How times change

[AlanW]

When i was in infant/junior school many many moons ago, there was only one project i can remember doing (mechanically wise). We were each given, a cotton reel, elastic band, piece of a candle, a matchstick and finally, an ice lolly stick. From this assortment, we managed to build a moving vehicle. Compare that, with the latest project at the infant/junior school of which i'm caretaker. Nearly 3 grands worth of flying machine, built by the year 6's, complete with GPS, video and still photography camera with gyroscopic steadying, H.U.D technology etc, etc, etc.

[ME453]

It's the kind of rather self-indulgent project that I would have done when I was teaching Alan, WAY beyond the requirements of the National Curriculum and heavily dependent on the skills, enthusiasm and knowledge of an individual teacher, but good on him/her. The work that has already gone into building it will have taught the kids many important lessons covering many aspects but the future work for the whole of the age range of the school and across the curriculum is potentially enormous and only limited by the imagination of the school staff. There was a feature on TV recently asking why more girls don't go into engineering - this kind of project could spark a real interest in many I hope.

[K4KittyCrew]

Time waits for no one but many thanks on posting, Alan ..................know doubt you have seen much change over the years.
Max, with all your knowledge of teaching, gives a valued perspective on it all, as you would come to expect.
John

[MT606]

GCHQ will be wanting to commandeer that