>> welcome to "teen kids news." i'm livia. here's our top story for this week. have you ever wanted to build your own website or phone app? as diyu reports, you don't need to be a math genius to learn how. >> laptops, tablets, and smartphones all have one thing in common. they depend on programs to operate. that's why the computer experts who write those operating systems are called "programmers." they use letters, numbers, and

symbols to create the code that tells the computers what to do. and if you think that only adults can learn to write code listen to this. >> the younger you get into coding, really, the better you are in your career, whether you want to go into programming itself or if you want to go into other industries. >> the new york code and design academy offers a summer camp and classes for teens to learn to code. and if you're worried that you need to be a computer whiz don't worry. >> some basics are kind of helpful, like, obviously learning how to type, learning how to navigate through your folders, naming your files, like naming, standard naming conventions. but other than that, nothing. it is pretty easy to pick up. >> students are taught skills, such as building web pages and designing mobile applications. >> we have learned things like html and css, which were basically just basic, little website things of how to do basic background colors and how to post links. >> after mastering that, susana

says students are ready to move into more complex territory. >> and then we learned ruby and sinatra, which were how to have users put in passwords and usernames and have the website actually check its database to see if those were correct. >> they have all learned how to build database-driven websites so something like twitter or facebook is all within their reach once they are done with this program. >> i'm working on an app that allows students to basically update their grades and the amount of time they spend studying, and over time they are able to check the process and their academic careers. >> my project is similar to metacritic, and metacritic is kind of like this website where they do a lot of reviews on everything, like music tv shows, movies. >> right now i am working on sort of in a way a facebook or like a twitter page, where i can have users post, you know, little blogs or, like, i'm gonna try and have them be able to post pictures, as well, and maybe even videos.

>> being able to write code is more than just fun. it's also a great skill set to have for a future career. >> so, sometimes you can become a web developer. you could lead a team that is developing a software product. you could go into any of the s.t.e.m. fields. you could become a mission-control person, or you could become a scientist who analyzes vast amounts of data. >> so far i have learned a lot and designing apps and working on the web, it's just something that comes with practice and patience because you're not going to be a pro your first day. it takes time, and it's a skill that has to be built. >> there's no "code" needed to know that's great advice. with the growing popularity of computers, there's always going to be demand for people who understand the technology. so, if you're interested in learning to code, look online for courses in your area. and yes, someone had to write the code for you to be able to do that. >> this week's driving tip is brought to you by the national road safety foundation.

>> cool party! >> what do you guys want to drink? >> can i have a head-on collision with a concussion twist? [ tires screech, glass shatters ] >> make mine a fatal accident with no survivors. [ tires screech, siren wails ] >> and you? >> a designated driver, please. you know, just a bottle of water. >> awesome! >> you're a lifesaver! >> don't go away. we've got lots more still to come on "teen kids news." we'll be right back.

>> for many of us, the answer to "what are you going to do after you graduate high school?" is simple. go to college. but scott talks with someone who's got advice that may surprise you. >> ryan porter is the c.e.o. and co-founder of raiseyourflag.com and the author of "make your own lunch." and he's here to talk about our options after high school.

welcome, ryan. >> thank you for having me. >> so, you actually dropped out of college. why did you decide to do that? >> yeah. let's just get one thing out of the way. i eventually did go back to college and graduate. but i did. i dropped out of college at age 21, in my final semester. i started asking myself that question that we've all been asked as little children, like "what do you want to be when you grow up?" and i realized i had no idea. so, i dropped out. i moved to tokyo, japan, and got a job teaching english. and when i was living there and meeting a ton of interesting people, i realized that that's a terrible question to be asking ourselves -- "what do you want to be when you grow up?" and i realized there's a bunch of other questions we could be asking. >> okay. so, what if i'm not sure about going to college? what are the questions that i should ask myself? >> questions that i like to focus on are questions like, well, what do you want to have? and where do you want to go? what do you want to do? what do you want to contribute to? what do you want to be involved with? and who do you want to be? and all of those questions should come before the question,

