Neighbor News
Computer Science and Teaching Future Generations
To successfully prepare future generations we must include things, such as computer science into the core curriculum of schools.
Technology and automation are changing the way that the world operates. While the speed of technological advances has increased, most industries affected by these advances are struggling to react quickly enough. Almost half of global occupations are susceptible to automation. These jobs span across skill and wage levels and include a wide range of industries. While this isn’t to say that automation will lead to a massive unemployment rate, it is absolutely necessary that we redefine the requisite skills for many occupations.
We can’t continue teaching the exact subjects that were being taught 50 or more years ago without logically, adding new subjects that are relative to today’s world. Our education system is in place to help inform and prepare the youth for the rest of their lives and it is an injustice to not embrace technology in the classroom as much as we do outside of it, in our daily lives.
Foundational education must be redefined to keep up with the evolution of skills required to succeed. Many schools that do teach digital skills focus on how to do things, such as creating presentations, rather than how to build and expand the technology itself. This is failing to prepare the next generation entering the workforce because instead of teaching students how to solve problems and innovate using new technology we are still spending time on things such as complex math or handwriting. While in the past these subjects have been essential, advanced calculators and the internet have replaced the need to memorize certain equations and basic facts.
Teaching computer science is a great step in the right direction if we want to successfully prepare all students to have collaborative, creative, and digital problem solving skills. By replacing topics that are becoming obsolete, such as complex arithmetic, with computer science classes we can adequately shift our education system into embracing the future better.
There is much more to computer science than just coding. Cybersecurity, robotics, data analysis, and computational thinking are all topics that fall under the science. Being able to navigate on a computer system with a deeper understanding is valuable in every career. If every state begins promoting computer science in their core curriculum we will see the next generation entering the workforce better equipped to handle the advances in technology that we’re already experiencing today.
Many parts of the United States are heading in the right direction. 44 states have begun changing policies and recognizing computer science as a part of the academic core. Where as before the subject was left to contests and after-school clubs, more and more computer science is being expanded to in-school classes.
Teaching computer science is not only absolutely necessary to prepare future generations, but it’s also a source of inspiration and can be very engaging for students. There aren’t many students who would protest having to do less math equations and instead learning the ins and outs of a machine that they use in so many different aspects of their lives. As knowledge of computer science continues to be in greater demand, we must give future generations the opportunity to learn about something that plays such a vital role in their lives.
