This question pops up every year with my students...we have six weeks after the AP Computer Science exam, are we doing anything?

Nope, Ive decided you can just nap for six weeks of school. That sounds reasonable.

They know me well enough that there is a lot of eye rolling at this point. After fifteen years teaching high school I have learned eye rolling equals success. It is my job to annoy them occasionally.


Usually I pick something new to everyone and we work through that. Sometimes we do advanced data structures like linked lists, java graphics or a new language.

This years group is too eclectic for that to work. I have students that already know VB, C++, Python and just about anything else I could throw at them. They have done NASA summer internships, built robots and held part-time jobs doing web design.

So I tried something new, this year they got to pick their own projects.

The ground rules were:

1. Do something new to you
2. Do something non-trivial (something that will take several weeks to complete)
3. Amaze me

I had them write about what they were going to work on first. So far this has kept them much more engagged then they normally are this time of year. Plus it has been a lot less work for me.

In short, I have been amazed. Plus, anything that cuts down on the amount of nagging I have to do everyday is a total win.

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I have been asked a lot this past year about why CS Principles is being developed.

Even though computer science is all about change, and the changes in our field seem to zoom by at lightning speed, there are some core ideas and well, principles, that are central to understanding how they work.

For those of us in the AP Computer Science community we do a great job of delivering computer science education. We all can point to students we have launched into the world. These students have overcome obstacles and are working and creating jobs in all sorts of places.

Sadly, this is not enough.

The existing computer science curriculum in K-12 schools does a good job for the few students it reaches, but what about everyone else? Think about where you are....how many schools around you have computer science? How many students in those schools have access to the classes?

Really, how many kids in your community even know what computer science is?

For me it is a question of literacy. To be a productive person you must be literate in the tools society is using to drive change. For that past few centuries this meant reading and writing. While these skills are still necessary for students, understanding computers and technology has become the new marker of literacy.

Simply put, anyone that does not have a foundation in computer science will not be as prepared for the changes to come.

This does not mean that every student needs to master computer science. There will always be a need for a core group of programmers that have reached a master level of understanding. These are the people that, to quote Virginia Tech, invent the future. We need more of these people. We also need these people to reflect the needs of the larger community they serve through their innovation.

And for everyone else? The computer is the tool of the future. We communicate, learn, work create...all with computing devices. To use them well means understanding some fundamental things about how they work and what they can, and cannot, do.

Think about Mr. Rodgers - "these are the people in your neighborhood". How many of them could do their job without a computer? How much of their daily life outside of work- communicating, playing, making, could happen without a computer?

Often in media computers are presented as magic. The character pushes a button and poof - the problem is solved. Those of us in CS know this is just slight of hand. Behind the scenes someone created a tool on a computer to solve the problem.

So this is why we need the CS Principles course. Every student in America needs a rigorous preparation for their future. That preparation must include computer science. Without access to computer science we run the risk innovation looking like magic, only available to those that know the trick.

Last week the CS Principles Phase II piloters met in Chicago. This is a great group of folks working hard to design the curriculum for this new computer science course. I have been so lucky this year to be a part of this community. It has been tiring, frustrating, humbling...and all totally worth it.  Hopefully after this year we have all pushed the rock a bit farther up the hill.

Everything you need to know about CS Principles. This page has all the documents that frame the course. One easy place for all the information.

Take a look, ask some questions. It is time for us as a community to really start the conversation on making the change happen.

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Fourteen days left...not that anyone here is counting.
The end of the year is always bittersweet. Summer - positive. Goodbyes - negative.
I teach many of my computer science kids for all four years they are in high school. They are going on to great things, but I still miss them.

So this isnt exactly computer science, but it is definitely teaching. And I could use a dose of inspirational.
In the past month I have tried to explain the whole Dave - Eggers/education thing to at least five people. Heres a summary:

• Ted Talk - while I am not a writing teacher, per se, this is exactly what I am trying to create in the lab. I watch this several times a year, always good for inspiration.
•  Teachers Have It Easy: The Big Sacrifices and Small Salaries of Americas Teachers - I have not (yet) read this. Seriously folks, it is the end of the school year. If I make it to the end of the day without getting caught in a food fight I am doing really good. It is on my summer catch up list, promise.
• The documentary - Heres an NPR story about the documentary AMERICAN TEACHER. As a computer science teacher one of my grumbles is, well, other teachers grumbles. When they complain about lack of planning time I try to remain calm - most other subjects have age-appropriate books with worksheets and practice problems. Over my 15 years of teaching computer science I have probably written five or six textbooks. Notes, worksheets, projects, the whole thing. These things are in short supply for computer science teachers.
  
  One of the main points of his work here is the amount of money spent on textbooks, $8 billion. Now I do not mind developing materials for my classes, curriculum work is actually part of what I enjoy most about teaching. It is just sad that out of that huge total the computer science teaching community is so under supplied.

So here it is - a little reminder of why we do what we do. Something to get you over the hump until summer. Just curious, where do you find inspiration?

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