Student Story: Jim And Joseph

Student Story: Jim And Joseph

Father and son coding team from California, USA

Tell us about yourself

I’m an Implementation Manager for Canon Business Process Services. I have been in the IT world, specifically Enterprise Content Management, for the last 15 years. My son Joseph is 12 years old and in the 7th grade.

What got you interested in learning computer science?

I got introduced to computers, ironically enough, by getting a teaching gig with New Horizons Computer Learning Centers. Prior to that, I taught Martial Arts… go figure! I have always wanted to learn how to code but had so many other pieces to learn for the specific jobs I had that coding never came around. I spent way more time on the networking side and doing stuff that was very application specific. As to the topic of education, I went back to college and finished up my Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology in 2010.

Now, for my son, he has a great aptitude for math as well as music. I have always found an amazingly strong correlation between these disciplines and computer programming. So, I introduced him to it and he is doing well and loving it.

How did you find out about CodeHS?

I read an article in which Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg were talking about the importance of kids learning to code and how this would be the language of the future. CodeHS was one of the featured sites they spoke of and once we came to your site, we never looked back.

Favorite program you’ve made so far?

We are currently finishing up the first round of Karel but it has been fun and challenging.

Anything else?

This site has given me and my son something to learn together. For me, it is just something I have always wanted to do. For Joseph, I would like to have him fluent by the time he graduates… This knowledge is his ticket to college.

The other thing I like is that we can talk through problems together. I get a window into his logic and how he solves problems. I get to interject real world logic into his thinking to giving him a bigger view of how to solve problems. Thank you for a great site.