Colorado High School Students Build Real Houses, Not Bird Houses

Instead of building bird houses, these high school students are building real houses in class. They're using real-life math to build a real-life house.

The students aren't attending just a regular math class or shop class, they're doing both. Students at Green Mountain High School in Lakewood are taking algebra, but with power tools.

According to CBS Denver, the head of the program, Scott Burke, says that:

One of the things missing in many high schools all throughout the country is the hands-on application of answer the age old question, especially in math, of when am I ever going to need to know how to use this."

I think that a program like this would have made me more interested in math. When you get to experience how to use math in real life, it makes a big difference.

The house they're building is for Habitat for Humanity. It'll be moved into a neighborhood at the end of the semester. A family will then get to move into their new home, thanks to the students at Green Mountain High School.

You can see the kids hard at work at Green Mountain High School at CBS Denver's website.

According to CBS Denver, State Rep. Tracy Kraft-Tharp is sponsoring a bill that all about bringing shop back to school and building career technical programs.

The Department of Labor projects shortages of electricians, welders, and auto mechanics in the next decade according to CBS Denver. Programs like the one at Green Mountain School could change things.