Computer Science cant get no respect in High School
Tim Finin, 9:40am 5 November 2009This post on the CACM Blog caught my eye and shows that we still have a long way to go before computing is taken seriously in US secondary education, let alone K-12.
AP CS no Longer Counts for High School Graduation in Georgia (for now)
“Up until September, Georgia and Texas were the (only) two states in the US that accepted a computer science course as fulfilling high school graduation requirements. In Texas, the Advanced Placement Computer Science (AP CS) course fulfilled a mathematics requirement. In Georgia, it fulfilled a fourth science course requirement. As of October, however, Georgia has rescinded that decision. … ”
I wonder how other countries treat computing and informatics in primary and secondary education.
Ebiquity Blog
November 8th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
This is a disgrace. There are students from other countries that are learning computer science at young ages, while we in America are basically teaching our students that computers are only useful for Facebook and typing papers. Yet somehow, we are surprised that we are so behind other countries in math, science, computer science, etc. Why does computer science not count as something every single student should at least have a basic knowledge of? What would people think if we didn’t have to take history? Or English? Or art? Those are considered essential subjects, yet computer science in this day and age is not. Not to mention, computer science can be applied to nearly every field. Business, law, medicine, teaching, art, etc. When CollegeBoard got rid of one of the AP CS classes, I knew we were on a downward path.
November 9th, 2009 at 6:11 am
Years before(around 21 years ago), when I was doing my studies in the 4th standard We were having computer in our syllabi.. and we were tought flow charts and used to play space invaders (cant remember the exact name ) reaching 8th (it was in a different school) i studied the same thing, with extra DOS.. Now in India, 12th standard students are studying C++ in their CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) curriculum..
November 9th, 2009 at 8:12 am
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November 9th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
My wife teaches Computer Science in high school and it is mildly popular, mostly boys that are from asian countries though that want to take it. Only one or two girls sign up for the class per semester.
November 10th, 2009 at 8:13 pm
I remember my high school made us take a foundations of technology course, half of which dealt with computers. What were we taught? The definitions of right-clicking, double-clicking, and other ridiculous things. I wonder if people might be led to believe that is ‘computer science?’ That’s just so sad… especially since computer science is not an easy major if you can’t think logically, don’t have good math skills, and can’t retain mass amounts of information.