#IStandWithAhmed

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,

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.