Happy Ada Lovelace Day
In honor of Ada Lovelace Day, I would like to recognize Ms. Henry, my first computer science teacher. I was quite privileged to have attended a high school where female teachers made up a significant portion of the math and science departments. In my opinion, nothing was more encouraging or empowering than filling the faculty with great role models.
What set Ms. Henry apart from other educators was her effective teaching methods. Her explanations were always clear and concise. I was turned on to computer programming because she made it seem easy.
She challenged the more astute students with programming competitions. For struggling students, she always had the patience to spend extra time with them, explain concepts again, perhaps differently until it would finally click. She was always very encouraging, never condescending and she would never give up until the material was properly understood. This was especially important because we had to cover the fundamentals.
Ms. Henry not only provided me with the nurture I needed to become a software developer, she also inspired me to become a teacher one day, so that I may show other girls that computer science is not scary or difficult.