Rethinking What We Teach and How We Teach it

              Since former President Bush initiated the NCLB act, computer science classes have declined to near-negligible levels.  In fact, only 5% of public and private high schools in the US offer introductory computer science courses.

                 The NCLB act main focus is in English, mathematics, and science, and most schools ignore other classes such as computer science.  Many high schools argue that there is not enough room in the schedule to offer non-core classes.  Since high schools often overlook computer science, the class becomes difficult to implement at the college level.  

              Additionally, because teachers often teach test-taking strategies in favor of practical applications of material, students go into college without the critical thinking or analytic kills they need to succeed in a rigorous college classes such as computer science.  

             As Albert Einstein once said, “Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.”  This fundamental idea should be at the heart of every high school curriculum.  Unfortunately, this is just not the case, as most schools are more concerned with test performance than student growth. 

             Once high schools around the country adjust their curriculum and stop spending so much time teaching test preparation, there will be more room in the schedule to offer computer science classes.  Computer science is an important subject because it requires logical reasoning and creativity, which are skills that all successful college students need to have.  

This diagram shows the process computer scientists
use to create new technology.

           Designing a computer program is a multi-step process that requires a well thought out approach, an understanding of basic programming principles, and the ability to break up a large problem into a set of smaller, more manageable problems.  It’s necessary to understand the underlying concepts that drive a computer, because something as small as a misplaced parenthesis can be detrimental to the overall function of a program.  Mastering this process requires thinking at multiple levels of abstraction, and it often involves exploring new (to you) and creative solutions. 

Passive learners are at the top half of the pyramid,
while active learners occupy the bottom half.

             After all, students who figure out problems on their own using related information that they learned in class are much more likely to retain the information they learn in class than students who are simply shown the answer.  Further, students who ask questions because they are genuinely interested in the solution are much better off than people who just wait for the teacher to address the problems in class.  These active learners are much more prepared for the rigors of college than the passive learners, but high schools continue to produce passive, task-oriented students with no motivation to learn.