Beyond STEM: St. Christopher's BUILD Program and the Art of Learning Through Doing
This week we join our co-host Hiram Cuevas and his colleagues from St. Christopher's School as they delve into their unique "BUILD" program, designed to integrate innovation, learning, and design across all grade levels. Discover how this all-boys school cultivates curiosity, encourages hands-on projects, and fosters a safe environment for learning from failure.
- BUILD (Boys Using Innovation to Learn and Design) program, combining STEM/STEAM approaches with a broad, skills-based, project-centered focus
- Album of photos from St. Christopher’s BUILD program lab
- The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway, author, professor, and entrepreneur Scott Galloway brings business analysis and insights four times a week.
- St. Christopher's School
- International Boys' Schools Coalition (IBSC)
- Canva
- Glowforge
- Cricut
- FIRST LEGO League
- St. Catherine's School
- University School (Cleveland)
- Richard V. Reeves (Books)
- Photo of Bill with his melee weapon gift from Hiram
Transcript
Peter Frank:
Ed, welcome to Talking technology with Atlas,
Peter Frank:
the show that plugs you into the important topics and trends for
Peter Frank:
technology leaders all through a unique Independent School lens.
Peter Frank:
We'll hear stories from technology directors and other
Peter Frank:
special guests from the Independent School community,
Peter Frank:
and provide you with focused learning and deep dive topics.
Peter Frank:
And now please welcome your host, Kristina llewellen, hello
Peter Frank:
everyone,
Christina Lewellen:
and welcome back to talking technology with
Christina Lewellen:
Atlas. I'm Kristina llewellen, the president and CEO of the
Christina Lewellen:
Association of Technology Leaders in Independent Schools.
Bill Stites:
And I am Bill Stites, the Director of
Bill Stites:
Technology at Montclair Kimberly Academy in Montclair, New
Bill Stites:
Jersey, and
Hiram Cuevas:
I'm Hiram Cuevas, Director of Information Systems
Hiram Cuevas:
and Academic Technology at St Christopher school in Richmond,
Hiram Cuevas:
Virginia.
Christina Lewellen:
Hello and Good Morning, guys. I have
Christina Lewellen:
missed you, and I always look forward to seeing you each week.
Christina Lewellen:
So how's everybody? How you doing? I'm doing
Hiram Cuevas:
very well. That's good. It's smiley spring. It is
Hiram Cuevas:
finally
Christina Lewellen:
getting there, and Bill. We're gonna
Christina Lewellen:
drop this pod in a while, so it'll be some time, but it was
Christina Lewellen:
your birthday. It was can you tell everyone what your darling
Christina Lewellen:
bromance gave you your BFF, Hiram? Oh, yes. What did Hiram
Christina Lewellen:
get you for your birthday?
Bill Stites:
Hiram sent me a melee weapon for the zombie
Bill Stites:
apocalypse. It's about as long as my forearm has got multiple
Bill Stites:
cutting surfaces as well as a nice sharp pointy end, because,
Bill Stites:
as they say in Game of Thrones, sticking with the pointy end, I
Bill Stites:
literally got this box. It looked like a small box of roses
Bill Stites:
one might send their loved one. That's what it looked like. And
Bill Stites:
it was sent from my loved one, and it was, in my mind, equal to
Bill Stites:
a bouquet of roses. It was my new melee weapon of choice. My
Bill Stites:
wife looked at it, and she's just simply said, Oh no, what
Bill Stites:
did Hiram do? And I pulled it out, and I showed it to her, and
Bill Stites:
she looked at me, and she said, What are you going to do with
Bill Stites:
that? I'm going to sharpen it up, run around and pretend I'm
Bill Stites:
in the zombie apocalypse in my backyard. I'm going to play like
Bill Stites:
a big kid, and then when Hiram comes, we'll just act stuff out
Bill Stites:
like we did when we were in the VR zombie at the last Atlas
Bill Stites:
conference. You can't
Christina Lewellen:
go wrong, Peter, producer, Peter, I think
Christina Lewellen:
you need to make a little note that if the guys are fighting
Christina Lewellen:
with weapons in the backyard, I think we're gonna need to record
Christina Lewellen:
that. I mean, oh my god, y'all well, and
Bill Stites:
we've got a picture, so I'm happy to share
Bill Stites:
pictures. I'm sure Hiram can provide purchasing advice for
Bill Stites:
those concerned about the zombie apocalypse and when it comes and
Bill Stites:
what you need to do. This will never need to be reloaded. This
Bill Stites:
will never need any type of spark to ignite anything. This
Bill Stites:
is the perfect weapon. And
Hiram Cuevas:
as Nicole mentioned, World War Z is the
Hiram Cuevas:
book to read 100%
Christina Lewellen:
is it a toy or is it a real weapon? Oh,
Bill Stites:
no, no. No, no. It's legitimately forged steel.
Bill Stites:
No. Chrissy, check your text messages because you've got a
Bill Stites:
picture of it in your phone. I thought it was
Christina Lewellen:
a toy. I mean, it's kind of colorful.
Christina Lewellen:
Jen, you sent a weapon in the mail to Bill. What is wrong with
Christina Lewellen:
you?
Bill Stites:
Oh, and it came in a zombie box. It was designed
Bill Stites:
for zombie aficionados.
Hiram Cuevas:
This is out of control, it is, but you brought
Hiram Cuevas:
it up. It's about as close as to Lobo as you could get. That's
Hiram Cuevas:
what I was thinking.
Christina Lewellen:
For all of you curious listeners, we will
Christina Lewellen:
put a link in the show notes to the picture that was dropped in
Christina Lewellen:
our group chat a few days ago. I'm not sure how I feel about
Christina Lewellen:
mailing weapons to people, but Bill Happy Birthday anyway.
Bill Stites:
Thank you very much. I will tell you side note
Bill Stites:
for a wedding gift. I did get a potato cannon from one of my
Bill Stites:
groomsmen, so it's right in line with the type of gifts I get.
Bill Stites:
It's a perfect segue. It is, and that came from a friend called
Bill Stites:
Evil Paul. That's his name, and my wife loves him, as she does
Bill Stites:
with Hiram.
Christina Lewellen:
Okay, y'all bill is fired up today. I mean
Christina Lewellen:
potato cannons, and do not bring a potato cannon to the Atlas
Christina Lewellen:
conference. Okay, I don't have enough insurance for that. All
Christina Lewellen:
right, so here we are today, recording another fiery podcast,
Christina Lewellen:
and we're really excited because we've been wanting to do this
Christina Lewellen:
for a while. Some of you who have been listening to us for a
Christina Lewellen:
bit know that on occasion, Hiram will talk to us about his stem
Christina Lewellen:
and innovation program at St Christopher school in Richmond,
Christina Lewellen:
Virginia. He refers to it as the build program. And what I think
Christina Lewellen:
is really cool is that we've decided to actually talk about
Christina Lewellen:
that program. We've talked about some of MKA stuff with Bill and
Christina Lewellen:
his team before, so now we're going to spend some time on
Christina Lewellen:
Hiram school with some of Hiram colleagues. So Hiram, I'm going
Christina Lewellen:
to actually give you just a second. To to tell us a little
Christina Lewellen:
bit about what build stands for, and you've got a couple of
Christina Lewellen:
friends with you there in the office, so please introduce us
Christina Lewellen:
to your colleagues.
