CHULA VISTA, Calif.,
April 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/
-- Tara Taylor believes that cybersecurity education is for
everyone, and embraces that philosophy every day in her teaching
and coaching.
Taylor, a computer science teacher and cyber coach at Eastlake
Middle School in Chula Vista,
began her career as an English teacher and transitioned to teaching
a basic computer skills class. She saw a need for something that
would appeal to students who were interested in technology but not
proficient enough for advanced coding.
Cybersecurity proved to be just what she was looking for. She
jumped into training for the Mayors Cyber Cup and found that her
students were willing to come along for the ride — even if they
didn't have the skills they needed just yet.
"People talk about coding all the time, but our computers also
need security, and kids need to understand the basics behind it and
how the Internet works and how they can protect themselves," Taylor
said. "You don't have to be an amazing coder to be good at
cybersecurity, and cyber competitions appealed to a different group
of kids who can succeed even if they're not good coders."
Like a lot of schools in California, Taylor saw interest in cyber
programs grow exponentially after the first year. She went from one
team of students to five and from finding one vulnerability in a
competition to placing 10th in the nation.
Every Friday, all of Taylor's teams meet together in the school
library for competition and camaraderie. She orders pizza and
allows students to mingle with each other and with their cyber
mentor.
These gatherings help Taylor spread the message that cyber
competitions are for everyone. She encourages any student who is
interested to try it out, knowing that they can back out if they
find it's not a good fit for them.
"I don't have tryouts and I don't cut people out," she said. "I
have students with learning disabilities on my team; they might not
be the strongest competitors, but if they want to be part of the
group, then I want them to be there."
Taylor's efforts were recognized in 2017 with the Guardian Angel
of Cyber Award from the SoCal Cyber Cup Challenge. She received the
award for her efforts to spread cyber education to other schools in
the Sweetwater Union High School District.
Her message to her colleagues at other schools is always that
they don't need to be cybersecurity experts to start and coach a
successful team. The key comes in finding a mentor who can provide
technical expertise to students.
Taylor said she's been fortunate to work with several great
mentors over the years. Her program has reached the point where
high school students are now able to serve as mentors for middle
school students. She hopes to expand this peer-to-peer instruction
moving forward.
"I'll be the first to tell you that the students know more than
I do," Taylor said. "I'm not the person going in with all this
knowledge and trying to impose it on them. I try to give the kids
an environment where they can learn it because they want to, not
because they feel like they have to."
Beyond the growth in cyber education in her district, Taylor
said she's also excited to see awareness increase among other parts
of the educational system.
"It's so great to hear that there are cybersecurity classes
being taught at the college level," She said. "People are finally
starting to see that cybersecurity is just as important as computer
science."
About SynED
SynED is a non-profit organization that acts as a catalyst
to help colleges and other higher education partners equip students
with the skills they need to enrich their lives through education
and knowledge and skill acquisition, giving them rich career
opportunities. SynED is home to the Cyber-Guild and Mayors Cyber
Cup.
Contact:
Liz Fraumann
Executive Director, Cyber-Guild
866-420-4573
238359@email4pr.com
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SOURCE SynEd