We did some presentations at Independence High School, got to meet with students and teachers, and headed to LA. Also, Karel made the news!
Day 2 was a busy day for Team CodeHS. We started off in Bakersfield and headed to Independence High School.
Independence High School is a public school that doesn’t have computer science classes. But Independence High School does have Kip Glazer (as the students call her, Ms. Glazer), who is an AP English Literature teacher. She has been teaching for over a decade, and just a few years ago started teaching the Web Design class at the school. She’s leading the charge to bring computer science to her school and district.
“I want every student to take computer science. I want AP Computer
Science to be like 9th grade English.” — Kip Glazer
We got to talk throughout the day and it’s clear she is passionate about teaching and bringing the best opportunities to her students and doing so in innovative ways.
You might not expect an AP English Literature teacher to start a coding club, but Kip Glazer has done just that and gotten many of the students in the school excited about coding.
The club at the school is using CodeHS to help get beginners excited about the potential of learning coding. We also got to speak with some students who had started programming earlier on about the virtual reality headset they were building. Kip has done a great job getting both more advanced and beginner students excited about this area.
You might not expect an AP English Literature teacher
to start a coding club, but Kip Glazer has done just that
We were invited to give an assembly presentation to about 300 students in the school about what computer science is, the importance of computer science, and how it applies across different fields. We spoke to some students in the auditorium, and then others in a smaller setting.
Near the end of the day we got a chance to see a demo of some of the projects students were working, and a chance to have a conversation about it. They are building a virtual reality headset and generating their own worlds by programming python in Blender. We also got to interview Ms. Glazer, who is the teacher leading the coding club at Independence High School. Check out the interview below!
One of my favorite quotes: I asked Kip what she would do if she had a magic wand and could make any change to improve education her district.
She says excitedly: “Free wifi for everybody.”
Access to these opportunities is key. She believes that these skills for students can open up all sorts of opportunities. “I want every student to take computer science. I want AP Computer Science to be like 9th grade English.”
Thank you to Kip Glazer and the students at Independence High School, as well as the administrators for having us for a visit!
The Interview: AP Literature, Coding Club, and Virtual Reality Goggles
See Karel on the News:
Directions from Bakersfield to Los Angeles:
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