[ryansloan]

I think this is really, really important. We start teaching students the foundations of chemistry, physics, and various areas of mathematics as early as Sixth grade, but Computer Science is largely ignored. Hell, it's hard enough to find a decent CS curriculum in High Schools. Students who would never dream of studying computing might find that they have a passion for it if they are exposed to it early enough (in a kid-digestible way, of course) I remember reading a study (I wish I could find it to cite) that showed that students who were exposed to CS courses early were more likely to have a favorable opinion of the field ("it's not just for nerds") Finding people who are capable/willing to teach CS is one of the biggest problems here, I think.

[tokenadult]

I remember reading a study (I wish I could find it to cite) that showed that students who were exposed to CS courses early were more likely to have a favorable opinion of the field

I grew up in an era when BASIC was a standard part of the curriculum at many junior high schools, and I had a nominal course in computer science in high school also. But both were deadly dull. Sometimes it's better for children to learn a subject directly from hobbyists or professionals (as did several of my high school classmates who became professional computer scientists eventually) rather than from clueless schoolteachers who teach the course in desultory fashion.

[ryansloan]

I definitely agree. Introducing the material isn't enough, there have to be quality educators who are also knowledgeable of computing. You mentioned hobbyists and professionals and I think this is a fantastic idea. Actually, Georgia Tech's College of Computing has a program designed to take out of work IT professionals and help them become teachers: http://bit.ly/17xgiT [cc.gatech.edu] Pretty neat.