The importance of beginning to program young is being understood by more and more educators. Of course there are some private schools that built curriculum around computer programming years ago. Or at public schools there might have been one teacher who introduces programming into their classroom. Or maybe someone on a tech staff that helped various tech-minded students and teachers in the school. But there is also a gradual shift to make programming more mainstream.
The ability of younger students learning how to program is now being noticed. Sheena Vaidyanathan teaches the entire Los Altos School District Scratch and has seen tremendous results. Her post “Creative computer programmers” shows the similarities between Breakout Mentors mission and what her students are able to accomplish.
What will happen as school districts like Los Altos are able to show the overwhelming success of teaching programming to all students? It will spread! It might take some time, but eventually programming will become standard curriculum just like math and science.
What can you do if your student’s school doesn’t have someone like Sheena Vaidyanathan? The first thing is to talk to the district to let them know you are interested and to find out if they do have someone capable of teaching it. Alternatively, there are numerous cases of techie parents stepping in to run an after-school program. If you live in the Bay Area, Breakout Mentors can help – either at the school or with 1-on-1 instruction. Reach out to us for more information.