We Are Makers

TED – Dale Dougherty: We are makers

I read an article this week that kind of bothered me. It is called Encouraging the Hand-Mind Connection in the Classroom written by Margaret Honey & Eric Siegel. The article talks about this new movement of “makers”.  Today someone sent me a link to a TED talk called “We are Makers”. Both the article and the TED talk about “making” and the connection of the minds with making. At first I thought… how interesting that this “making” conversation is a movement?! Then I thought, am I missing something here? They discuss “makers” as if they are a new breed of people. Haven’t makers been artists for years? Is there a difference between artists and makers?

The authors of the article talk about a strong correlation of this movement and the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) initiative in this country. Dale Dougherty in the TED says: “the makers are people who look at things a little differently and who just might spark the next generation of scientists, engineers, and makers.” The artists are only mentioned once in this article yet for the most part the article does not refer to “makers” as artists.

You’ll have to read the article for yourself and watch the YouTube. But please, come back and post a comment so others can hear what you have to say.