MARYSVILLE, Wash. (AP) – Moving her finger over the laptop trackpad, 6-year-old Lauren Meek drags and drops a block of code to build a set of instructions. She clicks the “run” button and watches as the character moves through a maze. She then pumps her fist in excitement.
“Yes! This is so easy,” says Meek, a kindergartener at Marshall Elementary in Marysville, north of Seattle.
This fall, most elementary school students in the Marysville School District are getting 40-minute weekly computer science lessons as part of their core instruction – part of a growing effort nationwide to expose more public school children to computer science, even as early as in kindergarten.
Backed by technology leaders, nonprofits and companies, schools in New York, San Francisco and other cities have committed to offer computer science to students in all grade levels. Chicago also says computer science will eventually become a high school requirement.
Supporters say it’s not just about learning how to code, but learning how computers work. They say computer science teaches kids to think logically, be creative and exposes them early to the technology that will drive their future.