Welding instructor took up trade at N. Thurston, now works there

From The Olympian (Washington)

he desks are superfluous in Jesse Ratcliff's classroom at North Thurston High School.

"I don't even know why he's got a classroom," said Keith Gadman, 18, who calls his welding teacher "Ratty."

Students sit in the desks at the beginning of class for roll call, and in the final moments before the bell ending class.

For the rest of the period, however, they're busily wielding torches or sculpting metal.

"You can't tell me this class isn't cooler than a math class," said Ratcliff, a 1995 North Thurston graduate.

The welding program teaches students vocational skills they otherwise wouldn't learn, he said.