November 12, 2007
Tech Camp for Girls
Collegiate computer-science and technology programs still face a dearth of female students. But by the time those students reach college, it’s too late to persuade them to enroll. In fact, high school may be too late as well.
The key to getting young women interested in technology is to capture their attention in middle school, said officials from Anne Arundel Community College, in Maryland, during a presentation at the League for Innovation in the Community College conference on Monday. The college runs a weeklong summer camp every year designed to attract girls to technology.
By high school, many students have decided their likely career path, said Brandi Shepard, an instructor for architecture, interior design, and construction management at Anne Arundel. In elementary school, students are too young to understand key concepts. The magic moment is ages 10 through 13, she said, so the college designed the camp program with these girls in mind.
Another consideration is that boys’ and girls’ brains are wired differently, Ms. Shepard said. While boys intuitively like to take things apart and see how they work, she said, girls often need some extra prodding. So the camp program emphasizes exercises that appeal to girls, such as designing Web sites and using digital photography. The camp also teaches girls older types of technology, like how to build and operate a trebuchet (a type of medieval catapult). Students have a blast launching marshmallows across the room, according to Ms. Shepard.
These lessons are meant to open the doorway to understanding technology and, hopefully, to get girls thinking of possible career opportunities. If young women do choose that route, Ms. Shepard said, they will have no problems getting hired by technology companies looking to diversify their staffs.
“We’ve got jobs out there,” she said. “And companies are looking to hire women.” —Dan Carnevale
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This trendy new hectoring differs from past generations, when authority figures pushed young women in the direction of school teaching, nursing, secretarial work, etc., only in the details. We should certainly eliminate discrimination, where it exists — and nowhere else; and open doors, where they’re closed — and nowhere else. Then we need to stand back and let people choose what pleases them, because that — and nothing else — leads to personal happiness. It don’t mean a thing, if it ain’t got that swing.
— S. Britchky Nov 12, 04:42 PM #
I am all for programs that open up the world of CS to young girls. The image of CS as a “geeky” subject turns off a lot of young people, both boys & girls; and America is going to suffer as a result.
But what bugs me is that “designing web sites” and “digital photography” are used to do this. These things are not CS. They are only vaguely technologically oriented. Furthermore there is no reason to assume that girls would be more attracted to these activities anyway. Why not trust girls to like what is truly engaging and interesting about CS, instead of assuming that they’ll like flabby artsy stuff better (and which will give them a false impression of what CS really is )? Such as (duh) programming, which can be enormously fulfilling at many levels and lead to much more sophisticated thinking. E.g. use the Alice language available at alice.org! I’ve seen young people using this language and it is fascinating and fun to watch.
Give girls some credit and give them something real to do.
— Anonymous Nov 12, 05:11 PM #
As a female in the computer science related field, this sounds like too little too late. The idea of of getting their interest with web site design is useless. Educate them with some real information that they can develop on and take into a specialty where they can make a nice living. My daughter of 12 can design a website better than most of the professionals I know. I would like to see them teach real skills to build on so that they can compete with their male counterparts. I have my degree and a MBA. I have also taken most any certification. That said, there are still men with less qualifications making more than myself. Also, don’t discount Elemetary age children. They are way smarter than you can even begin to imagine.
— Anonymous Nov 12, 07:26 PM #
Fascinating polarity of views pinging around…and yet all of the commentary above speaks to me personally, albeit for different reasons.
I recently attended the Silicon Valley “un“conference called “She’s Geeky,” (self-identified attribution) and it was absolutely packed with smart women in technology ready to mentor their socks off.
From VC funding to glass ceilings, social conundrums, and collaborative vs. competitive workplaces, it was fun kicking around ideas in relaxed environs where women engineers and CS types were far from a rarity.
Here are my before/after blog posts:
She’s Geeky & Proud of It!
http://www.shapingyouth.org/blog/?p=652
Media Moms, Engineers, DigiGirlz & Purple Tornados:
http://www.shapingyouth.org/blog/?p=731
But here’s the rub: As long as media and marketing put forth “BomChickaWaWa” Axe girls and hoochy-mama PussyCat Dolls as the dominant image of females with a token lab-coated scientist or sharp heroine or two, REAL life girls get a very clear message of what our society values…Ahem.
When media/mktg. depicts a tech/science/math club character, it’s usually the standard social outcast, misfit nerd, unpopular foppish freak or hacker…so we need to alter the ‘coolness cache’ and shift the icons and stereotypes so girls see themselves through a media lens that embraces technology fully.
I have a 12-year old too, and see this message as inextricably entwined.
Though I’m a huge fan of promising middle school programs like ZoeysRoom.com, Sally Ride Space Camp and actress/celeb mathematician Danica McKellar’s attempt to tell middleschool girls that “Math Doesn’t Suck” (we honored her here for our “People Shaping Youth” award: http://www.shapingyouth.org/blog/?p=613
it’s a teensy weensy blip on the Richter scale compared to the vast pop culture depiction of women as hypersexualized, vapid objects.
If girls are taking their social cues as ‘boy toys’ while boys are using toys of technology, it seems pretty obvious why things aren’t inching up in parity very fast.
Also, I wrote this article “Misguided Media: Space Station Takes A Backseat to Britney?” http://www.shapingyouth.org/blog/?p=736
And was amazed to find at the national Girls For A Change summit (1600 tween/teen girls & ‘at risk’ youth where I taught a ‘stereotypes’ workshop) not ONE girl could tell me what was going on in outer space, but they could sure tell me the latest trash-n-flash.
Two accomplished astronauts commanding a historic first and it was barely even on the radar of adults, much less school girls. Sigh.
My point? Until girls begin to see themselves depicted in media with techno-savvy appeal, don’t be surprised if they shun ‘tech’ camps in favor of using their digital cameras for media, modeling, web-celeb storytelling or other more trivial pursuits aspiring to be adored and admired.
Single syllable recall goes to names like Tyra, Britney, Oprah, Lindsay, but astronauts? Bah.
Quick, tell me fast…what are the two commanders’ names?
— Shaping Youth Nov 13, 03:00 AM #
Boys “intuitively” take things apart? Boys and girls brains are “wired differently?” Boys get lots of encouragement when they take things apart and girls do not, nor do all boys “intuitively” do this. Many girls also lilke to take things apart.
— Bernice Sandler Nov 13, 11:30 AM #
My husband and I have a 14 year-old girl and a 12 year old boy and, unfortunately, their interests are more along traditional gender lines than not. I agree that introducing these type of activities at the high school level is too late. Technology needs to be introduced to boys and girls in elementary school – say starting in 4th or 5th grade. My daugher enjoys designing My-Space back grounds for her friends, but I don’t see that as being technologically adept.
— B. Fergen Nov 13, 11:42 AM #
What a shock! And boyz like guns and trucks and wrestling more often than girls too!! Shame, shame, shame!!! I think I should be punished for being in technology and not pushing, er, encouraging my daughter to pursue something that doesn’t interest her. Face it, the genders are different and that isn’t going to change.
— mister mister Nov 29, 09:11 PM #