A year and a half ago, after I had returned from Costa Rica, I extolled the virtues of a centralized (i.e. national) education system. In Costa Rica, an intelligent government, could make the introduction of computer science into the K-12 curricula work. Having just returned from spending a week in Brazil, I see the opposite side of centralizing education. In Brazil, there are many teachers who would like to see computing curricula, and indeed the teaching of computer science, rolled out at scale to K-12. But without a strong supporting voice in the Ministry of Education, it is unlikely to ever happen.
As I sit in the U.S., and think about the decentralized approach we have towards education, perhaps the grass isn’t greener on the other side.
Steve Cooper
Chair, CSTA Board of Directors