Inspirational Trade educator retires

David Buchner is still trying to wrap his head around the idea of retirement.

The Junior Career and Tech program (JCAT) coordinator and DeWitt Middle School technology teacher is used to staying busy. 

Aside from teaching, Buchner is a builder and a licensed home inspector. As the school year winds down and he looks ahead to having some free time, Buchner contemplates what that will look like. 

“It’s weird. It’s a really weird feeling,” said Buchner of retiring. “But I know staying busy will not be a problem for me. That is never an issue. In fact, it’s a problem!”

Buchner has served 35 years in education, with 31 years serving the Ithaca City School District. During his tenure, he made an impact on teaching trade education to middle school students, where children have had the opportunity to discover alternative career paths and engage in enriching experiences outside the typical academic parameters.

The program sees hundreds of eighth grade students walking across the street to Career and Tech, located within TST BOCES, where they get to experience learning different skills in cosmetology, welding, auto body and auto tech programs. 

A graduate of Career and Tech in 1982, Buchner knows a thing or two about the value of a trade. He launched a successful career building homes upon high school graduation, and his craftsman business allowed him to pay for his college education. 

While he sees the importance of such skills, Buchner has witnessed a decline in students’ interest in studying the trades unless their parents or grandparents have been involved in such work. Still, he sees a benefit for all students to learn a valuable craft, especially in today’s job market. 

“It’s the best-kept secret,” Buchner said of TST BOCES. He said many of the students coming out of the program are going on to two-year or four-year programs. “They are going to leave with a sellable trade, a craft. Some of them will be licensed,” he said. “They’ll also have a college degree on top of that. I mean, they have the best of both worlds, especially in today’s market, which is so volatile.”

While school districts tend to be focused on providing a college-bound curriculum, Buchner sees an opportunity where educators can underscore the benefit of learning a trade, especially for students who demonstrate skills that may be suited to such in-demand careers. 

For Buchner, much of it is about redefining success. 

“I think school districts can do a better job recognizing that not every kid is going to fit through that round hole,” said Buchner, referencing the typical expectations of a college-bound student. “There must be other ways to demonstrate a level of success without going through some of the things that we traditionally have done for a half a century or more in education.”

As he closes the chapter on his teaching career, Buchner is surprised that he hasn’t seen more systemic changes in how students are evaluated and educated.

“There have been some changes, but for the most part, it doesn’t really look a whole lot different than when my grandparents were in school,” he said. “I think the classrooms that are the most interesting and the most exciting are the ones that are changing because of technology.”

Buchner said the tech program at DeWitt Middle School is impressive with its state-of-the-art manufacturing and construction classroom, offering ample opportunities for students.

“For many kids, they can finally see the value of some of the math and some of the science they’re taking because they get to use these classes in realistic ways instead of a hypothetical problem that doesn’t have any life to it,” said Buchner. 

He shared that his carpentry teacher taught him geometry and trigonometry in a way that he could actively apply it rather than learn the concepts just to pass a test. 

“He showed me that the Pythagorean theorem and sine, cosine, tangent, are all formulas that you use when you’re building a house, laying out stairs, laying out rafters,” said Buchner. He said it was like a light bulb went on for him.

“The hands-on classes are the ones that really do kind of bring everything together,” he said, adding that the science department and art teachers also take a hands-on approach. “But the vast majority of hands-on classes were those old shop classes. They were the early STEM models.”

Even as retirement comes into the picture, Buchner is still passionate about education and ensuring that students have the ability to thrive.

“In the year 2023 we can do better,” he said. “We really can do a better job, and I feel like we kind of have all of the data and the pieces in place to do that. I think we just have to get out of our own way sometimes. Talk less, let the kids do more.”

The JCAT program began 17 years ago when one of Buchner’s middle school students was trying to build a go-cart.

“We went over to Career and Tech needing help with welding,” he said. “Once that was done, we needed to get it painted and went next door to the auto body classroom with Gary Kaschak. Then, four more kids started getting interested, and then even more started asking questions about trades.”

The program has resulted in a positive outcome for students’ self-esteem at the middle school. The high school students in the Career and Tech program also like being paired with the younger students, walking them through skills and lessons. The welding teacher, Randy Jackson, has noticed seniors are more likely to attend class regularly because they enjoy working with the middle schoolers. 

While Buchner said he will miss his students the most in his retirement, he looks forward to enjoying time outdoors, hunting, fishing and camping. 

“Buchner has been a key player in the success of Career and Tech,” said Lara Patz of the Center for Instruction, Technology and Innovation. “TST BOCES thanks him for his impact, dedication, compassion for his students and having a vision for others to thrive in a trade environment.”

For more information on career and technical programs, visit www.tstboces.org/page/cte-overview. 

Trumansburg Connection appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@VizellaMedia.com or courtney.rehfeldt@gmail.com.

In brief:

Doug’s Fish Fry ToGo and bake sale

There will be a bake sale to benefit Searsburg Community Church on Thursday, June 15, from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the church. The Doug’s Fish Fry ToGo trailer will also be there.

To place orders (until 4 p.m.), call 607-753-9184, ext. 2.