Current Event #2 is one that's a little closer to my heart than many issues in technology today. As you may know, the mayor of New York City recently made an announcement that the city would be requiring public schools to teach computer science classes. In the wake of that announcement, speculation has arisen regarding the merits of such an idea. To give examples, some argue that such a curriculum is perfect preparation for increasingly ubiquitous technology jobs, whereas others believe that our schools should be focusing on the basics before we reach for something more complicated and elective as computer science. I'm not superbly well informed on the specifics of Mayor de Blasio's plan to implement this curriculum, but regarding what I do know, my stance is firmly in the middle.
First of all, I think the argument against the proposal given in the second article I linked to is a very good point. There are plenty of students in public schools that don't do well at all with the standard curriculum that most schools have now. Computer science is a very nuanced topic that many people don't grasp well at all, so throwing students into such a class when they may already be struggling is a recipe for disaster. However, I very much agree with the opposite side that such preparation can and will be very beneficial to young people growing up in an increasingly computer-oriented world.
Now what does this have to do with a computer ethics class at BYU? Directly, very little, but indirectly I think there is some ethical background to the dilemma. For one, I think determining whether adding such a curriculum will ultimately help or harm students is a bit of an ethical issue. Isn't it our duty to make sure that everyone gets a fair shake at succeeding in whatever they choose? If we introduce material that can potentially hinder a child's education, is that ethical? Probably not. I don't think we should handicap anyone, especially school-age children in their developmental prime. There may be other ethical sides to the die that I haven't even thought of.
To skip back to why this issue is a dear one to me, I'll simply say that my schooling was very vanilla in terms of curriculum. I learned all of the basics and learned them well. I never had trouble in school and I was halfway through high school before I so much as got a B in any class I took. I've also had an interest in computers since about age 5. In elementary school, I had the chance to participate in a somewhat advanced program where they taught us some computer skills, but they were skills to help us know our way around operating a computer, not anything related to the actual workings of the computer itself. Had I had access to such a curriculum and a gateway into the world of computer science, I feel I can confidently say that I would have jumped in with both feet and been ten years ahead of my current self. I switched to the Computer Science major from Microbiology when I was a year from graduation. If I'd had the opportunity to learn computer programming, even if it were only in high school, I don't think I would have put three years into a Microbiology program. I would have realized years beforehand that I'm interested enough in computers to pursue a career in computer science.
To sum up, if I were forced to take a side on the matter, I think I'd be in favor of adding a computer science curriculum in public schools, but I'll add the caveat that I think it should be elective. My elementary school wasn't familiar with the concept of an elective class, but if you're going to offer a computer science class, I think that has to be balanced out for the sake of those kids who struggle in school. For my part, I would have loved it all and I don't believe it would have harmed my performance in school one bit.
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