Teen News: Encourage Your Daughter to Code and Change Her Life

Encourage Your Daughter To Code and Change Her Life:
Teenage girls are being encouraged by schools and organizations to take interest in computer science.

Most of us seem to be aware at this point that there is a big push to get women into typically "male" professions, particularly in science, technology, engineering, and math (otherwise known as "STEM" careers).  These "boy jobs" have remarkably low amounts of girls working them, cited in the above article as a mere 25%.  The ultimate goal is to produce more tech-ready individuals to do these jobs.  By recruiting girls to these professions, these postings can be filled, with the available applicants increasing exponentially--at least, that's the hope.  Patch goes on to introduce us to a program called Girls Who Code, whose goal is to prepare 1 million women for computer tech-based careers by 2020.

Having heard extensively about the need to bring women into technological fields of work since I was a teen, this piece grabbed my attention because it was something to which I could relate.  When I was still in high school, I was in a class that was visited by a woman who wanted to talk to the girls about entering careers in math and science.  This was something that I thought was cool, but very unlikely for me to be a part of, seeing as my math skills were very weak.  I enjoyed science, but as I progressed through high school, science classes introduced more and more math elements, which led to me shying away from courses such as advanced chemistry and physics--no thank you!  The visiting woman rounded up a few of my female classmates for a chat elsewhere, and I stayed behind.  I admired the idea of entering STEM careers, but felt that it really was not for me.  So, I watched my friends and peers go out the door to learn about engineering and mathematics while I wondered what exactly the big deal was.  I knew a little bit about coding at the time, but never considered a career like that.  A lot of girls I knew were like that--we dabbled in things "math-y" and "science-y," whether out of social obligation by our teachers and family members, or maybe out of legitimate interest, but it was still surprising to me that we were such a special group (young women), that we needed to be reached out to.  Now as an adult, I realize that that was only the beginning.  Ten years later, we are still trying to get through to young girls that these careers are possible for them, too, not just for young men.  This article showed me a more organized effort to show these girls the possibilities in life.

Teen girls are shown as powerful figures in the tech world--Reshma Saujani poignantly states that, “women Facebook more, they tweet more, they make 85 percent of all consumer purchases. We should be sitting on the other side.”  When you put it like that, who wouldn't consider involving themselves in the behind-the-scenes world of computers?  It's at the very least thought provoking.   Saujani goes on to discuss the stereotype of girls looking to "better the world," but they don't realize that they can help others by doing something such as coding.  It's a cool way to look at the world around us--girls can make a difference doing all sorts of things, including STEM work.  Their possibilities are unlimited!  This article shows youth simply bubbling with potential, and shows us just how valued they are, regardless of gender.  Youth are able to find all kinds of ways to improve the world around them.

Libraries are always offering technology classes to its patrons.  Imagine a library offering coding programs specifically for teens!  Maybe limiting them just to teen girls would be a little off-putting to some, but there are methods of outreach that could be utilized specifically to recruit more young girls.  We already have the desire, as librarians, to serve our patrons in the best way possible.  A series of programs on career options for speculating youth would be a fantastic way to expose teens, male and female alike, to the vast possibilities available to them.  The national summer reading program theme for teens this year, Spark a Reaction (and Fizz, Boom, Read for the kids), shows a conscious effort to introduce youth to the idea of science, math, and technology being important aspects of their lives.  Libraries seeking opportunities to improve the lives of their teen patrons, and provide more relevant programming, would do well to keep up the effort to include STEM themes in their lives.  Perhaps nothing too overpowering, but more casual opportunities for teens to see science in action.

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

4Q 4P J S

image from Goodreads.com

Westerfeld, Scott. Uglies. Simon Pulse, 2005. 406p. $17.99. 978-1-4169--3638-1

In a highly unusual society where everyone is segregated into groups based on appearance, and sixteen year olds have a surgery that turns them beautiful, we meet those who accept and eagerly anticipate these changes, and those who reject them and try to escape.  Tally Youngblood, a not-quite-sixteen "ugly," can't wait to have her surgery and join her best friend Peris as a "pretty."  How exciting it will be to finally be beautiful and normal!  However, when she meets Shay, a fellow ugly awaiting her sixteenth birthday, she is introduced to the idea of natural beauty--the idea of people choosing not to go through with the surgery and running away.  When Shay decides to escape, Tally is recruited to find her and bring her back--or be an ugly for the rest of her life.

Scott Westerfeld's Uglies (Simon Pulse, 2005) stands out among the first of its kind in young adult literature--dystopian fiction.  Westerfeld brings the reader into this strange world with no pause for explicit explanation, instead letting the reader gradually become absorbed by the story and picking up meanings along the way.  Tally's interactions with the runaways gives a good message to teens about the way we think about our own body image and appearances: do we have to conform to what society wants if we already think we are fine?  Following Tally through self-discovery mirrors the growing up process we all must go through, and readers will appreciate being able to relate to her story.
 
A must-read for those who enjoyed series like Divergent, The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, and those who like a little rebellion in their lives.

VOYA-Style Reviews

Starting September 2014, I am going to be using VOYA review codes and styles for my book reviews.  Some entries may be more casual (and opinionated) than others.  If you're looking to decode the text at the beginning of my review posts, please see below for a translation.

VOYA’s Review Codes

Quality
5Q     Hard to imagine it being better written.
4Q     Better than most, marred by occasional lapses.
3Q     Readable, without serious defects.
2Q     Better editing or work by the author might have warranted a 3Q.
1Q     Hard to understand how it got published, except in relation to its P rating (and not even then sometimes).

Popularity
5P     Every YA (who reads) was dying to read it yesterday.
4P     Broad general or genre YA appeal.
3P     Will appeal with pushing.
2P     For the YA reader with a special interest in the subject.
1P     No teen will read unless forced to for assignments.

Grade Level Interest
M     Middle School (defined as grades 6-8).
J      Junior High (defined as grades 7-9).
S      Senior High (defined as grades 10-12).
A/YA     Adult-marketed book recommended for teens.

G     Graphic Novel Format

The VOYA Review Codes and Guidelines, as quoted above, can be found here.  Thank you to YALSA and VOYA for their style, formatting, and codes for posting YA book reviews.