Maker Philosophy
What do we get from Making?
Making is not about the end product, but about becoming a Maker in the process. While we certainly can strive for and enjoy an artifact we've created, I believe that we carry the lessons and habits learned from Making much longer, and much more personally. So what makes a Maker?
We take risks
We think critically about machines, materials, and people
We gain connections and community
We collaborate with others
We ask why
We make ideas come to life
We learn the value of iteration
We gain ownership and agency
We gain intrinsic motivation
We solve problems
We gain resilience
We get richer experiences
Making is a way of viewing the world with confidence and the competence to overcome obstacles
The Beginning
Looking back on my 21 years of life, only in the last two years have I considered myself to be a Maker, but my vision of Making has changed significantly during my time in UTeach Maker. I’m sure I participated in arts and crafts during preschool and I fondly remember coloring pages out of coloring books, but from a young age I remember feeling self-conscious and inadequate in regards to my creativity and artistic ability. I was very much a perfectionist child and adolescent, and I have not so fond memories when comparing my artwork to that of my peers, noticing that they colored inside the lines better or their technique was better. Being a perfectionist and feeling like none of my artwork would ever be perfect or the way I imagined it, I wouldn’t try my best if I didn’t feel competent enough. I even got a B in 7th grade art, and having the logic of a middle schooler, I concluded that I really was bad at art and that I’d never be a creative person.
Joining UTeach Maker
Fast forward to sophomore year of college, I joined the UTeach program. Towards the end of Step 1, Shelly came to our class and presented about UTeach Maker. I thought it sounded really cool in theory, but didn’t really know what Making might look like in a classroom, and I certainly didn’t see myself as a Maker. I heard repeatedly that anyone could be a Maker and that you could explore any interest in Making, but I still didn’t see how I could fit that image. In my head I imagined geeky white boys who tinkered with electronic components that their parents bought them, with girls being excluded because they wouldn’t understand or be interested in that stuff. Even to this day I hate the word “tinkering” because of the image of exclusivity that comes to mind for me when I hear it.
That spring semester, I decided to apply for the Noyce Scholarship. Though I was still unsure of what Making actually looked like in a classroom, I did really see the value it could bring to students and the learning environment. I was selected as a recipient, and so I was encouraged to join UTeach Maker. I was hesitant but joined anyways, and I remember going to my first meeting and feeling like an imposter. The summer passed, and in the fall I was looking for an internship and came across the internship at the Ann Richards Makerspace. It seemed super scary but none of the other internships stuck out to me, and I figured that if I was going to be in UTeach Maker I better learn how to Make.
Ann Richards Makerspace
When I walked into the Makerspace on the first day of my internship, there were 8th graders building a float for the Dia de los Muertos parade for their Spanish class. Then Oren asked me if I wanted to help them and handed me an impact driver and some screws, and I remember being paralyzed with fear and having the deer in the headlights look. I’d never ever held a power tool before, and the 8th graders were showing me up and this was technically my job. The first couple of months I had to ask Oren a million questions that felt silly, but at the same time I had literally no idea what I was doing at all, so I had no other choice. It was a very humbling experience. (And I still ask a million questions even now, I just got used to it.)
I’d helped with student projects and assignments, but Oren suggested that I work on a personal project in my free time. I ended up deciding to laser cut a map of Austin, which ended up being very time consuming and tedious for my skill level at the time. Aside from the millions of questions I had to ask Oren about Illustrator and the laser cutter, I fell in love with laser cutting and vector graphics. (Vector graphics took more time to warm up to, but I eventually got there.)
Eventually I grew more and more comfortable with the Makerspace and the tools. I also began feeling much more comfortable helping students and teaching them how to use tools. I even became comfortable asking Oren all of my questions and started to come up with original ideas and had less fear about taking on projects.
My Philosophy Today
Anybody and everybody can be a learner and a Maker. Making is not characterized by one's ability to draw or woodwork or solder, but rather the process of learning and becoming. While artifacts are certainly an expression of one's proficiency in a skill, they are a bigger reflection of the person who made it. Every man-made object paints a picture of the learning, the risk, the confusion, the uncertainty, the doubt, the excitement, the effort, and the perseverance that paved the way.
Reflecting on my time in the UTeach program, and particularly on my time at Ann Richards, the four words that come to mind are curiousity, risk, resilience, and confidence, and in that order. When I started UTeach Maker, I certainly wasn't confident in my ability to make. Am I fully confident now? No. But because I know now how to take risks, ask questions, and try again when I fail, I'm confident in my ability to overcome obstacles, and that is one of the greatest gifts of Making.
Equity in Making
It is no secret that marginalized groups have been left behind in the Maker movement. Maker education and the broader Maker community are largely represented by educated white males and those of different backgrounds, with less representation for those of different races, cultures, socioeconomic backgrounds, and genders. Making in itself is an avenue that can foster equitable learning when everyone involved has adequate access to the necessary resources. However, a lack of diversity certainly affects young Makers who need to see and hear themselves in their educators, role models, and media.
To work towards resolving this and achieving a more equitable environment, we must progress towards increasing access to Maker education for all and the diversity of voices and ideas in Maker education. With different backgrounds, values, and experiences, we have much to learn from one another and are contributing to a widespread disservice if we are aware of inequity and fail to challenge it.
Girls Garage: How to Use Any Tool, Tackle Any Project, and Build the World You Want to See
By Emily Pilloton, Founder of Girls Garage
Girls Garage is a workshop in Berkeley, California where young girls from diverse backgrounds make up a community of builders. Emily Pilloton, a former public school teacher, was motivated to begin Girls Garage after observing differences in her female students' behavior when in a mixed-gender versus single-gender environment. Pilloton claims that the underrepresentation of women in STEM, architecture, and construction trades is often rationalized to a 'lack of interest,' when in reality women are faced with a lack of warm welcome in these fields and spaces. It follows that a natural consequence of feeling unwelcomed is a disinterest in openly participating in such environments. Even in fostering a space where women alone are doing the Making, few resources provide knowledge and information at a level that is accessible to all. Pilloton has intentionally written her book to provide a low-floor, high-ceiling approach for her audience. Clear, casual, and comprehensive, Girls Garage provides a gate of entry for someone who has never held a tool before to be molded into a competent builder and Maker.
I particularly enjoyed reading this book because of its seemingly parallel mission with the Makerspace at Ann Richards. While the Ann Richards Makerspace is situated in the context of public education, the goal of building a community of brave, young women builders is the same. As a single-gender learning environment, we believe that our school fosters student confidence, individuality, voice, and sense of self. In our school, Making has an important role in teaching students to take risks and persevere even in the face of failure and adversity, which plays a significant part in building the character traits described . Throughout her book, Pilloton intentionally replaces the word "fearless" with "brave," writing, "...because no one is fearless. We're all afraid of something... But fear is an invitation to be brave and grow! Our goal shouldn't be to live without fear, but to acknowledge that fear is unavoidable and to act bravely in spite of those fears. Bravery is something you can practice, something you can choose."
