Why the Maker Movement May be Just What Public Education Needs

The maker movement is an entire subculture that is currently on the rise in North America, and is characterized by extreme pushes to do-it-yourself. The hundreds of people who have begun to participate in this nationwide movement have one motto: if you want something, make it. Because I enjoy working with my hands and several of my hobbies have a building or making component to them, I had been following the growing movement long before I discovered it was seeping into public education.

Then, when I fully realized all the vast potential for innovation in education that the maker movement held, I was filled with excitement and nostalgic longing. Longing for a world of learning I had found in my basement and carved out of my information-hungry lifestyle, but was never given to me in my many years of education. It reminded me of all those who were close to me that had struggled so hard in public education, and of all the time they spent trying to care about school. I believe that maker-style classes could’ve helped them. 

 

Photo Credit: NASA flickr

Allowing students to participate in the maker movement in schools could unlock a door that leads to the infinite potential of human creativity, and what lies beyond that door is an experience personalized for the student, by they student. 

And yet, the maker subculture in education comes off more like a parent’s, teacher’s, administrator’s, and politician’s worst nightmare. 

Current maker movement involvement in education has resulted in children being told to play with fire, entire classes of fourth graders running free with legos, and hundreds of after-school programs where students are given the resources to make things. Make what, you say? It really doesn’t matter. 

And that’s where the fear springs from. Every class or school that really adopts the maker philosophy must drop the illusion that they have complete control of what their students learn. And when you stop think about it, that really is scary. If we put 3D printers in classrooms, could someone make a 3D-printed gun? In theory, yes. But in practice it's nothing like that. With the freedom to make there is a potential for students who are given control of their own curriculum to choose to learn bomb-making over calculus, although that’s assuming there are no safety nets or limitations in place

However, it’s not the fear-inducing aspect of the maker movement that gets me excited. It’s the idea that the process whereby I have been learning my entire life could potentially be implemented in schools. I’m talking about Autodidacticism. 

The maker movement provides the first truly viable method for allowing students to teach themselves.

Let me illustrate a maker approach to learning, hopefully it will add context to the situation.

First, a student—currently it’s usually a student of life rather than a student of a certain institution—must choose something to make. Students presented with this wide opportunity for creativity tend to stick to the conventional—something they know—but it is important to step slightly out of one’s comfort zone. Otherwise no learning happens. Let’s imagine for a moment that our example student (a true child of the nineties) decides he wants a Rocketeer rocket pack. This student will immediately find that there is a laundry list of skills and knowledge that he yet lacks in order to make his item, not the least of which is some geometry, and maybe even some calculus. One thig for sure, there is no more asking, "When will I ever use this?"

Now the student has a reason to learn, and it was born out of his or her choice. Nothing is forced on them.

In the research and learning phase of the build, the student will no-doubt find out that they are but one of a whole community of people who just have to have that Rocketeer jetpack. The student will find and connect with more people with interests and passions just like him or her.

And here’s the greatest part: it never ends. When you make something yourself, you know all of the faults and all of the flaws; you have a natural motivation to make more; and the process always helps you identify what you are truly passionate about. Some students in this scenario would abandon the jetpack halfway through because they would find that they would rather build a computer or write software, which then sucks them into the fascinating world of robotics; Some students will find themselves unsatisfied with the prop, and will use their fabricating skills to create an actual one-man flying machine; and others still will be completely satisfied with their jetpack creations and move on to more items from film and pop-culture to fuel their craze for nostalgia and fandom. 

The maker subculture welcomes them all. 

If only more schools could welcome this type of learning, I think they would find that more students could maintain interest and become engaged in their education, and more students would recognize the journey that learning represents, and the marvelous places it can take you.

Post a comment with your thoughts or questions. Thanks for reading!