I was prowling through my blog list yesterday and came across some info on the Milwaukee MakerFest at Handverker. First of all it amazes me all the stuff that Frankie Flood and his students are into on that site - motorcycles, bicycles, VW's, and hot rods just like I am - and then there is all the high tech machining, printing and extruding creating artistic and functional items of all stripes. I know very little about this new high tech stuff but what I do know is that this is the future of manufacturing.
With Maker Faires and Maker Spaces popping up the world over, (there's one in Rome in October), and the cost of college skyrocketing, maybe it's time for a new look at the traditional college model. At the community college where I'm currently employed, as near as I can tell, other than some digital photography and printing, we don't make anything. That's right. We make nothing. Since there are other campus locations throughout the state, I'm sure somewhere they're making something but maybe not. In the lab where I spend a few hours every week in my role as lab logistics technician, there are trainers for a variety of disciplines - hydraulics, pneumatics, electricity, electronics, etc. - but it looks like the main focus here is to turn out technicians for the local power company rather than making anything. I suppose that certainly is in keeping with the mission of a community college but from my high school teaching experience, I know people want to make things and they learn more if they are allowed to do just that.
Let us suppose for a moment that Shop Teacher Bob opens his own college. We'll call it the Shop Teacher Bob Maker School and dedicate it solely to the making of cool shit - might even want to make that as the motto, in fact. Anyway, have a two year course of study culminating in a maker degree. Keep the curriculum loosey-goosey and like Hillsdale College, don't accept any federal funds so the focus can remain on what really matters, giving the students a custom tailored education that allows them to make things. All types of things. Beautiful things, practical things, wooden things, plastic things, metal things, Steampunky things. Incorporate some old school skills like blacksmithing/metalsmithing, maybe some woodworking with hand tools - a nice blend of folk arts and CNC.
Think about it. A nice Maker Space/Tech Shop with a big garden. Maybe follow the Putney School model or the college in Berea. Work for your supper/tuition rather than a big ass student loan that will be hanging around your neck like a dead albatross you spent 40 grand for. Focus on the things you want to work on along side other creative individuals doing the same. Isn't that what Bell Labs used to do? Lots of potential for cross pollination of ideas. A hands-on approach but so much more. Granted there wouldn't be a football team but I suppose we could set up a couple of heavy bags and have the students design and build a few bicycles so we all get a little exercise instead of just the gridiron squad.
If one of you decides to start just such a school, let me know if you need a lab tech. I know just the guy.
7 comments:
I love it! You just summed up what I'm trying to do here at UWM; just don't tell anyone...they might try and take my job away.
Seriously though, I love what you wrote and I agree that students need to learn how to make things so they can be contributing members of society AND we can start to regain some of the ideals that made this country great in the first place. Sometimes I have trouble facing my students when I think about all of the debt they will have, so it's on my conscious that they better walk out of this place with some skills so they can pay off that albatross. Until higher ed changes I'm going to keep on doing what I'm doing though and try to stay below the radar.
Thanks so much for the things you write. I wish you were a member of my administration, because we could get things done. You often put into words what I am unable to articulate. Thanks for posting!
I think things are slowly changing towards our vision. You can see that with the emphasis on certificates now. And one of these days, young guys like you and "Dorkpunch" are going to be calling the shots. The problem is always the damn lag time.
I really do think that the maker model is going to gain a lot of traction and will be replacing much of the traditional college's role in preparing people for the workplace. Unless costs are somehow contained, a four year degree is going to be a luxury for only the very wealthy. Everyone else is going to have to look elsewhere. Plus a lot of young people just don't want to attend college for four years and have to take psychology, sociology, etc. They just want to make cool things whether that's jewelry, rocket ships or horseshoes.
All of us "shop teachers" just need to keep fighting the good fight. We sometimes forget the positive impact we're having on people while fighting for our own little piece of the pie. It's just frustrating as all hell when you know it could be so much better.
P.S. I don't know how you plan to stay under the radar with all the magazine and exhibition exposure you've been receiving! Keep it up. Your voice is being heard.
SIGN ME UP!!!
I've been trying to get a "community class" going out here, hoping that there would be enough people around that were interested in a maker space with a crap load of tools. Not much interest- everyone is too busy with soccer or potatoes. :) Its also a pretty small town, so it's not like I have a large possible clientele base.
I sure hope it pans out like you envision- although on my level with the Common Core hurdles I sure don't see it happening soon.
Like Frankie said, I just try and keep my head down, do what I think is best for the students, and hope nobody complains. It's worked great so far...
I'm afraid with Common Core you're going to see a spike in the dropout rate in a couple of years. If the students don't like school now, wait until they have more irrelevant, at least from their point of view, academic classes. You know the way to keep students interested is to make things. That's why they sign up for your class and other's like it.
A lot has changed in education in the last couple of years with more changes on the way. Charter schools might be the opening for middle and high school "maker schools". Definitely going to be changes at the college level. Today's Time magazine says college costs have gone up 500% since 1985. That can't continue. In the meantime, keep on pushing and best wishes for the new school year.
So I probably should have checked with you first, but I re-blogged this post. Is that okay? I really think the ideas here are great!
Sure thing - no need to ask. I just throw them out as food for thought. It's too late for me to change the world but I'd like to think it's going to get better for you young guys and your students. It just might if our voices are heard.
Well, I agree completely with the rising cost of college tuition. I have three kids and I've been thinking about what I will tell them when it comes time for college (luckily we're a ways off from that). That degree is quickly loosing value in today's world. I remember finding Lindsay books online when I was in college and I wondered why I hadn't been taught half of the things that I discovered in their books while I was in school. The internet just blew the doors off the potential for learning new skills and I agree that the Makerspaces have the potential to share knowledge in ways that we can't imagine. Half of what I teach are things that I have gleaned from other people (teachers) on the internet and the other half are tech skills that I learned from my Dad while I was growing up, college Metalsmithing courses and an awesome Welding course in the Agriculture department at the U of I. It's those skill based technical courses that I put my trust in for the future of our children.
When I look at the things Doug is doing at his school, I find myself getting envious of the education that he's providing his students. It's going to take putting industrial arts BACK into schools if we are ever going to see or country get back on it's feet. The same thing is true of higher ed as well. So many of the higher ed institutions have ignored teaching skills for fear that they will be labeled a tech school, and all they have turned out are so called intellectuals who theorize all day long without actually doing or making anything. I don't know what we as a country have against the trades and labor, but we need to make a change and do it soon. I love the things that You and Doug write about and show on your blogs and I hope all of these ideas and kinds of things start to take hold. I personally don't think it's too late for you to change the world. We need wisdom from people who have been in the trenches to speak out and help guide us all in the right direction. I personally have very few mentors that are brave enough to speak up and identify the problems with our current system. That's why I read your blog so KEEP UP the WORDS OF WISDOM. It makes it easier to get up each day and go to work. I'm sure Doug probably feels the same way too.
Thanks for what you write and do!
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