Being Geek Chic is a blog about one woman navigating the male-dominated industries of production and tech. It's written by Elizabeth Giorgi, Founder, CEO and Director of Mighteor - one of the world's first internet video production companies. Learn more about Mighteor here.
There are so many parts of our education system that separate girls from the pack. Make them feel like they’re not good enough. When it comes to math, specifically, the science backs them up. That’s why we have Leslie Gilbert here today. She is the founder of MathKit, a set of hands-on math games to help families build girls’ confidence and skills. Check out her Kickstarter for MathKit games and help her meet the funding goal by the Friday December 11 deadline, and bring this vision of playful math learning to life!
Want to empower your girl? Teach her math.
Math confidence and skills keep the future open for girls. When they grow up, they will know they can study anything. They can understand statistics and personal finances. They can protect themselves from predatory lenders and question politicians who manipulate data.
Math is still suffering from a gender gap.
A study in Science indicates that girls in elementary school succeed in math at the same level as boys, but have more difficulty later with complex problem-solving.. Though performance is the same, researchers have found important differences in elementary girls’ self-perception. Even when girls are succeeding at the same level as boys, they self-assess as having lower ability. Girls underestimate themselves.
Girls also have higher levels of math anxiety, regardless of performance. A study of 5th-graders also showed that the kids most likely to give up on a difficult math problem are high-achieving girls.
The true goal of math–learning reasoning skills and understanding the number system–can become distorted in elementary school. Kids think that math speed = intelligence. Math becomes a race to the right answer. This is particularly harmful to girls, many of whom are drawn to other learning styles and dislike speed rote memorization.
Put the M back in STEM play at home.
Many popular toys inspire young girls to engage in science, technology, and engineering. A recent article from Forbes calls STEM toys for girls a hot new trend. (STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). By all means, let’s get girls playing with robots, doing science experiments, and learning about future careers. A close look at STEM toy lists, however, reveals very few toys that focus on math learning.
Mathematics is foundational, but it is still a difficult subject for parents to support well at home. Many parents are uncomfortable with math, and they justifiably worry that they are going to give that math anxiety to their kids. Other parents simply need help getting started.
To empower girls, play math with them.
I am a college math teacher and the mother of a second grade girl. I want to help families set girls up for success in math by playing games together. Through games, families can teach girls how to embrace and work through mistakes, relax with math, and try harder problems. Math can stop being an intelligence test, with all the associated stress.
We cuddle up with wonderful books to make reading welcoming. Let’s reimagine family math as thoughtful, playful, and social – a safe space for girls to learn.
Let’s teach our girls that they can learn ANYTHING, especially math.
Meet Sam Skyler. She’s an artist, creator, geek, and huge fan of kaleidoscopes. She’s currently creating an art book filled with vibrant kaleidoscope deceptions of your favorite geeky characters.
That’s right—you’re favorite geeky characters. The first half of her art book is designed by Skyler; the second half is filled with art chosen by the supporters of her Kickstarter campaign. So go fund a fellow lady geek and see your favorite characters and worlds through the Skyler’s kaleidoscope eye.
Read on to discover how Skyler discovered her passion, her geekiness, and at the same time, her courage.
And be sure to follow her on social! Like her on Facebook, follow her on Instagram, and remember: she’s got that Kickstarter campaign going until November 3.
Q: How did you discover your passion for art?
A: Ever since I was a child, I always wanted to create art. Being able to see colors evolve and transform always captured and held my attention. When I saw my first movie in theaters, which was Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, seeing the characters move around and how the backgrounds were painted is what got me hooked on illustration and animation. It was from that moment on that I’ve always wanted to understand and study color, movement and design, and how could I capture those same feelings in all of my artwork.
Q: Where did you find the inspiration to create your Kaleidoscope geeky art book?
A: The inspiration to create my Kaleidoscope art book evolved when I was creating designs for my Star Wars 365 art a day series. It’s a project that I started last year on December 18th that will end the day that episode VII come out! I created a few Kaleidoscope designs and people really enjoyed them and asked if I could create new designs of different characters or universes. I loved that idea and realized that it would be wonderful to showcase these designs in a book. I decided to take my dream over to Kickstarter so it could become a collaboration with other people willing to contribute. I’ll be designing the first half of the book, and the second half of the book will be designs voted on by every Kickstarter supporter! It will be fun to see how the book evolves!
And I’m also looking forward to making a few of the designs into a coloring book. Every backer will receive one and I’ll also donate one to a children’s hospital or school to help keep geek culture and the arts alive!
