"A library.... should be the delivery room for the birth of ideas- a place where ideas come to life." - Norman Cousins  

(and I would argue where the future can develop its foundation)

Having our own ideas is a uniquely human trait. Ideas are something that toddlers have, grandparents have, people with $0 in their bank accounts have, millionaires have, students have and teachers have. Ideas cannot be taken from you and they can be shared with everyone around you. As the quote above suggests, a library is a place to cultivate new ideas and to find answers and information for existing ideas. It is especially fitting that our first-of-it’s-kind Erie City School STEAM program is housed in a library because the anchoring theme for all projects and explorations, whether it is animation, building circuits, comparing simple machines or solving engineering challenges, is the design process. The design process is a process that helps students learn to apply a systematic inquiry-reflection-trial and error-collaboration process to everything they encounter. This process helps students become intimately involved in their own education process.

 With the rise of the technology/ digital generation there has been a decrease in reading and a concerning drop in interest in libraries. I think we have been selling our libraries short. Perhaps we have been unable to look beyond the physical properties of books? It is true that just a decade or two ago if we needed to search for information, needed an answer to some problem or wanted some inspiration we had to physically go to a library to find a book. Now, we can type a question into our smartphones, jump on a nearby wifi network or simply ask SIRI. Libraries need to be about more than the books on the shelf and more about what their intent is: to indiscriminately house as much information about as possible (be a reference), offer inspiration for the future from the plethora of literature of the past and present and set the example of asking questions and allowing people to piece together their own understanding from their education, their experience and the fruits of their inquisitiveness. Without a doubt libraries need to take it upon themselves to make themselves relevant and to, themselves, show the public they are more than the books on their shelves. If they are about central locations for asking questions, experimenting with uncertainties and inspiring new persepctives then they dont have to be about the sum of what is on the shelves but about reference, research and sources whether on the page or on a screen.    

When Ms Ryan first approached me about this position at Pfeiffer-Burleigh, I was more than excited. I really felt, and still do, that for me it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to marry two things that I love so dearly- not only teaching students in an urban school but teaching them Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM). Why is teaching this so important to me? I believe so deeply in a few things: a) that our understanding of the world is not delivered by teachers but rather shaped by both our personal experiences and beliefs and that information that our teachers share with us; b) learning each subject separately does no one any favors- math is found in art and art in math, literacy is critical for science and dance and music can do wonders to help us understand social studies and history; and finally c) everyone learns in their own way and possesses their own creative genius that allows them learn and express their understanding in their own way.

We spend a lot of time focused on specific knowledge that we are supposed to know. I think it is equally valuable to spend time on the process of acquiring this knowledge and how it can be used to better understand your life and the world around you. I hope that this answers ant questions about what STEAM is, not just the content of science, technology, engineering, arts and math but also the ideas that each and everyone of us have to deepen our understanding.