Curriculums & Lessons
Building skateboard decks in class provides the opportunity to incorporate many lessons, some of which are outlined below. The Roarockit deck building system has been working successfully in schools around the world since 2000.
Photo by Matthew Blackett, Spacing Magazine
Our Education Consultant, Craig Morrison is a high school teacher in Toronto Canada who founded and leads a highly successful business-based program. The full-time curriculum is focused on skateboard deck building and street art. Craig offers his students a curriculum to allow them to earn their high school compulsory and elective credits over 2 semesters. Students gain entrepreneurial experience by creating their own brand and running a skateboard business and professional design studio. Students have proven to respond incredibly well to this ground-breaking Toronto District School Board program. The high graduation, attendance and literacy rates show that this 10 year-old program is truly a recipe for Student Success!
We invite you to visit oasisskateboardfactory.blogspot.com, for a progress report on his exciting programs.
Subjects you can teach
Science and the Physics of Vacuum Pressure
Roarockit Skateboards are made with atmospheric pressure to press the veneers over a mold into shape. Include your own relevant experiments about the physics and practical uses of vacuum.
Woodworking without Power Tools
Maple veneer (especially Canadian-grown) is known to be the best in the world for skateboards and is included in Roarockit deck kits. Learning about grain direction, strength of wood, preparing, gluing and finishing are just a few of the lessons possible.
Environment: Skateboards are Green
Skateboards have a “green” approach to many topics, including transportation, locally acquired materials, hand built, non-toxic materials, and leave only a small carbon footprint.
This section is generally the area that can be expanded the most and can fill an entire semester. Include deck graphic concepts, the history of deck art, design and application, and many more topics.
Create an ongoing program by building multiple decks with the reusable tools and Thin Air Press Kits. Create a company store, manage the funds, find sponsors, this can all be part of an ongoing program.
Leadership, Teamwork & Mentorship
Once students have the skills to build a skateboard deck, they can then assist or teach others through mentorship, outreach, summer camp and after-school programs.
Teacher’s Kits are the very best way to become familiar with the deck building process, available in Lil'Rockit, Street Deck and Long Board sizes.
Taking it Further: Custom Building
All over the world, thousands of custom decks such as pool boards, drop decks, dancers and downhill boards have been designed and pressed using the Roarockit system by enterprising builders.