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The ITE ranks, those who know him and his work, will say we are seeing the
end of an era. In any case we are seeing the close of a remarkable career.
Floyd Simmons has done, has lived, what few in this upwardly mobile
culture have done. In effect he has led a charmed life. He would be the
first to deny this, knowing the old skirmishes and battles, the
maneuvering, bargaining, dedication it took to form his life’s work.
Floyd Simmons is that unique individual who chose his life’s work, his
craft, and then remained happily in that job for his entire teaching
career: same job, same school for 41 years, doing what made him happy.
Working hard to bolster the program less highly regarded by the school
system: equipping a gratifyingly large number of young people who went
through his program with the cultivated taste and skills to earn a living.
One of Floyd’s students is a high-end home builder, working only in the
million dollar-plus level of home building and working in the courthouse
restoration business. He builds for people who want luxury, uniqueness,
and hand-crafting. This is particularly gratifying to Floyd because one of
his hardest fought career battles was with the directors of TEA who
decided that handcrafting was old-fashioned and out; computers and
technology were in. They believed no one wanted one-of-a-kind handmade,
hand-carved furniture. Students needed to be learning how to program a
stop light to move from red to green.
Of course those men never saw Floyd Simmons’s shop/lab where power tools –
the latest and greatest – reign supreme along with their counterparts the
computer – the bigger and faster, the better. That furniture was still
being designed, drawn, and constructed by hand but with hours trimmed away
by modern age technology.
And speaking of those tools and machines, he pioneered many changes and
improvements that later showed up in those machines. He had a restless
mind that was always looking for a better way, a better design, an easier
method.
Many homes in Kress are graced with elegant, beautiful furniture –
sentimental mementos of high school, Mr. Simmons, and trips to the state
contest in Waco, TX.
After a number of years of finding his balance and outfitting his shop –
or in coach parlance – building a program, Floyd realized he needed to
step outside the doors of Kress and work at the state level.
He went on to work for many years on the State Rulebook Committee, to
successfully battle those who wanted to end his kind of program,
woodworking. Who could have seen DIYTV, Bob Vila, HGTV, along with Lowe’s
and Home Depot on the horizon and Americans’ conviction that they could
fix it or build it themselves?
He led the march. He knocked on state doors and presented his case. He
fought opposition to what he believed in – that there is a place in the
school system for learning how to design and build fine handcrafted
furniture, that you’re only limited by your ingenuity and willingness to
work hard. He believed his program could march right along side of
academics, teaching that there is something satisfying in creating
something with your hands.
Girls entered his program too. The program was never static, continually
morphing and growing. It is something that fit all students from bright
and talented to slow and challenged. The shining stars competed with each
other to incorporate the most curved doors, elaborate crown moldings,
difficult design features, mathematical puzzles into their
project/product. The slower, more challenged students created products and
learned skills just as satisfying to them.
He always started with machine safety. In 41 years, there has never been a
serious injury. Stories of Floyd abound. He enjoyed the kids, was
entertained by them. But nearly all of those students have stories of a
busting. The one thing that for sure would get you set on fire was
breaking a safety rule. Funny stories abound; stories like opening the
finish room door on a student spraying in his underwear because he didn’t
want to mess up his clothes.
Floyd came to Kress fresh out of college. Kress was his first teaching
job. The ITE/Ag building was new. He was allowed to design and create the
building and program. He did such a good job, he could never leave it. It
was tailor-made: 41 years doing what he loved and believed in.
A young man from Lefors, Texas never realized he would influence and shape
so many lives, doing the one thing he believed he did really well.
One of the hallmarks of his career was that he never quit enjoying the
kids. He had a rapport with his students. Teaching was not a job; it was a
purpose and a direction. Floyd enjoyed it; enjoyed the field he taught,
believed in the value of what he was teaching. He loved the rascally kid
no one else could tolerate. Often times he got good work out of that
student.
Floyd was a leader in the ranks of his fellow teachers, following politics
and legislation, lobbying for benefits for teachers. He inadvertently
became an advisor in understanding insurance, investing and such
decisions.
The Numbers:
From 1980 to 2001, 15 state championships
Best Project in the State: 7 times
Number of Students through the program: approximately 1600
Honors:
Educator of the Year Special Services ATPE
Distinguished Educator of the Year ATTE
A Resolution from the State Board of Education honoring Floyd and his
students and many others.
He touched
many and is justifiably proud of what his life’s work accomplished.
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