March Madness has passed, but applicable lessons from our talented Oklahoma Sooner basketball players remain. For any player to be great, they need access to a basketball early on, years to hone their skills and experience trying out different strategies to see what works best. The same applies to computer science.
Basketball and computer science may seem dissimilar, but students need the same things in order to get good at both. Bill Gates didn't wake up one day magically able to write computer programs, just as OU's Jordan Woodard didn't wake up one day able to hit the 3-point shot. Both had access to the equipment they needed, years to practice and experience trying out new strategies.
Unfortunately, K-12 students in Oklahoma don't have access to computer science at the same rates that they do to basketball. All K-12 schools in Oklahoma are required to offer physical education, but there is no such requirement for K-12 schools to offer computer science.
Given that there are 2,442 open computing jobs in Oklahoma and very few open professional basketball positions, this disparity is concerning. No student should be required to take computer science, but all children should have access to this subject.
These open jobs in computing are only expected to grow. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that there will be 1 million unfilled computing jobs come 2024. This is a critical shortage — computing jobs are essential to our economy and our national security. The federal government needs to invest in K-12 computer science education to give states like Oklahoma the resources it needs to put computer
science in all K-12 classrooms.
I was fortunate that my high school offered computer science classes — and I wrote my first successful computer game the summer between high school and college. Today, I write computer games with my kids, hopefully sparking in them the passion to "make" something with their own hands.
There are students in Oklahoma schools right now who have had no exposure to computer science, and hence have no idea if they might be interested in going into this high-demand field. Only 8 percent of Oklahoma schools that have Advanced Placement programs offer computer science. This matters because students who are exposed to computer science are significantly more likely to major in it in college. Students can't be expected to know if they like something they aren't given the opportunity to try.
The undeveloped computer science potential in this state is enormous and Oklahoma needs to start cultivating it. Our neighbor, Arkansas, starts offering computer science in kindergarten in some of its schools and requires that computer science be offered in all high schools. If we don't catch up, we risk falling behind economically as a state.
Our Sooners didn't leave anything on the court earlier this month. Our state and nation shouldn't be leaving chances to slam dunk educationally and economically on the table, either.
Chaney is the founder and CEO of Tulsa-based PermaFrost Gaming LLC.
Source → Gaming company CEO: Computer science focus is needed in OK schools
