Bonjour! It is great to be back with you all. I have spent the past two days in and around Québec City, and I have to say the experience was quite different from my last, thanks to Mr. Petroski! It never occurred to me that reading this book would impact my normally intrepid (I'm a rock climber) spirit, but I have to say that it did.
Saturday afternoon we decided to stop at the Parc de la Chaudière (La Chaudière is one of the rivers Benedict Arnold's men followed.) At the park there were lookouts over a spectacular waterfall and, you guessed it, a suspension footbridge which spanned the river below the falls, a few hundred feet in the air. I wanted to go out on the bridge, go to the middle (of course) and take a picture, but as I stepped on the bridge I felt it swing and bounce and Petroski popped into my head. I made it about 1/4 of the way and I totally chickened out. There were a ton of people on the bridge, the wind was blowing and I just couldn't do it! :) My family was quite amused at my new-found squeamishness, but I felt rather happy with my new knowledge and explained why I had gotten "the willies".
Thankfully, my faith in suspension bridges was reaffirmed as we crossed the St. Lawrence on a suspension bridge into Québec, then crossed one again to go to Ile D'Orléans. This morning, I am happy to report, I made it all the way across a suspension footbridge which traversed the Montmorency Falls (we were the only people on the bridge). As I walked across, I found myself analyzing the nuts and bolts that clamped the walkway to the cable! :)
I tell you this tale only to illustrate that my perspective regarding engineering has changed forever. My respect for those of you who have to take into consideration so many things in order to realize designs (whether they be structural, chemical, electrical, environmental...) that are safe, is immeasurable. I am now safely home, having crossed at least a half a dozen major rivers thanks to you and your amazing colleagues.
Congratulations, Mary Ellen.
ReplyDeleteYour post made me question, how can we get this perspective across to our students? Are they able to think this way without more experiences? We, at our age, are able to draw upon our experiences and knowledge to truly appreciate the wonder.
Maybe we need to read them parts of the book? But then do we want to "scare" them with all these failures?
How do we achieve a balance of the wonder and the monumental task of designing safe structures (or other engineering outcomes)?
I worry too about scaring (my middle schoolers) off engineering, or off crossing bridges, or off taking reasonable risks in general. After all, Petroski would not have us do so. Even though middle schoolers want to seem like radical risk-takers I find them to be rather timid. Entering the world of adulthood probably scares them enough (hence their reliance on peers and packs).
DeletePerhaps with students of any age the key is indeed the collaborative approach of many minds addressing a problem, stressing the wonder of what can be achieved when people "reach for the stars" while checking and cross-referencing with one another. Shared responsibility. Another reason why teaching engineering is so valuable and important!
American kids are totally influenced by the myth of the creative genius or the talented genius or the superhuman athlete. We need to counteract that foundationless overconfidence and stress that in the real world most big accomplishments come from a group effort, sustained over time.
Teaching persistence, patience, humility, learning from failure without shame, and concern for the welfare of others would help too.
Kelly- I agree that the collaborative approach is especially important here. Sharing whatever consequences come with failure makes it easier to take. After working with the LINX materials to guild a land yacht, it's easy to see how my young students working alone would feel overwhelmed and frustrated, but could experience success through group effort.
DeleteOn the other hand, after reading Petroski's book I do sort of think of engineers as superheroes!
ReplyDeleteI agree that the book has made me look at things differently. Linda, I think that we can use children's books to discuss engineering. We could read a story with s bridge in it and discuss the design and work. It could be as simple as discussing the bridge in the 3 Billy Goats Gruff. However I am afraid of only covering one kind of engineering in my classroom. I would need help trying to explain other areas to my students.
ReplyDeleteI too have wondered about what and how much to share of Petroski's book with my middle schoolers. On the one hand, to know that some really smart people have monumentally failed, will be reassuring because this age-group is generally insecure. For them to see that it is okay to fail and that the lessons learned from failure are as important (if not more so) than those learned from success. I don't, though, want anyone freaking out on their parents as they cross a foot bridge! :) I have found it reassuring to know that engineers focus so much on obviating failure. I think that is what I'll emphasize as we look at or discuss any of the "failures".
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