Q: I'm urging my son's high school to offer programming classes. Our state adopted the Common Core Standards and I thought that guidelines for teaching computer science would be among them ... not! If we want to prepare our children for the future, shouldn't we teach them programming languages?

A: Hank Pellissier, managing director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, agrees. "Computer programming ... may be the most important second language your child will ever learn. According to a growing number of experts, learning computer science will not only pave the way for future employment prospects -- job growth in this sector is booming -- but contribute to the U.S. economic recovery as well," blogs Pellissier at greatschools.org.

The Common Core Standards outline what K-12 students should learn in language arts and mathematics (www.corestandards.org). While the mathematics standards include skills essential to learn programming, they do not include programming itself. Few states include computer science as a core academic subject for graduation. Computer science teacher preparation and certification varies widely.

Yet more and more parents and educators agree with a recent report from the Computer Science Teachers Association, "Running on Empty: The Failure to Teach K-12 Computer Science in the Digital Age," which states: "The current state of computer science education is unacceptable at a time when computing is driving job growth and new scientific discovery."

Here's how you can work with your school to develop computer science courses. Check out the CSTA's comprehensive standards for K-12 computer science classes that provide a three-level framework. The first level, aimed at grades K-6, addresses computer science in the context of other academic subjects. In Level 2, grades 6-9, the concepts are taught either through other subjects or in discrete computer science courses.

Level 3 is divided into three separate courses: "Computer Science in the Modern World" offers content the CSTA believes should be mastered by all students. "Computer Science Principles" and "Topics in Computer Science" are intended for students with special interests in computer science and other computing careers (csta.acm.org).

If your school can't move fast enough, there are online courses your son could enroll in. Check out the free offerings at www.khanacademy.org. Look at area colleges, too. Many offer motivated high school students the opportunity to take courses on campus or online for credit.

Many companies have programs to mentor high school students and sustain interest in computer science and engineering, says Jeannette Wing, head of the computer science department at Carnegie Mellon University. She says all sectors -- health care, transportation, manufacturing -- not just the high-tech companies, have been seeking more and more expertise in computing.

Jedd Haberstro, a computer science major at Rochester Institute of Technology and an intern at Apple Inc., says that teacher training is a critical factor in keeping high school students' interest. He agrees that "having a deeper understanding of how computers work and how to control them to do what we want is essential as the world becomes more dependent on technology.

"Everyone headed into the workforce needs a general computing foundation to function in today's world. But does everyone need to know how to program? Maybe not. That's the software engineer's job -- to make the software reliable and easy to use."

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)

Q: Our school recently sent home a flier promoting the benefits of "reading aloud to your children every day of the year." My kids are 7 and 9. I read to them as preschoolers, but should I continue to do it?

A: Why not? There are a host of educational and emotional benefits. Thirty years ago, educator Jim Trelease outlined them in "The Read-Aloud Handbook." It became a surprise best-seller, now in its sixth edition.

Trelease explains, "Reading aloud to children sends a pleasure message to the child's brain." It seems to send pleasure messages to parents, too, by staking out quality time at the end of each busy day, all in the cause of helping a child learn to enjoy reading.

The results are a big deal. Kids who connect "reading" with "pleasure" are likely to want to read more, become acquainted with a range of authors and genres, and do better in school, says Trelease. "Conversely," he says, "children who don't enjoy reading, who don't read much, cannot get better at it."

Reading aloud to kids helps stir their imaginations, boosts listening skills, hones their ability to focus, and gives them a model of what fluent reading sounds like.

One of the most important benefits is vocabulary development, says Core Knowledge blogger Robert Pondiscio (blog.coreknowledge.org). "When students listen to a read-aloud, the cognitive bandwidth that might ordinarily be devoted to decoding is redirected toward the vocabulary and content of the reading," he says. "We learn vocabulary primarily in context, not by memorization. Thus, read-alouds build language proficiency by exposing kids to sophisticated vocabulary well above their independent reading level."

