Seattle Schools Community Forum

The UW Computer Science and Engineering Department has several items of note for parents of students interested in STEM.

 I've been noticing many more articles about sexism and the Web.  I'm going to try to string some of these articles together in this thread to raise the issue of why more women and girls aren't in computer science AND why girls may not play as many video games (it might have something to do with the reception at online gaming rooms). The first article was a story on KUOW about UW and young women in computer science .   One interesting line: “One of the things that parents tend to do is they’re much more protective of their daughter’s time online,” said Rane Johnson , a principal research director at Microsoft Research Connections. Johnson said parents want to protect their daughters from the unknown dangers of the Internet. “And so girls are experiencing gaming or the Internet or computer science or programming a lot less than their brothers,” she said. So first, is that true at your home?  Do you worry more about your daughter online than your son? ...

This is a new video circulating out in the Internet world.  You'll recognize many of the faces in it. Look, I'm married to someone who knows how to program (and teaches computer science).  He did a stint at Google and yes, it's an exceptional work environment (free food - for both you and your dog - free snacks, massage chairs, games - it's a swell place to work).   But I would also gently point out that not everyone is cut out to be a programmer and many of the people in computer science have what I might gently call "communication issues."  Sometimes people are drawn to certain jobs based on their personalities. Yes, learning to program does bring together a lot of elements in the brain.   I think it might be good to have an elective class in every high school for programming.  But not everyone is going to have to program to have a job. Do I think it should be a core item to teach?  I do not.  I sense some arrogance in this v...