.
And I always like stealing that cause I’m like, we kind of are, we do a little, I mean a lot more facilitating and we kind of flip that classroom around and the kids really see it as like an opportunity, which I think is like a game changer for curriculum for me. And that’s what I always tell people is like you’re flipping the script and making it something that they want to come to school about. You’re not going to have kids down or not doing something. Like I have kids that get so excited in my room and my T and T their classroom teachers. Like I never see them get excited and I’m like, I see them get excited every day, you know? So I think it’s a cool opportunity as people that get to do that all day, get to see that excitement behind kids. For sure.
I also love that kids who you hear are thriving in the regular classroom… I appreciate getting to see those kids struggle in my classroom a little bit too. Like obviously, I am here to support those students, but I think it’s important for students to learn that school can be hard even for the kid who typically thrives in a conventional classroom setting as well. So I think the reverse can be true too.
Yeah. And that’s something too, like, I don’t talk about as much as I wish I did too, because I have had kids like that, that they were just like, tell me, like I said earlier, kind of tell me that answer kind of kid. I just want to get it right. Cause they’re so used to be imperfect. And I always say, that’s not what this class is about. Like you’re not coming to this class for that reason. And to see them kind of develop those skills just a little bit different and struggle a little bit, I think, I think is good. And I think longterm, those kids are like, wow, that really was effective for me. And being in there was a good use of my time.
Mm, definitely. So I want to switch gears a tiny bit because you are the maker-space expert in my mind. You are posting so much online about makerspaces. You have some really great blog posts about it. I really have enjoyed following you and learning about your experience with Makerspace. I know you’re also, I’m pretty sure developing maker-space curriculum now for a ton of schools in Indiana, right?
There’s a us company it’s called 1st Makerspace and they kind of reached out to me and said, Hey, would you want to develop some curriculum for us around Makerspace? And I was like, absolutely. Like, that sounds like a dream come true. That’s always been my dream. So I was super pumped when they did it because I’m like, this is a very cool opportunity for a lot of schools to get curriculum. And like my biggest thing is I want to make it easy to use. I want to make it hands-on. I just feel like a lot of the stuff you buy from what I would say, like quote unquote, the big companies is so worksheet-oriented and I hate that. Cause I don’t, I don’t think that’s what it’s about. I’m hoping I can kind of change that and flip the script with first Makerspace. So I’m excited about that opportunity for sure.
That’s amazing. Well, you’ve definitely already been flipping the script. I mean, like I said, everything you’ve been doing over the past year has been really incredible and inspirational to me as a STEM teacher and maker spaces. There’s been a buzz about maker spaces for kind of a while. They’re not an entirely new concept. I mean, people have been talking about them in education for awhile, but there’s a lot of hype around them, in my opinion. I don’t know if you agree with that, but I think that there’s been a lot of hype. I think this is true with anything with hype. There’s been a lot of myths around maker spaces and these are really fascinating to me because I’m, as you know, obsessed with makerspaces, I think they’re incredible. You clearly are too. So I basically put together a list of a couple of different myths that I would love it. If you could talk about these and possibly debunk them, if you think they are myths or tell me why the myths are actually reality. So the first one is that maker spaces only exist in STEM classrooms.
So I, yeah, I would say that’s, that’s a big time myth. Just as far as like, even in my STEM classroom, I didn’t, I mean, I use Makerspace all the time and maker-space concepts, but I have teachers that come to me and they’re like, I kind of want to make a space that is a Makerspace, like in my room somewhere. And it doesn’t have to be a full room. Like I know people that they do like a maker-space corner and that’s, they use that as like a special in their class. As far as just a little bit of time. And I think creating that space in your classroom, lets the kids know like, this is a space where I can be creative and not necessarily, I only get 45 minutes a week of STEM. I can be creative in other places.
Not only that, but like statistics have shown when kids are comfortable in an environment like that they’re going to thrive in their other subjects, they’re going to be more comfortable. So I think actually it would be even the opposite of that. Myth putting Makerspace in your classroom would help with all kinds of learning with your students. And it’s very easy to just put a little corner and putmaker-space across the top and put some materials there. And maybe you do some what I would call like leads a makerspace or makerspace corner, that’s organized where you kind of give them a small problem and they go about it in their own way. Or maybe it’s open-ended I’ve done both and I’ve seen positives and negatives of both for sure.
Hmm. Awesome. Thank you. I think my hope for makerspaces is that eventually every classroom all across the world has a space in it and that STEM is no longer its own subject and is instead implemented in every homeroom classroom. Now, if my principal’s listening, I don’t want to lose my job. So please keep STEM class forever. [laughs] But my hope is that STEM class and maker spaces become more embedded into the classroom because I think you’re totally right. There’s so many really great opportunities for students to be creative in the classroom. And of course, homeroom classroom teachers are so creative. There are classroom teachers who are by far more creative than I am, but that’s definitely my hope is that that’s something that becomes more integrated into other subject areas other than just STEM.
It’s also interdisciplinary though, right? I mean being a STEM teacher is the title STEM is about as interdisciplinary as it gets four or five, depending on STEM or steam subject areas all in one. So so the next myth I think is kind of related a little bit to what you were saying about maker. You can have a maker-space corner, it doesn’t have to be a full room. So the next myth is maker spaces are high tech and expensive.
Yeah. That’s I mean, that’s something I hear all the time about STEM as well and maker-space and all, I mean, everything that’s new to people like that, they always just assume, well, I saw this company and I have to spend X amount of dollars and that’s not necessarily true. I mean, every year I’ll send out a letter for maker-space items and STEM items. And I’ll just say, Hey, if you could donate paper, towel rolls, no cards, whatever it might be, we would greatly appreciate it, appreciate it.  And then all year I have kids bringing me all kinds of stuff. And I mean, that’s how I, I’ve always kind of funded my programs. I don’t spend a lot of money on materials. I don’t think you need to. And robots are cool and different STEM tools are cool.
Like I have some of them, but they’re not necessarily needed. I would say you don’t necessarily need them at all. I mean, everything that is in maker-space can be used from stuff you have around home.  Definitely. So I would definitely say that this is a myth just because for me, I think you can do things very affordable. And I think the kids enjoy that more. It’s like I built something out. Like we do cardboard shoes at my school where it’s like one of the Makerspace prompts they have, and they actually work with kids in New York. I’m building these shoes and they collaborate with them via zoom. And when they do it, they like love it. And they’re like, I built a shoe out of cardboard and like, it actually fits my foot and they wear it around and I give them extra credit if it makes it a full day at school, which is always funny to see all the kids wearing the cardboard shoes. So I think it’s like very doable. I think it’s one of those things that like people believe this. And then in their head that’s kind of like their escape, like, Oh, I don’