This is especially true when parents read nonfiction aloud to their children. "Parents often choose poems or fiction over nonfiction texts," says Pondiscio, and that's a lost opportunity. "Nonfiction often has rich, domain-specific vocabulary. You're more likely to hear words like 'orbit,' 'zenith,' 'solar,' or 'celestial,' in a book on astronomy."

In a biography of Jeremy Lin, for example, a listener would likely encounter terms such as "point guard" and "assists," and names of places such as Palo Alto, Harvard, Taiwan, China and Madison Square Garden.

"Read-alouds not only grow vocabulary, they are the best way to build critical background knowledge essential for later reading comprehension," says Pondiscio.

Reading aloud to children has benefits well past the primary grades. Pondiscio explains why: "Oral language competence precedes written language proficiency. We learn to speak and listen long before we read and write. Reading comprehension and written fluency typically don't catch up to oral competency until about eighth grade. A strong case can be made for read-alouds in building knowledge, vocabulary and fluency through middle school."

Start a new family habit to celebrate World Read Aloud Day, which is on March 7. A quick Internet search will surface many annotated lists to choose from. Common Sense Media includes a full range of choices for all age levels. Scholastic Parent & Child magazine just named the 100 Best Books for Kids (Scholastic.com/100books). Find sources of compelling nonfiction in magazines, newspapers and websites as well as books.

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)

Q: I recently heard an author of a book about yoga say that studies show it helps people relax. So many of our kids get totally stressed during testing, I wonder if yoga would help. It would be more productive than the scary hype and pep rallies we have the week before our big state tests! Do any schools teach yoga to help students chill?

A: A growing number of schools offer yoga. While some do it as part of "the new P.E." that engages kids in physical activities they can enjoy for a lifetime, others do it for the stress-reduction benefits many kids seem to find in the practice.

Several schools in Broward County, Fla., began incorporating yoga lessons into the schedule after seeing how a yoga-based curriculum called "S.T.O.P. and Relax" helped teach self-calming to children with autism spectrum disorders. (Find out more at stopandrelax.net.)

Is there truth behind the claim that yoga reduces tension? Yes, says William Broad, author of "The Science of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards." "If yoga does one thing," he says, "it slows you down. It relaxes you." (To learn more, listen to Broad's interview on NPR's "Science Friday," www.sciencefriday.com.)

Several California schools started incorporating yoga lessons into the school day after a 2003 California State University, Los Angeles, study showed that kids who participated in yoga classes had better classroom behavior and grades. And, based on scores from the annual California Physical Fitness Test, they were more physically fit than the control group.

In visits to elementary schools in Florida, California, Texas and New York, I've observed yoga being adapted and practiced joyfully and confidently by kids of all abilities. The key is crafting a program that fits the culture of the classroom and the developmental levels of kids.

Don't expect to replicate the serenity of your local studio, nor should you envision kids holding poses for long stretches in their Lululemons. Kids are still wiggly, and the "attire" is what they wear to school.

One program many schools follow is Yoga 4 Classrooms, created by Lisa Flynn and piloted for three years at the Central Elementary School in South Berwick, Maine. Flynn's mission is "to teach strategies that help children develop resilience, positive perceptions, good health habits and mindful awareness." YoKid, a Virginia-based nonprofit, offers programs and certifies parents and teachers in the Mid-Atlantic States.

Yoga appeals to cash-strapped schools because it doesn't require expensive equipment or special space. Educators appreciate that yoga can lower tension and help students relax.

"What's not to like about a program that can teach self-calming, reduce stress, improve circulation, flexibility, blood flow, digestion, respiration and posture?" asks a California teacher who leads her third-graders in stretching and breathing poses each day. "Just don't call it yoga or you'll be fighting a religious battle. I learned the hard way, which is why you can't use my name. Now we call it our 'out of seat work,' and it works just fine!"

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)