My day time job is in the public school setting in central PA. I am an elementary Librarian and Makerspace teacher. Before you get this whole romantic notion of how one just helps kids find the book that changes their lives, let me stop you there. I have standards and a curriculum just like the other classes. Is my topic more fun? Clearly. Is it less work? Sometimes. Is it still hard? Yes. Not enough time in the day to plan, teach and maintain the collection. And that is only 3 days of my 6 day school cycle.
Makerspace is the class that the kids love to come to. Sometimes even more than PE. Sometimes. 3 days of the week I unleash my creativity and we go for it. Curriculum and standards? Yes. They are called the PA STEELS and we use the Engineering and Technology ones to shape our year. Hard? Yes. Fun? You betcha. My favorite line is “Figure it out”. My second favorite line is “What do YOU think?”…I’m also a big fan of “Huh. Imagine that!” I am working these kids to make choices, understand that failure is okay and part of the process and to keep trying. I’m working to prevent them from thinking that they can’t do something.
I went to school to be an art teacher, did that for a solid 5 years. I went to school longer to be an art educator than the actual time that I was one. Undergrad and graduate work took me around 7 years and I didn’t complete the grad work. Life takes you in so many directions. They can be hard. They can be fun, easy, interesting, enlightening, disappointing. But each one shapes you into who you are today. We call that your invisible back pack. You take it to all of your experiences. It’s filled with your life events. It shapes how you approach your day to day. How you approach life.
My backpack is full of all sorts of things. Artist, Teacher, Technology Coach, Crafter, Cook, Reader, Lover, Mother, Wife. Deacon, Presbyterian, Liberal. Dog Lover. There is fear and anxiety, self judgement. Phrases like “I’m not good enough”, “Their’s is better”, “They already had this idea, mine is not original, I can’t offer any value”. So many negatives. The last few years I have started to add more positives. “I am a creator”, “I am loved”, “I am at peace”. “I have joy”. I Love myself. That is my newest one and I’m still testing it out, but its in there.
Thank you for joining me on my journey and allowing me to join you on yours. Let’s make stuff together. Let’s start fresh from the here and the now. Let’s take tiny actions each day to add to our personal joy of creating and allowing our creativity to flow through whatever medium we choose. Let’s not worry what others think. Let’s make it anyway.
The Lewisberry Maker School 