Curriculum Developer Spotlight: Bailey Streicher

The Curriculum Developer Spotlight series on our blog highlights the unique and talented educators that write Codelicious curriculum. Keep reading to learn more about Bailey’s background, expertise, and approach to computer science in the classroom.

“Being surrounded by youth reminds you

of the endless possibility that lies within

each of us.”

— Bailey Streicher

My favorite moments as a classroom teacher were ones spent watching the spark of creativity and knowledge flicker in a student’s eyes. I’d sit back and listen as they explained a project they’d poured their energy into or tell me about a brand new skill they’d acquired just minutes ago. Being surrounded by youth reminds you of the endless possibility that lies within each of us. They don’t limit themselves, and neither should we.

I spent nine years as an elementary school teacher in the Indianapolis area, and during that time I helped students with everything from basic cognitive development to reading comprehension to STEM. I experienced the daily hustle a teacher goes through to plan and teach all subjects, every day. I prepped, I planned, I changed those plans, I taught, I assessed, I differentiated. I loved playing a role in the lives of my students, but teaching came with its own stressors I didn’t anticipate. I felt like there was always one more thing being added to my already overflowing plate. I was working tirelessly to get my students where they needed to be, but wondered: what would they take with them from my classroom? What memories would stick? What impact was I making? 

With tests to be taken and goals to be reached, there wasn’t much time left for exploratory learning. Midway through my teaching career, my students started to mention coding from time to time, having come across the term briefly during Computer Lab or at home with a sibling. I could feel there was an interest there with so many of my students, but I simply didn’t have the time to explore it myself, let alone teach it to others. Sure, I could send my class to a website to “code”, but was that doing them any justice? They were interested in truly learning how it all worked, and that would take a foundation of real computer science knowledge.

When I discovered Codelicious, I was impressed to find a curriculum written for a teacher just like me: one who desires to walk with her class into the ever-evolving, technology driven future, learning alongside her students. Codelicious lessons are written for educators, by educators. The lessons empower any teacher, tech savvy or not, to teach well-rounded computer science curriculum in the classroom. If I’d had these tools in my own classroom, I might have ignited that spark of knowledge for another student just waiting to find his or her “thing”. As teachers, we’d never dream of telling a student a skill was out of reach for them. So why do we put those kinds of barriers on ourselves? Codelicious dares teachers not to shy away from computer science.

Writing curriculum for Codelicious has given me the opportunity to push myself as an educator and a student. I learn something new everyday, and feel lucky to be acquiring new skills as I travel down my professional path. I feel passionately about advocating for teachers everywhere. Your students deserve the best, and they deserve a teacher who shows them you never stop bettering yourself.