Resume

A copy of my resume can be found here. Check out the professional part of my site for more detail …

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Miss Prink

Miss Prink was founded in 1949 by Jane Coventry Castell, my grandmother. As an Artist and Engineer, she left her home town of Des Moines, Iowa at the age of 25 and drove to Manhattan. She married, had one child but was forced to raise her son alone when her husband died suddenly in 1946. She made Miss Prink in her basement at 141 Riverside Drive.  I found the formula for this brand in my parents safety deposit box in 2022. Having collected the patent, copyright, advertising material and media clippings, I have have re-started the company in honor of her.

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3D Printer Skull as Pencil Holder …

A big hit in the art department … and there is nothing that gold spray paint won’t make look cool!

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Pictures worth a thousand words?

Maybe! 

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Maker Space – Concept of “Mētis”

he Importance of the Role of the Maker Space: an introduction to the concept of mētis

What started as an award I received in 6th grade for the best “Shop” project, I have come to understand how important this has been to my career as an educational technologist. “Shop” for me was a place to be curious, make mistakes, and to create something meaningful with my hands and mind. Collaboration incarnate. That it happened on an island in Maine where I attended camp for 8 weeks in the summer with no electricity or running water (The Pine Island Camp, makes it even more relevant (and also explains my love of the outdoors).

Last summer I read a book by David Brooks called “BoBos in Paradise.” In this book he mentions the work of an author James C. Scott about mētis. So, I emailed Mr. Scott (He is a tenured professor at Yale) and the next day he replied to me with details about what chapter to read in his book “Seeing Like a State.” From that book, he references a 1974 tome called “Cunning Intelligence in Greek Culture” published in 1974. Out of print and sought after, it cost me 350$ to purchase – but well worth it. Mētis and Maker Space pedagogy are now linked. It’s been great having the time to explore these ideas – that’s what my sabbatical has been for as I reflect on 20 years of work. Let me be extremely clear – our youth are spending too much time on screens and need more collaborative experiences to prepare them for what is to come.

According to Scott (p.313) “Metis is typically translated into English as “cunning” or “cunning intelligence.” “Mētis a wide variety of practical skills and acquired intelligence in responding to a constantly changing natural and human environment.” Scott delves into recounting the tales of Odysseus. “Odysseus’s availability to adapt successfully to a constantly shifting situation and his capacity to understand, and hence outwit, his human and divine adversaries.”

Here are some recent images from my Maker Space (Which I called The Lab).

From a recent article in the Chestertown Spy

“But that’s how you learn life skills of cooperation and understanding the perspectives of others. And if you’re in a group, you’ll have to figure out a way to work together, even if that seems difficult at the time.” Annie Hasselgren, Director of Admissions, The Country School

According to Campbell University, the word, simply defined, is “a place where students –sometimes alongside staff, parents, and mentors — can create, problem solve, and develop skills, talents, thinking, and mental rigor.” Annie Hasselgren, Director of Admissions, The Country School

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Computer Lab in 2001

My first “space.” Amazing to see how much the students loved using the typewriter and adding machine. Such curiosity. Something so important to foster at any age …

 

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Miss Prink

Another project I have been working on this year has been to “re-start” a company my grandmother founded in 1949 (Miss Prink). Here is a picture of Jane Coventry in 1925 as she made her way alone, to New York City from Des Moines, Iowa … an artist and engineer! Miss Prink was a product she sold via mail and at Bloomingdales etc. It was a furniture polish!

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Sabbatical 2021-2022

This year has been one of careful reflection and contemplation. After my resignation at the Purnell School as their “Tech Guy” (Which closed at the end of 2020 after 57 years), I had to look deeply into the outcomes schools seek in deploying and assessing that technology – both for the classroom and the administrative perspective. Too often have we seen tech thrown into the classroom without standards or methods of evaluating outcomes. Too often we are paying too much for our student information systems – a significant cost factor – without leveraging what they can do for all constituent groups – prospective applicants, current students and alumni. A shout out to my predecessor who helped all the way into chaos that was Purnell.

Critical thinking is more important than ever when it comes to our viewing “information” on screens. This might sound odd, but as a previous Tech Director and Coordinator, I’m calling on educational institutions to spend less time on screens and more time on reflecting about what they see rather than constantly experiencing what they see – and asking, “Is this true?” How do Design Thinking methodologies fit into the this puzzle? How do we look at what we learned from COVID? How do we make this equitable?

 

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Collaboration Made Incarnate …

Working diligently with the GlowForge Plus (The pro-uses a different laser and requires more safety), and collaborating with BB&N’s Middle School ceramist, Sasha Bergman, we developed a new (to us) technique. Using a converted Photoshop file of a pattern, we cut this into thrown away cardboard, laser cut, and rolled onto a clay form. The output is amazing!

 

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Reading … More Important than Ever

A rainy Sunday, a good book and time to reflect. This particular non-fiction tome is very interesting … remember, most of this world is about how you attract and keep eyeballs. TVs, Phones, Screens … name it.

 

 

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