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Education Programming Republicans United States Politics

Ivanka Trump To Take Coding Class With 5-Year-Old Daughter (hollywoodlife.com) 366

theodp writes: Speaking about women in STEM at a Women's History Month event at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, new [unpaid] federal employee Ivanka Trump revealed she'll be taking a computer coding class with her 5-year-old daughter. "On a very personal level, as a mom I'm trying to do my part as well," Ivanka told the crowd. "My daughter Arabella and I are enrolling in a coding class this summer." Parroting supermodel Karlie Kloss (the girlfriend of Ivanka's brother-in-law), the first daughter added, "We're excited to learn this incredibly important new language together. Coding truly is the language of the future."
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Ivanka Trump To Take Coding Class With 5-Year-Old Daughter

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  • Lesson 1 (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 30, 2017 @05:04AM (#54141351)
    GOTO FAIL
  • by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 30, 2017 @05:06AM (#54141353)

    Wait until they find out that there are (gasp!) several languages. And that the corresponding tribes are at war with each other!

    (Just yesterday I was nearly thrown over the bridge by a C# programmer)

  • by laurent420 ( 711504 ) on Thursday March 30, 2017 @05:06AM (#54141355)
    More the merrier!
  • by geekmux ( 1040042 ) on Thursday March 30, 2017 @05:25AM (#54141395)

    ""We're excited to learn this incredibly important new language together. Coding truly is the language of the future."

    Training that will last a proverbial 15 minutes should stick like water on a duck in the mind of a 5-year old. I understand trying to excite people at a young age, but this is also the reason I laugh at "black belts" in the martial arts who still need Mommy's help making cereal in the morning. Maturity both mentally and physically is key when it comes to certain education and training.

    And since Ivanka is so excited to learn this language, they'll be a test later to see if your enthusiasm was genuine, or if this was nothing more than a PR stunt at taxpayers expense.

  • Wow (Score:5, Insightful)

    by FyRE666 ( 263011 ) on Thursday March 30, 2017 @05:30AM (#54141421) Homepage

    More self-publicity by the Whitehouse version of "Life with the Kardashians"

    • by the Whitehouse version of "Life with the Kardashians"

      That is being waaaay to kind to the people currently in the Whitehouse.

    • More self-publicity by the Whitehouse version of "Life with the Kardashians"

      Perhaps you missed "making school lunches into vehicles to throw vegetables into the trash", "gee, maybe kids should read", "gee, maybe we should have government-run medicine and cover up political accidents", or "the solution to drug addiction isn't engaging people who are victims of childhood abuse, but rather the word 'no'."

      The less-damaging ones actually seem to be the ones without any kind of lofty goals.

    • More self-publicity by the Whitehouse version of "Life with the Kardashians"

      You know, there are a lot of legitimate reasons to criticize Trump & his family, but this is not one of them. This should be seen as a positive thing. A lot of people are talking about getting more women in STEM, and Ivanka is actually doing something to help promote it. We should be encouraging this type of thing. Would you have felt the same way if this had been Michelle Obama & one of her daughters? I know I would, and I didn't really like Obama either.

  • by Opportunist ( 166417 ) on Thursday March 30, 2017 @05:47AM (#54141475)

    A mix of Spin City, West Wing and Keeping up with the Kardashians.

    Quite seriously, a publicity stunt is a publicity stunt, but this is not even pitiful.

    • by Baron_Yam ( 643147 ) on Thursday March 30, 2017 @07:00AM (#54141739)

      This is the GOOD kind of publicity stunt, it's promoting education. It's like promoting healthy diet or exercise... it's kind of the thing you want coming from your leaders (or their subordinates, lackeys, and hangers-on) unless your society has no such issues to address.

      • by Holi ( 250190 ) on Thursday March 30, 2017 @07:44AM (#54141977)
        Last time someone promoted a healthy diet and exercise in the White House a sizable portion of the population went mad with rage.
        • Last time someone promoted a healthy diet and exercise in the White House a sizable portion of the population went mad with rage.

          There's a difference between promoting a healthy diet and exercise and imposing a healthy diet and exercise. That's what "a sizable portion of the population went mad with rage" about.

          • >There's a difference between promoting a healthy diet and exercise and imposing a healthy diet and exercise.

            Well, based on the obesity and heart disease rates I don't think 'imposing' was either A) what happened or B) a bad idea.

            But then again, I'm Canadian and here health care is nearly universal and tax-funded... so there's a financial incentive to promote good health in the general population.

            Outside of that I'm fine with an adult making adult choices even if they're bad ones, but I see far too many

          • There is no difference to the communist dictatorship of the handholding left. If you let people CHOOSE to eat bad, act bad, or do whatever it is you don't think they should do, then you are as bad as they are. Don't you know? People are too dumb to think for themselves, they need Mama Obama to tell them what to do.
      • Unfortunately, it isn't. Everyone who knows at least a hint about programming cringes at the display of ignorance. Everyone who doesn't know jack about programming sees yet another celebrity dragging her kid into something they don't give a shit about.

