Health & Fitness
The Next Great Techie is Locked Away
Where will the next Steve Jobs come from? This is why schools need to start giving our kids a better education in technology.
Remember when Dad and Mom said “Don’t do that,” or “No, no, no” for something you thought was going to be great? Well some of us in the computer world just seemed to ignore that little caution statement and build some of the largest software companies in the world by saying “Yes, yes” to everything.
OK, let’s name a few well-known companies that are stars in tech today because they said, "Yes, yes." Oh, wait, that is everyone from Apple to Zoho (A-Z). You see, my wonderful readers, tech companies are always on that bleeding edge, pushing forward, being creative, and doing what others before only dreamed of. It’s just like the American Dream, but focused into the tech world.
I look back at all the companies I have worked for or with and many people stand out: the Steves, the Bills and Pauls of these now-huge companies. They started small in their parents’ homes or garages, and in those basements filled with ideas and dreams, worked to craft the unknown. Every day I wake and step into those same shoes like I have done for many years (since 1978), working, pushing and sometimes failing, but always moving forward to make the best I can.
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I look at the high school world today and wonder why these kids aren’t taught a programming language. It is math and science rolled into one, and it‘s a foreign language that, last I looked, was a good way to raise that bar we all talk about for our kids. Why isn’t it happening in every school?
Oh, wait, I know why. We have forgotten the basics here, people. We give them so many things to do with sports and outside stimulus, and have forgotten to focus on what they will need in college. We have a shortage of science-based people to fill jobs currently—programming is one of them—and without a course correction we may see tech slide some in 10 years.
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So get your school working toward the future. Suggest a computer course that isn’t simply how to use Office or typing skills. Make the schools a place of higher learning at the high school level, and see how things 10 years from today will change. Heck maybe your little ones will be the next Steve Jobs or Bill Gates or Paul Allen of the world.
