Don't fear STEM!
Society creates the unfortunate illusion that the only people in STEM are geniuses. In every movie, the mathematicians are solving insane problems that viewers can't even begin to understand, every time coding is shown it's made to look extremely complex, scientists are shown using countless different types of equipment and speak as if in another language, I could go on. What's so heartbreaking about this persona that society attributes to people working in STEM is that it discourages many people from even giving it a try. We see these movies and far too often tell ourselves that we could never do something like that. But the truth is, what you see is all made up. As someone who is quite familiar with computer science, I can tell you that everything hackers and coders are shown doing is complete nonsense. This is true for math, science, and all the other subcategories of STEM.
In reality, STEM is easy, it’s just like any other field. Just as with anything, you can’t expect to be an expert right out of the gate. But, you don’t have to be exceptionally intelligent to learn and grow your skills. STEM is full of endless amazing things, don't let yourself miss out. I’m going to show you just how easy STEM really is by helping you build a website.
First, let’s start by installing Visual Studio Code. This is where we are going to write the code that will create our website. Once the installation is complete, go ahead and open it! From the Welcome tab, click “New File…” with the little page icon next to it. In the pop-up text box type “MyFirstWebsite.html” and hit enter. Save the file somewhere that you can easily find (I recommend using your desktop for this demonstration). Now it’s time to start coding! Copy and paste the following text:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<title>BLANK1</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>BLANK2</h1>
<p>BLANK3</p>
</body>
</html>
Let’s start by seeing what this looks like before we do anything else. Navigate to where you saved this file in your filesystem (if it’s not on your desktop), right-click on the file, select “Open With” and then choose your favorite browser. Take a look at where each of the three “BLANK#”s appear.
Now it’s your turn! Edit the "BLANK#" texts to say whatever you want and ta-da! Congratulations, you have just built your very own website. If you are interested in learning to do more cool things like this, visit W3Schools.
As you can see, coding really isn’t as hard as it’s made out to be. With just a little bit of practice, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish. Everything in STEM is this way. You won’t wake up one day and be a master of physics, but this is true with anything. To succeed in STEM, all you have to do is try! Don’t let society scare you into thinking STEM is only for geniuses, STEM is for everyone.
Hello Haley,
ReplyDeleteYour topic really stood out to me because I myself am a STEM Major. I am currently majoring in Molecular and Cellular Biology at SDSU. I can certainly agree with everything you said, because as you mentioned, people always make STEM look scary, and it can be really discouraging. I can relate to this from my own personal experience. I grew up hearing people talk about how hard and time-consuming STEM is, and I am just thankful that I didn't let that influence my decision in majoring in Biology because I truly enjoy pursuing this major, and I don't find it as challenging as they made it seem. Thank you for sharing!
Hey Haley, I love what you blog talks about and represents. It is so important to break the stereotype around STEM career paths and we need to show younger kids that it is possible for them to succeed in a STEM career even if it looks difficult. I really enjoyed creating my own website and getting a super small look into the world of coding. By walking us through the process of creating our own website you were able to make it seem so simple and do-able for anybody. It's so important to remember that the scientists, coders, doctors and mathematicians we see in movies are not real and it's not as complicated as it seems. I'm looking forward to reading next weeks blog!
ReplyDeleteHi Haley! What a cool blog idea! The first paragraph of this blog post was so well done. I love how you gave common generalizations (honestly ones that I have had) about STEM and then at the end hooked us in by saying they were all false. It was a great way to appeal to your audience and draw in readers who might be unaware about a subject like this. Furthermore, showing a bit of actual code, and one that pertains to this website, was also such a fun and unique idea and helped me grasp the concept of as a whole even better.
ReplyDeleteHello Haley.
ReplyDeleteYour introduction opened up the blog perfectly, and the first paragraph supports your main argument from the first paragraph. I really like how you set it up. Initially I got scared from the claims in the first paragraph, but then you mentioned how these were untrue statements. That really hooked me into reading the blog. I have always been scared of stem, but after reading your blog and seeing the detailed example your provided, I might have to change my major...
Cheers, Oscar.
Hello Haley,
ReplyDeleteBeing a STEM major myself, biology, people make STEM seem much harder than it actually is. Whenever I mention my major to other people not in STEM, they always say, "That must be hard," or I could never major in Biology," when in reality, it is the same as every other major. Each major has their own distinctions. Honestly, anyone could major in a STEM field so long as they put in the time and effort into the field. From my own experience, I have had some tough classes, but every major is like that, and regardless eventually you get through and pass the class.