Tinker L-Dub girls are inquisitive. They make, create, design, and invent, and they arenĘźt afraid to fail.
Tinkerers Welcome!
All students should learn to take appropriate risks and make mistakes. There is no better time for girls to become comfortable with creative problem solving than middle school. It will prepare them to take every opportunity high school has to offer and to be comfortable with being imperfect or even completely wrong occasionally – and that is how we teach girls to be self-confident, independent, creative thinkers and learners. Our students are learning to use tools that will serve them well: hand tools, power tools, digital tools, and the tools of their own strong voices. They work with computing platforms alongside hammers and saws and sewing machines. They take apart computers and build their own. They make films, allowing them to own and create media in a way that no generation before them could do. They sew clothes that light up, they 3-D print robotic hands, and they build electric guitars. More importantly, they are learning that they have the power to solve problems, to innovate, and to invent. That is really what we are teaching them: to find solutions, to overcome obstacles. We are teaching them that struggle and failure are normal – and that effort is a crucial part of eventual success.
STEAM
In each grade, L-Dub girls take a year-long STEAM class that integrates the arts with science, technology, engineering, and math. The three year scope and sequence begins with shop safety and use of tools and culminates in an individual project that demonstrates students’ ability to solve problems using STEAM skills. The STEAM curriculum is designed to get girls excited about engineering, technology, science, and math while expanding their creative confidence. The projects are regularly integrated with learning in other classes, so that the skills and knowledge are easily applicable and relevant across disciplines.