Let's Celebrate Computer Science Education at our Schools

Brian Scarbeau came up with what I think is a completely wonderful idea (read his proposal here). The short version is that while most subject departments at most schools have annual "days" or "weeks" that they celebrate there is no one special day or week to celebrate computer science education. There is Latin week, French week, school library week, and the list goes on and on. Why not a Computer Science Education day?

Brian suggests using a date around Grace Hopper's birthday. Grace Hopper would have been 100 this coming December 9th, 2006. Doesn't that just seem like a sign of some sort? I was privileged to meet Grace Hopper on a couple of occasions. She really inspired me to study computer science. But more than that she was an inspiration in life. She was a scientist, a naval officer (something she was very proud of) but in a real sense she was also a teacher. Several generations of military people learned about computers directly from her lectures. I attended several of her public lectures and they were always standing room only. She was an inspired speaker who knew how to communicate complex topics to any audience. If that is not what teaching is all about I don’t know what is!

If you like the idea please help promote it. Talk it up in your blog, talk it up in your school, and talk it up among your friends. Let's see what we can do to make Friday December 8th, 2006 the first of many Computer Science Education days.