Deseret News – Benjamin Bathke
“Every child, no matter a career path, is going to need a fundamental level of technological competence. According to the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), the need for stronger science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills applies to both STEM and non-STEM occupations…A burgeoning industry of informal learning environments can help children whose school doesn’t offer computer science: so-called coding camps teach youth from 7 to 18 the intricacies of the computer age…the mission of early STEM education and coding boot camps is not to churn out as many software developers as possible. Rather, it is to help children develop an affinity and a basic competency that will help them in the future, no matter if they become conductors, interpreters or pursue a career in biomedical engineering…“If kids get left behind, they’re not just left behind from specific careers, they’re left behind from basically every career,” said Jennifer Flanagan, the co-founder and CEO of Actua, a Canadian non-profit teaching underrepresented and underserved youth STEM skills.”(more)