Neither of the beginner programming classes offered by Massapequa High School will be on anyone’s schedule this following school year. The reason is simply because of enrollment. There are not enough ninth graders signed up for Intro to Java or Visual Basic. As a result, AP Com­puter Science, which is offered as a follow up to these classes, won’t be running. Furthermore, Web Design 1 and 2, Produc­tion Design, and Engineering will not be offered during the 2013-2014 school year.

Why is this happening? The school’s only program­ming teacher, Mr. Christopher Garcia, offered a few sugges­tions. According to Mr. Gar­cia, small class descriptions and handouts are used to pro­mote the classes. However, this year, due to the afteref­fects of Sandy, the flyers were not distributed at Ames.

“With the amount of technology integrated into our everyday lives, we need to promote the importance of how the technology works,” Mr. Garcia said. These classes teach the basics of computer programming in a certain lan­guage. The concepts learned can be applied to all program­ming languages as well as other aspects of computer sci­ence.

In addition to being in­formative, these classes are also enjoyable. From my own personal experience, students learn more than just program­ming skills. The class tests logic and math skills while of­fering new challenges that can be overcome by means of trial and error.

Although the classes may not run this year, incom­ing sophomores will still have a chance to take the AP class if they are able to take the pre­requisite classes during their junior year. With opportunities growing daily for jobs in the computer programming field, it is sad to think that these classes will remain empty. Hopefully, more student in­terest will correct this prob­lem and prepare Massapequa students for a future in which technology will consume our lives more and more each passing day.