Wednesday, January 9, 2008

DIY (Do It Yourself)

The do-it-yourself mentality is one of the things that built this country, and it is most certainly still deeply embedded into the fabric of American sensibilities. FedEx was dreamed up by a college kid. Apple Computer started out as a pet project of Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs that they birthed in Jobs’ garage, and Google was founded in a dorm room by a couple of grad students from Stanford University. The list of spunky and successful startups goes on and on. Do-it-yourself projects (DIY for short) have been brewing in garages, basements, and college dorm rooms for years. It was inevitable that these ideas found their way onto Web sites dedicated to DIY projects of all types, and the sites feed the growing legions of people searching the Internet for answers on how to do everything from knitting to building a computer to home remodeling. There is even a man whose DIY project is being considered the first cure for cancer. There is a bevy of interesting, wildly entertaining, and even mischievous Web sites out there that offer articles, instructions, and video of DIY projects. Have you ever wondered how to make your own solar-powered bicycle? Or wanted some creative ideas for entertaining kids at a party? Or tried to figure out how to fix your car without sending it to a repair shop? The answers are out there. Here are a few I've come across... http://www.instructables.com/ http://www.wikihow.com/Main-Page http://www.makezine.com/ http://www.diyhappy.com/
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1 comment:

Tutor Mentor Connections said...

Keith's article illustrates that there are many paths to a successful career. That's what leaders of manufacturing industries are saying, as the point at the vocational education programs offered by their European competitors. A volunteer-based tutor/mentor program can surround kids with volunteers who help them find the types of web sites Keith pointed to, and who can help them learn to use the ideas, in their education, and in their innovation.

Read more at Nicole's article illustrates how important it is to help kids in poverty get the education, inspiration and aspirations they need to go through school the right way, on their first try. Kids who drop out, get pregnant, get in trouble with the law, get into gangs, etc. all have a more difficult time getting their lives back on track once they reach their 20s and 30s.

Building a Pipeline to Careers, starting with kids in elementary school, is the goal of Cabrini Connections and the Tutor/Mentor Connection, and there will be hundreds of jobs and career opportunities in Chicago and in other cities if we can build business support and investment in this strategy.

Read about this at http://tutormentor.blogspot.com/2007/10/creating-pipeline-to-jobs-careers.html

Bring a group to the May conference (http://www.tutormentorconference.org ) and build this into your own organization's vision.

January 10, 2008 at 7:58 AM

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