By Ben Lindenbaum
When my Fieldston High School classmate Omega Zerfu and I first introduced our computer coding elective at the Kingsbridge Heights Community Center’s after-school program last fall, we were immediately swamped by 15 enthusiastic students. For the next hour, these elementary and middle school students peppered us with questions – most of them about how to code their favorite video games.
The Kingsbridge class was part of Programming for All, which I founded last year to offer free computer programming lessons to third- to seventh-grade students in the Bronx and Upper Manhattan. Programming for All teaches code on p5.js editor, a JavaScript library that can be easily accessed through a web browser. Students in the course learn the basics of coding—shapes, colors, variables, “If-Then” statements, and more—while completing fun mini-projects, such as making your own robot. “Fun” is certainly one goal of the eight-week session, but more important is to give students the tools, the interest and the desire to continue programming. As Chantel Roberson, the Beacon Program Coordinator at Goddard Riverside, said, “Coding has been great for our participants. They are learning new programming while having the time of their lives.”
Programming for All grew out of the years I spent volunteering as a tutor with the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan’s afterschool program. Between that experience and then learning about the vast gap in computer science education in public schools, where resources are limited, I decided to start the organization. Many schools, particularly elementary and middle, do not offer any coding classes at all. That seems unthinkable in this computer age, and my hope is that, by introducing more students to the basics at an early age, some will be encouraged to pursue the important field of computer science.
In creating the program, I sought advice from a range of education experts, including those at the Pittsburgh-based STEM Coding Lab as well as at Reading Partners, a children’s literacy non-profit organization. With their guidance, I developed a set of introductory computer programming lessons, which I taught at the Morningside Heights branch of the New York Public Library last summer. After receiving positive feedback, I invited other high school students to join me in expanding the program. In addition to the Morningside Heights, Beacon at Goddard Riverside and Kingsbridge programs, we have also partnered with the West Side Commons, teaching more than fifty elementary and middle school students. Our team of eleven high school teachers, from both Fieldston and Riverdale Country School, is now expanding the lessons beyond its initial eight sessions.
The students are not the only ones enjoying the lessons. Nikash Das, a co-president of Programming for All who teaches at Goddard Riverside, recalls how a student used the lessons to create a computer program that would make Argentina’s flag, in honor of the World Cup. “One person started making flags and then the other kids came around and watched and used that as inspiration to make their own. That was a pretty nice moment,” said Das.
Programming for All welcomes more volunteer teachers, and we are always looking for opportunities to work with new organizations. If you are interested in working with Programming for All or would like to learn more about our program, feel free to contact us here.
Nothing is more important than educating and nurturing the young (well okay; national defense).
I don’t know why the educational systems isn’t currently doing what you’re doing, but I’m very glad you’re out there doing what you can.
Do I have to mention that we’re living in a very competitive computer age now, one where people with necessary skills living even 15,000 miles away can, in the middle of the night, scoop the jobs right out from under New Yorkers?
I bought a new Dell a month ago and there I am, in the middle of the night, on the phone with a woman in India who took control of my Dell at 3 AM; I was watching the monitor as her cursor raced all about my screen… and as nice as she was, I’d have preferred working with a New Yorker or any other American… the last time I did this I was on the phone with Round Rock, Texas but that ship done sailed.
Signs of the future are everywhere, inescapable; we only need to just look around ourselves with open eyes.
This is wonderful work – a win for everyone involved. Keep it up!
Do you know about Girls Who Code? (https://girlswhocode.com/) They been in the game for quite a while. Particularly with the focus on girls, they are sure to have a few interesting tidbits to add to your teaching ‘bag o’ tricks!’