Hiram Cuevas:
Thank you so much, Kristina, and we're very excited
Hiram Cuevas:
to showcase the build program. I think it's fair to say, when the
Hiram Cuevas:
acronym build was developed, we were trying to really brand STEM
Hiram Cuevas:
or STEAM or stream, because it went through multiple
Hiram Cuevas:
iterations, yeah, into something that was very, very meaningful
Hiram Cuevas:
for our community. We are an all boys school, J, K to 12, and so
Hiram Cuevas:
we came up with the concept of build, which stands for boys
Hiram Cuevas:
using innovation to learn and design. And since we also belong
Hiram Cuevas:
to the international Boys School coalition, it really resonated
Hiram Cuevas:
very well with that community. And one of our very own Ty
Hiram Cuevas:
Campbell at the Gilman school is also part of the ibsc. As a
Hiram Cuevas:
result, we came up with the bill program for branding purposes.
Hiram Cuevas:
Really focused a great deal on how to execute this concept
Hiram Cuevas:
across the lower the middle and the upper schools. And as a
Hiram Cuevas:
result, I've brought in with us my colleagues from each of the
Hiram Cuevas:
divisions, and our upper school person is also the build
Hiram Cuevas:
coordinator across all of the curricular strands, and we're
Hiram Cuevas:
all here to showcase and share what we've encountered and
Hiram Cuevas:
learned that's really cool. I'll start with our lower school. So
Hiram Cuevas:
we have Gayle Warren in our lower school. Good
Gail Warren:
morning. I had the pleasure of working with JK
Gail Warren:
through fifth grade boys and teachers. We have a unique
Gail Warren:
approach to our build program in the Lower School. We have a
Gail Warren:
Learning Commons model. I can speak more to that a little bit
Gail Warren:
later, but it's definitely a wonderful program that we
Gail Warren:
collaborate with our librarians, and we have instructional techs
Gail Warren:
as well. Yeah.
Unknown:
David Shin, in the middle school, hi Kristina.
David Shin:
Hi Bill. Good morning. Nice to meet you. My
David Shin:
name is David Chen. I teach in the middle school. I'm a science
David Shin:
teacher here at St Christopher, nice
Jim Guion:
to meet you, too. Hi. Kristina bill, I am Jim Guyon. I
Jim Guion:
am the JK 12 build coordinator, Upper School teacher and
Jim Guion:
instructional technologist. I teach few classes in the Upper
Jim Guion:
School, and I work with teachers in the Upper School and across
Jim Guion:
all the divisions to help integrate our build program
Jim Guion:
across the curriculum.
Hiram Cuevas:
Awesome and Christina, one of the
Hiram Cuevas:
interesting things is, from a departmental perspective, it's
Hiram Cuevas:
not in a computer department. It's actually incorporated in
Hiram Cuevas:
the arts department as part of our overall JK through 12 model.
Hiram Cuevas:
That's really
Christina Lewellen:
cool. So you guys are obviously stringing
Christina Lewellen:
this all the way through the life cycle of your students,
Christina Lewellen:
right? That you start at the Lower School, and you have a way
Christina Lewellen:
that this applies to them, and then to middle and then to high
Christina Lewellen:
school. Tell me the origin of build, what that kind of stands
Christina Lewellen:
for, and what has it come to mean? How long have you guys
Christina Lewellen:
been doing it? Build
Jim Guion:
actually stands for boys using innovation to learn
Jim Guion:
and design. And like everything we do here at St Christopher's,
Jim Guion:
our build program is informed by what we know about how boys
Jim Guion:
learn. And so it's really based on the idea that we are trying
Jim Guion:
to spark boys sense of curiosity and wonder. We know that boys
Jim Guion:
learn by doing, and so our project across the curriculum,
Jim Guion:
in all levels, is based on skills, space, Project centered.
Jim Guion:
It incorporates best practices for what we know about boys,
Jim Guion:
which is project based, learning, technology infused,
Jim Guion:
applications, competition and hands on experiences. And so
Jim Guion:
we're trying to bring that to our boys right across the
Jim Guion:
curriculum, by getting their hands dirty, by actually getting
Jim Guion:
them to build things and make things and think about how to
Jim Guion:
design things. There's a lot of iteration. There's a lot of just
Jim Guion:
actually doing things and being okay with failure. Having
Christina Lewellen:
this program across all levels had to be
Christina Lewellen:
pretty intentional, and I know we'll get into some of the
Christina Lewellen:
specifics on that. But was this something that you had all
Christina Lewellen:
buttoned up with a bow and said, Hey, here's our new build
Christina Lewellen:
program, and went out to your community and your teachers with
Christina Lewellen:
it all at once, or was it something that sort of grew over
Christina Lewellen:
time?
Hiram Cuevas:
Well, we were always interested in developing
Hiram Cuevas:
a STEM program and finding opportunities for our boys to
Hiram Cuevas:
engage in design thinking. And the challenge that we had is we
Hiram Cuevas:
kept seeing this particular niche go into several
Hiram Cuevas:
iterations. You had steam, you had stream, you had stem, and at
Hiram Cuevas:
one point, the head of our upper school said, Why don't they just
Hiram Cuevas:
call it school? Because they were trying to incorporate so
Hiram Cuevas:
many different things that we needed to really hone in on what
Hiram Cuevas:
we wanted to do. Make sure it was mission driven. Make sure it
Hiram Cuevas:
satisfied how boys learn best, and the genesis of build
Hiram Cuevas:
occurred. So
Christina Lewellen:
now, can you guys talk to me a little bit
Christina Lewellen:
about how it. This plays out in each of those divisions, because
Christina Lewellen:
obviously you have the representation there. Let's
Christina Lewellen:
start with the Lower School, with Gayle. How do you guys fly
Christina Lewellen:
the build concept to your lower school? So I feel like
Gail Warren:
ours is a really organic approach to the build
Gail Warren:
program. We had the Learning Commons model, which essentially
Gail Warren:
is the librarians and the technology instructional
Gail Warren:
technologists in the Lower School, we meet with every grade
Gail Warren:
level once a month, and so we are hoping that we're not
Gail Warren:
teaching anything in isolation. We don't want it to be skill
Gail Warren:
driven in that aspect, we actually talk to them about what
Gail Warren:
their curricular needs are, and we build our build program from
Gail Warren:
that, for instance, in kindergarten, they are studying
Gail Warren:
communities and habitats, and they may be building igloos. And
Gail Warren:
fifth grade, they're learning about Ancient Greece. And so we
Gail Warren:
have the boys develop a breakout room, and we dress at our
Gail Warren:
costumes, and we build Aqua Dots and catapults competitions. So
Gail Warren:
we do all kinds of things with our teachers, and it's really
Gail Warren:
been an awesome thing. It's been at least a decade in the making
Gail Warren:
as far as the Learning Commons, and it has definitely grown.
