[LRUG] London Ruby Dojo (and DoJunior!)

[Paul Robinson]

On 24 Jan 2012, at 10:22, Alistair Roche wrote:

> At the same time, we’ll be running DoJunior, where kids pair up with
> developers and build awesome web apps. The world needs more coders,
> and our schools aren’t teaching the real stuff. We’re working with
> local youth organisations to make sure we reach kids who wouldn’t
> otherwise have the funds, contacts or confidence to get this
> opportunity.
> 
> Anyone who wants to help mentor and teach the next generation of
> hackers should get in touch with us, or just rock up to our studio
> Thursday at 6pm.


Good stuff, and I'm glad this is going on. I shall now hijack this thread for my own agenda! (sorry...)

If getting kids interested in science/tech/engineering/maths-type subjects intrigues anybody here but they don't have the time to dedicate to mentoring, can I heartily recommend becoming a STEMnet Ambassador:

http://www.stemnet.org.uk/content/stem-ambassadors

You get a CRB check, some training, and some liability/indemnity insurance when doing a STEM activity through the program, which takes a lot of hassle out of going into schools. The sidekick guys might want to consider doing it anyway and doing this through the STEMnet stuff, just as it helps eliminate some of the administrative headaches.

I've done this up in Manchester, and gone into several schools for an hour or two at a time and talked about coding and inspired a few minds. It's very rewarding (how many chances do you get to try and convince 150+ 12-15 year old girls in a Muslim high school to consider picking up a book on Ruby?), and you don't have to do any exercise or scenario you're not comfortable with. To stay "current" you need to do just one exercise a year.

Also, if any of you fancy a trip up North (to deepest, darkest Preston), you might want to consider:

http://lanyrd.com/2012/hacktothefuture/
http://hackademy3.eventbrite.co.uk/

In summary: bunch of devs run around in an unconf format whilst a bunch of kids get to engage and understand more about the industry and artistry of coding. I think. To be honest, I'm just going to turn up on the day and wing it. :-)

I'll be at a loose end in London quite a few Thursday nights coming up from mid-February so will make an effort to come along to this project and get involved. Hope to see/meet some of you there.

Thanks,

Paul
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