[chimmy_chonga]

I volunteered with Microsoft's TEALS (https://www.tealsk12.org/) organization last year as a volunteer classroom teacher for an introductory CS Course. The first semester was mostly in this drag and drop language called Snap, similar to Scratch, and the second semester consisted of the basics of Python.

I was worried about teaching at first, I haven't had a lot of experience (none as a matter of fact) but, TEALs had some training classes over the Summer that I attended and they taught me how to be a pretty decent (at least in my opinion haha) teacher.

The school I got placed at was an inner-city school and it was honestly awesome to give these kids a chance to learn about and explore a career path they previously thought well above their ability to reach. I went one day a week for one class in the mornings, I worked with other volunteers each with their own day, so it didn't interfere with my work life at all either.

I didn't learn about programming myself until I hit college so just the fact that these kids are even made aware that this is an actual viable career path is a win in my book.

If you're interested at all in "CS in every high school" mentality and you want to put in some volunteer hours then I think TEALs would be an awesome resource to look into

[mttjj]

I will second this. I'm currently in my second year volunteering and I absolutely love it. I get to help with both the CSP (intro) and CSA (Java-based) classes. Last year I went just two days a week but this year I'm going three. Honestly, if it wouldn't be such a pay cut I would seriously consider quitting my current job and get into teaching full time. (I know money isn't everything but still).

TEALS is great because it realises that unfamiliar teachers being thrown into teaching CS probably won't turn out well for anyone. But having 'real' engineers from industry in the classroom to help teach and explain things is an invaluable resource. Plus, I've been able to get to know some of the students really well and talk to them about their college plans and beyond. I was a little nervous when I first started but it's been one of the best experiences of my life.