There is an increasing gap between the number of students who are lacking in-demand technical and analytical skills in comparison to the number of jobs needing to be filled. According to Code.org, "there are currently 493,270 open computing jobs nationwide, " and sadly, there are "only 42,969 CS students graduated into the workforce" (2017).  Also, the southern states have an even wider gap where the topics of CS is less well known and is seen as something "I can't learn" partly due to it not being offered at most rural and lower-income schools. Concerning access, learning about CS increases the chances of finding a secure job in the future. In Florida alone, "existing jobs represent a $1,667,370,192 opportunity in terms of annual salaries" according to Code.org's Florida statistics (2017). 

 

At Ampersand school, approximately 50% of the students have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Asperger Syndrome. It is critical to provide access to technical skills that have the potential to lead these students to a successful career in the future. According to the Child Mind Institute that reflects on a recent study, it was found that "two years after graduation, half of ASD young adults have no paid job experience, technical education or college. Nearly seven years out, the numbers improve but remain bleak, with one out of three have had no paid work or post-secondary education" (Arky). For the students who have anxiety and ADHD, the chance to try something new in a non-threatening manner helps them to learn as well. It also teaches them advantageous skills without the worry of perfecting it. Overall this access opportunity helps students gain confidence as they are learning something that will prepare them for the jobs that they are interested in and will also see in the future.

 

The CEO of the International Center for Leadership in Education states that "society demands a higher level and different set of skills than schools were ever designed to teach" and must integrate technology curriculum to be effective participants in the future (Daggett, 2010). The following excerpt is a highlight of the importance of teaching students to code even in elementary school: “For one thing, a much larger percentage of young students will be exposed to the various careers involving coding, thus yielding more computer science majors to fill the countless available positions" (Hadas, 2014). Even President Obama, during his term, spread this message in the 2013 State of the Union address when he challenged the country “to redesign America’s schools so they better equip graduates for the demands of a high-tech economy” (Hadas, 2014). Likewise, Britain has already begun teaching their students as early as five years of age to code because they see that there will be millions of job openings in the future with this skill being a requirement (Hadas, 2014). According to The Washington Post, “Leaders of dozens of the nation’s top businesses – from Apple and Facebook to Target, Walmart and AT&T – are calling on Congress to help provide computer science education in all K-12 schools, arguing that the United States needs far more students who are literate in the technologies that are transforming nearly every industry” (Brown, 2016).

 

Given these statistics, providing access to the fundamentals of computer science at a young age has the potential to alter the course of a child's life dramatically. It is not a matter of teaching them a new language but also a new way of thinking that will better equip them to solve future problems logically. 

 

 

References: 

Arky, B. (n.d.). Autism and Employment. Retrieved September 10th, 2017, from https://childmind.org/article/autism-and-employment/

 

Brown, E. (2016, April 26). Top Business leaders, 27 governors, urge Congress to boost computer science education. The Washington Post. Retrieved November 12, 2016, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/top-business-leaders-27-governors-urge-congress-to-boost-computer-science-education/2016/04/25/f161cbde-0ae7-11e6-bfa1-4efa856caf2a_story.html

 

Dagget, M. R., Ed.D. (2010). Preparing Students for Their Technological Future. International Center for Leadership in Education. Retrieved from Preparing Students for Their Technological Future

 

Hadas, G. (2014, April 7). Want to prepare kids for the future? Teach them to code. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 12, 2016, from http://articles.latimes.com/2014/apr/07/news/la-ol-teach-students-code-computer-science-20140406

 

Promote Computer Science. (2017). Retrieved from https://code.org/promote/fl

Florida Statistics

 

 

Study Computer Science Gender Gap Widens Despite Increase in Jobs. (2016, October 20). Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/news/data-mine/articles/2016-10-20/study-computer-science-gender-gap-widens-despite-increase-in-jobs

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