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K-12 CS Framework Draft: Kids Taught To 'Protect Original Ideas' In Early Grades
theodp writes: Remember that Code.org and ACM-bankrolled K-12 Computer Science Education Framework that Microsoft, Google, Apple, and others were working on? Well, a draft of the framework was made available for review on Feb. 3rd, coincidentally just 3 business days after U.S. President Barack Obama and Microsoft President Brad Smith teamed up to announce the $4+ billion Computer Science for All initiative for the nation's K-12 students. "Computationally literate citizens have the responsibility to learn about, recognize, and address the personal, ethical, social, economic, and cultural contexts in which they operate," explains the section on Fostering an Inclusive Computing Culture, one of seven listed 'Core K-12 CS Practices'. "Participating in an inclusive computing culture encompasses the following: building and collaborating with diverse computational teams, involving diverse users in the design process, considering the implication of design choices on the widest set of end users, accounting for the safety and security of diverse end users, and fostering inclusive identities of computer scientists." Hey, do as they say, not as they do! Also included in the 10-page draft (pdf) is a section on Law and Ethics, which begins: "In early grades, students differentiate between responsible and irresponsible computing behaviors. Students learn that responsible behaviors can help individuals while irresponsible behaviors can hurt individuals. They examine legal and ethical considerations for obtaining and sharing information and apply those behaviors to protect original ideas."
Kids will learn to protect original ideas.
So they'll learn not to protect unoriginal ideas like 99.9% of software patents.
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It sounds like this is more of framework that is mostly about educational standards for teaching right-think in CS. There is a horrific amount of PC buzzwords in there,when the real focus of education should be teaching students the skills they need.
This crazy overreach with indoctrination in schools is unsettling. Apart from the pledge of allegiance, it was pretty subtle and frowned upon when I was in school. I think most teachers actually cared about teaching and kept the crazies who wanted to use the position to indoctrinate in check.
Now it's the other way around.