Micah, coding with confidence, England

CATHERINE: Are you going to start with your name and your age and then I can say, "I'm Catherine and I'm Micah's mum."

MICAH: And you're 41.

CATHERINE: You weren't expecting this today, were you?

MICAH: The first time I came to Code Club I felt excited

CATHERINE: Micah is a really bubbly, outgoing person. He can sometimes be a little bit shy around new people, but once you get to know him, he's really fun, he's got a wicked sense of humour, and he's really curious and inquisitive about the world. I first heard about Code Club through our local library, and I was really interested in getting him signed up because he loves to learn new things, and I think coding is a brilliant skill in the world that we live in now.

Code Club has definitely helped Micah grow in confidence. Prior to joining Code Club, he was quite anxious about joining after-school activities, but this has definitely given him more confidence to try new things and socialise with other children as well.

I think you were a little bit anxious about joining the club. How was that first club for you?

MICAH: It was amazing.

CATHERINE: How did you feel afterwards?

1:10I felt proud.

CATHERINE: What made you proud? What were you proud of?

MICAH: I did such an amazing job.

CATHERINE: He loves coming and learning all the different things that he can do with coding, and he also loves Basia.

BASIA: Micah's journey with Code Club and with libraries in general has just been so inspiring and heartwarming. So, he started coming to Code Club first, and I don't know that I exchanged a sentence with him the first time he came, but then he started getting more comfortable with me. Linking in something that he was really interested in with a, kind of, a club setting has been crucial to that part. He was really excited about the coding part, and it's shown him that, you know, it not as scary as he might think, that he can do it, and that it's worthwhile.

LIAM: Pretty much all of our librarians when they've started in the libraries have never done any coding whatsoever, so by picking up a Code Club, almost all of us are starting from scratch, and Basia has absolutely grown in confidence, not only in actually doing the coding itself, but in that speaking with the young people, inspiring them, making sure they're all safe, making sure they're all up to speed. And Basia is just wonderful with the kids. They're very knowledgeable about their coding and very keen to just get going, and that enthusiasm really passes on to the— to the children.

MICAH: When I grow up, I want to be an astrophysicist, a marine biologist, an astro-designer, and I want to make my own company called Save The Planet.

CATHERINE: You're going to be an inspiration.

MICAH: Inspiration?

SPEAKER ONE: Yes.

CATHERINE: So, what would you say to another kid if they were thinking of coming to Code Club?

MICAH: I'd say, "You should try it."

CATHERINE: Why's that?

MICAH: Because it's amazing. Yeah, boogie, boogie! Yeah, boogie, boogie!