All posts by Mike Deutsch

The President Wants Every Student To Learn Computer Science. But not for the right reasons.

Confusing article seen on NPR Ed, following President Obama’s 2016 State of the Union address. So ok, Obama has laid out the goal of CS for everyone. Great. But the thrust of the article

  1. Obama: Kids should learn to write computer code. Should be job-ready. (write computer code?) – wrong focus.
  2. Kamenetz: Big goal. Don’t question that.
  3. Kamenetz: But what about the logistics? Rollout? Whither curriculum?

It’s hard to argue with the

obama: “hands-on computer science and math classes that make them job-ready on Day 1.”

Adding a new, complex, technical subject to the curriculum won’t be easy. We hear from students, teachers, entrepreneurs and educators about the challenges.

Source: The President Wants Every Student To Learn Computer Science. How Would That Work? : NPR Ed : NPR

3 Challenges As Hands-On, DIY ‘Maker’ Culture Moves Into Schools : NPR Ed : NPR

Three challenges:

  1. link making to curriculum that teachers are doing in the classroom
  2. not corporatize it with tests, common core alignment, accountability, structure (BUT WHAT’S WRONG WITH STRUCTURE?)
  3. make it not only the purview of middle/upper-class white kids and white teachers whose schools can afford laser cutters, drones, 3d printers.

Creative and fun “maker spaces” are popping up in more schools. But administrators and teachers face big hurdles if they want them to be a sustainable part of the curriculum.

Source: 3 Challenges As Hands-On, DIY ‘Maker’ Culture Moves Into Schools : NPR Ed : NPR