Coding in December

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My thirteen year old tech-savvy son thought it was a hoot that I was the parent advocating for his middle school to participate in Hour of Code this year. Since my boys started school nine years ago, I've been volunteering in the public school system. I've chaperoned field trips, baked goodies, and sold refreshments at middle school dances, but the volunteering I've enjoyed the most has been the times I have been able to work directly with students. When I sign up for committees, I try to sign up for committees that might afford me the opportunity to interact with students. Maybe it's my former teacher self who misses regular interactions with students. Maybe it's my parent self who wants to know the kids my own children attend school with. Or, maybe, it's my school improvement advocate self who wants to know what students really think about school, and the best way to know is to be there with the students.  Regardless of the reason, I set my plan in motion in October when I first heard about Hour of Code via Twitter.

By working with the head of technology at the middle school my sons I attend, I was able to gain access to two teachers who felt they had room in their curriculum to squeeze in an hour of coding during the official week December 8-14. These teachers opened their classrooms to me, and I spent each hour working directly with students as they tried out the various tutorials on the Hour of Code site. The best part? Hearing kids say "hey miss--I got it! I figured it out!" None of the students with whom I worked had any previous experience with coding.

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Whatever field our children choose to enter as adults, their ability to succeed will increasingly hinge on understanding how computers and other technology work. Nearly 9 out of 10 schools do not offer any computer science classes. Yet, the demand for skilled workers to fill computer science jobs will continue to increase. Supposedly by 2020, there will be a million vacant computer science jobs. When I shared this statistic with some eighth graders, I saw their faces light up a bit.

Across the globe, schools are beginning to see the benefits of teaching coding. While jobs in the future might motivate some people to teach coding, I can imagine others are less motivated by jobs and more motivated by other benefits. Coding teaches students problem solving and forces them to pay attention to details, and if you have students work in teams on coding, they are also learning valuable skills as members of a team.

Business and community partners have everything to gain by volunteering time and resources in our public schools. Microsoft sends their engineers to schools to teach courses and volunteer, and several other organizations (including Facebook, Google, and the Ford Foundation) partner together as part of the #yeswecode movement. One of my favorite holiday activities this year was following Google's work with lighting up Christmas trees (an initiative aimed at getting more girls to code) and encouraging kids to use the Santa Tracker to code. Certainly, these activities are specific to people who celebrate Christmas, but since I celebrate Christmas, I found it fun to see the opportunities to make the holiday a continued learning experience.

Whether you are a parent, teacher, administrator, or community member reading my blog, I want to encourage you to support more coding opportunities in the area where you live because it's interesting to kids and it provides them valuable skills and experiences in life now and for their future.

Earlier this month, I attended and presented at the Achieve Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. so my colleagues and I took a walk the first evening to see the Christmas lights. We were excited to see the trees that were lit because students wrote computer code to light them up.

 

Seeing my world come full circle this December along the Christmas Pathway of Peace delighted me to no end. Kentucky's ornaments this year created by students from the Warehouse After School Program in Danville. This is the very program co-founded by Kendra Montejos, the young woman I interviewed for a Cake and Whiskey magazine article. You can read more here.

Volunteering at the JLA Elementary Entrepreneur Fair

On a recent Friday I had the privilege of volunteering at the JLA Elementary Entrepreneur Fair in Lexington.  We've been part of James Lane Allen Elementary since 2006 when my first son started kindergarten there.  This year, my youngest son will graduate from fifth grade, and our days as elementary school parents will conclude.  Therefore, I'm continuing to take advantage of each opportunity I can volunteering for various events.  The Entrepreneur Fair is a longstanding fifth grade fundraiser and event anchored in the teaching of economics and entrepreneurship for young students.  My oldest son participated in 2012, and my youngest son participated this year.

Preparations for the event begin during the first semester when teachers start laying the groundwork and building background knowledge for students ten and eleven years old who may or may not have any business experiences.  Early in second semester, the school holds a parent information night to explain to parents the required elements of the project and to encourage us to help our children learn the intended objectives related to entrepreneurship.  For some of us who have limited entrepreneurial experience ourselves, it's definitely a family learning event.

Students decide upon a product or service for their business, create a pitch, conduct a market survey, and then advertise for a couple of weeks leading up to the big day.  On the day of the event, students arrive early prepared to set up their booths and sell to the younger students throughout the day.  The evening event brings parents, community members, and former students back to the school to see the

He created this sign & hung it around the school.
Customers purchased tickets with real money, and
used the tickets to make purchases to avoid any issues
since hundreds of people attend the event. 

creativity and ingenuity of the fifth graders.  My son and the rest of the students experienced glimpses of real business ownership.

In the days leading up to the Entrepreneur Fair, I did as most mothers would do and helped my son finalize his product.  Since Isaac decided on a creative product, we spent days painting, hot gluing, glittering, and making his imaginative planes and dragonflies from wooden clothes pins and popsicle sticks.  For Isaac making and creating was an important part of his entrepreneurial experience.  While he acknowledged that the kids who sold nachos and sno cones or candy typically made the most money, Isaac wanted to create something, and I was thrilled with this choice because I enjoy watching him be creative and also enjoy being creative with colors and styles when helping him.

The day of the event required all hands on deck from any adults available because not every child had a parent available to assist with taping down extension cords and loose hanging tablecloths or to help hang signs and display products.  In a couple of instances, we had to improvise to ensure students had all the supplies they needed. Quick trips to the store or home for random items were all part of the fun of the day for me.  Crawling on the floor helping students set up their booths, hang their signs, and display their products made me smile with pride as a mom and an educator.  Most of the 80+ students poured their hearts into their businesses and learned about engaging with customers of many ages.

Watching my youngest son (who is not often around much younger children) interact with the kindergartners was a highlight of my day.  He was gentle, kind, and a superior young business man.  In addition to learning about creating a business, Isaac's favorite part was earning real money he's saving for this summer.  Each student pays a "rental fee" for their spot in the gym, and all money that goes toward the fifth grade field trip to Mammoth Cave.