Making What?

     I'm very excited that next week our middle school is having a special Make!@St.John's day. Faculty have been planning really special events, and the kids are all fired up. The hands-on, creative work will fill the building with even more energy than usual.
    I've written before about some really big-picture, idealistic thoughts about the idea of making. You can read the whole post here. The key passage is the following about makerspaces:

I love the philosophy behind them--that hands-on, make-a-mess, take-chances sort of experiential learning. I love the active engagement of makerspaces. I love that they are places where kids do rather than get done. So I don't deliberative because of any pedagogical reasons. I just want us to take five or ten and think about a big question.       Shouldn't the entire school be a makerspace? Either literally or metaphorically?

With that in mind, I've been brainstorming about the many and varied things students can make in the right sort of school:

• Meaning.
• Sense.
• Inquiries.
• Models (Real, Scale, Theoretical).
• Friends.
• A Difference.
• Decisions.
• Progress.
• Course Corrections.
• A Case.
• Wishes Come True.
• Someone's Day.
• A Contribution.
• Assertions.
• Educated Guesses.
• Their Mark.
• A Statement.
• Objects.
• Apps.
• Art.
• Connections.

     The list is incomplete. Even so, it suggests the most important thing a student makes in the right school. A Life.