Gail Warren:
It's more like I said begin with. It's more organic, and
Gail Warren:
every year, I feel like we add and morph and evolve, which has
Gail Warren:
been really a great process to be a part of, really fosters
Gail Warren:
curiosity with the boys. A lot of it's project based, which is
Gail Warren:
just incredible. Some of the things that the boys come up
Gail Warren:
with, and I think that really has helped. As far as our
Gail Warren:
curriculum overall, we're seeing such growth as far as the
Gail Warren:
application process with other subject areas we work with
Gail Warren:
everything from art to social studies and history and science
Gail Warren:
foreign world languages that we have. We just did a program last
Gail Warren:
night. It was our Saint celebrate the world. And there
Gail Warren:
were lots of components of build within that process where we
Gail Warren:
invite community members in parents and the boys get to
Gail Warren:
actually showcase them and their families what their heritage is.
Gail Warren:
And so it's an awesome process to see
David Shin:
Hi again. This is David. I'm really encouraged,
David Shin:
and I think Jim and Gayle and Hiram can agree to this, that
David Shin:
COVID Or no COVID, zoom or no zoom, the idea of curiosity and
David Shin:
wonder has not died. And I'm so optimistic that whether it's a
David Shin:
boy school or a girl school or CO ed school, like the idea that
David Shin:
we really have amazing kids who wonder and who are curious about
David Shin:
things is really cool. And I think schools should really
David Shin:
foster that and encourage that, and love that. In the middle
David Shin:
school, the idea of tackling a problem through a project, and I
David Shin:
guess you have to grade it, because there's a report card,
David Shin:
so there's part of that too. But in the science department, we
David Shin:
have really low tech stuff, like we drop a raw egg off of our
David Shin:
second floor balcony and the third floor balcony and, Oh man,
David Shin:
it's like, so low budget, and it's still so so much fun. And
David Shin:
we still calculate kinetic energy, potential, energy,
David Shin:
force, velocity, acceleration, really, really neat, like
David Shin:
science variables. And then we also use some high tech stuff,
David Shin:
like computer assisted design software through some a company
David Shin:
called white box, in the beginning of the year, we design
David Shin:
bridges, and you get first place if your bridge is the lightest
David Shin:
and carry the most weight. So we do a competition using those
David Shin:
bridges. So we go kind of from high tech to low tech, and the
David Shin:
theme of curiosity and competition and just the love of
David Shin:
like, I wonder, what happens if I rip this parachute in the
David Shin:
middle? You know, is it going to go faster straighter? What's the
David Shin:
physics behind this? So I love that part of our curriculum. My
David Shin:
least favorite part is like, I still have to grade them. But
David Shin:
beyond that, they're still really happy if their egg drops
David Shin:
without cracking. So I love that part. Hi. This
Unknown:
is Jim in
Jim Guion:
the Upper School. This is just my second year
Jim Guion:
here. So over the last two years, the build program in the
Jim Guion:
Upper School has incorporated largely Well, every ninth grader
Jim Guion:
goes through my classroom, they get essentially a quarter of
Jim Guion:
instruction in the build Lab, which is basically an
Jim Guion:
introduction to all of the tools that we have there, which is
Jim Guion:
everything from just basic build tools like screwdrivers and
Jim Guion:
hammers, and we also have 3d printers and laser cutters and a
Jim Guion:
lot of different tools, sewing machines. We have a kitchen, a
Jim Guion:
little bit everything, and I try to get the kids hands on every
Jim Guion:
tool over the course of their time with me. In addition to
Jim Guion:
that, we want to give them an introduction to sort of a
Jim Guion:
structured problem solving method that they can use just
Jim Guion:
across their lives. But in this classroom specifically, and for
Jim Guion:
us, that's the design thinking model. And so we try to
Jim Guion:
incorporate that. I try to teach them that through the projects
Jim Guion:
that we're doing, just get them through to go through a
Jim Guion:
structured process, to solve problems, working their way
Jim Guion:
through what is an iterative process, one that has failure
Jim Guion:
built into the model, because particularly our high school
Jim Guion:
kids don't have a lot of opportunities in their academic
Jim Guion:
life to fail being able to do something that the process is
Jim Guion:
the point. Yes, of course, we want there to be a thing at the
Jim Guion:
end, but how you get there is more important than necessarily
Jim Guion:
what's at the end. So that's a big part of what we do. And so I
Jim Guion:
do that in that ninth grade class. I get every single ninth
Jim Guion:
grade I also have an elective that's open to anyone, and then
Jim Guion:
a good part of my day is just being in that lab and being a
Jim Guion:
resource for students who have other projects in other areas
Jim Guion:
that involve making a poster or making a model or doing
Jim Guion:
something else, and being a resource in that room for that
Jim Guion:
opportunity. We're at the point now, though, where I'm finding I
Jim Guion:
have now students that have been through the program since Lower
Jim Guion:
School, and so some of those introductory skills are becoming
Jim Guion:
less and less important. And so what we're thinking about now
Jim Guion:
is, how does that program morph into something that's different?
Jim Guion:
How do we use our time better? How do we be a better resource
Jim Guion:
for the kids? Because I'm not having to teach, here's how you
Jim Guion:
use a 3d printer. I'm not having to teach, here's how you use a
Jim Guion:
CAD program. They've already seen that, and they've heard
Jim Guion:
some of these ideas of how design thinking works. And so
Jim Guion:
how do we build on what we've already done? And so that's
Jim Guion:
where we're at. Now,
Bill Stites:
Jim, I want to dig in on something because you
Bill Stites:
mentioned something earlier. You kind of just expanded on it
Bill Stites:
there, and it's something that I'm very intrigued by, and I've
Bill Stites:
tried to talk to as many people about what it means to them, and
Bill Stites:
that has to do with the idea of being okay or embracing failure
Bill Stites:
as something that you can learn from how do you have those
Bill Stites:
conversations with the students? How do you have those
Bill Stites:
conversations with the teaching faculty there, in terms of using
Bill Stites:
failure as a teaching tool, as a method for learning and growing.
Bill Stites:
From what do those conversations look like?
Jim Guion:
So with students, those conversations are very
Jim Guion:
often you seem like you're paralyzed here. What is your
Jim Guion:
concern? Why is it difficult to start? Why can we not get moving
Jim Guion:
forward? And a lot of times, if you can tease out where that's
Jim Guion:
coming from is it is a genuine fear of failure. The idea that
Jim Guion:
your first draft has to be a perfect draft is really powerful
Jim Guion:
with a lot of our kids, many of whom consider themselves to be
Jim Guion:
and by all accounts, are high performing students. And so
Jim Guion:
being able to just say, look, it is okay. It's a draft. It's
Jim Guion:
supposed to be a draft. In fact, if you did it right the first
Jim Guion:
time, what would you learn from it? You'd know only what you
Jim Guion:
know now. And so being able to sort of divorce that from what
Jim Guion:
is traditionally a writing assignment or a math assignment,
Jim Guion:
being able to divorce that and put it together with building a
Jim Guion:
bridge or designing the ultimate desk organizer, being able to
Jim Guion:
divorce that from what's a traditional sort of academic
Jim Guion:
goal, and then say, Look, do you know if this is going to work?
