Dare to dream

 

My dad was a hands-on guy. He repaired our cars, ran the electrical wiring in our house and did a lot of the repair work himself. And he didn’t fix anything without taking me along, showing me his work every step of the way and letting me help. So, I knew from an early age what being an engineer meant – solving problems, figuring out how things work, and making them better. 

 

My inspiration to become a science teacher stemmed from two things: I had a role model and I had the opportunity to learn by doing. By working alongside my dad, I learned how things are made. I remember being around 8 years old and taking apart a broken telephone, learning how the signals came in through the cord and how the ringer and speakers worked.

 

Today, opportunities for children to have experiences like this are limited. I can’t take apart an iPhone with my son or daughter to teach them about all of the parts. Phones today are insanely complicated, closed systems made up of multiple subsystems – displays, processors, cameras and so on. Technology is now so complex it has become inaccessible.

 

In order to get the kind of inspiration that led me down the path of becoming a science teacher, students need experiences that demystify engineering and serve their natural inclination to learn, discover, tinker and build.

Products like the LEGO Mindstorms robotics platform and programs such as FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) robotics have provided a platform for students to do just this. 

 

I am not the only one who has a story to tell. The videos that I have posted show that no matter who you are or where you come from, the sky is always the limit of your dreams. They also show that failure and mistakes are all a part of the process, but we can't let those failures keep us from reaching our greatest potential.