Patricia Ehn
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My Maker Philosophy:
Creativity is a part of human nature. With practice and experience, we can all be Makers.
Every part of my childhood was steeped in creativity and ingenuity. I grew up in a family of Makers. I would spend my days making homes out of cardboard for my dolls, making up games with elaborate rules, learning how to cook and sew and working on the car. Whenever there was something that needed to be fixed, I was there so that I could help get the job done. I grew up feeling self reliant on my own skills and with the knowledge that I can rely on myself to create or fix whatever I needed. The funny thing about my creativity is that somewhere along the road I stopped creating. I stopped taking risks.
Now a parent myself, I've found that my own children were not creating to the same degree. When something breaks, we buy a replacement. The kids want a play house, we go buy one at the store. I am raising a couple of consumers, not innovators. So I am left wondering, if given time, space, and permission to create will they? I know that creativity is part of human nature and with practice we can all get better at being creative. My Maker philosophy is quite simple. With everything that I do at home and teach at school I ask myself, what is the point? Do I want them to use materials in different and creative ways? Do I want them to be curious about how things are made? Do I want them to struggle with a given challenge? Why is this activity a valuable part of our day?
Creativity is a part of human nature. With practice and experience, we can all be Makers.
Every part of my childhood was steeped in creativity and ingenuity. I grew up in a family of Makers. I would spend my days making homes out of cardboard for my dolls, making up games with elaborate rules, learning how to cook and sew and working on the car. Whenever there was something that needed to be fixed, I was there so that I could help get the job done. I grew up feeling self reliant on my own skills and with the knowledge that I can rely on myself to create or fix whatever I needed. The funny thing about my creativity is that somewhere along the road I stopped creating. I stopped taking risks.
Now a parent myself, I've found that my own children were not creating to the same degree. When something breaks, we buy a replacement. The kids want a play house, we go buy one at the store. I am raising a couple of consumers, not innovators. So I am left wondering, if given time, space, and permission to create will they? I know that creativity is part of human nature and with practice we can all get better at being creative. My Maker philosophy is quite simple. With everything that I do at home and teach at school I ask myself, what is the point? Do I want them to use materials in different and creative ways? Do I want them to be curious about how things are made? Do I want them to struggle with a given challenge? Why is this activity a valuable part of our day?
John Magnoli
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My Maker Philosophy:
I too believe that everyone is a Maker at heart. As educators, we need to help foster the skills necessary for successful Making: ingenuity, tenacity, critical thinking, problem-solving and teamwork. When students are in an environment where they are allowed to experiment, fail, revise, and improve on ideas, they are able to take ownership of the learning process and better internalize their acquired knowledge.
Maintaining a Maker attitude requires harnessing everyone’s innate curiosity for how the world works. As a child, I was fortunate enough to have a father who believed in DIY – he rebuilt houses, worked on vehicles, and if he didn’t know how to take care of something, he learned how. This attitude made an imprint on me. Instead of squelching my curiosity, the environment I was raised in encouraged me to explore – to take things apart, to learn how things work, to build what I needed.
When working with my students, I hope to help instill this Maker attitude in each and every one. The classroom needs to be designed for students to take risks with activities that provide multiple paths to a solution, a culture that allows for and helps improve upon failures, and tasks that allow for multiple entry points by students at differing levels to engage and participate. When students feel safe to proceed, they can harness their natural curiosity of the world to observe, learn, and ultimately Make.
I too believe that everyone is a Maker at heart. As educators, we need to help foster the skills necessary for successful Making: ingenuity, tenacity, critical thinking, problem-solving and teamwork. When students are in an environment where they are allowed to experiment, fail, revise, and improve on ideas, they are able to take ownership of the learning process and better internalize their acquired knowledge.
Maintaining a Maker attitude requires harnessing everyone’s innate curiosity for how the world works. As a child, I was fortunate enough to have a father who believed in DIY – he rebuilt houses, worked on vehicles, and if he didn’t know how to take care of something, he learned how. This attitude made an imprint on me. Instead of squelching my curiosity, the environment I was raised in encouraged me to explore – to take things apart, to learn how things work, to build what I needed.
When working with my students, I hope to help instill this Maker attitude in each and every one. The classroom needs to be designed for students to take risks with activities that provide multiple paths to a solution, a culture that allows for and helps improve upon failures, and tasks that allow for multiple entry points by students at differing levels to engage and participate. When students feel safe to proceed, they can harness their natural curiosity of the world to observe, learn, and ultimately Make.