One of my roles as a parent is amateur children’s book critic. This is dumb, because it’s not like the books will have a big long-term impact on kids’ behavior. But it’s still grating to read the kids books with a message I don’t like.
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So, there’s a series: Rosie Revere, Engineer and Ada Twist, scientist. Plot: main character loves a STEM subject. Is strongly discouraged by an authority figure. Ultimately perseveres. All good! But
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In both books, we see the characters experiment *and ultimately fail*. Ada doesn’t resolve her question; Rosie’s helicopter always crashes.
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So the actual lesson of the series is: if you vaguely like a topic but can’t hack it, feel free to identify yourself as a practitioner. It’s basically telling the reader to be the left pane here:pic.twitter.com/nqxTGXpe96
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https://www.amazon.com/Built-Car-Chris-Van-Dusen/dp/0142408255 … on the other hand, is a book all about science and engineering as a total victory over human limitations. So read that one instead.
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Coda: 4-year-old is really into vehicles, legos, etc., and has started assembling her toys into more elaborate toys by linking them with plastic rings. So I keep telling her “You’re an engineer! But unlike Rosie Revere you can actually ship.”
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One of those unspeakable gulfs is between people whose resting state diagnosis of most problems is “insufficient mastery” and others whose is “insufficient social status.” Rosie’s problems and resolution were both entirely in others’ heads. Her growth: listen to right people.
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