Reading, Writing, Algorithms: Should IT Classes Be Required?

By Hilmar Schmundt. Education experts in Germany are pushing to modernize the country's basic curriculum by making instruction in computer science mandatory. But opponents say it doesn't deserve the same status as subjects like math, Latin and biology. Hannah is creating a red convertible for herself. The bright teenager painstakingly specifies every detail of the vehicle, line by line, using commands like "car.move(50,0)." Hannah is not writing an essay. She is working on the code for a vector graphic with the aid of the programming language called EOS. The final product pops up on screen: A block and two dots that together very vaguely resemble a car.
It's a Wednesday afternoon in the computer lab of Kreuzgymnasium secondary school in the eastern German city of Dresden. A dozen eighth-graders are sitting in front of computer monitors, typing, whispering and programming. The IT class at this school serves as an example for the entire country. These students have been learning how to work with computers since fifth grade. To them, it's just another subject alongside math and biology, supplemented by the usual school standards: Latin, choir, music and drama. Read more...