Promoting Professional Geekery #38: Raise The Children Well

(The Promoting Professional Geekery roundup is here)

When did you first realize your hardcore geekdom was a possible career? Me, I think I was about 7 or 8.

I was into science and medicine and such, and already figured that’d be my job. I got some encouragement from my family, and even more later on in my life. It probably helped that only a few people even knew what the hell I was talking about, but at least no one tried to derail me.

And, decades later, it worked out pretty good.

So if you want to promote the professional geek ideal start helping out young people. They’ve got enough challenges to face right now with a failing economy, bad school systems, poor . . . er, wait, I’m depressing myself.

Let’s focus on the positive. If you’ve got a way with the younger generation, from experience with your own children to recently having been the younger generation, start helping them out. Bring them into the progeeky fold.

Here’s ways where you can start helping progeeky kids with an early step up:

If you do the con scene, do events for young creative, geeky, technical people. Crafty things, fun events, what have you.
Teach, work with, or other wise help at youth events and clubs.
Encourage your local schools to start after-school classes or events on careers that you (and your friends) can speak and advise on.
If you have kids of your own, younger siblings, or friends with kids, always be supportive of them career-wise. Even if you don’t have children, the kids and their parents may give you ideas of how you can do more.
If you write, then consider books for a younger set on career issues.

Think of what you can do to educate, help, and support. For that matter, think how many parents may be thrilled that their children are getting some career ideas early that they also enjoy. That helps a lot when they look at the cost of college.

Come to think of it the parents are someone you should keep in mind, and that’s for next column . . .

- Steven Savage

Gregory Taylor

I feel like I can’t let the “bad school systems” comment pass unchecked. Is that a critique of what is being taught? The way what is being taught is being evaluated? The way students feel about their courses or evaluations? Or is it just an off the cuff remark as something a lot of people have been complaining about?

I grant that the education system is a bit out of date. Some of that is inertia and people with their own way of doing things, but some of it is the fact that by the time we’ve changed something, it’s become out of date. Ten years ago, I taught typing. Now everyone types with their thumbs. By the time we’re on that, everyone will have their own virtual keyboards with commonly used keys in the middle.

Despite that, within the more rigid framework, changes do and are occurring. But to use a computer analogy, a system can only output what you’ve programmed it to give you. If people want more locally developed courses, or arts and tech courses, or career courses… well, as was said, people should go to a school or school board and encourage or advocate for this sort of thing. Or even something more radical.

If a person thinks there’s nothing to be gained from the school system, I suppose they’re right. However, if a person thinks there’s a lot of opportunity there – right again. (Oh, and to those whose child has signed up for Grade 11 University level math despite nearly failing Grade 10, merely because they think University’s the only way to go… we need to talk. I seem to be having more and more of those conversations lately.)
- Steven Savage
  
  It’s multiple – we’ve got budget cuts, poor career guidance, and a lack of enthusiasm for education. Which, come to think of it, I really lumped together inappropriately under “bad school systems,” which doesn’t communicate the dept of my concern, so you were appropriate to call me on it.
  
  I’m very big on public education and doing it right.
  
  You seem to know a lot about this. Are you in education?
  - Gregory Taylor
    
    Well, I can’t disagree with those issues. I think the lack of enthusiasm transfers a lot to students themselves too – who are often working jobs or doing community work in place of homework these days; there’s a more immediate return on their time investment there.
    
    I’m a high school mathematics teacher in Ontario, Canada. (I posted last March in the geek-to-geek Education column, though checking now I think my comments got wiped somewhere in the site conversion.) I mostly lurk here. Some may know me better as the winner of the Anime North Fanfiction contest in 2004, story based on “Read or Die”. I don’t know that I necessarily know a lot, but I suppose I know more than someone on the outside looking in.
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