        • Huh. Weird, because I'm a developer and a father. And while my kids are older now, I sent them off to robotics camp when they were younger (Lego Mindstorms and a graphical programming interface).

      • Shh. The narrative is that Trump and any of his progeny are irredeemably evil.

        Don't confuse the narrative. The sheep won't know who to believe.

      • It's better than nothing, but it would have been much better for women if she had stood up against her dad's misogynistic rhetoric. She's just another weak "don't rock the boat" woman with no respect for herself, her daughter or her entire gender.
  • by hcs_$reboot ( 1536101 ) on Thursday March 30, 2017 @06:08AM (#54141527)
    Talking about the daugther, of course.
  • by Chrisq ( 894406 ) on Thursday March 30, 2017 @06:54AM (#54141715)
    public enum TrumpBoolean{ true, false, alternative_true }
  • by mtmiller100 ( 884473 ) on Thursday March 30, 2017 @06:59AM (#54141737)
    Why are so many of you bashing her for this? She's doing something with her daughter, and it has nothing to do with you, or this country. I want you to honestly ask yourselves, if this was Michelle Obama doing this, would you be bashing her for it?
    • by mwvdlee ( 775178 ) on Thursday March 30, 2017 @07:17AM (#54141811) Homepage

      Why are so many of you bashing her for this? She's doing something with her daughter, and it has nothing to do with you, or this country.

      This particular news was made public through US Secretary DeVos.
      How can you possibly claim this does not have anything to do with "this country"?
      Even ignoring that she is de-facto an advisor for the president with an office in the white house, security clearance and everything.
      Even ignoring that she is acting as first lady in lue of the actual Mrs. Trump.

      I want you to honestly ask yourselvesif this was Michelle Obama doing this, would you be bashing her for it?

      Would republicans? Yes.
      Would democrats? Yes, as it would be equally much a publicity stunt.

      • Would democrats? Yes, as it would be equally much a publicity stunt.

        I guess, by technicality, you are right. There would have to be at least 2 democratic voters who would bash her.
        However, to make the assertion that the response would be even remotely similar to this one is beyond delusion. I'm fine with vocal commentators on this site having one bias or another; it is part of human subjectivity. But you don't all of a sudden get to pick and choose which biases you'll acknowledge when it best suits your own interests.

        Or maybe you do. Why do I care enough about this to repl

        • by mwvdlee ( 775178 ) on Thursday March 30, 2017 @09:22AM (#54142807) Homepage

          I'm neither republican nor democratic, I'm not even from the US.
          From my point of view, both republicans and democrats have about an equal share of sane people and an equal (and WAY too vocal) share of zealot idiots who scream at the other party every time they have a reason. And pretty much every time they don't have a reason.

          Democrats would complain about as much about Michelle Obama as Republicans now and in the future will complain about whatever Ivanka does.
          Republicans complained about as much about Michelle Obama as Democrats now and in the future will complain about whatever Ivanka does.

          Don't for a second believe that either party is any better or worse than the other.
          The only people who can't see this are the screaming zealot idiots.

          Remember that the vast majority of people on both sides just want live in the US to be the best possible.
          They just differ on what exactly they believe "best" to be.

      • by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 30, 2017 @08:01AM (#54142067)

        You are so full shit shit. Hillary / Mrs. Obama pulled MUCH WORSE publicity stunts that tried to tackle controversial issues and got praised for it in the media. Then you have this "stunt" which is not controversial and should be praised by everyone, especially liberals who think women are are some sort of disadvantage in STEM, and she gets attacked for it. Do you understand the fucking irony? The very people who push for this type of shit day and night are attacking her.

        It is almost as if Liberals WANT the pain and suffering of being incompetent so they can complain and get more votes and entitlements. Heaven forbid a woman role model tried to SOLVE SOMETHING by showing women they can learn something new and "uncomfortable" at the same time as teaching their kids. No we need Hillary, the corrupt fuck who wipes a server "what, like with a cloth". Yeah, that is the fucking role model we need. Hillary talks about solving problems but does nothing - and even worse - attack women when armies of lawyers.

        So... Fuck you. People like you are the reason this nation sucks.

    • if this was Michelle Obama doing this, would you be bashing her for it?

      Yes. I like the Trumps but think all the "teach kids to code" stuff is retarded.

  • by supremebob ( 574732 ) <themejunky AT geocities DOT com> on Thursday March 30, 2017 @07:33AM (#54141919) Journal

    So, what programming language do you teach to 5 year old kids and super models? Scratch? Python?

  • Aside from the controversy, the position is in the spotlight. Using that time to focus on events like this is beneficial and should be encouraged. The sincerity behind the motion matters not.
  • Missing the point (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Minupla ( 62455 ) <minupla@ g m ail.com> on Thursday March 30, 2017 @07:38AM (#54141949) Homepage Journal

    Put aside your cynicism for a moment. It's hard, I get that, but just for a moment....

