School Defied Google and US Government, Let Boys Program White House Xmas Trees

Submitted by Matt on Tue, 2014-12-30 07:21

Article here. Excerpt:

'This holiday season, Google and the National Parks partnered to let girls program the White House Christmas tree lights. While the initiative earned kudos in Fast Company's 9 Giant Leaps For Women In Science and Technology In 2014, it also prompted an act of civil disobedience of sorts from St. Augustine of Canterbury School [link added], which decided Google and the U.S. government wouldn't determine which of their kids would be allowed to participate in the coding event*. "We decided to open it up to all our students, both boys and girls so that they could be a part of such an historic event, and have it be the kickoff to our Hour of Code week," explained Debra Knox, a technology teacher at St. Augustine.'

Please let the technology teacher, Debra Knox (mentioned in the article above), know you support the decision not to let a bunch of bigots ruin some kids' Christmas cheer.

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* The relevant news item is about halfway down the page. Simply search on "St. Augustine School" on the page to get to it.

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Comments

Scary place for a nation to be in when the government and/or a big-a$$ business (or both) tries to stop children of one or another sex to do things that help them learn valuable skills simply because of their gender. Sound familiar? I'm thinking now of reports from distant lands of the travesties (and they are) associated with not letting girls learn the things they could gain benefit from knowing. Two wrongs don't make a right, Uncle Sam (or is that "Uncle Barack" and our similarly disposed "Aunt Nan"?) And as for Google, well, time to get a spine surgically transplanted into your backs, guys. God knows you can afford the operation!

And to think, this brave act (and it was, too) of civil disobedience against sex discrimination against males was led by women. Feeling that egg on your face, O Feminist Gender Warriors of DC?

If they had approached me with the "kind offer" of allowing my students to code the Xmas tree lights software for the WH but only if those students were girls, I'd've told them to go pound sand up their a$$es and, exactly why. But that may explain why I doubt I'd've done well in a pastoral calling. :) Still, taking on the job then letting them have it out of left field like this was an inspired guerrilla move, and just because they registered their displeasure in a less "colorful" way than I would have doesn't make it wrong.

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Submitted by Matt on Tue, 2014-12-30 07:22

I'm glad she didn't allow herself to be bullied by the bigots and sexists running the show. She has my respect, as she clearly understands what equality actually entails.

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Submitted by xtrnl on Fri, 2015-01-02 06:00