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How Do I Talk To 4th Graders About IT?
Tsunayoshi writes "My son volunteered me to give a presentation on what I do for a living for career day at his elementary school. I need to come up with a roughly 20-minute presentation to be given to 4-5 different classrooms. I am a systems administrator, primarily Unix/Linux and enterprise NAS/SAN storage, working for an aerospace company. I was thinking something along the lines of explaining how some everyday things they experience (websites, telephone systems, etc.) all depend on servers, and those servers are maintained by systems administrators. I was also going to talk about what I do specifically, which is maintain the computer systems that allow the really smart rocket scientists to get things into space. Am I on the right track? Can anyone suggest some good (and cheap/easy to make) visual aids?"
"Talk to your kids about IT ... before someone else does."
Start with the basics and work your way up from there.
I'd suggest axiomatic set theory first coupled with computing history, linear algebra and analysis. Throw in some logic into the mix for good measure. Once they got the basics point them towards the linux kernel and start discussing the more interesting issues of SMP, scheduling, latency and memory management.
It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile
Be yourself no matter what they say
See if you can blow something up.
Kids love that stuff.
You can't talk about Wikipedia's flaws on Wikipedia
Don't forget to explain the difference between tubes and dump trucks
... let me know how, so I can explain it to my parents.
Use your head, can't you, use your head,
You're on earth, there's no cure for that - S. Beckett
First step is to let your child know, in no uncertain terms, that volunteering you for anything in the future will result in two months grounding.
--I'm not talking about dance lessons. I'm talking about putting a brick through the other guy's windshield.-
the tom hanks/ bill paxton/ kevin bacon movie with the famous "houston, we have a problem" line
freeze frame when they cut back to ed harris and ground crew strategizing, point to some guy in the background fiddling with some equipment, and say "that's me"
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Yes, kids love being blown up.
Oh, did I say that out loud?
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
Tell them that they're no longer needed, and give your lecture to some kids in a less-expensive country.
For added realism, have them train their replacements.
System administrator, eh? You can start by showing your scars.
All of my scars are on the inside :-(
Your child has condemned himself to the humiliation of having everyone know his father is a big nerd. Well, it's his own fault for volunteering you. Unfortunately, his respect for you will now plummet and you will have trouble keeping him off drugs three years from now. After several minor run-ins with the law, he will end up studying general accounting at community college, and take a job cooking the books for a corrupt tire warehouse in Des Moines. His wife will commit suicide at 32. Your grandchildren will be spoiled and ugly.
You can, however, prevent all this by claiming to be an astronaut.
I piss off bigots.
Bring a wireless or two, and maybe throw in a few internets for good measure.
I was thinking more of:
*BOOM*
"An explosion, like the one that just shattered the classroom windows, demonstrates how much energy is released from igniting hydrogen and oxygen mixed together. This energy, properly contained, can propel a spacecraft - or this wastebasket. Watch!"
You can't talk about Wikipedia's flaws on Wikipedia
I am a systems administrator,
tedius
primarily Unix/Linux
boring
Nonsense ... these kids are the perfect audience for a 20-minute talk on the joys of awk and sed.
If libertarians are so opposed to effective government, why don't they all move to Somalia?
Indeed, a true visionary.
Is he out of prison yet?