Episode 9, Talking Shop: Where Curiosity Meets Confidence

In this episode of Unfinished Minds, Amy and Ben reflect on their early experiences with tech education. From junior high shop class and sewing soccer balls to fixing vintage electronics and mentoring robotics teams, they explore how hands-on learning builds more than skills.

What starts as a look back becomes a deeper conversation about:

• The confidence that comes from making and fixing

• How gender and academic bias kept many learners out of tech

• Why robotics and other hands-on programs build collaboration and creativity

• How technical literacy prepares us for a future shaped by AI

Plus, Ben redeems his six-year-old self after a long-ago record player mishap by reviving a 1984 boombox.

This is a hopeful episode about the joy of creating, the value of tech in all its forms, and how we can better prepare the next generation to understand and shape the world around them.