The real opportunity is within maker education. The potential for maker education to change schools is ripe. It is possible to do things today that were impossible a decade ago.

This opportunity was clear to many administrators between 2012 and 2018. Maker education was clearly having a moment.  Many makerspaces and maker classes launched during this period of time. Our space was set-up during this time. I remember many of the excited conversations we had about the impact we hoped to have on our students.

I also remember the frustrations that we faced immediately. It was very difficult when our program was starting out. Unexpected problems appeared with every attempt. Most students did not understand how to approach this new thing. Our mindsets didn’t fit the new opportunity and we didn’t introduce it well. I’ll go into these problems at length in the next chapter.  The first years of making in our school had endless roadblocks and  little payoff.

Many of those programs have fizzled out since then. I’ve worked with libraries and schools who had high hopes for their makerspaces. They had all the same problems that I also faced.  Many of these spaces are sitting underused at the least.

 That the promise was real but it does not fit in a school. Maker education did not die after this burst of attention and become passe, or a cute distraction. Years of persistence have shown that real impact on students is possible.

At the beginning of this, I set out to make the course that I wanted for my own kids. Now it is the course that I want for all kids.

This site, hopefully someday, will be a blueprint to bring this vision into fruition.

Better maker education is possible.