A time for choosing, computer science education

Everyone’s jumping into it:  the addition of computer science/computer programming/”coding” education into the curriculum.

Suburban elementary school district 25 has added “STEM” (effectively, programming plus lessons in using software for design) education to its curriculum.

Suburban high school district 214 has added “coding education,” too, though as part of the math curriculum and limited in scope.

Chicago is adding computer science education.

And President Obama wants coding to be a part of the curriculum, nationwide.

Remember the last push for a new subject to be added to the curriculum?  Yes, you do.  How long ago was it that foreign language study went from “nice to have” to “pretty much mandatory”?  (At my son’s school, it’s either two years of foreign language or a year of vocational-type classes.)  And now that’s moved into a push for foreign language at the middle and elementary school level.

But here’s my 10th grader’s schedule this year:

• Algebra II
• Chemistry
• History
• English
• Computer Programming
• Band

Four core subjects and two electives.  He’s studying German on his own, through an online course, as it’s not offered at our high school — there the choices are Spanish, French, Italian or Mandarin (yes, we’re cutting edge).  We’re hoping we won’t have problems persuading the application-readers that he meets their foreign language requirement this way, and we’ve had long discussions about this piece of his schedule, including one a couple days ago that got me thinking about this.

But this just illustrates the fact that you have to make choices.  At the high school level, with classes organized into discrete blocks, you can’t add a computer programming block without taking away something else — and most kids are not going to study a foreign language on their own, and, yes, we’ve already agreed that the fine arts are also an important part of education.  (Around here, one year of fine arts is a requirement — if you don’t play an instrument and can’t draw, you can join a choir.)  At younger levels, there’s more flexibility to add in computer programming as a “special” but something else still has to go, whether it’s a different “special” or some classroom instructional time for core subjects.

And that had District 25 parents upset, back in January, because in order to provide the new “STEM” (programming and software) curriculum, the district abandoned its prior middle school instruction in Family and Consumer Science (that is, basic sewing and cooking), Industrial Technology, Global Cultures and World Perspectives, and Career Connections.  But despite parent protest, both through 1300 petition signatures and through attendance at school board meetings, the board went ahead with their plan.

Computer science certainly should be an elective at the high school level.  I think the curriculum at my son’s school is pretty good, with an introductory course followed by AP course options.  It’s also reasonable for all students, say, at the middle school level, to learn basic coding concepts.  But there are limits, and decisions to be made, and “coding education” shouldn’t come at the cost of abandoning or giving short shrift to other key pieces of a well-grounded education.  And, in particular, which would you prioritize:  foreign language or programming?