    OK, ready?

    None of these coding initiatives are about teaching someone to code. It's about exposure. Think of football (or hockey, or ...) camp for 8 year olds. Very few of those kids are going on to a brilliant professional sporting career. So we should shut them down, treat any parent who enrolls their child in such a camp with derision, etc. Right? No? Why not?

    Because sometimes the experience is more important then the result.

    When I was 5, I got a chance to play with a Vic 20. My landlords' daughter showed me how to do the classic:

    10 PRINT "Hello World"
    20 GOTO 10

    I remember feeling the world change. It was a different place then before I wrote and ran that program. I *GOT* it. I knew this beige box was going to change everything.

    Years later, when I was about 8, the local Commodore club got a modem. I saw what it did and felt that feeling again. I pestered my mom to let me check it out from the hardware library for months before she agreed and I dialed into a local Radio Shack BBS. The sysop started a chat and we talked in chat. This was the future.

    In the years since, I ran a Fidonet network hub, ran two freenets in two cities, was the sole technical employee for a regional ISP in northern Canada, and have endeavored to make the world a slightly better place. To build the future I glimpsed when I was 5.

    You know what? Never became a programmer. I can barely program my way out of a wet paper bag to this day. I know the concepts and understand how to use those concepts in my professional life, but programming itself has never set my soul alight. Does that make the experience of the journey any less important? Does it mean that the 5 year old wasted his time?

    I'd argue no. I have no idea how my life might have changed if not for that chance encounter when I was 5. Maybe I'd still have followed the same life path. But for some of those kids getting exposed with the learn to code movement, statistically speaking, it will change their lives.

    For me, that's enough. My daughter went to Defcon (the hacker conference) when she was 3, so hopefully she got 2 years on me in feeling that wonder.

    Min

    • Yeah. For me it was sitting down in front of the new Apple IIe when I was 7, and I looked at the blinking cursor, and I looked at my older brother, and said "what now?" And he said "You read the manual" and he handed me "Basic Apple BASIC."

      10 PRINT "[BROTHER'S NAME] IS A NERD"
      20 GOTO 10

      Magic.

    • Which is why I don't get the hate 'lets introduce kids to stuff' gets on Slashdot. When ever discussion comes up 'how did you get into programming' it's almost all of them had a combination of luck and opportunity at a young age.

      I started programming HyperCard. It was a half GUI half code tool. My earliest work looks terrible and followed no coding standards but it introduced me to what was possible. These days I'd probably start with automating parts of Minecraft.

      Who knows what I'd be doing with my life if

      • by Minupla ( 62455 )

        Ya, my kid was taught scratch by an 8 yr old boy at Defcon when she was 3. Still plays around in scratch, it's great. She may never get involved in IT as a career (she's been pretty solid on vet for a few years), but she'll also never think of them as magic boxes, and there's a power in that too.

        Min

      • Because you have blinders on and are covering your ears. This is making something a requirement and forcing EVERYONE to take it. It is not providing the opportunity. It's forcing people to do it.
    • Put aside your trolling for a moment and understand the difference. One was a CHOICE, the other was FORCEFULLY FORCED DOWN YOUR THROAT. Can you figure out which one. You'll get cookie when you do.
  • by seven of five ( 578993 ) on Thursday March 30, 2017 @07:55AM (#54142043)
    I'm never coding again. Not a single line.
  • Stuff no five year old says:

    "We're excited to learn this incredibly important new language together. Coding truly is the language of the future."

  • by iamacat ( 583406 ) on Thursday March 30, 2017 @09:05AM (#54142637)

    Seriously. For whatever reason Ivanka has some pull in Washington and can use it for good. Why not every 5 year old in the country trying coding?

  • This is exactly how women in high positions screw things up for women everywhere.

    STEM doesn't need more women learning STEM.
    STEM needs more women actually succeeding in STEM.
    The problem has never been that women have trouble with STEM.
    The problem has always been that women don't stay in STEM.

    Does anyone here think that Ivanka will suddenly become an engineer next year? She certainly could, but she won't.

    And if she starts to learn, and effectively "quits", do you think her daughter will decide to continue o

  • I took a "coding class" with my youngest child a couple months ago. We used Scratch, which is obviously very different from the C++ classes I completed while earning my degree. It's not about learning to become a programmer - it's about doing something fun with your kid and giving them a bit of exposure. Maybe your child will embrace it and dig much deeper, ultimately learning actual coding. Showing enthusiasm is part of the experience. "Hey, let's make a game!" It's called parenting. Ivanka is on tar
  • What? A Trump is interested in programming? I hate programming now.

  • You know doing something real. Maybe help your child develop an interest in science which may lead to a career in science or engineering and not simple being a code monkey.

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