Stephen Downes

One of the things I've wondered about common core is why language and maths are the big winners. From where I sit, things like science and explanation, logic and critical reasoning, and learning how to learn are equally important. And the author of this post makes a good case for computer science (which by itself manages to incorporate both language and mathematics, and much more besides). But that's the problem with a core generally - the selection of what constitutes a core is ineliminably political, and therefore all (so-called) 'common' core initiatives are (thinly disguised) political campaigns. Via Computing Education Blog. Image via Russo. See also Alfred Thompson, Where does computer science belong? Also, this: "Pick a random high school in the United States. With enormous probability, it will have zero computer science."