Coding Projects at Post Oak Teach Students Valuable Skills

Some of the most common questions asked by students at any school include: How is this going to apply to me when I get out of school and get a job? If I want to be a doctor, why do I have to know the underlying themes of The Grapes of Wrath? If I want to be a graphic designer, when will I have to know how to calculate the limit of a function? 

All of these thoughts are valid concerns; however, the point of schooling in this regard is to teach critical thinking skills in a variety of subject areas. The same thing applies for computer science, an increasingly popular class at many schools (something which is reflected at Post Oak, as it was added only this year). However, the main difference with computer science is that the results of learning the subject seem much more obvious in their applications in 2019.

In addition to teaching the real world skills that can be applied to the latest start-ups and companies poised to make millions in the future, computer science classes can also be used with the same or an even better effect for teaching critical thinking skills. Take, for example, a recent computer science project of mine. The aim is to take multiple styles of development and combine them into one project: having a button that lights up an LED that at the same time prints text to a file, then subsequently having a user interface that reads the text file and prints it so that the user can view it. 

It sounds quite difficult, but taking a logic-based approach to the project allows it to go smoothly, and teaches students valuable skills relating to prototyping, testing, and developing that can be applied in many ways in and outside of computing. Due to this fact, I am confident that this course will continue to remain as one of my favorites throughout high school, no doubt in heavy part due to its usefulness and the ability to combine logic and creativity into one package.