Jim Guion:
No, we'll try it. And then if it doesn't, then you know something
Jim Guion:
you didn't know before you know what doesn't work. There's a
Jim Guion:
great quote by I think it's Edison. I haven't failed. I've
Jim Guion:
learned 10,000 ways it doesn't work. I think that's just
Jim Guion:
fabulous, and I use it a lot. The only way to learn is to try
Jim Guion:
something, have it not work, and then figure out how it can and
Jim Guion:
so how I bring that to the teachers is the idea is, look,
Jim Guion:
in this project, how many drafts are you doing? Are they all
Jim Guion:
graded? How much feedback are they getting? And a lot of our
Jim Guion:
teachers are already doing that. But putting that in terms of
Jim Guion:
explicitly, in terms of a methodology for solving a
Jim Guion:
problem, put it in terms in a structured way to go about
Jim Guion:
getting to a goal with multiple iterations, I think it just
Jim Guion:
helps reframe a lot of what they're already doing. Really.
Jim Guion:
The
Bill Stites:
other question that I have for that is something for
Bill Stites:
all three of you. And Gayle, you kind of mentioned it with
Bill Stites:
regards to the Learning Commons, in terms of going in and working
Bill Stites:
with the classroom teachers. And Jim, you talked about it from
Bill Stites:
the science perspective. And the egg drop is actually something
Bill Stites:
we do, not at quite the technical level that I think you
Bill Stites:
might be doing, but we do that with our third graders in terms
Bill Stites:
of introducing those concepts. Jim, you said you have the kids
Bill Stites:
for a quarter in the ninth grade. What does this look like
Bill Stites:
in the context of, how does this get into the classroom, whether
Bill Stites:
it's at the lower the middle or the upper school, are they
Bill Stites:
pulled out classes? You've got them for a quarter to introduce
Bill Stites:
it. At the lower school, you know, what does that look like?
Bill Stites:
And at the middle school, what does that look like? Because in
Bill Stites:
a lot of these cases, we'll hear about schools that are putting
Bill Stites:
together like a maker space, or they've got stem but it's
Bill Stites:
generally done in isolation. It's pulled out. It's a set
Bill Stites:
class that really doesn't connect. What does that look
Bill Stites:
like across the different divisional levels?
Gail Warren:
Well, in the Lower School, it's not a pull out
Gail Warren:
program at all. Like I said, we meet with each grade level once
Gail Warren:
a month to talk about where they are in their curriculum, and we
Gail Warren:
actually push into the classroom. We are a partner
Gail Warren:
with. Teacher quite often. The first time we do it, it's really
Gail Warren:
us modeling it for the teacher as well as for the boys that
Gail Warren:
we're working with. But we are definitely in the classrooms at
Gail Warren:
first, some teachers are a little leery about it, but they
Gail Warren:
are quick to just love it and get right on board with us.
Christina Lewellen:
That's a question that I had for you is
Christina Lewellen:
about that rollout, that change management, tell me again, how
Christina Lewellen:
long you guys have been doing this in a really, like,
Christina Lewellen:
formalized way, and was the teacher piece of it harder in
Christina Lewellen:
the beginning, easier now, because it's a part of the
Christina Lewellen:
culture, like, how did you guys manage that?
Hiram Cuevas:
So in many instances, it's similar to the
Hiram Cuevas:
computer lab model that we experienced back in the day
Hiram Cuevas:
where we would interface with the teacher, say, what exactly
Hiram Cuevas:
are you trying to get done in the classroom? So we had a
Hiram Cuevas:
little bit of that already in place with that model, and this
Hiram Cuevas:
married along very easily to get to that next stage, because this
Hiram Cuevas:
was ownership by the teacher. It wasn't driven by Bill, it wasn't
Hiram Cuevas:
driven by the computer teacher or the computer lab. It was
Hiram Cuevas:
driven by the curriculum and the needs of the individual
Hiram Cuevas:
teachers. So there was already good buy in going into the
Hiram Cuevas:
project, and we've been doing this now for just over 10 years.
Hiram Cuevas:
Bill
David Shin:
kind of going back to the idea of failure. I coach
David Shin:
tennis here, and if you ask anyone at our school, who do you
David Shin:
think is like, the least athletic person on campus, I
David Shin:
would probably say, like, David shins up there, like, in the top
David Shin:
three, like, for sure. So, like, I'm probably, like, the last
David Shin:
person you would want on your team. So Hiram,
Christina Lewellen:
do not give him a weapon, please. Yeah.
David Shin:
No, you don't want me with a machete. What I
David Shin:
realized when I'm coaching tennis is that it's a really,
David Shin:
really perfect example of when you miss hit something, and you
David Shin:
lose a point, you feel that failure, but you know that the
David Shin:
next ball is coming, the next points come in. So I value this
David Shin:
idea of failure so much, so I think it goes along with
David Shin:
athletics, and the very little I understand about athletics that
David Shin:
I love so much, that you got the next ball, the next point, the
David Shin:
next serve to do, and you just keep rolling. And that I think
David Shin:
really works well with a program like build or like STEM or
David Shin:
STEAM, whatever you call it, in the classroom, because you're
David Shin:
not playing basketball inside the classroom, but you could
David Shin:
build a bridge in a science room and have that be very relevant.
David Shin:
And you can see that just because you broke part of your
David Shin:
bridge does not mean that you're a failure and that your parents
David Shin:
don't love you, you still can do what you can to either fix that
David Shin:
problem or just start over. And it's no big deal. It's just
David Shin:
sticks and glue. So it's really that idea of, I'm not scared to
David Shin:
fail. If I get an A minus versus an A, life will go on and we're
David Shin:
gonna be just fine. And I think build and stem or whatever you
David Shin:
call it, is just a perfect tool to get that very important
David Shin:
lesson in life that failure is good and good for growth and is
David Shin:
part of learning. So how do we get the teachers more involved
David Shin:
and more buying in? I think the idea of failure is such a big
David Shin:
part of education now that it's not something we have to win
David Shin:
people over, just like we know the importance of athletics is.
David Shin:
I mean, we don't have to convince people to play
David Shin:
basketball. People play basketball. It's a very popular
David Shin:
thing to do. I think people and teachers make that correlation
David Shin:
really well nowadays, that part of learning is failing, and that
David Shin:
building something or designing something's a great way to get
David Shin:
to that part of education.
Christina Lewellen:
If I could just ask one final high level
Christina Lewellen:
question on the failure topic, my co hosts know that I'm a big
Christina Lewellen:
fan of Scott Galloway, and he's a business professor and an
Christina Lewellen:
entrepreneur and a podcast host, Scott Galloway talks lately a
Christina Lewellen:
lot about young men in our country, and you obviously have
Christina Lewellen:
as an all boys school are raising and educating young men
Christina Lewellen:
as they head out into adulthood, and this topic of failure
Christina Lewellen:
specific to boys and young men, I'm Just curious if, in
Christina Lewellen:
particular, has your team ever had conversations about that?
