The status of Computer Science courses at Sidwell has always been a contentious topic. Though the class is an elective, like art classes, it does not count toward students’ arts credits, giving CS a unique status as a cross between academic and arts courses. Society is becoming increasingly technology-oriented, thereby elevating the importance of understanding computer programming and artificial intelligence. CS could be a valuable asset for students, but it should not be required for students at Sidwell during their high school career.
In Sidwell’s current course system, for most students taking the other five core classes, CS can replace an arts class. Therefore, if all students were required to take CS, students who are more artistically inclined would be negatively affected, as well as the entire Sidwell Friends Arts Department. The department offers several enriching courses, such as photography, drawing and ceramics. Requiring students to take CS will limit their access to these classes by reducing the number of students who can take an art class. Moreover, such a requirement could overwhelm Sidwell’s CS teachers.
This semester, CS teachers Martin Suresh and Darby Thompson teach six classes combined, which is roughly 50 students. Increasing the number of students each year could overburden these two teachers with too many class periods. Additionally, requiring CS for all students will be inconvenient for students, given the current credit requirement for graduation. Currently, students need to complete 2 years of arts to graduate; however, CS does not count toward one of those credits. As a result, many students who desire to take more than the required years of art may be unable to if one of those years is taken up by CS, and they do not want to drop one of their core classes. Also, students who only wish to take six classes for two years by dropping art as an upperclassman will be unable to if they have to take CS for one year. Therefore, it is most reasonable to continue not requiring the class, allowing students to customize their schedule with as much freedom as possible.
Additionally, unlike art classes, CS is more STEM-oriented and logical, and it is possible that not all students would want to engage with these skills more than they already do in their other classes. While CS does teach unique ways of critical thinking, art classes develop self-reflection and creativity in new ways. These elements are equally as important as the more logical ones of STEM subjects, which is why students may desire to gain more exposure to the arts rather than take CS.
When asked if students should be required to take CS, current CS student and sophomore Julia Pitt said, “Not everyone wants to pursue CS, and I don’t think they should have to if they don’t think they will have fun and learn.” Pitt added, “I find CS to be super interesting, but it is definitely confusing and taxing at times. Some students have artistic abilities, and they want to pursue those, so it doesn’t make sense to require CS.”
Requiring students to take CS will inevitably have consequences for the arts department and limit student access to arts courses. Even though the fundamentals of CS are becoming increasingly important in our world, it should still remain a choice.