should you go to college or not? because if you answer all of those questions and the answers all lead to some career path that requires college, well, now you know that college is probably a great idea. but a lot of times those questions will lead you down a different path, and you can choose alternative things to do. >> and if i decide not to go to college, what are my options? >> the five that i tend to recommend are things like travel, learn a language, start a business, build something, volunteer. my philosophy is that as a young person, your job needs to become to become as employable as possible. so, all of those things that i mentioned are things that are making you stand out of the crowd or the pile of résumés being put onto a desk. all of those things will help you start to answer those questions that we just mentioned. >> okay, well, some of those things sound a little bit daunting, so how do you figure out what the next step should be? >> the first part of the answer is you shouldn't wait until the last semester of your final year of high school. there's a ton of people out

there that wait until their twelfth grade final semester and they're like, "i don't now what i should be doing." now, the second part to this answer is start having experiences before you get to the twelfth grade. volunteer, try out for teams join clubs, get a part-time job. start to figure out what you really love and start to figure out what you really hate. and choose those things that bring you closer to the things that you love to do and find those career paths that allow you to do those type of things. >> who should teens talk to for advice? >> great question. so, there are a ton of people that can actually help. so, there's obviously guidance counselors and teachers and parents and friends and uncles. but there's a group of people who are doing things that you think are interesting. you want to be a fashion photographer? find a fashion photographer on twitter or instagram or facebook or on their blog. e-mail them. ask them how they got started. ask them who they talked to. ask them if there's anything that you should know or you could experience before you start making these decisions. the great thing is, is people are willing to help.

>> okay, so, let's say you choose this path. what do you say to someone who thinks not going to college is a bad idea? >> i challenge you to sit down with that person and have a real conversation, all right? not an argument, not where you tell them that you want to be a rock star and you're gonna do it anyway possible. tell them your plan -- who you have that's gonna help you. show them people who have done it in the past and have been successful and that you're gonna kind of model as your role model to do that same thing. and then ask for their support. >> any last words of advice? >> as a young person, it is your job to become as employable as possible. do everything in your power to make sure that you stand out when your résumé is put onto the desk with a stack of résumés, especially if you're not going to college. there are ways to find careers that you love without a degree or diploma, but you have to work a little bit harder to make sure that you have the right experience and exposure to get there. >> thanks for the information. >> thank you very much. >> the decision on what to do after you finish high school is an important one.

and as ryan tells us, it's something that you should really start thinking about well before you graduate high school. >> it's the mission to find out if jupiter, the king of planets, is really made of royal stuff.

>> as we all know, jupiter is the biggest planet in our solar system. but there's still a lot more to learn about this distant giant. harry tells us about a nasa space mission that's doing just that. >> packed with the very latest scientific gear, juno launched in august 2011. >> it gets to jupiter in 2016. so, it takes five years to get to jupiter. whoa! did he say five years? >> five years to get to jupiter. >> well, the distance we're talking about is over 366 million miles. that's equal to going around the

earth almost 15,000 times! juno has a unique design. it looks like a pinwheel, but, as scott explains, the shape has a purpose. >> we're going out really far from the sun. in fact, jupiter's five times as far away from the sun as the earth is, and so we get 25 times less sunlight than we get here on earth. so, we needed -- to overcome that, we have big, giant solar panels to do that. but we go deep close to jupiter, right into the middle of the radiation zone. in fact, it's the most hazardous region in the whole solar system. we're like an armored tank going to jupiter. >> in roman mythology, juno is the wife of jupiter. according to legend, when jupiter was up to mischief, he'd hide behind clouds. >> but she could see right through the clouds, and that's just what our spacecraft juno does. it sees through the clouds of jupiter to figure out its true nature and see what's inside. >> scientists hope that once nasa's juno "sees through" the clouds of jupiter, we'll find a lot of answers about the birth of our solar system.

