The idea of implementing STEM curricula seems daunting.  It makes sense to keep us competitive globally, but really, how and when are teachers supposed to fit it in!

We are hearing that we need to focus on STEM curricula, and on incorporating 21st century skills.  We know that STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.  We are learning that the new, education focus is to bring collaborative, hands-on, real-world problem-solving activities back into the classroom.  We need to help our students develop critical thinking skills.

Many teachers are still not clear on how this “new” approach will impact their schools, or when.  The only consistent response I get from the teachers I talk to is that, when rating their comfort level with the four STEM subjects, engineering comes last (every time).

Engineering scares the daylights out of many of us.  It is like being artistic.   We have this idea that you have to be gifted to think like an engineer or create like an artist.  Hah!  Look at preschoolers (and kindergarteners if they are lucky)!

They engineer (design and build) all day long and don’t give it a second thought.  “Want to build a road from the block area to the science area?  Okay, let’s go!”  It is really not much different from being a city planner or working for Caltrans, our state’s agency responsible for highway, bridge, and rail transportation planning, construction, and maintenance.  But to a young learner, building that road will be fun.  Engineering is fun.  It’s creative, and it revolves around problem solving.

So how do the students engineer this feat in the midst of a bustling classroom?  They will do it step-by-step through collaboration, strategizing, teamwork, and many other important 21st century skills deemed necessary to succeed in the future.  And the best part is, they won’t even know they are honing skills they need to be successful in school and life.  They are engaged.  They are engineers!

So here is how a typical “engineering” activity in a classroom might incorporate 21st century skills.  Imagine a group of children playing in the block and vehicle area of their classroom.  A plan is percolating! Young engineers are gearing up.

And you thought they were just “playing with blocks”!  Now can you see engineering in your classroom?

About two months ago, my husband and I bought a fixer-upper.  When we signed away, we knew we had our work ahead of us.  No one had lived on the property for over a year, and the lack of love and attention showed.  The appliances didn’t work, there was brown water coming out of every faucet, and the walls were infested with bugs.  But we had a plan.  We had a list!  We even had a budget.  We thought we were good to go.  Oh, how we thought wrong.

As soon as we closed escrow, we did what any average, new condo-owners would do:  we gutted the downstairs.  We tore out the cabinets, sink, countertop, and appliances in the kitchen; we stripped down the bathroom to nothing but pipes; and we ripped out the existing flooring.  (Needless to say, the bugs found a new home.)  Then we (we = I) cried.  The downstairs looked awful—it seemed like we’d never get it to look like a livable space again.

A few days later, our wood floors were installed throughout the downstairs.  They looked beautiful!  They stayed beautiful, too—until two weeks after the install when we had a terrible flood in the kitchen.  The flooring had to be gutted and re-laid.  The plumbing had to be fixed.  The wallet had to be emptied.

Yesterday, I discovered a leak coming from our outside patio into the interior track of the sliding glass door.  Rainwater had filled the track, and somehow sludge and earwigs had made their way in there, too.  All I could do was heave a deep sigh and then go grab some paper towels, a plastic bag, and my trusty bottle of Windex (my cleaner for everything).

So why am I sharing some[1] of my home-renovation woes with you?  That’s easy—I know you can relate!  As teachers, you renovate every day.  Whether it’s a dated lesson plan or a jaded student, you take something that needs work and turn it into something worth showing off.  You are constantly adjusting and improving the classroom experience for your students, much like I am restoring and redecorating my living environment.

How do you do it?  Or, better yet, how do you do it so gracefully?  And, more so, how do you do it every day of the week?  How do you not become overwhelmed by all the changes you want to make?

Like some of your renos, I presume, the plan we began with has been replaced with reality.  Our list grows longer every day, though we are crossing lines off.  And the budget my husband and I had set is now something we laugh about.  (Does money evaporate out of your wallet, too?)  But the good news is that our home is beginning to feel like a home.  At the end of the day, this is where we want to relax and, if needed, clean out sliding glass door tracks, or unclog tub drains, or install ceiling fans, or . . . Some renos are just worth it, don’t you think?

It was a sea of hot pink, quite wonderful really that sea of pink.  Just looking at it brought a surge of joy to my heart.  For every woman wearing a hot pink tee shirt was a breast cancer survivor.  There were over a 1,000 survivors on stage for the Survivor’s Tribute at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on September 26 this year.  And so many of my friends and colleagues were among those swimming in that sea.

I was the captain of Team TCR as we proudly participated in the Race for the Cure held in Newport Beach, California.  Over 30 team members proudly walked among 24,000 plus participants.  Identifying us was our mascot T.C. Bear on a sign that was proudly held aloft for the whole route.  Almost everyone was sporting something pink—shirts, boas, hats, and tiaras.

Being part of the race is always inspiring.  So often we want to do something to help others, but we don’t know how too.  As first time participant James Grace commented,  “I’ve said in the past, I don’t have time, I’m too busy, but this year I made the time, I did it.  I didn’t stand on the sidelines.  I made a difference.”

And making a difference is what Komen is all about.  The organization funds programs that help women fight breast cancer.  Early detection is the best defense against breast cancer and just $125 can fund a mammogram for a woman in need.  TCR has committed to that need.  This year we have raised over $10,000 for the cause.  If you’d like to make a contribution go to the Team Teacher Created Resources- OC Komen page and make a general donation.  Like James, you’ll be making a difference.

Visit our Facebook page to see pictures from the event.