Irina Foster, Engineer, Master’s of Science, LEED AP, Academic Director of Science Playhouse
Maybe California or New York?? Apparently, there is a huge shortage of computer scientists in Colorado. Our business community has been calling for more skilled STEM professionals, especially computer scientists, for years. “Colorado currently has more than 16,000 open computing jobs, and the average salary of these occupations is $92,000”, said a Denver Post article from 26 Feb. 2016.
Interestingly, these computing jobs are not just in tech but also in other industries, such as health care, advanced manufacturing, aerospace, finance, and others. With so much available well-paying work in Colorado, it’s a shame grade schools don’t offer much in a way of programming classes. Most schools don’t offer any computer science lessons, leaving this very important subject out of the curriculum all together.
But if we are to help local businesses fill these tech jobs, and ensure our kids are able to support themselves in this highly competitive economy, shouldn’t we teach them programming? Most schools teach Spanish as a foreign language, should we look at teaching programming as one of the “foreign” languages? As a parent, I want to give my kids the skills that give them an advantage when entering the work force. From everything I see and read, proficiency with computers and ability to program/code is a must. What can we do? Especially, if you are like me and know nothing about computer code? And I truly know nothing about it!
Well, how about letting the kids design their own computer games? Most kids love playing computer games. No, scratch that. They LOVE playing computer games! Did you know there are several really cool programs out there that teach kids how to code, without the parent having to supervise/instruct? Especially, if the parent is like me, computer illiterate. For example, Scratch, developed by MIT specifically to teach kids coding starting at the age of 5. You can download it and let your child play with it and figure out how it works on their own. (or you can sign them up for one of our Programming classes! Another great option ) Scratch is simple to use, and it teaches the kids how to think like a programmer, design algorithms, debug and sequence events like a professional game designer. Give it a try and tell us what you think!
It seems there are some significant gaps between what schools are teaching our kids and what the real world is going to ask of them. But one of these gaps we can fill. Teach our kids computer and programming skills that will put them ahead of the competition, while offering a better paying job, and ensure they don’t move back in with us after college!
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