Wilber goes to Harvard
… At least that is the plan in 7 years.
That brought a smile to my face. That is why I teach.
We were watering the new gardens. Four of my many 5th grade students I teach in computer ancillary classes were helping to untangle hoses and come up with a plan on how to efficiently water the new playscape. We talked about the connection of kinks in a hose and solving math problems. The discussion led to telling Wilbur to keep in touch and continue being a positive thinking volunteer and I would help him get a scholarship to college. A smile came on his face and he said, “You can help me go to Harvard?” I said, that is a goal.
Now we need to work on an action plan… an action plan not just for one low-income Houston ISD student, but also for other hard-working children. ALL students dream about the future and we need to help them plan how to get there. We lose too many students along with the way with worksheets and testing. They give up, as their lack of success is demoralizing. They all want to water gardens and build something. They want their hands on a product they create. It is engineering and computing that can take them there. Math, Science and literacy are tools to help them design something real and relevant to their lives. That something is technology -> anything manmade.
I find a deterrent to this is teacher’s lack of knowledge about how CSE can enhance C-STEM. That is why I joined 23 things, to network with others who are passionate about computing. To learn how to create a site that teaches by participating in something that looks intriguing in their process of breaking down learning into 23 parts. I wonder how can I do that for computer science lessons K-12? The video and articles in Thing One stressed the importance of moving students from consuming to producing. But are students learning to be digital producers beyond communication and information? Can they write a phone app? Why not teach them how to teach their cell phone to do what they want it to do? Empower kids like the 12 year-old recently on the news for writing his own mobile application to solve his own problem.
“Oh, the Thinks you can Think” – a book I have read to my high school students the last decade and now I read to my elementary school students like Wilber, who I have taught for the last 4 years. That brings a smile to my face … he is a thinker who knows how to ask questions to build his passions. I look forward to travelling with him into the future that connects to the past through blogging. I look forward to learning from other educators on 23 things.
CS SIDEBAR
THING ONE
- What does digital mean?
- Why Learn to Program?
THING TWO
- What does HTML mean?
- What is a descriptive identifier?
- Can you read the domain and folder names in a URL?
HINT: When creating a blog, keep the URL as short as possible while still being descriptive. You have to type the address to get to the information. The shorter it is the faster it is to type.
