From computers to tablets to smartphones, computer science is integral to our daily lives. And today’s teenagers are the first generation ever to be so closely identified with technology.
If your kid is browsing the internet from the second they get home until they go to bed, why not teach them about the technology behind the screen?
Computer Science Needs You!
Computer science provides students with vast employment opportunities. Unlike most fields, there’s a huge demand for workers. Each year on average, there are 144,500 job openings in computer science, but there are only 88,161 annual degrees earned to fill those job positions (including associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees).
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, by 2020 there will be more than 1.4 million computer-related job openings. But, taking into account current trends, only 30% of those jobs will be filled.
The Sad State of Computer Science Education
Adding computer science to school curriculums has many benefits–it teaches marketable skills, instills critical thinking, and encourages problem solving. Unfortunately, most schools do not have computer science courses. And if they do, it is offered as an elective rather than a part of the core curriculum.
For the 2012- 2013 school year, only nine states had computer science classes count towards the core curriculum for graduation credit. If more states adopted computer science as a core curriculum, the effect would be exponential. Students who are exposed to computer science in high school and take the College Board’s AP computer science exam are eight times more likely to major in computer science in college. Of all the AP exams in 2011, a mere 1% of those exams were taken in computer science. Just another example of the lack of exposure these courses receive in high schools.
In 2011, of the 42,000 high schools in the U.S. only 2,100 of them were certified to teach AP computer science courses. Two bills have been introduced to the House of Representatives and the Senate by members of congress. These bills include the Computer Science Education Act (CSEA) and the Computer Science Education and Jobs Act. Click here for more information.
The Incubator School: Progressive and Hands-On
I spoke with Sujata Bhatt, the founder of the Incubator School in Los Angeles, which takes a different teaching approach compared to more traditional schools. They believe in teaching students how to explore their creativity. The idea that technology is part of that creative process is a huge part of their approach.
Most of her students enjoy the homework that allows them to work with Google sites to create real life products. That certainly beats memorizing abstract theories from a textbook.
During our talk, she explained how the school aims to create an environment where it is okay for the students to fail and learn from their mistakes. That’s a valuable lesson for anyone, but especially for web developers. Failure is just a facet of a developer’s daily life. You try a piece of code…FAIL. Google it and try it again…FAIL. Problem solve, ask a co-worker, and try again…SUCCESS!
These courses teach students skills that will help them continue their computer science education in college, positioning them ahead of their fellow classmates. For example, this year at the Incubator School, both the 7th and 8th grade classes created a food blog. This project taught students to not only design a beautiful blog, but how to physically build it as well.
These are the types of projects that will inspire kids to learn and invest in their (marketable) skills. And many of the students have taken their skills outside of the classroom by helping friends and family with various projects. They are already using computer science to benefit their local communities.
The Incubator School is attempting “to open doors to real world experiences” both within and outside of the classroom. Sujata recalled to me how one student designed a logo for her mother’s company. How many 13 year olds are designing brand identities for actual businesses? Not many.
In today’s world, computer science courses have the ability to show students that there doesn’t need to be a boundary between education and the world.
If you would like to take a look at the students’ blogs, visit:
The 8th Grade Blog Food.Me
