Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by CoolHand on Wednesday December 16 2015, @02:03AM   Printer-friendly
from the make-em-smarter dept.

So it's that time of year again, and I'm pondering gifts for the kids that will teach them Science, Tech, Engineering, Math (STEM) fundamentals without their knowing it. The google searches so far have produced addition flash cards with cartoon characters on them and the like, which is instant tedium. I saw this replica of the Digi Comp at Maker Faire a couple years ago and thought it would fill the bill, but $350 is a big risk to take on something they might only play with for 5 minutes. Have any Soylentils given STEM gifts that really have worked, capturing kids' imaginations and teaching them useful STEM concepts?


[Please indicate a suggested age-range for any gift you suggest. -Ed.]

Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 5, Informative) by dime on Wednesday December 16 2015, @05:21AM

    by dime (1163) on Wednesday December 16 2015, @05:21AM (#276977)

    Guess what STEM is?

    It's not science, technology, engineering, or maths. It's what drives all of those, curiosity.

    Focus on things that get them curious, like puzzles and problems they can solve. IMO, what kids need are the building blocks that their brain can dissect and permutate.

    Stop trying to bling wizz flash them with fancy electronics. That's the destination, not the journey.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +3  
       Informative=3, Total=3
    Extra 'Informative' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   5  
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 16 2015, @05:46AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 16 2015, @05:46AM (#276983)

    Yeah, these days Dr. Who and Call Of Duty count as STEM. What is this world coming to?

  • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday December 16 2015, @12:56PM

    by Phoenix666 (552) on Wednesday December 16 2015, @12:56PM (#277053) Journal

    I can appreciate that on a philosophical level, but it has zero practical value with respect to Christmas. Should we parents give them empty boxes of curiosity? That would scar a kid for life:

    Patient: "And, and, when I was 6 I woke up on Christmas morning and all the presents under the tree were empty. My asshole dad told me they were full of curiosity."
    Therapist: "What was your dad's name?"
    Patient: "Sartre."

    --
    Washington DC delenda est.
  • (Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Wednesday December 16 2015, @07:31PM

    by LoRdTAW (3755) on Wednesday December 16 2015, @07:31PM (#277257) Journal

    Excellent summary. I have said it before and will say it again: Feed them a wide variety of things little by little and see what they home in on. They will naturally be drawn towards things that stimulate them and once you see what stimulates them, feed them more of that. And feed them a little of everything. So in addition to the STEM toy like a lego set or beginner's electronics kit, buy them a colored pencil set or water color set, books and music. Music is important too, though this one I can't advise on. But I grew up with everything from Bach to Led Zepplin and kids records from sesame street.

    Kids will go through phases. My brother went through a big art phase and was painting and doing pencil drawings which he was quite good at. But that wasn't what he wanted to do in life as a living. But my mother was more than happy to buy him the art supplies and let him explore his talents and likes. And he still enjoys art as a hobby and draws from time to time. It just wasn't his main calling in life. People can have more than one hobby.

    My parents knew I was interested in the technology field since I was only two years old. How did they know? I loved playing with extension cords. Yup, extension cords. My father would buy me cords and even bought home some interesting ones from work he no longer needed like those with twist lock connectors. From there they knew what I like and fed me a stream of electronics toys and my father bought home junk electronics he found for me to play with. They tried music lessons, judo & jujitsu, and swimming lessons but I never cared for them. But they tried. They also took me to plays, museums, factory tours, concerts, and cultural events. Arts and culture are very important.

    Just make sure you don't discourage or suppress things you might deem to be for lesser people. You might not like the idea of your son fronting a death metal band, dressing in black, writing songs like "devoured by vermin" while travelling from gig to gig in a ratty van. But if they love it, let them be. And let your daughters play with what they want as well. My girlfriend wanted to play with tech toys when she was little like electronics sets but her parents refused because "That stuff is not for girls". She went through life conflicted, never knowing what she wanted to do thanks to her ignorant parents. So if your daughter wants to play with a tonka truck or soldering iron, let her. She might become a truck driver or maybe she might be the next Steve Wozniak, Linus Torvalds, Dennis Ritchie or Bob Pease. It's up to them what they want, not you.

    And for the love of god, don't force them into a career path. My father was successful so my grandparents used him as the bar and forced my uncle into a profession, a school teacher, even though it wasn't his interest. He wanted to be a cop or firefighter and loved playing rock and roll in the garage with friends. Maybe he would have been a rock star or model cop/fireman. We'll never know as he is now a useless 66 year old alcoholic who lives with his 91 year old mother because his parents dictated his life for him and he rebelled in the worst way possible. They forced him to be something he wasn't and it backfired spectacularly.