I came, I taught, I left an impression...

"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." -Benjamin Franklin

I have always been interested in creativity, problem solving and learning in interdisciplinary ways and when this STEM/ STEAM "craze" took off in the education world, I was so excited to have found my place in the school district. When I was introducing myself to the students at the beginning of the year, even when I was explaining what I did to other teachers in the school, it became clear to me that very few people truly understood what I was trying to do. What did each letter stand for? Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math. How are you going to teach all of those together, like at the same time? Group project work guided by the 4 C's collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity. I think that many of the teachers and defintitely the students were pretty unsure about the whole endeavor and to be honest, so was I. It is really exciting and an honor that I was able to create something out of nothing, that I set the precedent for the whole program and really when asked questions, I got to define the answers. But the flip side of the coin is that the entirety of that responsibility fell on me! I would be the reason this program succeeded.... or failed.

I am happy to say that I consider this year a monumental success for many reasons not the least of which is that I will be conducting some summer camp classes right at the school in response to student/ family surveys. Why do I consider this a signal of success? If we reconsider the attitude described at the start of this post, at the beginning of the year no one knew or understood what STEAM was. Now, at the end of the year, students and parents are asking for it by name which tells me that they both understand what the acronym means and are interested in doing more! If we judge our success by the ability to increase recognition for what we are doing then I have succeeded. If we judge our success by our ability to ignite curiosity in what we are doing and stoke the flames of desire to do more then I have succeeded.

If I had done nothing else, I am glad that there are a significant number of students who want more, who now believe THEY can do these things and are more curious about how things work than they were before. They have become involved in their education in a way they have not traditionally been able to and I think it could make all the difference in the world.