>> our whole solar system was probably formed from one kind of cloud that was basically the same composition as the sun -- mostly hydrogen, a little bit of helium, and a tiny bit of everything else. well, jupiter is all gas. it may have a solid core in the middle. we don't know. that's one of the things juno will tell us. and that's what juno's trying to really understand. that slight difference is it has a little bit different amounts of oxygen, carbon, nitrogen -- all the things we call heavy elements -- and those things are important to us because that's what the earth's made out of and in fact that's what life's made out of. >> which brings up the age-old question -- does life exist on other planets? >> i think that out in the universe there must be many kinds of life, and some of them must be intelligent. now, we haven't found any other ones, but the universe is really big, and there's a lot of stars out there, and the odds are, there's a lot of life-forms. i don't know if they're

visiting us, like aliens, but i think they're out there. >> so, what does scott suggest we do if we find intelligent life? >> if i ever encountered an alien, the first thing i'd do is ask him where do they come from and what's it like on their planet? >> but don't hold your breath. one scientist says the odds of there being other intelligent life out there are one one-hundredth of a percent over 4 billion years. if you'd like more info on juno's mission, visit our website. >> should bake sales be banned from schools? we'll find out what teens think, coming up, in "speak of the week."

i'd like to drop out of high school and get a meaningless job that makes me feel bad about myself. i'd like to fall victim to the old boys' network. i don't want anybody to notice me. i just want to fly under the radar. i want to splatter against the glass ceiling. i don't have an opinion. i want to be a straight "c" student.

i'm going to be a biomedical engineer. [ girls laughing ] i mean, i want to succumb to peer pressure all of my life. i'm going to be a best-selling novelist and win the national book award. i'm going to be a marine biologist. wait! i take mine back. i'm going to be a biomedical engineer. i think i'll be the president. i'm going to be secretary of state. world-class chef right here. race-car driver. artist. paleontologist. film director. surgeon. teacher. scientist. olympian. i'm going to be the boss. i'm going to change the world.

>> obesity is a growing problem with american teens. that's why even first lady michelle obama has been active in helping to get the message out that we need to eat better. but sometimes we may have a good reason not to eat healthy, or do we? christine find out what you think in "speak of the week." >> many schools are now no longer selling food items that are considered unhealthy. but what if those unhealthy foods are being sold in a fundraiser? so, the question is, should schools have bake sales that sell unhealthy items, even if it's for a good cause? >> yeah, traditionally bake sales have always been a place where you sell sweets and whatnot. >> yes, because no one really wants the healthy stuff, and they're not gonna eat it, so they won't sell or make anything for the cause. >> yeah, sure. it's the students' choice if

they want to buy the unhealthy foods or not. >> if the parents really don't want their kids to have the food from the bake sales, then that's the parent's choice, but i feel like if it goes towards a good cause, then kids should be able to purchase items from there. >> so, like cupcakes, cakes, ice cream -- you think that's all fine to sell at a school? >> yeah, as long as they don't do it every day. >> well, yeah, 'cause it's all about making money. so, as long as they raise money for their purpose, that should be allowed. >> you can't expect a child to go buy vegetables or granola bars. >> i think they should because as long as they're raising money for a good cause, and it's not overdoing it, i think it's okay. >> the thing is, the reason that bake sales are successful is because it's unhealthy snacks. so, if you start serving vegetables and stuff like that the bake sale is pointless because nobody's gonna want to get anything. >> hmm, never thought of vegetable sales. i think that most experts would agree that the answer is moderation, especially if it's for a good cause. with "speak of the week," i'm

christine. >> remember the sorting hat? it could read harry potter's mind about not wanting to be in slytherin. but it seems that's not so magical. scientists in canada have created a device that analyzes individual brain activity. then, it uses the information to detect what a person likes and dislikes. of course, you could just ask. >> few things strike more fear in our hearts than going out on a date. kristina tells us more. >> she calls herself the "teen dating mechanic." lisa jander is back again with us. hi. >> hi. great to be back. >> so, what's one of the biggest hurdles to overcome when starting to date? >> oh, that definitely has to be stress. you know, when teens learn how to drive, they're not necessarily comfortable with everything on the road. it might be really unfamiliar. they're not sure whether or not to turn left or turn right. so, there's a lot of unfamiliarity when learning to drive. and dating can be very similar.

there's unfamiliar territory. you're not sure. maybe you will say the wrong thing. maybe you won't make the right move, and that's really important when you're dating. it can be very stressful and very awkward-feeling. >> so, then, how do we deal with stress, whether it's driving or dating? >> well, there's a couple of great ways to deal with stress and one of them is a technique i learned that i teach to students all over to really reduce your stress level in any situation, whether you're driving and you're really stressed out about -- maybe it's raining, or maybe the roads seem a little hazardous. doing simple math is a great way to lower your stress. seems kind of crazy, but it really works. and in dating, it does, as well. so, let's say you're not sure about whether or not to approach a person and say hello to them and you're very stressed out. it would be really easy to just step back and do a little, simple math equation, and that will lower your stress. it's a great tip.

