#IStandWithAhmed

I don't think that E14 is the place for political campaigns.

I have an opinion on this case but I very strongly do not think that this is the forum to express it.

I have seen too many places spoiled by politicking and I would much rather it didn't start here.

Let's keep E14 for engineering !

MK

Thank you for your response.

I didn't mean this as a political campaign. This was the straw that broke my fuse (to mix metaphors). However, I think making tinkering more mainstream is important, regardless of what triggered the post.

If you are using straw to make fuses what do you feed your camels ?

And as for Polly-fuses .........

At our local school I'm seeing less making of little electronic things that there was - it just needs one really keen (or in the case above, one really nutty) teacher to make a difference.

MK

I do agree that this on element14 really isn't going to attract mainstream attention.

Perhaps Google+ might be the right place to post this sort of message.

We're doing our bit to introduce making electronics into schools and it's being very well received.

I do agree that it seems much easier to plonk them in front of a screen than to actually do real world hands on stuff.

Mark

Bright, curious, and creative children, like Ahmed, should be the rule and not the exception. Hopefully he will inspire some others to open their eyes and explore the world around them. Can anyone contact him and ask him to post a couple of his projects on E-14?

John

Can anyone contact him and ask him to post a couple of his projects on E-14?

Good call johnwilton

spannerspencer  that could be something for your PR people to chase and invite him to element14 community.

Throw him some of the items in your multitude of boxes under your desk as well.....

Mark

Couldn't agree more with everyone's sentiments here. I imagine there's a handful of police, teachers and even the mayor are kicking themselves really hard now, for choosing to take this kid's efforts out of context!

There are indeed discussions going on internally about how element14 can support both Ahmed, and the campaign that's sprung up in support. One thing that everyone here agrees with is that we don't want to look like we're capitalising on anything (that'd be tasteless), so care understandably has to be taken.

However, it seems to me that element14 can support the cause through its members, too. Just the fact that you guys have raised it here on the community, and are discussing the issue, is a show of support. I agree that we aren't here to discuss politics, but these are politics that affect engineering, so I say go for it! (Keep it civil and constructive, natch, but go for it nonetheless!).

On that point, how do you guys feel this could be dealt with in a constructive manner? Something that'll build on any changes that come about as part of #IStandWithAhmed in schools and society. What can we do to bring the maker scene into schools, the public consciousness and into an air of healthy curiosity rather than suspicion?

Hi Spanner,

It is really great that you are all trying to make positive things happen. School

should be the most enjoyable time for kids.

I think the imanengineer series could be a good launchpad, e.g. a poster or screensaver. The only worry is, if non-engineers see it, it could replace one stereotype with another - but nevertheless maybe it would convey to people that the engineering mindset in a child is a more healthy thing than they might imagine.

Another point is that teachers should be proud if they've helped in some way to bring about an engineering spirit in children, so maybe if they had material that would help them promote engineering like a poster they could use in class. One of my favorite classes in school had a pupil bring in one thing each week (one pupil each week, in rotation - we had a small class) that was engineering related. It could be as simple as a toothpaste tube with a design feature or a newspaper clipping about some engineering related affair such as a broken bridge. It was fun. We all also got to propose one engineering-related trip each (e.g. to go see the Thames Barrier or some air show) and our teacher would try his best to make at least some of them happen throughout the year - I must have gone to about five that year. Perhaps a poster focussed on a 'show-and-tell' type thing each week for a teacher to put on a wall (e.g. with space for the teacher to fill in a pupil's name for each week) along with images suggesting what types of things are engineering related could be interesting.

Hi Spanner, I totally agree with you.

it seems to me the best way to follow. Enrico

I think Ahmed is probably now inundated with offers - including from the White House, Silicon Valley etc. (which is great). If he wants to become a "role model" for kids doing techy things, then great, but if he just wants to be "a kid" without the fuss, that's fine also.

Making our stuff more "mainstream" can, I believe be done. However, we are already starting from a weak position - both "engineer" and "hacker" are shorthand labels which have different meanings for different people - many in a negative context.

Encouraging teachers to be more accepting is also difficult, as very few, particularly in Primary (4-11 yr olds) have little or no science knowledge.

Programs like "Girls Can Code" (BBC3 BBC Three - Girls Can Code) are steps in the right direction.

This is why I blog and shout about playing with dinosaurs etc. Robotic Dinosaurs - I have had many parents of 5 year old girls who love dinosaurs thank me as their child is getting teased at school because dinosaurs are a "boy thing".

I can't see a "quick fix" (although open to suggestions!) but I do think that if everyone here took their "stuff" outside of our community into their own local one, whether at a school, club, fete, talk etc.  or larger - Youtube, Social media etc. we'd begin to make a difference.

And it would be great if people reported back - we (the hacker/maker community) need to encourage each other with great positive stories of how we've changed minds and shared our joy in playing with all these toys.

I doubt I'm the only one who will make time to do this.

If not me, who? If not now, when?

Lucy