The cultural changes taking place within the United States over the last several years has been widespread and profound. Girls are being encouraged more than ever to apply to fields which were previously thought to be “masculine” and the results are starting to point toward the effectiveness of this cultural shift. Even with the current messages girls are receiving, there’s still work that can be done. Megan Mao, one of the founders of Koderon, is a great example of this! Here are some general tips and tricks to empower girls to learn coding and computer science principles.
Girls in Computer Science – Start with Inward Reflection
The first step you can take in encouraging any girls or women you know to go into coding is to examine the stereotypes and biases in your own life. For example, when you do work around the house or with your car, invite your daughter to join you tell her the technical aspects of the work. Encourage her to take up hobbies which encourage creativity and technical knowhow.
Inspiring the girls and women in your life to learn technical skills is one of the most satisfying feelings in the world. On top of this, it’s important for every young member of your family to know their way around a computer, as the world is continuing to advance in terms of technology and software.
Where the Quest for Knowledge Beings with Girls in Computer Science
While coding and computer skills are extremely important in this day and age, the actual skills needed are complex and can be difficult to learn. A great way to get girls involved in the process is understanding where they need to start and how to learn the basic skills. The first platform your girls learn from makes a difference, so it’s great to start them on a software made for beginners, like a drag-and-drop software.
There are many of these available on the market, one of the most fun and popular is Scratch. Scratch helps with the conceptual aspect of coding before getting into the more technical elements. Even high school students who are coding for the first time learn from this basic software before moving onto more advanced programs.
Connect with an Empowering Organization
You don’t need to go through this process of empowerment all on your own. There are many organizations in each city which are heavily invested in empowering girls and getting them invested in the computer science front. These are innovative and extremely friendly programs which excite girls to pursue computer science and other technical skills of their own volition.
Getting involved with these programs is usually pretty simple, you just need to know where to look. Some of the best coding organizations for girls to get involved with today are Girls Who Code, Black Girls Code, and Code Academy. There are more than one thousand programs dedicated to teaching girls how to code, so there’s certainly one near your location.
Get Involved on the Local Level
Third-party organizations aren’t the only entities capable of teaching kids how to code. Schools are getting more and more involved in computer science for their students of all ages. You can encourage your own local school to teach students about the details of computer science, starting at the high school or elementary level.
Many parents and students are intimidated by the thought of learning about machinery and the intricacies of the technology they use every day but learning from a young age is a great way to alleviate this fear and build excitement and enthusiasm for the coding process. On top of talking to schools directly, you can lobby your own local politicians and legislators to alter the curriculum. These may seem like severe steps, but change will only occur if enough pressure is felt at the top.
Getting girls involved in coding has never been more important. Cultural shifts have removed the taboos of this practice, but there are still many more steps that can be taken to make sure girls and women have a well-rounded education. Learn to practice introspection, join an organization, and lobby entities in charge of teaching to alter the curriculum to make it more modern for the entire student body.