

Developers Need to Teach Programming in K-12 - gaelenh
http://www.edsurge.com/n/2013-05-14-opinion-best-development-challenge-ever-teach-coding

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gaelenh
OP here. I've taught STEAM for about five years now on a completely voluntary
basis at a low SES, high ELL school in Brooklyn.

I went looking for a job a few months ago in NYC. When potential bosses asked
me what I was looking for in a work place, I say a company that lets me take
time off to teach in schools. This caught them all off guard, and not in a
good way. I don't care about your beer fridges and ping pong tables. More
developers should be demanding this in their perks and benefits.

Kids need teachers real experience to see the power of programming and STEM,
and they won't find that in most traditional teachers. It's up to developers
to pick up the slack.

Current STEM policy conversations are around future job availability. Great,
just what every 10-year-old wants to hear, "one day you'll be able to help
Google sell more ads or work 60-hour weeks for a VC." Programming is so much
more than that, but kids will never hear it without talking with real
developers.

