The Ministry of Awesome

Core Education Connected Educators - 
Lauren Merrit
Chief Awesome (Administration) Officer at the Ministry of Awesome! (Website about the be changed.)
Facebook connection - (Current and worth looking at)

We are the people that encourage you to be innovative and take a risk.

Be you!
Make that be the start of everything. Do that thing you really care about!
This is the most effective way to change the world.

We work with early stage ideas for events, business, ideas.....
Events:
Pitching ideas at Coffee & Jam
Education spot - tools to take back to your 'start-up'.

1:1 mentor support:
Supporting the very start of an idea
Looking for valuable connections

Eco-system:
We get people to talk together to make connections.
We get the system providers to talk to the ideas people.
Focus on a social and environmental focus.
Looking to create an engaged and connected city.
Students have the opportunity to preaent to the sessions.
We have to look at doing it a different way.

What's the thing that I can contribute? This needs to be our catch-cry in class. As a teacher or a student, I have the power to make the change. Don't try to fix or adapt what is wrong. Look to create what you know is right and hugely effective.
As a teacher - 'shut up' if you think their idea might not be effective. Give them a chance to try, test and evaluate in an enterprise. Nothing can't be fixed. The best learning comes through failure.

The steps to take:
What is the idea?
Who wants to do it with us?

What we need to 'un-learn'.
Constantly hearning 'No'..... kills our dreams and our positive self image.
Not being too humble - be able to acknolwedge what you have achieved.
Failure is where it all happens. The fear of failure stops us achieving anything new.
Anything is possible.
Complaining changes nothing - it just depresses everyone. Don't talk about it - take action!

Kid - why can't we.... next time can we... always saying it needs to be better. This is not to complain but the child is an innovator. It is not that they are never satisfied but that they are looking for a better way. Understanding this takes all the 'stress' out of the child never being satisfied as you can recognise their need to take things further.

What is collaboration really?
Not - I have this idea - do you want to work with me on it?
Is - what happens when we both bring our ideas, skills and passion? What can we create together?

Design the classroom curriculum WITH the kids!