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Google, Facebook, Microsoft Deliver K-12 CS Demands To Congress (politico.com)
theodp writes: Politico reports that just one day after Facebook launched TechPrep, a highly-publicized initiative to attract more minorities and women to coding, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Code.org quietly sent a letter to top education lawmakers in the House and Senate insisting that computer science "must" be added to the list of "core academic subjects" and states be given resources to improve STEM education programs. "Computer science is marginalized throughout K-12 education," reads the letter. "We need to improve access for all students, particularly groups who have traditionally been underrepresented." Echoing the last point at this month's Grace Hopper Women in Computer Celebration, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki called for mandatory computer science in schools, suggesting that boys — like her own son — are monopolizing the family computer across America, leaving girls — like her own daughter — out of the conversation when it comes to technology (video @38:33). The new round of hand-wringing comes as tech companies face the deadline for filing their 2015 EEO-1 surveys and seek more tech-friendly U.S. visa and OPT STEM policies, so it's probably worth remembering that Microsoft proposed tech could turn workforce diversity lemons into H-1B visa lemonade by connecting tech immigration to K-12 CS education.
Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Mosnter Deliver K-12 Chemistry Demands To Congress ...
do you get better CS grads or do you get better "human resources" for companies like Microsoft, Google, whatever
So the CEO of Youtube can't afford a second computer for her daughter?
Like NOW and other Feminist groups haven't done enough to propel girls ahead of boys in education (and other things).
Precisely. If they're going to "demand" this, they need to stop extorting tax breaks out of the cities and states where they consider building new facilities, so the school systems will actually be able to afford to provide a decent education.
Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Code.org quietly sent a letter to top education lawmakers in the House and Senate insisting that computer science "must" be added to the list of "core academic subjects" and states be given resources to improve STEM education programs.
"We are starting to have to pay programmers real money," reads the letter. "We need more warm bodies in the market to drive salaries down."
Echoing the last point at this month's Grace Hopper Women in Computer Celebration, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki called for mandatory computer science in schools, suggesting that boys â" like her own son â" are monopolizing the family computer across America, leaving girls â" like her own daughter â" out of the conversation when it comes to technology
Ahhh, I was wondering what was so interesting about this post, it has some sexist bullshit. I dug down into there and got this tidbit:
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Critical thinking when listening to politicians / Reading the news
How the legal system actually works and what a citizen needs to know about it.
Contracts and you.
Basic rights of citizens and how not to be taken advantage of.
What you need to know to start a business.
Now arguably these would benefit everyone and not so much Google and Microsoft.
It's like they don't actually know the level of technology that most people know in a K-12 school. How do they plan to dump people straight into programming when most people's knowledge of the actual workings of a computer is nowhere near the point where they could program anything meaningful? You could probably ask the average person at a K-12 school a basic question like "What's a home directory?" and they wouldn't be able to answer it. I'm all for computer classes (my elementary school forced everyone to learn typing with a cloth over their hands so they couldn't hunt and peck) but suggesting that CS should be in K-12 schools is like saying that we should teach brain surgery in K-12 before we teach them what the different parts of a brain do.
"Alright, I've been thinking. When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade! Make life take the lemons back! Get mad! I don't want your damn lemons; what am I supposed to do with these? Demand to see life's manager! Make life rue the day it thought it could give Cave Johnson lemons! Do you know who I am? I'm the man who's gonna burn your house down... with the lemons! I'm gonna get my engineers to invent a combustible lemon that burns your house down!'" Cave Johnson
Where are our famously underfunded schools going to get the money ...
American schools are NOT underfunded. They receive more funding than almost any other country in the world. Only Norway and Switzerland spend more per student on education. Many of the countries spending a small fraction of what America spends, get far better results.
However, America's education spending is mostly based on local property taxes, which results in very unequal funding. But it is not clear if more spending will help much. New Jersey's "Save Our Schools" program poured millions into poorly performing schools, and resulted in negligible improvement. After Freddie Gray was killed in Baltimore's Sandtown slum, people pointed at the terrible schools as a source of the social decay. Yet Sandtown has some of the best funded schools in the country. The Feds have poured in millions spread over two decades. Yet, on a typical day, only half the kids show up for class. Whatever the problem is, it isn't just money.
My guess is that if given a directive to teach "computer science" to all students, many schools will interpret that as "teach kids how to use a computer", meaning teach them to use e-mail, a spreadsheet, etc., plus maybe some "coding" (HTML). This seems to be what is in the "computer technology" classes my kids were forced into.
Those seem like garbage classes to me.
But... what should all people with a basic general education know about computer science?
Programming? It wouldn't be bad, I suppose, but it seems overkill. The fundamentals of how a computer works seems like a good idea, the major pieces and parts. What I think would be really valuable is a basic understanding of what computers cannot do. A little information theory, maybe? Should that be part of a math class? As a security guy, I'd really like the general populace to understand entropy and randomness as they relate to passwords and other user authenticators, and something about how computer security really works... what a vulnerability, what is an exploit, what is a virus, what is malware, etc.
What do you think an average high school graduate know about computer science and technology?
Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
Google, Facebook, Microsoft need script-kiddies that they don't have to spend money training
Our schools are not underfunded. They're over-administered.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Instead of excellence, the modern educational system says: "These students are interested in something, so let's educate a different group on the topic!"
People should be saying: "These students are interested in computer programming, let's make them better programmers!" Demand should be created through the celebration of accomplishments.
Taking away the achievements of the interested, results in mediocrity. Yes, it would be nice to have more girls in computer programming. However, the goal of the educational system is often to make everyone the same. To make the interested boys equal to the uninterested girls. Is this the solution we want? Because that is what the school system will implement. The modern school system is very good at targeting the average (or the below average). It sucks at enabling gifted students to excel.
Well if they mandated more math in high school it would go a long way.
When I was in high school only 2 years of math was required and the math that most students took was geometry and then some sort of applied math class that taught you the basics of math that you would have used every day. So I would say have a class on logic and Boolean algebra, maybe some additional discrete math, or a general class on algorithms but beyond that most kids won't get anything out of it.
I like to jokingly tell people that I have a degree in applied math as I have a CS degree.In truth a proper BS in CS is closer to an BS in Math than just about anything else for example I was 3 courses from having a dual major in CS and Math and just wanted to be done with college instead of stay an extra semester and get the double major.
Time to offend someone
if you know how to get the blue collar types to stop giving a rat's ass about social issues, stop blaming Unions for their troubles and get them voting for popularist economic policies that are in their best interest again please let me know.
Whenever someone tells me they know what's in my best interest, I worry.
And why does it have to be the blue collar types that have to stop caring about social issues? They are not the ones bringing up these social issue topics. The democrats progressives are and the people react to them.
People don't realize how much the political landscape has changed in the past 10 years. The democrat party is more in bed with wall-street than the republicans could have ever dreamed of. When you throw in the tech and entertainment industry, you realize that the bulk of the 1% are dmeocrats playing lip service to people like you that don't realize that the landscape shifted beneath them.