While most parents worry about bullying it is a very real worry for the geek parent. How do we as parents protect our children from the bullying that most of us grew up with and yet give them a positive sense of self?
The Today Show recently posted a FANTASTIC article about Geek Parenting! Check it out here
After reading the article I got to thinking what a scary reality this is for my child. He could very easily be bullied. While he's not small, frail, or fragile looking he is by all accounts a geek. He loves science, math, space, sci-fi, wizards, hobbits, chemistry, Einstein, and so many more geek things. He is a geek and very proud of that fact however not everyone can see that!
And then I found myself thinking "Well, yes but times are different now." Today, the technology gifted children have the advantage. They are lightyears ahead of their peers who are less tech savvy. A recent example is my son's adventure in Technology Class. Now while the school calls this class Technology, they basically threw some computers in a shop class. My son and his best friend, a proud geek girl, were in the class together and while working on a flight simulator they had figured out how to not only change their plane to a helicopter but they were able to change it so they were flying at night. The class was in awe over their skills and the teacher was very impressed. Now they wanted to fly together and asked the teacher about an IP address. The teacher not only did not know the IP address he did not know what it is. This upset my son a great deal. How can a teacher teach him anything about technology when he's asking my son for information. In this era, this generation, my son and others like him are the intellectual beings that will push our industrial nation into the technology era. I truly and sincerely believe this. My son wrote a very pointed letter to the school's administration about this lack of teaching ability and that if they are going to have a technology class with computers they should have a teacher that understands the technology.
Our children, while bullying is a still a very real threat, will one day run our nation. They are the intellects, the alphas, the superiors that will keep pushing the envelope. I believe that geek is the new chic and that the children are realizing this. I have asked my son several times if he has had any negativity come his way...he always responds with "Nope, everyone is usually asking me how to do something with their computers or games." I had to laugh, that was a very geeky response and he takes it in stride.
All of you probably already know my love of the Big Bang Theory. I think this show in particular has gone a long way to bridge that geeky gap. It has helped to make geek cool! The kids are watching the show and who doesn't love a little Sheldon Cooper? It has given geeks a voice and a sounding board. The show has made geeks endearing and relatable. Who wouldn't wear a Bazinga shirt? And can you honestly say you don't think of Sheldon every single time you see a ball pit? I truly do believe that it is a positive thing for the geek community!
In the end, while I continue to worry about bullying I believe that this new generation of children don't look at geek quite the same way. They realize that while not everyone can be good at technology it is a vital part of their everyday lives. They realize that geeks may not always get the girls, they may be a little less smooth, but in the end they have begun to realize that the geeks will probably one day be their boss!
No comments:
Post a Comment