The story of technology use and CS classes (along with the crazy schedule and budget cute) that was told in chapter 2 of our book was certainly sad and frustrating. They have the technology, why aren’t their students getting better CS curriculum?!?!!
As I have been learning in my computer science classes, access to technology does not equal tech literacy, and certainly doesn’t guarantee that students are learning the problem solving principles that are at the heart of computer science. Writing programs that are focussed on simple input and output, along with having a teacher who is struggling to stay a step ahead of the students is not the way to have vertically aligned courses that lead students through a well planned sequence of classes.
Many of the excuses revolve around lack of student motivation, and that the students do not have the prior knowledge to get anything out of a rigorous curriculum. This is certainly a valid concern, but it does seem to be a case of if you lead a horse to water, it WILL drink… One example from East river includes the calculus class taken in the summer time that inspired students to study more math. Another example closer to home is the CS program we are in right now; many of us including myself had no prior CS knowledge, but because of the high quality of instruction we are motivated and determined to succeed.
One theme that I hit on in this reading and in many of my other education readings of late is how it seems that most successful programs in education rely on “hero teachers”. These are teachers who commit large portions of their free time to implement new exciting programs. They often have a devoted following of students and parents, and are much acclaimed at their schools. “Hero teachers” burn bright and fast, like a roaring fire, but also BURN OUT! When will we be at a point where teachers can have a work life balance AND enough support and time to be effective and inspiring?