It’s Computer Science Education Week so I’m hoping teachers and volunteers everywhere will spend an hour teaching your students how to write code.
Learning how to program computers changed my life and I know it can do the same for millions of young people who are looking to try something new and exciting.
I started programming BASIC when I was a kid on a Timex Sinclair 1000 computer with only 2 Kb of RAM and I saved my apps to a cassette tape. It seemed like magic at the time.
I learned more about BASIC coding for DOS PCs in a Computer Math class in High School and then learned database development in college using dBase III+. Buying lots of computer books and teaching myself how to program for OS/2 and Windows while serving on board a submarine in the U.S. Navy really made the difference for my future career.
Fast-forward to today and imagine the computing power you have in the palm of your hands with our modern smartphones and tablets. The most challenging, fulfilling, and highest paying jobs today and in the future require a background in Computer Science. Unfortunately, millions of these incredible jobs are going unfilled because coding is not being broadly offered in 90% of schools alongside subjects like English, Math, History, and Science.
- Students, if you’re not being offered this critical education in your school, I challenge you to raise your hand and ask your teacher, “why not?”
- Teachers, educating your students about software development doesn’t have to be rocket science and I encourage you to start your journey at http://code.org/learn.
One More Thing…millions of my fellow soldiers, sailors, and airmen are coming home from a decade of overseas conflict. WE owe them a chance at a bright future and coding can help light the way. WE == ME so you can be sure I’ll take on this challenge.
Steve Jobs: “Everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer, because it teaches you how to think.”
Keep Coding!
– Rob
Sharing my knowledge and helping others never stops, so connect with me on my blog at https://robtiffany.com , follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/RobTiffany and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/robtiffany
