[Edu-sig] Computer Programming for EVERYONE...

[Jeffrey Elkner]

I want to thank Dorothea Salo for her important and thought provoking
contribution to this discussion list (CP4E, Including Women (or Why More Women
Aren't Hackers) - April 27, 2000).  She single handedly woke up the list with a
very important problem that demands our attention.

I am a high school teacher who is really excited about Computer Programming for
Everybody.  Information technology is becoming ever more important in our
world, and access to and an understanding of information technology will be
requisite to access to opportunity and power in society in general.

If the world of the future is going to be a just and democratic world, then
access to the tools of power must likewise be just and democratic.  It troubles
me in this regard that the students in my computer science classes so little
resemble the school community at large.  9 of my 102 students are female, and a
similar imbalance is evident if race and economic background are considered. 
The "digital divide" is indeed very real.

This reality has led me to think a lot about what can be done about this
situation, which is one of the things that attracted me to Computer Programming
for Everyone.  A simplified breakdown of how to bridge the digital divide would
involve three things:

1. Access - there are many unnecessary barriers which are placed in the way of
those wanting to get involved with information technology, and the removal of
those barriers is an important first step.  I see using Python in my computer
science classes as an example of reducing barriers.

2. Inclusion - Once barriers to entry are lowered and folks begin to come, they
need to be made to feel welcome.  There is a very exclusive "boys club" culture
and mentality in CS circles that is actively alienating to women.  Those of us
in CS need to be conscious of what we are doing.

3. Affirmative Action - "Inclusion" will not be enough to bridge the gap. 
Positive action needs to be taken to set up computer classes and programs
specifically targeted at underrepresented groups.

All of us benefit from addressing this problem by helping to create a better
world.  It is also the only way that CP4E can be truly effective.

jeff elkner
yorktown high school
arlington, va