Christina Lewellen:
Because obviously, failure is a part of innovation, regardless
Christina Lewellen:
of gender. But I think that just stopping down and recognizing
Christina Lewellen:
that the kind of tough guy image of young men, it's almost as if,
Christina Lewellen:
in some ways, we're breaking the mold of them perceiving that
Christina Lewellen:
they shouldn't fail, or that they're not allowed to fail,
Christina Lewellen:
like the whole you're not allowed to cry thing. I'm just
Christina Lewellen:
curious if you guys have had conversations about that,
Christina Lewellen:
because I would imagine that creating a safe culture of
Christina Lewellen:
failure, it's not just that you're creating a failure
Christina Lewellen:
culture. You're creating a safe space to fail. And I'm just
Christina Lewellen:
curious if you have any thoughts. Us about that specific
Christina Lewellen:
to boys and young men.
Jim Guion:
I've had those explicit conversations with boys
Jim Guion:
in my classroom because part of being okay with yourself failing
Jim Guion:
is understanding that you have to have empathy for other
Jim Guion:
people's failings as well. And so I've had those explicit
Jim Guion:
conversations where we're in a group, boys love to joke with
Jim Guion:
each other, and there is a line where that crosses from simply
Jim Guion:
joking into something else, and so that line in my classroom,
Jim Guion:
when we start to approach that line, those conversations happen
Jim Guion:
right away that yes, what he did didn't work. It may have turned
Jim Guion:
out funny, but if we're not all laughing together, then we're
Jim Guion:
doing it wrong, right? We are all going to come to a point
Jim Guion:
where we have hit something that we don't yet know how to do.
Jim Guion:
That's what we're trying to do. That's what we're getting. We
Jim Guion:
are stretching ourselves to a point where you're not going to
Jim Guion:
know how to do it right the first time, and if you're not,
Jim Guion:
you're not reaching far enough. And so those conversations
Jim Guion:
explicitly happen in my classroom, and I'm sure in
Jim Guion:
everyone else's
Gail Warren:
I can speak to the Lower School, we also have those
Gail Warren:
conversations. You know, our boys can be anywhere from four
Gail Warren:
to 11, and that's actually part of the process. When we talk
Gail Warren:
about a build project and we're working on something, we have
Gail Warren:
something called our core values in the Lower School, and we
Gail Warren:
adhere, as Jim mentioned, to like the kindness piece of it,
Gail Warren:
not just your failure, but your partner. It's a collaborative
Gail Warren:
model. We're really intentional about talking about that, that
Gail Warren:
the first time you try something, it's probably not
Gail Warren:
going to work, but that's what scientists do all the time. And
Gail Warren:
so we try, try again. It's worked very well. I feel like
Gail Warren:
we're so boy centered. I always say to my friends around town,
Gail Warren:
we do boys. Well, we know boys, and we try to make that a boy
Gail Warren:
centered environment, and it's safe to fail. It's good to take
Gail Warren:
a risk there.
David Shin:
So Kristina, we talk about masculinity a lot at our
David Shin:
school, obviously, because it's a boy school, and the guy that
David Shin:
came by to Richmond last week was Richard Reeves. I don't know
David Shin:
if you've ever read any of his books, but he talks a lot about
David Shin:
this kind of like masculinity and how boys are not doing well.
David Shin:
There's higher rates of suicide, higher rates of mental issues.
David Shin:
And I do a lot of research around international boy school
David Shin:
coalition. And just recently, we had a conversation with several
David Shin:
coaches around the world about how athletics programs or being
David Shin:
in a team environment and then not doing well or losing is just
David Shin:
the right place and time for coaches to intervene. So rather
David Shin:
than looking at the typical like boy spaces in the locker room
David Shin:
where you have terrible jokes or whatever, that really offend a
David Shin:
real positive part of athletics, or anytime you're in a team and
David Shin:
you fail, is that it puts you in a safe but vulnerable place. And
David Shin:
it is the place where you have those guards down and you can
David Shin:
talk to them like a human being and really have an effect on
David Shin:
really, the rest of your life, not just a little point that you
David Shin:
just missed. So I love having those moments with kids,
David Shin:
especially in the Middle School, where they are making decisions
David Shin:
about the rest of their lives, just about their character and
David Shin:
who they're going to be and who they want to be, and who they
David Shin:
believe that other people are seeing them as and using those
David Shin:
moments as times where we can really make changes in their
David Shin:
lives. Yeah,
Christina Lewellen:
that certainly stretches beyond your
Christina Lewellen:
traditional STEM program. So forgive me the question, but I'm
Christina Lewellen:
the only non educator on this call at the moment, and so I'm
Christina Lewellen:
curious, what is a Learning Commons is that well known?
Christina Lewellen:
Like, if I were a teacher, would I know what that is? I
Gail Warren:
feel like it's a relatively new when I say that
Gail Warren:
ours has been in place a little over a decade, and we were one
Gail Warren:
of the first pioneers of that, and it was the idea of not
Gail Warren:
teaching tech skills or media skills or research skills in
Gail Warren:
isolation. And so it was adopted by our lower school. At first,
Gail Warren:
our administration had to kind of say, we're going to go to
Gail Warren:
this model. And we do our librarians and the other
Gail Warren:
instructional technologist and I, we work together as partners.
Gail Warren:
We're always going into a classroom, and the librarian may
Gail Warren:
be more focused on the research part of it, and I may be helping
Gail Warren:
boys decide what tool is the best tool for their presentation
Gail Warren:
or their project, or their build project. And so I really love
Gail Warren:
the model before coming here, I haven't used it before, but I
Gail Warren:
really feel like it's a very strong model. It promotes
Gail Warren:
collaboration, not just amongst the boys, but the teachers as
Gail Warren:
well. They work collaboratively with us and with our grade
Gail Warren:
level. It's just amazing. And Kristina,
Hiram Cuevas:
it shows also the importance of having your
Hiram Cuevas:
librarians involved with the tech department. Yeah. Because
Hiram Cuevas:
they have so many skills and so much knowledge about what is
Hiram Cuevas:
needed also in the classroom, that it's a great marriage
Hiram Cuevas:
between the instructional technologists and also the
Hiram Cuevas:
librarians. Our librarians actually attend our tech
Hiram Cuevas:
meetings, so that they are completely aware of what's going
Hiram Cuevas:
on across the school. And all of a sudden we find that the cross
Hiram Cuevas:
pollination has really enhanced our conversations, that we're
Hiram Cuevas:
actually after the same things. So it has built a great deal of
Hiram Cuevas:
trust and a great deal of respect between the two
Hiram Cuevas:
departments. It's
Bill Stites:
a model that we've had here at MKA since we
Bill Stites:
launched our one to one program. It's one where, again,
Bill Stites:
understanding that connection between technology educational
Bill Stites:
technology in the library specifically for us, not
Bill Stites:
necessarily around this build example, but for us, it was
Bill Stites:
around our research cycle, and the way in which technology and
Bill Stites:
the adoption of technology in the classroom can be impacted by
Bill Stites:
that research cycle, because that's something that begins in
Bill Stites:
the early years and goes all the way through high school, to the
Bill Stites:
point where our director of Ed Tech in the various people that
Bill Stites:
we have in that role, our previous director of Ed Tech was
Bill Stites:
our head of libraries at our Upper School in research. So
Bill Stites:
it's a model that learning commons are. We refer to it as
Bill Stites:
our upper school, is our academic center, because, again,
Bill Stites:
you go in, the library is there, the tech office there, the ed
Bill Stites:
tech office is there. At the middle school, it's adjacent.
