

The class also had a "Hovercraft Assessment" test that incorporated creative writing into the classroom.

The students had to come up with a word or phrase for each letter of the alphabet that related to what they learned during the exercise.

"The test wasn't too hard," Crook said. "The hardest part (of the class) is choosing people you work well with. It helps prevent fights."

The sixth period class was split into one girl group and two boy groups, and each group experimented with using gas and electric engines for the hovercraft, Hernandez said.

The groups competed by taking their "giant air hockey pucks" on a obstacle course, Hernandez said.

"The girls won, and we sort of rubbed it in (the boys') faces afterward," she said.

Dreher said that their hovercrafts are "works of art," but that the class is more than just hovercraft building.

She said the class has made eggs bounce, prepared candy, operated a business and put together a maze out of junk. It is also getting ready to build a roller coaster.

"This class is hands-on," said eighth-grader Gabe Gran. "She isn't showing us what to learn - we are experiencing it ourselves."

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.