California Educator

December 2022 January 2023

Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1487796

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 33 of 63

Educator recognized for inspiring, growing student interest in cybersecurity In Defense of Data I T ' S Y O U R F I R S T D A Y on the job. You and your team have six hours to protect and defend your company's computers and networks from hackers, viruses and unsafe practices. And you're 12 years old. Such scenarios are common in cybersecurity competitions. And while many of high school teacher Robert "Allen" Stubblefield's participating students are teens, growing numbers of middle schoolers are joining his teams in competitions these days. Since Stubblefield started teach- ing the subject in 2010, he has led 21 teams from Troy High School in Fullerton to the CyberPatriot nationals, capturing first place 3 times. It's not all about the awards. His monthlong summer camps have drawn 500 students for the past three seasons and now extend to fourth and fifth graders. "No one in the world is teaching 10- and 11-year-olds," he says proudly. He'd like to see even younger students exposed to the basics of cybersecurity — a burgeoning field in our increasingly digital world. A handful of his students have been hired into well-paying jobs directly out of high school. In mid-October, the U.S. Department of Education announced that Stubblefield was one of two recipients of the 2022 Presidential Cybersecurity Education Award. He and a teacher from Ohio were selected " for instilling in their students the skills, knowledge and passion for cybersecurity." e award, now in its third year, recognizes outstanding educators and leaders and creates awareness for cybersecurity occupations (there are currently more than 700,000 job openings in the U.S.). Stubblefield will be honored in December at the 2022 NICE K12 Cybersecurity Edu- cation Conference in St. Louis. At Troy, a science and tech magnet school, Stubblefield teaches Cyber Defense. He served in the U.S. Navy for 21 years before becoming an educator — first as a Junior ROTC instructor for 10 years and then Just some of the students who attended a beginner cybersecurity camp at Troy High School in 2019. 32 cta.org Feature

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of California Educator - December 2022 January 2023