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Mr. Curran

@tallmrcurran

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Inspiring the next generation of innovators
🚀 STEM teacher
🎨 Graphic design
🦖 3D modeling/printing
👨🏻 Current 6/7/8th grade
🌼 Former 3-5th

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One of my favorite parts of teaching didn’t happen in my classroom.

A student would finish a prototype in my middle school design class, then take it home to show their family, or share it with friends after school so they could click through it themselves. Something they made, working in someone else’s hands.

That’s why I’m so excited to announce that Figma for Education is launching Monthly Student Design Challenges for middle and high school students! Every kiddo deserves the chance to make something real and learn skills that will serve them, whatever field they end up in.

Head to http://figma.com/education/challenge to learn more!#figmaedu #figmaforedu #teachwithfigma by @tallmrcurran

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2 days ago

One hour of one day: sick kids and rock coffee. by @tallmrcurran

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3 years ago

⏰Timers in FigJam by @figma
📈Keep you and your students on track
🎵DJ your own learning by @tallmrcurran

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3 years ago

Are we preparing the road for the child, or the child for the road?

Alicia Quan (@ux_edtech )asked this question at @figma Commons and it has been echoing in my mind ever since.

As an educator, it is much easier to go down the road of what is comfortable: worksheets, predictable structure, risk free assignments that have everything mapped out and and organized for students - etc. This would be prepairning the road for students.

This last week has been one of the most impactful learning experiences I have ever seen students involved in:

-Students researched what style of earrings are popular
-Students collaboratively developed rapid prototypes of potential earrings in Figma
-Students operated Dremel Power Tools laser cutters to create stunning acrylic earrings
-Students assembled over 100 pairs of earrings
-Students created a beautiful wood display
-Students attended a fundraising event with over 200 adults
-Students marketed their product to a diverse group
-Students collected payments through Square and made over $800 in an hour
-Students are ages 11-13

The process was messy:

Kids broke a ton of earrings, we had many splinters with the wood display, someone spelled something wrong on our display, and a kid charged a customer $30 more than they should have on the square tile.

And I would change nothing about the process. The amount of ownership these kids had was through the roof!

Are we preparing the road for the child, or the child for the road? by @tallmrcurran

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4 years ago

Our 3D printed bench installation models turned out great. Thanks @figma and @tinkercad for making this possible. These benches were designed from the initial question: “who is often left out when public spaces are created?” Students gathered research, studied defensive design, and did an audit on our own schools landscape and architecture. Many of them designed to include people with disabilities, and those who are experiencing homelessness. So proud of these young designers and the empathy they lead with. by @tallmrcurran

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4 years ago

Amazing one nighter with @jameypappas - only 45 minutes away. Who wants to come next time? taken in The Cliffs Hotel and Spa by @tallmrcurran

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4 years ago

My core values as an educator: be vulnerable, be creative, show empathy. If you sat me down 7 years ago and told me that I would get to a place of being invited to an 8th grade birthday party, I would have laughed. “Teachers don’t get close THAT close with their students” I probably would have said. Today I can say that attending Andre’s birthday was one of my greatest highlights and self proclaimed accomplishments as a teacher. I met Andre on Zoom last year and we quickly bonded over Drake the musician. He would sign into Zoom early to simply say hi, and then be the last one on the call to ask how I was doing. This kid has a heart of gold and made me cry last year as we said our goodbyes via the computer screen. This year I don’t have Andre as a student; however, he frequently stops by my class to ask how my family is doing and shoot the breeze. Thank you Andre for being a rad dude - we need more like you. If you work with kids, model vulnerability: they are hungry to see adults show this. Be creative: as said by Einstein, “We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life. All that we need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about.” And lastly, show empathy: it will go a lot farther than any other action you may reveal. by @tallmrcurran

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5 years ago

Such a great weekend with the Burman’s up in WA! Thank you @trout_boi and @shanburman_ for showing a weekend we will never forget! by @tallmrcurran

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5 years ago

Never get to old to sleep outside your bed,
Never let the cold silence things you could have said.

Had a blast the other day exploring tunnels and sleeping under the stars with @steelheadcinema and @maxmaclaury. You dudes are blessings. My neck is more sore than a masseter after a jaw breaker, and it was all worth it. Gonna miss you John in WA, but stoked to visit and see you build and epic life up there! by @tallmrcurran

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A student made me this a few weeks back. She asked for my favorite color of sky and created this incredibly beautiful ocean piece. I hang it proudly and am moved by it daily. Middle schoolers are awesome and selfless. by @tallmrcurran

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5 years ago

Jane Ann Curran

Born January 5, 2021
With hearts full and humbled, eyes tired and tear-filled, we welcome you beautiful girl into our family.

I can’t stop looking at you. @kristendbk you are my hero 💕 by @tallmrcurran

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6 years ago

Pregnant: such a strange word to me now. My wife first told me she was pregnant a year and a half ago. The news was followed with joyous tears and excited dreaming. “Well that was easy” I even said. Getting pregnant was a breeze, and I assumed that was how pregnancy would be as well. A breeze - simple and easy. Then came the cramping, the bleeding, the having no idea what to say. Miscarriage. What do you even tell your wife? Words fail and fall to the floor like ash. They seem to have no weight at all.

Positivity helped. Statistics helped. Traveling to Europe helped. Knowing we could get pregnant helped. It was all going to be ok because we had the right attitude and drive.

Pregnancy did come again. And it looked, felt, and appeared to be awesome. We actually made it to our first appointment. And that was the worst of it. What do say on the car ride home? The midwife sees an embryo but no heart beat and the machines can’t tell you enough. The statistics that once provided hope are now a slap in the face. Positivity runs to ash. Words seem even less useful and the seven days till a return appointment feel endless.

The next appointment seems to be a miracle. Technicians use more powerful machines and find a viable embryo. Heartbeat and all. You say a lot on that car ride home. Words suddenly have weight again. Weeks pass so you must now be in the clear.

Then the cramping again. The bleeding again. The meaninglessness of words again. Doubt from the first miscarriage looks a lot more like belief after the second. Statistics no longer help. Stories people share make you angry because they’ve seen less pain. Stories of deeper loss leave you guilty for feeling any pain at all. You give up on listening to anyone else who says they understand. You walk through a darkness that casts its own shadows and hide that from anyone who asks - especially your wife.

And then she is pregnant again. That word is so strange to me now. It’s original meaning is lost forever probably. It now stings and brings more fears than joys, more anxiety than praise. You hide your heart in the shadowlands of doubt with hopes of it never getting hurt again. [...] more in comment... taken in Edna, California by @tallmrcurran

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6 years ago