Q: When did you first discover you were geeky?
A: When I was younger, I never really felt like I fit in because I loved different things than all the other girls and was obsessed with animation, Star Wars, and other sci-fi and nerdy fandoms. When it came time to enter high school, I ended up switching schools so I could be in the airbrushing, art and animation classes. It was there that I received an amazing foundation of the arts and animation. Many of my peers had these same passions and it was wonderful to be in a community that was positive and supported one another.
Q: If you could take any fictional character out for a drink, whom would you choose and what would you drink?
A: Good question! I think it would be really fun to take Buzz Lightyear and go to the Mad Hatter’s tea part from Alice in Wonderland and celebrate everyone’s unbirthdays! And then go dancing! Who knew Buzz had such amazing dance moves until Toy Story 3!
Q: What would you tell your 13 year old self?
A: I would tell my 13 year old self that following your dreams is one of the hardest and most difficult things you will ever go through. But it will also be the most rewarding because of the lessons you will learn and the people you will meet along the way. Create the work that makes your heart happy and never let others tell you that you can’t love something, be something, or achieve your dreams. When you put time, energy and love, into anything that you create, and you find the courage to share that with the world, that is when you’ll connect with people who want to be connected to you. And also brace yourself, you will see multiple new Star Wars movies in your lifetime! So be proud of the things you love.
Emma Bauer is a Being Geek Chic Contributor. Clearly, she’s got great taste. She is a PR enthusiast, dog lover, tea drinker, art appreciator, and of course, aspires to Be Geek Chic. Follow her on Twitter: @emmalynnbauer
If you’ve read my Twitter feed at any point in the last year, you’ve probably noticed that there is one hashtag I use more than any other.
#GIRLBOSS
And it’s for good reason. As a female CEO of a tech company, I spend a lot of time trying to run my business. And I am really damn proud of that fact. It’s not easy. But it’s also SO MUCH EASIER because of the amazing women in my life. And a lot of times, those women are clients who are also Girl Bosses.
When I met the women behind iBesties, I was impressed by two things: first, they were trying to tackle a market that is full of problems. I could write a novel about the problems with Bratz and Barbies, but I will spare us all. Second, they weren’t just trying to make dolls, they were trying to tell a story and really bring little girls a new perspective.
Obviously, it was my honor to do the video for their Kickstarter campaign. During the shooting days, I honestly found myself thinking: would I have become a CEO sooner if I had something like this when I was a little girl? I didn’t know my dream was possible until I met other women who did it. And that’s why we need this. And I’m happy to report that their campaign is now live.
If you have a daughter, cousin, niece or just know an amazing little girl - please go check out their campaign and consider pre-ordering an iBesties book or doll or both.
The world needs more future Girl Bosses. The best way to do that? Help little girls see that it’s possible.
There’s this thing about my life that is so lucky: I always meet the most incredible women in my work. These women are from all over the country, they are working on amazing things and they are always so generous and awesome and kind too. The recent introduction of the Revolar team into my life has been especially fantastic.
I had the distinct honor of working with them this year on developing their Kickstarter video for their campaign, which just launched yesterday. It’s super rare to feel like you find a client “soul mate” but that’s exactly how I feel about this group and not just because they are awesome people. It’s also because they have an incredible mission.
Revolar is the world’s first and smartest non-violent personal safety device. As women, we put ourselves are risk all the time by just leaving our homes. And for some women, home is a dangerous place too. Their mission to make people safer through smart technology and non-violent means is more than just admirable. It’s necessary.
So if you’re looking for something for yourself, a loved one, a friend, whoever who wants to feel safer and live a more empowered life - I’d definitely recommend checking out their campaign. They are going to change the world and I’m so glad and honored to be a part of that.
Picture this: It’s a dark rainy night, the cat’s by your side, and you’re ready to curl up with a good horror story. You pull up a classic HP Lovecraft tale on your Kindle and dive in. But as the story’s hero gets lost in a stormy woods, you lose your place, too—as is so often the case with Mr. Lovecraft’s stories.
Enter Tro Rex & Eyo Bella! They’re a sister team dedicated to unpacking the works of the horror legend. But how? Check out Littlest Lovecraft, their series of of fully illustrated books based on H. P. Lovecraft’s original works. The pair has already published the first two books in the series: Littlest Lovecraft: The Call of Cthulhu and Littlest Lovecraft: The Dunwich Horror. (Pick up your copies here.) Their wish? To put you “on a path to the more obscure corners of the mind.”
