Here in the Computer Science department (which is me, by the way), we have two goals:

1. make sure that students who have the interest and aptitude for computing know that they do before they leave high school, and
2. give students a basic understanding of the technology that will affect them for the rest of their lives.

Whether to keep oneself safe from online identity theft or to able to participate as a citizen of our democracy, everyone needs to know a bit about the computing technologies that are shaping our personal, professional and civic lives.