Author: grabe

We returned from Russia yesterday, but I have several half completed posts that I will try to get out over the next week or so.

We spend much of our time in Russia with a group of individuals who were refugees from the Chechen war. These individuals were from the city of Grozny and ended up in other parts of Russia with very few possessions and little assistance. Their self-reliance and success in rebuilding their lives are traits most of us cannot adequately appreciate.

While we were in Volgograd we visited various “markets”. When the intent was to secure meat, fruit or vegetables, the markets were similar to what many of us have experienced on a smaller scale as a “farmers’ market”. There were other markets. One I visited in search of a popular cup for drinking tea. This market, some might describe as a “flea market”, offered a wide variety of odds and ends. You could find plumbing supplies, bicycle or car parts, and electronic components (see image). I can fathom why someone may want a PC circuit board, but vacuum tubes? Who could possible have a device and has been searching for a specific vacuum tube to get it working again. I am guessing many folks who may read this blog have no idea what a vacuum tube is. Frankly, much of what folks were trying to sell looked like junk to me, but they must have thought there was some chance of a sale to sit all day with their goods spread out in front of them.

 

For whatever reason, the market made me think of makers. I have been reading about the maker culture (e.g., Chris Anderson’s Makers) and the educational potential of maker opportunities (Martinez & Stager’s Invent to learn). What I experienced in Russia was a true maker culture. People built or rebuilt their homes. They gardened at their dachas for food (and build a shelter so they could enjoy weekends out of the city). They repaired their cars. These commitments are a matter of survival.

I can appreciate past or present interests of my own that may qualify me as a maker. What I still struggle with is the notion that maker experiences can be integrated into mass education.

I think there are assumptions that have yet to be verified:

• Is there a general motivation among adolescents to commit to the deep exploration of a topic? No doubt there are interesting examples, but education requires a model that applies to all.
• Should the motivation be there, the methods and resources for developing knowledge and skills from such experiences have yet to be demonstrated.

Good idea or not, a commitment to making and tinkering is largely unproven within the masses. I wonder what we really know about the free choice activities of children – what proportion are really makers, tinkerers, even readers? Putting all this rhetoric aside, do the play a activities of adolescents really support the argument. Do most want to learn to make music or watch MTV? Do they want to program games or play games?

Someone should do a study.

Some thoughts:

• Perhaps schools are not the place for what I prefer to call “hobby learning”. This does not imply that hobbies are not valuable in developing knowledge and skill or that parents should not commit to help their children pursue hobbies.
• I still think we need a better way to think about maker activities within school settings. I like the 20% time idea taken from high tech companies of recent years. You have one day a week to work on a project of your own definition that has some potential value (I added the final part about potential value, but I think this is a useful way of explaining that the employee should be able to argue some connection between the activity and the mission of the company). As a higher ed person, I prefer the idea of “special topics” or “readings”. These are courses that a student proposes and seeks a faculty member to supervise. However, what I have observed from personal experience is that over the years fewer and fewer students seek the opportunity to develop their own topic or readings course. Opportunities of interest to some cannot be assumed to be an approach that will work for all.

I would not describe Volgograd as a visually beautiful place. Certainly, there are many, many impressive monuments and there is the mighty Volga. However, there are not the manicured and lush lawns that are familiar to many of us. Open areas seem dry and weedy. Then, there are the roads. I would have found the roads difficult to imagine – broken up with an amazing numbers of potholes. Drivers must constantly swerve about to avoid the deep and frequent obstacles. Still, they seem to be able to manage an impressive and often dangerous speed. The buildings also are nondescript. Mostly dull looking and repetitive in design.

Given this outward appearance, what lies within might not be predicted. The flats (apartments) are very nice and comfortable. For those of us interest in technology, the Internet is very fast and there are plenty of iPhones, iPads, and big screen televisions.

In speaking with people I have met, it seems the difference between the outside and the inside is a matter of control. What individuals feel they can influence lies behind the steel doors of their flats. They may be frustrated by what is outside, but believe factors beyond their control determine what happens there. What happens within is different. This they can control and this is where you find individuality and creativity expressed.

There is probably a larger lesson here. Perhaps it is that when we want others to respond to external expectations we must convey some opportunity for control. Without allowing a sense of ownership, it can be difficult to get a glimpse of the potential that lies within.

 

We are in St. Petersburg trying to get our bodies to accept the time difference. The hotel is within walking distance of the airport and in an industrial area so we have seen little. At this point it is difficult to appreciate we are far from home or exactly were we are. English is not a problem in the hotel.

However, you do find immediate differences. The hotel beverage service seems to rely on instant coffee and I am trying to figure out how to recharge my gadgets without frying them.

The outlets look different. I understand this is 220. To me that translates as the power source to my stove. I know Apple products work well from previous trips. I am not certain about other devices. It must be some combination of a plugin and a converter. The various items I brought to deal with electrical issues list countries on them. I suppose this is to prevent my from experimenting. I do not see Russia listed. More later if I do not burn out my equipment. 😉

 

This blog will take a different direction for a few weeks. We leave this evening for a three week stint in Russia and I might as well take advantage of this unique opportunity as a source for my posts.

The picture? We had a tough time getting our visas. We had to drive to the FEDEX distribution site to get the visas this morning because the “there by 10” thing does not work for rural areas. Waiting for delivery would not have allowed enough time to make our flight. It looks like we cut this far too close.