Easton Educators Want More Computer Programming

Easton Area High School is working on updating its computer science curriculum, to help students enter what educators say is a growing market for programmers.

The board is scheduled to vote this week on changes to district compute science curriculum, while district teachers are looking to do more to get kids interested in what they say is a fading skill.

“Computer science education has pretty much declined over the years," teacher Michael Tanczos told the board last week. 

Students tend to be more focused on learning programs and apps, he said, while "the programming has gone by the wayside and computer science has gone by the wayside.”

Taczos said he's working on programs to renew that interest, such as a whole week devoted to computer science across the district next month, and a "Kids Who Code" camp for elementary students.

The proposed changes to curriculum include discontinuing courses on visual basic intro to networking and honors admin networking, and adding two new courses: honors computer science principles and AP computer science.

Some of the content covered in the visual basic and networking courses would get covered in the computer science principles class, the proposal says.

“These are weher the jobs are," he said. "We owe it to our students to prepare them.”

Then he asked, jokingly, if Tanczos could assure the board that his students weren't "playing Assassins Creed or Call of Duty during school.”

They may actually be too busy designing games of their own.

Tanczos said his students have developed a version of the popular Angry Birds game, featuring Easton and Phillipsburg's mascots.