Bill Stites:
We're doing some renovation that'll bring the two of them
Bill Stites:
together. And at the primary school, it's in a similar model.
Bill Stites:
So it's a great way to infuse and inject technology best
Bill Stites:
practice in to the classroom in ways that, you know, Hiram
Bill Stites:
mentioned earlier, the computer lab model. Well, the computer
Bill Stites:
labs are gone. And if we don't have classes where people are
Bill Stites:
coming in, how are we working to get these skills brought into
Bill Stites:
the classroom? And it's either through the work that you can do
Bill Stites:
with the librarians, or, similar to what David was saying in
Bill Stites:
terms of the ways in which you go in in the different
Bill Stites:
curricular areas to work through those things, it's a great
Bill Stites:
marriage of the two areas. Yeah.
Christina Lewellen:
So if the fabric of your school, Hiram and
Christina Lewellen:
I guess this question for Jim too, if you guys are baking this
Christina Lewellen:
in to the experience as st Christopher's. So how in the
Christina Lewellen:
world do you allocate resources? Like, how do you decide what
Christina Lewellen:
technology and or resources to invest in when it's not like,
Christina Lewellen:
you're just trying to solve for x for, you know, a science
Christina Lewellen:
class, like, we're gonna drop an egg off a building. Go buy eggs
Christina Lewellen:
if you're trying to kind of bake this into everything that you
Christina Lewellen:
do. How the heck do you approach the acquisition of these types
Christina Lewellen:
of resources to support your build program? Well,
Jim Guion:
the way we have done it here, and much to the school
Jim Guion:
of credit, I think, is that build has its own budget, and so
Jim Guion:
all of these pieces that touch lots of different areas that
Jim Guion:
might get in a different kind of situation. Well, who's paying
Jim Guion:
for that as a technology, as a classroom, it just comes out of
Jim Guion:
my budget, and who uses it is not really all that important to
Jim Guion:
me. If it's being used for the purposes that we've decided,
Jim Guion:
where it ends up in the school is not that important to me,
Jim Guion:
because we want these things distributed across the school.
Jim Guion:
So for me, it's really easy. I just hand them a credit card,
Jim Guion:
and there it goes. For us, it works really well having someone
Jim Guion:
like me in this position, really. It makes me a
Jim Guion:
facilitator. It makes me the champion, and I am the one who
Jim Guion:
can say, Look, this is a thing that's great. I can give you the
Jim Guion:
five school entities that are gonna benefit from this, and so
Jim Guion:
let's just get it,
Christina Lewellen:
but you would have to know a little bit
Christina Lewellen:
about what the teachers are doing or what the program is
Christina Lewellen:
like, right? Because otherwise you would just have this endless
Christina Lewellen:
shopping spree. And that's not the case either,
Jim Guion:
absolutely, most of the projects either I'm involved
Jim Guion:
with in some way, or at least, sort of get passed to me. We
Jim Guion:
meet every week as a technology build, library department, that
Jim Guion:
group meets together every week, and I am out in the classroom as
Jim Guion:
much as I can. I'm maybe not in the Lower School as much as I
Jim Guion:
would like, since they're way across the street the other way,
Jim Guion:
but I am out and talking to teachers as much as I can.
Jim Guion:
Though I'm not a department chair, I attend a department
Jim Guion:
chair meeting, so I'm keeping in touch with what's going on in
Jim Guion:
the various Upper School departments.
Hiram Cuevas:
And Kristina, one of the things that I think is
Hiram Cuevas:
helpful is my former job was to be a middle school science
Hiram Cuevas:
teacher, and when I first arrived here at St
Hiram Cuevas:
Christopher's, our budget was just a few $100 and I burned
Hiram Cuevas:
that up in buying safety equipment. So the school has had
Hiram Cuevas:
the benefit of recognizing that science, art, athletics are
Hiram Cuevas:
typically the three areas that are most costly, and Bill just
Hiram Cuevas:
fits in all of those different areas. Now you add technology to
Hiram Cuevas:
the mix, and it is definitely something that we needed to make
Hiram Cuevas:
sure that each of the divisions weren't spending monies out of
Hiram Cuevas:
other areas when we needed to really get a sense of. What was
Hiram Cuevas:
the overall expenditure for the program? And I think consumables
Hiram Cuevas:
are the things that really burn up a budget very, very quickly.
Christina Lewellen:
Okay, so you kind of have a sense of what you
Christina Lewellen:
guys are trying to get to. You have a vision of what your build
Christina Lewellen:
program is, and that certainly helps keep it all in a really
Christina Lewellen:
focused place, so that the probably the messaging is pretty
Christina Lewellen:
good in terms of working with your faculty and having and
Christina Lewellen:
having them understand what's available. So now, if I could
Christina Lewellen:
ask each of you to tell me a little bit about some examples,
Christina Lewellen:
we'll start with lower school and kind of work our way through
Christina Lewellen:
the whole experience, the whole pipeline of your students
Christina Lewellen:
experience. What does build look like? In terms of some examples?
Christina Lewellen:
If you could either give us a couple of projects that are kind
Christina Lewellen:
of like the things that the boys always look forward to each year
Christina Lewellen:
as they progress along their journey with you, or some cool
Christina Lewellen:
projects that you thought turned out better than you could have
Christina Lewellen:
expected. I'd love to hear how this actually plays out on the
Christina Lewellen:
day to day. The
Gail Warren:
first one that comes to mind is a relatively
Gail Warren:
newer project this year. So in world language in fifth grade,
Gail Warren:
the boys were studying Spanish, French and Latin, and they were
Gail Warren:
on their Spanish unit, and they were studying different cultural
Gail Warren:
components of Spanish language. And Gowdy came up, who's a
Gail Warren:
famous architect, and so I partnered with our Spanish
Gail Warren:
teacher, and we partnered with our art teacher and all of our
Gail Warren:
fifth grade teachers. And so the project started out small. We
Gail Warren:
had some research based knowledge of Gaudi and his
Gail Warren:
architecture in Spain, and then in art class, the boys were also
Gail Warren:
given some more information about Gowdy and some of the
Gail Warren:
artistic qualities of his work, the uniqueness of them. And the
Gail Warren:
boys in fifth grade used Canva to create a pet house based on
Gail Warren:
some of the characteristics of Gowdy, and that was printed out.
Gail Warren:
But they also created their own animal. And they created an
Gail Warren:
animal using Canva, but we export it as an SVG file. And
Gail Warren:
the boys made a glow forge 3d animal. And so they were able to
Gail Warren:
showcase learn their skills with the glow Forge. And so we had
Gail Warren:
this very collaborative project with basically art, library,
Gail Warren:
technology, fifth grade teachers and Spanish. It was the entire
Gail Warren:
curriculum that was one of my favorites, and the boys, it will
Gail Warren:
be in the hallway. They made a Gowdy village of their famous
Gail Warren:
pet houses and their pets. And they also use a print press,
Gail Warren:
which Jim and some of his Makerspace boys actually built
Gail Warren:
the printing presses for us, and we used that to make prints of
Gail Warren:
the animals to scatter throughout the hallways as well.
