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My Challenge:

I am starting my first blog located on my first website.  This is my challenge.

I hope that I can help parents, teachers and home schoolers find creative and fun ways of exposing young people to STEM subjects.  I have been a teacher for 36 years, now I am semi-retired; I can offer ideas to help educators that, based on many career ups and downs, working with hundreds of students, will impact students and open their eyes to the amazing world of opportunities that STEM can bring.  As a teacher and parent, I am inspired by the young people that have passed through my life.  I am amazed to see the fantastic things that my former students are doing in university, in their careers and with their lives.  I have some insight based on hindsight through my career as a classroom science teacher about what works for educating young people, what motivates them and how to implement strategies to have your students thrive in your class and for their future.  Rich

The Challenge:

There are many ways to motivate students to become motivated to accomplish great creative things.  I discuss with students the people behind inventions such as the super soaker water toy, windshield wiper, frisbee and microwave.  Behind those inventions are interesting, motivated and persistent people.  Students love to read about the “behind the scenes” of those inventions and inventors.  I want to create a classroom atmosphere that encourages students to know that they can be inventors and that their ideas have value and should be pursued.  To start to create that kind of classroom I introduce the kind of people I want my students to emulate.

A Solution:

If you do not know of William Kamkwamb, “The Boy Who Harvested the Wind” Then you should learn about him and expose your students to his interesting saga.  He is an inspiration, which obvious from his 2012 TED talk.  In my class we discuss and compare his circumstances to the students; I want to show my students that hard work, curiosity, inventiveness and persistence are characteristics that can lead to a fulfilling life.  Mr. Kamkwamb is a perfect illustration of that

Resources:

Ted Talk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QkNxt7MpWM

Book: The Boy Who Harvested the Wind

https://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Harnessed-Wind-Electricity/dp/0061730335

Movie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPkr9HmglG0&t=2s