Any person involved with education today can tell you that it is an ever changing field. What was common place just a few short years ago has been replaced by something new. One of the biggest challenges teachers face is keeping up with this constant change.
When I started teaching, we were responsible for preparing our students for Pupil Performance Objectives (PPOs) which were tested through Proficiency Tests. The Proficiency Tests were then replaced with the Ohio Achievement Tests (OATs) and the Ohio Graduation Test (OGT) which assessed the Ohio Academic Standards. Now, the Ohio Academic Standards are being replaced by the Common Core Standards and the End of Course testing or Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs). And all these changes have happened just since I began teaching 14 years ago.
Just as the standards and testing have changed, so has funding. School districts are now dealing with major budget cuts impact which courses get funding and which get eliminated. While core courses continue to get the lion’s share of the resources, electives such as Computer Science are the first to be cut. In this kind of environment, Computer Science teachers are being challenge to demonstrate that their courses are important because students are gaining critical knowledge and skills.
This is where CSTA comes in. CSTA provides a number of powerful tools that help teachers show that Computer Science learning is critical for all students. With the help of the new curriculum crosswalk documents, we can show exactly how our curriculum aligns with the CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards. We can rely on CSTA to fight for Computer Science in K-12.
I may be only one teacher in a classroom, but as a CSTA member, I have a community. CSTA links us all together and gives us a powerful voice at the regional and national level. Because of CSTA, Computer Science is now part of the national conversation about what students need to know to be prepared for the future.
I hope that all of our members will take action and become involved in some way to promote Computer Science on the local, state, or national level. What can you do within your school to further promote your Computer Science classes? Have you checked out the opportunities offered by your state or local chapter of CSTA? Have you become involved in the state or local CSTA chapter?
Please join me in looking for every opportunity to promote Computer Science in these ever changing times.
Dave Burkhart
Candidate for At-Large Representative