Computer coding is coming to B.C.'s school curriculum and it's about time.
We are tired of watching our best and brightest decamp to the U.S. for technology opportunities while tech companies in our province lament the lack of skilled programmers here.
More and more jobs require some knowledge of computer programming while the technology sector alone is growing faster than the overall economy.
According to the British Columbia 2024 Labour Market Outlook, the technology and science occupational group is expected to have 70,000 job openings in B.C. in the next 10 years.
For B.C. students to survive and thrive as adults in the new economy, they will need to be able to analyze problems and come up with solutions using technology.
This is the way of the future and what the new curriculum will teach, starting as early as kindergarten.
For parents concerned about adding another layer of complexity to school — something they lack the skills themselves to teach — don't worry. Learning the building blocks of computer coding and computational thinking is like learning a second language, and we know how popular Mandarin and French immersion have become in our schools as a way to enhance student skills.
If there is any concern, it's that teachers themselves don't have the education, resources and knowledge to teach this subject as part of the core curriculum. Currently, curriculum is being developed, and School District 43's Jon Hamlin, a teacher at Pinetree secondary in Coquitlam, is helping to write it, but the funds necessary for teacher education on the subject are slow to come. Consequently, it is being left up to districts — and teachers themselves — to figure out this new area of learning.
Post-secondary institutions must also be charged with responsibility for making sure all new teachers take courses in this important area before they graduate because the days when a select few computer teachers held forth in a lab are over.
With the ubiquitousness of technology, young people will need to know how to create, make and use technology applications. A wise and thoughtful rollout of the new curriculum in schools will help teachers teach and students learn this important skill-set.
