Why is it taking so long for some governments to understand the importance of teaching computer sciences and programming at school?
The Chicago Public School Board of Education, the third largest in the United States, has announced that from next year computer sciences will be a requirement for high school graduation. Around a quarter of US schools currently include IT-related studies as part of their curriculum: Chicago’s initiative, begun in 2013 by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, will set an example to others.
Who could imagine a high-school graduate without some grounding in mathematics, physics, chemistry, or biology? Everybody accepts these are indispensible if we are to have an understanding of the world around us.
And increasingly, understanding the world around us means understanding the myriad programmable objects that surround us: computers are everywhere these days and we put them to all sorts of uses: it’s hard to imagine a civilized life without them. As a result, our educational requirements are also changing: going through life without understanding how these things work is an unnecessary limitation.
Some people think there is no need to teach computer sciences, “because young people who grow up with electronic devices already understand them”. This view is mistaken. Young people need to understand technology, they have to know how hardware, software, and design work, they need to have an adequate understanding of programming, of algorithms, variables, conditionals, and feedback, and they need to be able to handle these realities.
This isn’t about training young people to become computer programmers, anymore than knowing basic mathematics or physics means taking up a career as a mathematician or physicist.
Here in Spain, a few regional governments have begun introducing computer studies at infant level, but we are nowhere near to taking the kinds of steps underway in the United States or the United Kingdom, where children now study a range of computer-related studies from infant level up to sixth form, the two-year preparation for university.
In the United Kingdom, it was the Raspberry Pi Foundation that helped with the final push by lowering the costs of teaching computing skills. In the United States, the Obama administration has set aside $4 billion to extend computer science studies throughout schools, working with initiatives such as Code.org, which works to raise awareness and funds.
There are few such initiatives in Spain, with just a handful of inspiring, visionary companies helping set up projects with schools. Needless to say, successive governments have failed to recognize the importance of computer science studies, seemingly unaware of the need to produce a generation with the skills they will need for just about any job.
(En español, aquí)
