Scratch

OK, so I know the last piece of writing I posted on Scratch was a satirical joke, but this is more serious. Feedback is appreciated.


Should a Computer Science Class be required in the Middle School Curriculum?
           
For the last 50 years, annual funds spent per student have always increased; why then, is the United States still scoring significantly worse than 17 out of 33 countries in mathematics and only significantly higher than 5 other countries? Is it even possible to improve these scores? How is the United States supposed to compete against the rest of the world in the so called, “digital age,” without the necessary skills? All these pertinent questions and issues have a common answer: promoting critical thinking through logic, reasoning, and problem solving abilities by introducing a required computer science class into middle school curriculum.

Computer science is the one of the fastest growing job industries in the world. People and businesses are in constant need for quicker, more efficient, innovative means of communication and data processing and storage. Teaching young students computer programming in middle school would introduce them to a field that they might not otherwise stumble across. This is extremely relevant because, all too often, computer science carries the inaccurate connotation of being devoid of creativity. On the contrary, many of the problems that a programmer comes across do not have a set method for finding a solution. For example, if a game programmer wants to design a new type of movement for a character in a game, there is no manual that houses an answer for the programmer to copy. The programmer must invent an original solution. The quality of creative problem solving, which would become extremely strong by introducing students to computer science at a young age, would highly increases the student’s desirability in the global market.

The ability to think critically through use of logic, reasoning, and problem solving that would be developed in a computer science class is not only applicable within the bounds of that subject. Computer programing, especially game programing, gives intuition for many mathematical concepts. The number line, an abstract and seeming meaningless tool for many, is made immediately applicable when a student wants to make their cat go left. When I was first assembling my set of tools for programming basic games, I quickly realized that giving an object an x-velocity and y-velocity would cause it to move at an angle between the two velocities. But what I did not realize until seeing my program in action, was that the total speed of an object always stays between the speed of the larger velocity and the sum of the velocities. It was only when I started high school physics that I realized I had been incorporating vector addition into a game with the purpose of running from giant fish.

Math is not the only subject for which knowledge of computer science would be useful. It facilitates English writing. Be it by coincidence or not, syntax in English is quite similar to syntax in programming. In English, every sentence must have a noun and verb; in progrmaming, every useful line of code must have a piece of data and a function. In English, conjunctions are used to control the flow of logical ideas; in programing, conjunctions are used to control the flow of logical ideas. Also, both writing sentences and writing lines of code are goal oriented. Every sentence should serve a purpose, as every line of code also should. Every paragraph should serve a purpose, as every user-built function should.

Currently, most schools have some sort of technology class— usually geared towards immersing students in the exciting intricacies of Microsoft Word and other such cognitively stimulating programs. However, these classes do not provide nearly as many benefits as a computer science class would. Teaching about how to use programs, without teaching how they are made and why they work, is comparable to teaching students how to read but not how to write— they won’t be able to produce. Author Douglas Rushkoff says, “Program or be programed;” meaning, if people focus on being consumers of programs, rather that producers, they will soon become insignificant pieces of data in a system that has no regard for their wellbeing. Teaching computational thinking, how to create algorithms that perform tasks, is significantly more important than teaching how to run programs because, as programs become increasingly advanced, they will also become less reliant on human interference. Though this may not happen quickly with programs similar to Microsoft Word, in a seemingly infinite quest for ultimate efficiency, many systems used for manufacturing and distributing are becoming increasingly automated. As laborious jobs filled with the drudgery of memorization and processing large sums of information become occupied by machines, more jobs will be needed in creating the systems on which they run. To have a chance at competing with the ever-excelling global competition in this area, the United States should teach computer science at the earliest age possible.

Some speculators may argue that it is too early to teach computer science in middle school because kids of that age are not smart enough to learn all of the confusing stuff that is in computer programing. If by this they mean they mean students with potential interest would feel deterred by the daunting task of memorizing complex syntax and code, then programs such as Alice and MIT’s Scratch which use a drag-and-drop block interface to cut down on complex code, could help students see immediate, undeterred results. Also, the late-elementary-school to early-middle-school age is when the mind is at its pinnacle of plasticity— where it is able to adapt and creatively solve almost any problem it comes across. Introducing students to unfamiliar ideas and concepts at a young age is a tactic used in foreign language immersion schools for the sole reason that it is much easier to assimilate and master “confusing stuff” at an early age.

The world is rapidly changing, and to avoid being trampled by the feat (this is an accidental spelling error that I may or may not decide to change for the final version) of progress, computer science should be introduced as a required class early on in middle school. Teaching students how to think critically and analytically will help the United States compete with foreign countries; as opposed to a foreign language class, which would only help the United States communicate with foreign countries. A computer science class would also strengthen a student’s ability across the curriculum, making the class beneficial even if a student does not decide to pursue the field. Proficiency in the operation of current technology is not what is needed for students to succeed; a proficiency in the creation of future technology is.

Last edited by randomnumber53 (2012-02-09 23:33:44)