What to do About Your Child's Potential Interest in Robotics

The truth of the matter is that not all standard public schools are going to be the right fit for your child. This is where you should consider a public charter school. Some districts will allow students to go to a charter school in lieu of the assigned school. Charter schools are convenient for students who need to arrange an alternative schedule, or who prefer to attend classes virtually.

Signs of Robotics Interest

In order to check your child's interest in robotics, or to fuel this interest, a parent can check for the following signs:

• Coding and Precoding Games-There are a number of free sites online, such as CodeCombat, which allow students to learn code in the context of a game. Each level introduces a brand new set of potential terms and processes to learn. Code, of course, is one of the more important parts of robotics, since this is what ultimately allows the robots to do things by themselves, instead of merely being remote-controlled drones.
• Game Robots-Additionally, there are a number of robotic toys out there that are more educational and less purely for entertainment. Lego famously has some, for example. You build the robots, and then use a computer to get them to perform various tasks. It’s a good primer for robotics in general.
• Simulated Robots-There are also a number of sites online that let you emulate robots such as the battle bots game called “Fight Code.”

It can definitely be helpful to suggest one or more of these options to children you think might be interested in robotics so that you can then see how they react. Generally, it’s important not to push it too hard, because you don’t want to get a false positive. You also shouldn’t rush it, because some children may take longer to get interested.

Overview and Relevance for Robotics

Robotics is quickly becoming an astoundingly important field both in the present and for the foreseeable future. In fact, it may be one of the few fields that is significantly less affected by potential job loss due to automation.

All this is to say that robotics is an excellent field to encourage a young student to participate in if they show interest. The problem is that public schools often don’t have a whole lot of specialization when it comes to robotics. If there’s a robotics department in your standard public school at all, chances are that it’s either comprised of no classes whatsoever and merely a club after school, or there’s one class with what amounts to a bunch of Lego robotics parts and a limited ability to learn anything.

But, the truth is that robotics is going to end up being used in a wide number of applications including in the home, in restaurants, on the factory floor and many other places. If a student gets started early with robotics, this is will be a considerable advantage when they continue through high school and onto higher education. This will give them a head start in finding the career they want, which is why it’s important to start them early and fan the flame of their interest!

The Importance of Early Robotics Interest

Sometimes children go through fads of interest quickly. That’s why it’s often so important to “Strike while the iron’s hot,” so to speak. If your child is attracted to robotics, it is important to try and get them into a place where this interest can be facilitated. The danger at the standard public school is that you end up with a situation where the enthusiasm is squashed because there just isn’t enough investment in robotics to give the kind of head start and enhancement in the field as you would like.

Also, considering the field of robotics is set to become central to society in the future as many other jobs may be taken over by robotics automation, it’s hard to imagine a better career for a student to pursue.

Charter School Overview

A lot of people aren't aware that charter school is an option. It is important to contact the charter school of choice to begin the process of enrollment. Although, some charter schools may have limited classroom sizes, or additional requirements for enrollment, it would be a shame to miss an opportunity to attend these free programs offered by the state.