>> when you say a simple math equation, can you give me an example? >> absolutely. anything that's just simple one-digit addition multiplication, subtraction. so, you could say, okay i see nine tiles on the floor plus two tiles on the floor equals how many? three bricks on the wall minus one brick on the wall equals how many? and you do this simple math. it's crazy but it really does work lowering your stress. >> so, i guess that figures! thanks so much, lisa, for giving us such great information. >> thanks for having me. >> if you want to hear more tips from the teen dating mechanic, check out our website. >> hooplaha's motto is "life with a smile." their website features good news, inspirational stories, cute pictures, and funny videos. sound familiar? since "teen kids news" has a similar mission, we're presenting you with our hooplaha pick of the week. >> if you walked into the

south bronx, you would be surprised. it is very different from any other area. you got to be careful when you're walking down the street. to be able to read is the most wonderful thing ever. when you're reading, it's like you're in another world, and you're seeing something from somebody else's eyes. if you hand me a book, and you say it's a good book, i'll read it, just to see how good it is. last year, i read 325 books. and i read thick chapter books like chapters that are up to 30, 40. i read really big books. the thing i love most about reading is the ability to have

knowledge about certain things and knowledge is power. the most important thing that i need to do to accomplish my dreams is to get to college. without education you'll just be a nobody. i believe i can accomplish anything, as long as i believe that i can do it. >> if snappy putdowns were an olympic sport, then this guy would be a gold medalist. i'll tell you why, when "teen kids news" returns.

n't focus. i was always interrupting my t eammates. earlier in my career my coach approached me. he had some questions for me and, you know, first question was, do i ever have, you know, growing up

did i have focus problems? and i said, "yes, coach, you know i obviously suffered from adhd as a kid." i felt like i've outgrown it. and he said, "i think that you know sometimes i don't feel like you're focused." so the next day i went and saw a doctor. i had no reason to be embarrassed, no reason to be, you know, ashamed of having adhd. you know, that's why i'm here telling my story. if you were diagnosed with adhd as a kid you might still have it. find out more. take a quiz at ownitquiz.com to help recognize the symptoms like inattention, impulsivity, hyperactivity, then talk with your doctor. seek help. don't be afraid. it 's your adhd. own it. >> nicole continues her special series on the places and people of the united kingdom.

>> parliament square is a park that pays silent tribute to some of the world's greatest leaders... people like britain's bulldogged prime minister winston churchill. his indomitable spirit and ringing oratory helped the british keep their upper lips stiff during the dark days of world war ii. not all those honored here with a statue are from the united kingdom. there's nelson mandela south africa's first black president and nobel peace prize recipient... as well as abraham lincoln, the american president who fought the civil war to preserve the union and to abolish slavery. but there was one particular person's likeness i wanted to see. they say the statue of prime minister disraeli is here in parliament square. let's see if we can find it. disraeli actually served twice as britain's prime minister under queen victoria.

no, that's not him. in the age of imperialism, disraeli is credited with helping to extend britain's influence around the world. a popular saying in his day was that the "sun never sets on the british empire." neither is this. even though i was assured his statue was in the square, i couldn't find it. do you think they take statues away for cleaning? exasperated, i googled him and discovered that his statue is here, after all. in fact, it was one of the first i looked at... except that the name on the base isn't disraeli, but his official title of earl of beaconsfield. so, he was here, after all. the reason why i wanted to find him was because he's famous for making one of the most devastating insults of all time. disraeli was once asked, "what's

the difference between misfortune and disaster?" disraeli replied that if his political opponent gladstone fell into the river thames, that would be misfortune. however, if someone helped him out of the river, that would be disaster. for "teen kids news," i'm nicole. >> we'll see you next time on "teen kids news." thanks for watching. have a great week.

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