By: The New York Times recently published an article outlining the two codes, computer science and the U.S. Constitution, kids need to learn in order to make in impact in their career and with their life. This conclusion was based on research conducted by The College Board (administrators of the SAT) that found these two areas were highly correlated with success.
Since that time, The College Board has been focused on inspiring more students to focus on these areas as well as incorporating ways to measuring this knowledge with their tests.
One of the areas of the article that I thought was interesting was how they described the learning of skills in computer science and the U.S. constitution as being foundational for developing the ability to shape the world around them.
Oftentimes, we think of learning computer science or the U.S. constitution as being limited in scope to either purely technology or government. However, the article does a great job at connecting the dots to show that those who learn skills within these areas are going to be the future artists, scientists, entrepreneurs, technologists, doctors, lawyers, politicians and teachers.
In essence, this article makes the case for this area of skill development to expand the capabilities of students so they can be more effective in whatever area they choose to have an impact.
At Digital Adventures, we have often described our program as teaching creative problem solving skills using technology. This article and The College Board research seems to support this position. With the integration of technology at a foundational level in all industries, the potential of young people to have an impact across a variety of industries is limitless.
It is also exciting to see that not only is The College Board going to incorporate measurement of these skills into their college readiness assessment testing but are also actively working to expand the interest of those who may not have previously considered developing knowledge in these areas.
To do this, they are beginning with a more fundamental but less precise question, “what do you want to build?”. Often, when trying to develop interest in technology, providers have started with a specific language like Java, Javascript or Python.
Since that time, they have seen increased participation in AP Computer Science and Government classes amongst previously underrepresented groups. Just seeing the increased exposure with groups who haven’t traditional taken part should receive in a broader base of problem solvers to have an impact going forward.
There is a famous saying that if you want someone to build a boat, you must create a vision for how amazing it is to sail the seas and what will ultimately be discovered on your journey. With this mission based focus firmly established, people are motivated to do the hard work of building the vehicle to travel the seas.
With The College Board starting with what do you want to build, it opens up the potential for all young people to be global shapers. We will be keeping a close eye on the developments in this area and looking for opportunities to bring these skill sets to more young people.