![]() ![]() Getting through to his students requires two factors: trust and a vision for the future. When you get to understand a life skill and apply those skills, I think it really changes the students in a completely different dimension. “Computer science and coding is a completely different way to credibly say you comprehend and you’re not trying to just read things out of a book. “It challenges students to speak up and think critically,” he said. The team is comprised of the 5% of students that Hasty hopes his curriculum can truly inspire to become the next name in tech - or, at a minimum, a decent web developer.īoth get you paid, as far as Hasty sees it. Inside Boys’ Latin, and depending on the class size on a particular day, Hasty could be teaching anything from where to locate the snipping tool in Illustrator to HTML coding, to actual JavaScript language.ĭuring his tenure as head of the school’s robotics club, the group has competed in top competitions throughout the state. He’s currently pursuing another computer science-focused degree at Drexel University. Hasty, 40, is fully aware of the importance of what he’s teaching, courtesy of a master’s degree in information technology. But as they’re teaching the computer to do the commands, I see students learning valuable life skills like cause and effect, problem solving and collaboration, skills that are essential and completely translatable to the real world.”ĭesmond Hasty instructs a student. “Learning languages teaches kids how computers will think, react and how they can control all of those outcomes. “Teaching kids to think and problem solve requires a certain amount of logic and perseverance,” Hasty said. In trying to keep up with many other larger states throughout the country, Pennsylvania educators are seeing not only the value but the necessity in teaching coding education as early as elementary school. Additionally, the school district claims it added 1,100 SMART boards alongside training to the same number of teachers on how to effectively use them in a classroom setting.Īll of these new tools arrive with an intrinsic focus on teaching coding in schools, a notion implemented statewide only in the last two to three years. According to SDP’s Office of Information Technology, the district added new tech to 129 of its schools across all grade levels, including robotics kits, iPads and PC laptops. Though Hasty may ply his trade at a charter school, the larger arm of the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) has made a point during the 2018-19 school year to implement more technology throughout its classrooms. There’s just this immediate need for knowledge and instant gratification nowadays that if they don’t get it off the bat, it’s a number’s game for who’s going to put in the work to comprehend?” “But at the end of the day, I just have to think of new ways to reinvent myself to teach these important life skills. “Sure, kids check out and so there’s a constant struggle,” Hasty affirmed. It’s a grind, but with a smile, Hasty dutifully walks over each time and offers a personal explanation. Half the class is listening, apparent by Hasty needing to stop every 15 to 20 seconds to explain what he just said in front of the whiteboard to a confused student. On this particular day, Hasty, the school’s lone computer science teacher and robotics club coach, tries to teach a class of about 22 students the importance of the snipping tool in Adobe Illustrator. It’s a thankless job at a city charter school. ![]() Some listen, some would rather sit in the cut and play Fortnite or watch YouTube videos. Desmond Hasty won’t admit it, but every day inside his computer science classroom at Boys’ Latin of Philadelphia Charter School is a struggle.Įach day, Hasty stands in front of each child, no fewer than 15 per class, and tries to teach them one part of a STEM education that could prepare them for the rest of their lives.
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