Looking back through my records recently, I noted that I have been fortunate enough to receive four CEEF grants over the past five years.  These grants have been essential in helping me develop what started as an after-school Lego robotics program for middle school students and what is evolving into an after-school Robotics and Engineering program for students in Pond Cove through high school, coupled with the development of an Engineering elective course for seniors.

What is my motivation?  Well, I have a degree in Engineering.  Chemical Engineering in fact.  I worked for five years in the environmental engineering field.  However, the longer I work in education the more I am comfortable stating that engineering was probably not the best career fit for me.  When I was in high school, I excelled in math.  The advice I got was "if you're good at math, go into engineering."  There was a certain appeal to that career, so that's what I did. 

Why did I leave engineering?  It probably has most to do with personality.  Now I don't want to "broad brush stroke" engineers too much, but the best engineers I worked with had a certain "let's do it, this is fun" attitude towards solving problems that were both physical and mental in nature.  My educational background, I felt, was largely that of solving paper-and-pencil problems.  I had a hands-on void.  Now that's not to say I couldn't have found an engineering niche where I was more comfortable, and I certainly want to encourage students interested in engineering to pursue this career, but for me, once I sampled teaching (quite by accident), I knew I had found a career in which I could contribute and be very happy.

Back to the after-school Robotics and Engineering program.  Robotics is a great program because it indeed offers "hands-on, minds-on" challenges that I believe simulate the real world of engineering.  The Lego Robotics and VEX Robotics competition programs are global.  Academic curricula for high schools to support VEX Robotics engineering is available.  This is the aspect of our program that is tied to national, if not international, standards for excellence.

I think there can be an equally-important home-grown nature to our afterschool Robotics and Engineering program as well.  With the support of CEEF, I am reaching out to the local and greater Portland communities to develop sustained after-school programs in electronics and small engines.

I also believe there are members of the community who could work on small one-time projects with students.  During the 2008-09 Engineering elective course for seniors, members of the local and greater Portland communities helped with projects that had students converting a bicycle to a moped, and had students refurbishing and racing an electric car at Beechridge Speedway.

The final component of the Robotics and Engineering program, which has yet to be developed, is that of organized job shadows.  In this age of rapid communication, it seems that interested students could be rapidly connected to members of business and industry during times when they are performing something of educational value.

It is my goal to keep this blog updated with the status of each of these program components.  Thank you, CEEF, for all the support you have given me!

Click here to see a photo gallery of Evan Thayer's students at work.