|
02.09
Geek Girl
By Margaux
Hutchins
My name is Margaux Hutchins. I
just turned nine years old this August. My dad
is an engineer and he has his own engineering
business.
I am a geek girl. A geek
is somebody who is good at math and science. A
geek is somebody who is smart. A geek likes to
find out new things and figure out how they
work. A geek likes to write.
Since I was five years old, I
started doing math at home. My dad taught me
long multiplication, long division, the number
line, adding fractions, subtracting fractions,
multiplying fractions, dividing fractions,
improper fractions, reducing fractions,
decimals, percentage, and exponents. I would
have to say that I like doing fractions the
most. Because I do math at home, I’m now three
or four years ahead in math. I like to challenge
myself.
I like computer games and
electronics because pushing buttons and figuring
out what is going on is a lot of fun. Also, I
like science because it is fun to see how things
work.
I’ve been going to a Montessori
school since I was four years old. When I’m in
school, I check the board every morning when I
get into the classroom to see if I have lessons.
I love to write in my journal. I just love
working on my calligraphy, illuminations, and
math. Everyday we all have to do math. This is
called ‘daily math.’
I have a lot of hobbies. I
really enjoy going to Taekwondo. I’ve been going
Taekwondo for two years now. I would like to get
my black belt. I have practice every Monday and
Wednesday evening. On Fridays, I do sparring.
I’m going to a tournament next month, so I’m
also practicing on Saturday mornings until the
tournament. I’ve been in two smaller tournaments
last year. I had a lot of fun doing it. I’ve won
gold and bronze metals.
I can say that I like technology
because I learned to use a computer at the age
of three years old. I do have a lap top computer
that I share with my mom. I can only go on
certain Web sites that are approved by my
parents. I have an Ipod that my parents down
load songs for me. I use it when we are on long
road trips or when I just want to relax.
It’s Christmas time. Last year,
I had my own Christmas tree because I have so
much ornaments that I’ve collected. My family
loves Christmas. I get to go see The Nut
Cracker. We also volunteer to ring the bells for
the Salvation Army for a month or more during
Christmas time. My family believes in giving
back to our community.
I guess that I can be a girly
girl some times because my mom allows me to be
in the Nordstrom’s fashion show twice a year.
They have a show in the spring and one in the
fall. I also like the American Girl Dolls. I got
to go to their store in New York City and had
brunch with my mom in their café. That was so
cool.
When I was three years old, my
dad taught me the expression called ‘no free
lunch,’ which means nothing in life is free. I
work very hard in all the things I do.
The best thing of all, I love to
make my friends and family laugh! I am very
lucky to have the life I have and be a Geek
Girl.
| Mom
and Dad’s comments: We have one
daughter – Margaux. There are few role
models for young girls in science and
technology. Most popular younger role
models are Hannah Montana and similar
manufactured brands. As a girl gets a
few years older, the role models change
to Britney, Paris, and similar brands.
Popular culture matures young girls very
quickly away from science, technology,
engineering, and math.
Here are
some of our lessons learned:
Since
Margaux was at an early age, we’ve tried
to reframe geekdom as a virtue,
and something for our daughter to
emulate. Why? It is fun. It is
different. It is cool.
How did
we do this? We want Margaux to be
well-rounded. So, we looked at math and
science reasoning as critical to the
development of a well-rounded person. We
encouraged our daughter to ask
questions, solve problems, work on
puzzles, and have fun at math.
My wife
and I believe that Margaux’s competition
is not U.S. kids, but kids in countries
like China and India. That’s one of the
reasons why we have encouraged the ‘no
free lunch’ mantra.
The
critical question is: Will Margaux still
like math and science when she’s a
teenager? We hope so. We do know that it
takes continuous reinforcement to make
math fun and interesting. |
Women engineers remain
underrepresented in the engineering profession,
accounting for less than 10 percent of the
current engineering workforce. And just 20
percent of today's undergraduate engineering
students are women. If you have a daughter (or
son) who is interested in math and science, and
possibly a career in engineering, following are
just a few of the online resources that are
designed to capture the imagination of children,
and encourage them to at least consider a career
in the profession:
-
TryEngineering.org - An engineering and
engineering careers resource from IEEE, IBM
and TryScience for students (ages 8-18),
their parents, their teachers and their
school counselors.
-
EWeek Introduce a Girl to Engineering -
Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day is
scheduled for 19 February. Girls discover
their potential as engineers and learn how
they can play a role in addressing the next
generation’s most pressing issues.
-
Engineer Your Life - Dream big. Love
what you do. A guide to engineering for high
school girls.
-
DiscoverEngineering.org - A fun Web site
developed specifically for middle school
students to learn more about engineering,
technology, math, and science
-
EWeek.org
- EWeek 2009 is 15-21 February. The Web site
provides a host of educational resources for
children and adults.
Margaux Hutchins is a proud
geek girl, and our youngest contributor yet. We
wish he well in all of her endeavors, and what
promises to be an exciting and fulfilling life.
We hope she keeps us posted on her progress. Her
father, Greg Hutchins, is a member of IEEE-USA’s
Career and Workforce Policy Committee.
Comments may
be submitted to todaysengineer@ieee.org.
Opinions expressed are the
author's.
|
E-mail
this page to a friend
