My parents bought me an Apple IIe computer when I was in high school. It came with an Apple BASIC language reference manual.
That was all I needed to start coding and I was hooked from there. In fact, if someone my age wanted to learn to code, self-learning was about the only option you had.
It’s not that much different today. According to code.org, in 2018 only 35% of high schools offered computer science courses. And Black and Latino students and students in rural areas are even less likely to have access to computer science teaching. The computer science job market remains hot, so few computer science graduates opt for a career in teaching. There simply are not enough CS teachers to go around.
The Technology Education and Literacy in Schools (TEALS) program, run by Microsoft Philanthropies, has aimed to build sustainable CS programs in high schools by pairing CS industry professionals with educators who are interested in becoming CS teachers.
I am one of over a thousand tech volunteers across the country who participated in TEALS, teaching an introductory CS course at Windham High School in Connecticut.
I taught SNAP!, a visual programming language that lends itself to creating simple interactive experiences. Students learn something about code execution flow, modular programming, and algorithmic thinking.
It wasn’t perfect. Most of it was virtual and trying to generate excitement among high schoolers at 7:30 AM over a zoom isn’t easy. Class computers didn’t always function well. And there were kids whose personal situations made it a struggle for them to even attend class, let alone complete the assignments.
But there were incredibly satisfying moments as well. Every semester I was blown away by the creativity of each student’s final project – an interactive game of their choosing. Watching students try to master, and in some cases break, each other’s games was a joy. Most memorable, every semester I had a couple of students who struggled in their other classes, yet performed well in my class. They appreciated the hands-on nature of the class and found writing code empowering.
Will any of the students go into computer science? I suspect so. And will the others have gotten anything of value out of the course? I know so. Our world runs on tech. Not everyone needs to be a programmer. But if you don’t understand what it takes to make the software that runs the world, it will limit your ability to operate within it. To see this in action, look no farther than our non-tech savvy public officials’ attempts to regulate social media, crypto, and other things digital.
I hope the TEALS program continues to reach high schoolers across the country. We need the next generation of techies to power our future.