Gail Warren:
So that was just a big, huge collaborative project in the
Gail Warren:
Lower School. One
David Shin:
thing that Jim did I really appreciate last year was
David Shin:
that the Lower School had a Lion King play. And my son's in third
David Shin:
grade. He was in second grade last year, and so he was in that
David Shin:
play. And it was really cool to have upper school boys build
David Shin:
some costumes and, like, animal structures, and then lower
David Shin:
school kids were able to, like, put that on for the play. I
David Shin:
thought that was a really cool thing for the middle school. One
David Shin:
other project that I could think of is the car bill. So we learn
David Shin:
about gear ratios and electricity, and we put a car
David Shin:
together and learn about what if you had a small motor gear
David Shin:
connected to a big axle gear, a lot of techie stuff. And then we
David Shin:
race it across the basketball court to see who can make the
David Shin:
fastest car, who can make it accelerate the most. So that's a
David Shin:
lot of fun. Another project that comes to mind is we are involved
David Shin:
with the FIRST LEGO League every year in the fall. This year, our
David Shin:
theme was something about marine life, and so we had bunch of
David Shin:
little missions to do with our robot, and they design gears and
David Shin:
motors to accomplish like 15 to 20 different missions on a
David Shin:
little table. But with that, they have a little project
David Shin:
component where they have to solve a problem. And the kids
David Shin:
came up with this idea of a solar powered beach umbrella.
David Shin:
And I thought it was a really cool idea, because they always
David Shin:
run out of phone charge when they go to the beach. And so
David Shin:
they came up with this idea of putting on solar panels on their
David Shin:
beach umbrella and then having your phones charged, since
David Shin:
they're going to be playing outside all day. We used our
David Shin:
wood shop teacher to come up with a prototype for that. And
David Shin:
so we showed our judges. It was really cool, and they won a
David Shin:
little innovation award to boot for that. So I thought that was
David Shin:
really cool, and a great use of our build system in
Jim Guion:
the Upper School, we do a variety of projects, both
Jim Guion:
in the build class and then with other classes, but we've done
Jim Guion:
things like introduce them to the ideas of universal design,
Jim Guion:
just sort of incorporate. Operating the idea that they
Jim Guion:
have to think about the user and accommodate for a diverse
Jim Guion:
variety of different kinds of users. And we had them design
Jim Guion:
from scratch and build scale prototypes of an accessible
Jim Guion:
playground. We have sort of taught the ideas of computer
Jim Guion:
aided design and taught them additive manufacturing by
Jim Guion:
designing their own sort of personal improvement device. We
Jim Guion:
call it some small device that makes their life better in some
Jim Guion:
meaningful way, usually, because this is what our kids are
Jim Guion:
focused on. It takes the form of some sort of box or holder for
Jim Guion:
their phone. But sometimes you get some really innovative
Jim Guion:
designs from the kids. But it's really, again, all about the
Jim Guion:
process having them think about, what are the problems in my
Jim Guion:
life? What can I solve using something that I can make on my
Jim Guion:
own? As David mentioned, we, again, this year, produced some
Jim Guion:
costumes for the lower school play. It was Finding Nemo this
Jim Guion:
year, which was great. I have kids that are now building a
Jim Guion:
power tool drag racer for a competition at a Maker Faire,
Jim Guion:
which is going to be, if it doesn't kill anybody, it's going
Jim Guion:
to be awesome. And we just finished one of my favorite
Jim Guion:
projects, where we have a physics class that comes into
Jim Guion:
the lab. They have done some research already. In class about
Jim Guion:
optics. They come into class we talk about cameras and how
Jim Guion:
cameras work. They design and build their own pinhole cameras.
Jim Guion:
We take them over to St Catherine's, where we have a
Jim Guion:
dark room. They take pictures with their cameras that they've
Jim Guion:
developed. They develop those pictures, and then we just hung
Jim Guion:
them in our art space for an art show, and we just sort of
Jim Guion:
highlight the whole process. And so it sort of runs the gamut of
Jim Guion:
things that they're producing on a computer using devices and
Jim Guion:
things that they're making out of cardboard and aluminum foil.
Jim Guion:
The idea is that each of those projects allows them to think
Jim Guion:
about design, to think about the design process, and to go
Jim Guion:
through the whole process with failure in mind, and the idea
Jim Guion:
that we are going to iterate this and come up with something
Jim Guion:
at the end that hopefully works.
Unknown:
So Hiram,
Bill Stites:
I remember probably about five or six years ago, Ben
Bill Stites:
gurage and I came down when we were looking at our information
Bill Stites:
systems, but we were also looking at what these types of
Bill Stites:
programs looked like in schools. And I remember what it looked
Bill Stites:
like in the science area, where you had this set up there was
Bill Stites:
kind of like the robotic station amongst many taxidermied animals
Bill Stites:
in the space. And then there was like a little work room that you
Bill Stites:
had where it had some of the building type things, and that
Bill Stites:
was five years ago. If I was to come to campus today, what would
Bill Stites:
those spaces look like, where this is actually happening
Bill Stites:
across the different grade levels?
Hiram Cuevas:
Yeah. So I think the key thing to always be
Hiram Cuevas:
mindful of is that real estate is always at a premium at a
Hiram Cuevas:
school, and they're always competing for space. Our build
Hiram Cuevas:
program is no different. So that space that you saw there is
Hiram Cuevas:
essentially been replaced by the we have a full fledged build lab
Hiram Cuevas:
in the luck Leadership Center that Jim manages, and Gayle and
Hiram Cuevas:
David could bring kids over there as well to work on various
Hiram Cuevas:
projects, but we do have what I'll call ancillary, or small
Hiram Cuevas:
auxiliary spaces in the other divisions as well. They are not
Hiram Cuevas:
as fully functional as our massive build lab. And what
Hiram Cuevas:
we'll do is we'll include photographs of our large space
Hiram Cuevas:
for the show notes, so that you can see the tools that all of
Hiram Cuevas:
our faculty and students have available to them in terms of
Hiram Cuevas:
accessibility. Gayle, what would you say would be on your wish
Hiram Cuevas:
list for the Lower School?
Gail Warren:
Oh, my wish list for the Lower School. I say it
Gail Warren:
all the time. I think they're tired of hearing me say this. I
Gail Warren:
would love a maker space like Jim has, and the upper school,
Gail Warren:
like we said, real estate's at a premium, and so sometimes I
Gail Warren:
coach the robotics team in the Lower School, and we're in a
Gail Warren:
particular room with our big table, and then our glow Forge
Gail Warren:
is in another space, and we have our Cricut and our 3d printer,
Gail Warren:
that type of thing. Yes, that would be my wish list. Would be
Gail Warren:
to have a full fledged maker space, to have everything in one
Gail Warren:
area where the boys could actually come and visit, same
David Shin:
with me right now. The middle school robotics team
David Shin:
kind of uses like a hallway slash outside of the classroom
David Shin:
space,
Christina Lewellen:
wherever you can get it done. Right? Some
Hiram Cuevas:
of your more advanced stem steam programs are
Hiram Cuevas:
also beside a wood shop. I think Jim, you've been having
Hiram Cuevas:
conversations about what would an expansion look like for the
Hiram Cuevas:
build program.