And now, Tro and Eyo are creating a third graphic novel: Littlest Lovecraft: The Shadow Over Innsmouth, which, for the next three days, you can help fund over on Kickstarter.
But before you go down the rabbit hole of the Littlest Lovecraft works, check out Tro and Eyo’s interview with BGC. Trust us, in the company of these two ladies, you won’t be disappointed.
Q: Tell us, what gave you the idea to create children’s books based on horror legend H. P. Lovecraft’s works?
Tro: This one is pretty straight forward - Eyo had asked me if I would write a simplified version of the Dreamquest of Unknown Kadath for her so she could follow it as it is very confusing. One thing led to another and I said I’d agree to do some simplified versions of the stories for her if she would illustrate them. And it progressed from there to the books!
Eyo: To be honest, I’m a bit dyslexic. I love books, but reading can be an uphill battle. I also love HP Lovecraft, but unfortunately, his writing style can get pretty complicated, making it nearly impossible for me to follow along. One day I asked my sister if she could make a simpler version of one of the stories for me to read. Soon after, she came to me with the idea to write a children’s book based off Lovecraft’s works. At first, we debated making an actual children’s story with his mythology, but we eventually agreed on making simplified versions of his stories. Initially, I thought that this was some kind of abstract idea for the future. That was until Tro called me up and said “I made a Kickstarter!” And when we showed up on Laughing Squid and got funded, I knew that it was real. It was all overwhelming, but I’m glad she did it, because I’m very proud of the work we’ve done!
Q: Where do you find your inspiration in life?
Tro: All kinds of places! I am a big reader and watcher of films (good films or terrible films!). I also get a lot of inspiration from my friends and geeking out over things with them - this is how many of our side goodies in our Littlest Lovecraft Kickstarters came to life. Anything starting with the phrase “Wouldn’t it be cool if…?” Also dinosaurs. Dinosaurs are a huge inspiration.
Eyo: This is a hard question, haha. I try to pull it from lots of places. I am a massive science nerd. I am endlessly fascinated by how the universe works. I’m also a huge history nerd, because there are so many amazing stories and figures throughout time that leave fiction wading in a kiddy pool. I have a fascination with death and death culture. A lot of people in Western culture are scared by it, even though it is an essential part of life and existence. How a person or a culture views death says a lot about how they live their life. I adore the bizarre. I firmly believe it is madness(or close to it) that makes the world go round, makes it interesting. I believe it’s something that should be reveled in and enjoyed. But I also know that it’s not for everybody.
Q: What do you hope to achieve with Littlest Lovecraft? What’s your mission?
Tro: First and foremost, we want to help make Lovecraft accessible to more people. It is our hope that people will read our books and then be interested enough in the source material to go read the original works and fall in love just like we did! Also, to have fun. We have a lot of fun with the projects and the writing and everything that goes into them.
Eyo: Ever since I was little, I’ve been attracted to dark, bizarre things. When I was in 4th grade, I recited a shortened version of The Raven for my school talent show. With this natural curiosity, my gateway drug was Tim Burton. He made movies that were morbid, cute, stylish, and fun. He was a huge influence on my childhood. I know that I’m no Tim Burton, but it would please me to no end if our books could spark that curiosity in someone, young or old. To start them on a path to the more obscure corners of the mind.
Q: If you could take any fictional character out for a drink, whom would you choose and what would you drink?
Tro: OMG, that’s a difficult choice! Maybe Deadpool and ginger ale? At least it would be entertaining!
Eyo: It would be a tie between Death from Discworld and Prismo from Adventure time. I would go out for curry with Death (I have a massive, undying love of Indian food) and pet kittens. With Prismo, I’d love to hang out at his time room, knock around a few beers, eat some pickles, and talk about how awesome the universe is.
Q: What would you tell your 13-year-old self?
Tro: Sorry, but you will always be short and unable to reach things on top of the fridge. But don’t worry - you’ll grow up to be a dinosaur one day!
Eyo: I would tell myself “You’re going to be okay. All the weird awkwardness that makes you hate yourself now is going to be what makes people love you in the future. Also, do more life drawing. You’ll thank yourself later.”
Emma Bauer is a Being Geek Chic Contributor. Clearly, she’s got great taste. She is a PR enthusiast, dog lover, tea drinker, art appreciator, and of course, aspires to Be Geek Chic. Follow her on Twitter: @emmalynnbauer
