Access to technology, encouragement, mentors, and role models aren't enough. Before the tech field sees a dramatic increase in diversity, our educational system must be more inclusive. This talk is based on the article Open Letter to My Daughter’s High School Programming Teacher, which is the story of one teenager’s first programming class. Inspired by her daughter’s negative experience in the class, Rikki will discuss what what can (and often does) go wrong, and how the classroom environment can be improved dramatically without affecting staffing or budgets. This talk is based on an article that hit the front pages of Hacker News, Reddit, and Slashdot, generated thousands of comments (and dozens of private emails), and inspired lively (and heated) conversations about high school programming classes and diversity in tech:
http://rikkiendsley.com/?p=256
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