Jim Guion:
That's my wish list as a building where all of these
Jim Guion:
things happen together, where we can incorporate a separate lab
Jim Guion:
for the Lower School, separate lab for the middle school,
Jim Guion:
separate lab for the upper school, but then also take
Jim Guion:
advantage of the shared space, where we can put tools that none
Jim Guion:
of us are going to use all the time, but all of us would love
Jim Guion:
to have access to and then near that, or off of that, we'd have
Jim Guion:
a wood shop. We'd have our robotics programs, maybe some
Jim Guion:
science classrooms, maybe some build areas for our technical
Jim Guion:
theater and all of the people that we work with, which is a
Jim Guion:
lot, but to have it all in one place. Call it a build.
Jim Guion:
Building. Call it a. A industrial arts, call it
Jim Guion:
whatever. I think it'd be great if we were all in one central
Jim Guion:
place. Because every time we're together in a just in a room
Jim Guion:
like this, we find the ideas sort of bounce off of each
Jim Guion:
other. It'd be great cross curricularly and cross
Jim Guion:
divisionally, if we were closer to each other. Yeah, I feel
Gail Warren:
like when we're ever together, we do it's kind
Gail Warren:
of a spiral thing. We talk about, like the Lower School,
Gail Warren:
and how pertains to boys in the middle school and the upper
Gail Warren:
school. It's a really nice format for us to have an
Gail Warren:
opportunity to get together and talk about those projects. We
Gail Warren:
actually
Jim Guion:
had kids in our engineering class last year to
Jim Guion:
actually design a sort of build building and what that might
Jim Guion:
look like, which is a really interesting process for them to
Jim Guion:
go through, because it gave us a lot of insight about what is it
Jim Guion:
we actually would be looking for in a space like that. So that
Jim Guion:
was a really fun process. It's always in the back of my mind
Jim Guion:
when that comes up, I have
Christina Lewellen:
no doubt that you guys will move down
Christina Lewellen:
that path for sure as time unfolds, and we'll definitely
Christina Lewellen:
keep an eye on that, because we have Hiram here to give us
Christina Lewellen:
updates and reports as you go, before we start wrapping up and
Christina Lewellen:
letting you get on with your day. I do have a question to
Christina Lewellen:
kind of bring this home, and that is, if listeners are
Christina Lewellen:
inspired by this approach, that you guys have figured out how to
Christina Lewellen:
click into place at St Christopher's if they want to
Christina Lewellen:
walk this path, do you have any guidance or recommendations on
Christina Lewellen:
where they can start, or any potholes to avoid in their
Christina Lewellen:
journey. I
Hiram Cuevas:
think you should definitely visit as many
Hiram Cuevas:
campuses as possible that have premier facilities. My first
Hiram Cuevas:
exposure to the joint, I'll call it build and workshop approach,
Hiram Cuevas:
was at University School in Cleveland, and I came back was
Hiram Cuevas:
like, You're not gonna believe what I just saw. It was amazing.
Hiram Cuevas:
This is what our community does. We share, and we share often,
Hiram Cuevas:
and there's no need to recreate this wheel. Go visit schools.
Hiram Cuevas:
Bill has done it. I have done it. We've all done it. You go
Hiram Cuevas:
and you visit schools and you talk to people. Use the listserv
Hiram Cuevas:
to get hints about what are some of the premier schools that are
Hiram Cuevas:
out there. We're also always welcome to and accepting of
Hiram Cuevas:
visitors who want to take a look at our build program here. So
Hiram Cuevas:
feel free to give us a call and we'll give you a tour. My
Jim Guion:
recommendation is cardboard and tape. I love
Jim Guion:
technology. I absolutely love
Unknown:
it. That's a great recommendation.
Jim Guion:
I absolutely love it. But save every Amazon box, cut
Jim Guion:
it up and buy some duct tape. And there is just no end to the
Jim Guion:
things that you can create and the projects that you can make.
Jim Guion:
I agree,
Gail Warren:
consumable. That's all we use. And glue sticks.
Gail Warren:
Yeah, we
Bill Stites:
just had a STEM Day here at our middle school, and
Bill Stites:
the amount of cardboard that was throughout the building was
Bill Stites:
unbelievable. It was everywhere. I'm assuming that the recyclers
Bill Stites:
knew something was going on once that project was done. I
David Shin:
think one thing that I would like to add is just go
David Shin:
ahead and reach out to community people around your school. All
David Shin:
they can say is, no if you want to reach out to your patent
David Shin:
lawyers and see what kind of things are going on. Maybe they
David Shin:
have ideas that you'd like to take on. If you want to reach
David Shin:
out to local businesses, what kind of problems do they have
David Shin:
and really try to make a connection, reaching out to
David Shin:
members around town, I think is a great way to start too. Yeah,
David Shin:
those community partners are a blessing.
Christina Lewellen:
This has been so useful for us. You guys,
Christina Lewellen:
thank you so much for sharing a little bit about your program,
Christina Lewellen:
you are more than welcome to come back and give us updates as
Christina Lewellen:
you go, and we're so grateful that you shared, because I think
Christina Lewellen:
sometimes there's a little bit of a tendency to throw some
Christina Lewellen:
spaghetti against the wall and see which of these types of
Christina Lewellen:
programs stick. But it sounds like st Christopher's has done a
Christina Lewellen:
really great job allocating both the energy and having a vision
Christina Lewellen:
and a budget to make this a really wrapped up little
Christina Lewellen:
program, and make it a real integral part of how you guys
Christina Lewellen:
deliver on your promise to your students and your family. So
Christina Lewellen:
it's been such a pleasure getting to know all of you and
Christina Lewellen:
This program, and I want to thank you for coming on the
Christina Lewellen:
podcast. It wasn't too bad, right?
Hiram Cuevas:
Not at all great. It's fun, Hiram, took good care
Hiram Cuevas:
of you.
Christina Lewellen:
Hiram, thank you so much for bringing your
Christina Lewellen:
team. We hear all this stuff from you on a fairly regular
Christina Lewellen:
basis, but how cool is it to have your colleagues sitting
Christina Lewellen:
there with you to share the same energy that you have. This has
Christina Lewellen:
been a real privilege for me and Bill to get to know you guys a
Christina Lewellen:
little better. You guys are the best. Thank you so much for
Christina Lewellen:
joining us, and good luck in your continued amazing work,
Christina Lewellen:
your superhero work you're doing. Thanks so
Unknown:
much. Thank you. Thank you.
Peter Frank:
This has been talking technology with Atlas,
Peter Frank:
produced by the Association of Technology Leaders in
Peter Frank:
Independent Schools. For more information about Atlas and
Peter Frank:
Atlas membership, please visit theatlas.org if you enjoyed this
Peter Frank:
discussion, please subscribe, leave a review and share this
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community. Thank you for listening. You.