[VISUAL: A candid photo of Tadatomo actively working on a machine—ideally running a piece of timber through the bandsaw, or wrenching on a motorcycle. No posed headshots.]

Tadatomo | Shop Director

The Tools: The Bandsaw, Heavy Woodworking Hardware, Godot / Unreal Engine, Bambu FDM Printers, Arduino Microcontrollers.

The Work: Tadatomo spent ten years teaching in Bay Area classrooms before stepping away to build a shop. He saw the exact problem with standard middle school STEM: too much theory, not enough physical friction. He stripped the curriculum down to the studs and rebuilt it around hands-on mechanics, designing tracks that put kids to work building go-carts, catapults, and games from scratch.

He is a practicing carpenter, game developer, and motorcycle racer. He applies the exact same discipline he uses tuning a race bike or training in the Muay Thai gym to how he runs the shop floor. He understands that failure is a mechanical reality—parts will break, code will fault, and timber will splinter.

This is where his empathy translates into absolute patience. If a student is standing at the bandsaw and a cut starts drifting, or a joint won't sit flush on their treasure chest, Tadatomo doesn't take the wood out of their hands and do it for them. He steps in alongside them. He points out the physical reality of the problem, corrects their grip, and teaches them the precise logic required to back out, adjust the angle, and execute the cut correctly. He demands hard work, but he backs it up with the quiet, steady mentorship required to teach it right.

Joshua is currently a pharmacy technician and educator.  He has worked in children's education for the last 5 years, doing work for summer programs and in-home tutoring.  At The STEM Collective, he leads the VR classes, combining a lifelong love for video games with teaching.  When he's not playing Elden Ring or Super Smash, you'll find him creating lessons that balance kindling creativity and providing content.