When a Weed is a Flower: Reimagining Our Classification System

Our global society and economy is increasingly driven by technology yet, at an early age, many students become disconnected from science and math. To address this, I founded the Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy (DPEA) in 2002 at a public high school in Goleta, California. The DPEA is a four-year program with a unique entrepreneurial, interdisciplinary, project/design-based curriculum focused on science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM). We work with our students to design, fabricate, test, and program professional-quality, interactive exhibits and installations that engage audiences in the wonderment that is the physical phenomena that surrounds us. By setting and meeting audacious goals -- such as designing and developing a 50,000-part Carousel of Physics -- we are redefining what is possible in a high school setting and serving as a disruptive force for change in the world of education. The culture of inclusivity that we have nurtured is inviting to all and has changed the faces of the students in our community who believe that they can be scientists and engineers. Gender equity continues to elude most of STEM education, yet over 50\% of our 400$+$ student body are young women. Empowered and inspired by our program, 85\% of our graduates pursue STEM-related fields in college. In this presentation, I will share my unlikely journey from physicist to engineer to high school teacher to MacArthur Fellow and the transformation of my educational philosophy from traditional to unconventional.