C0D1N6 F0R 4LL
One year ago, Apple CEO Tim Cook gave a widely quoted interview to a Dutch news outlet. Coding, he said, ‘is the most important language you can learn.’ Cook has been on a mission to make programming an integral part of the US education curriculum, calling it a core skill just like sciences and mathematics.
Along with 800 other senior executives from the corporate and non-profit world, Cook was part of the ‘CEOs for computer science’ campaign that petitioned all US states to make coding education available as early as the elementary level.
The campaign invokes the ‘American Dream’ built upon the ideal of equal opportunity and merit-based achievement. It notes that the nation drives the fulfilment of that dream only when everyone has the opportunity to be part of it. As of now, coding is a skill that is taught ‘only to a lucky few, leaving most students behind, especially young women and students of colour.’
As a teacher myself, I often grapple with this issue for my students here in Italy. How can we use technology in our schools to let our children see beyond their limited horizon and make them part of a global whole?
The idea of making computer science education a core subject, together with reading, writing and mathematics was also discussed in Italy almost ten years ago through the ‘Programma il Futuro’ project. It rests on the idea of making access to computer sciences more inclusive so that the underprivileged and women - two highly untapped groups in the Italian skilled labour market - could become a part of the country’s future digital economy.
Like many well-intentioned projects, the program looked good on paper. But in practice, problems continue. Contrary to what was envisioned, the Ministry of Education has been unable to make any meaningful changes although according to a motion passed by the Parliament in 2019, computer sciences had to become part of the primary school curriculum by 2022.
But aren’t we already using technology in our classrooms across Italy?
Post Covid, many teachers have become experts at using touch screens, online quizzes and games, and educational videos in their classrooms. For students who are already digital savvy, these new tools are a natural way to enhance their learning. Children today walk around with access to the world at their finger tips. But is that connection limited to TikTok and Gen-Z slang or has it actually brought the world closer to them?
If the aim is to increase inclusion and empowerment, our young cannot only be consumers of technology, they must also be its creators. They should be aware of the conversations taking place globally, and their perspective should also be included. Inclusion demands both: listening and communication. We need to change our relationship with technology.
Coding is a new type of literacy. It belongs to all students so they can have an equal opportunity to venture into new future careers and learn to use their creativity, problem solving, critical thinking, and perseverance in the classroom. Italy ranks third in Europe for workers who have lower skills than required by their jobs and according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, only 36% of the people can use the internet in a ‘complex and diversified way’.
These are startling numbers. Making computer science education available to all will allow students across the nation to be included in a future they will have the opportunity to create. It will certainly help mitigate gender inequality in our workforce and provide additional skills to disadvantaged groups.