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States consider allowing kids to learn coding instead of foreign languages

5 points by chewymouse 11y ago

wallflower 11y ago
With the way that foreign languages are taught in American schools (rote learning, treated like any other subject, lack of practical application), it is not really a loss to learn the ongoing process of how to be a creator v. a consumer with the ugly magic of coding. That being said, moving from AP CS to a more structured, less-niche curriculum has its own fundamental challenges. > “The types of learning that schools were set up for isn’t going to continue to prepare students for the world they’re entering. Knowledge is not the commodity—the commodity is being able to take these various parts of a problem and put them together in a new creative way,” Steele says. From http://qz.com/608355/education-in-america-is-on-the-cusp-of-a-dramatic-change-will-the-country-let-it-happen/ http://qz.com/608355/education-in-america-is-on-the-cusp-of-...
- bobby_9x 11y ago
  "rote learning, treated like any other subject, lack of practical application" I'm onto my second foreign language and you need rote memorization. A good method for learning involves a combination of practical application+rote memorization. The problem is that in a classroom setting, if you just sit around talking, nobody will learn anything. I also ran a language learning meetup group and tried multiple methods of study. Structured lessons with rote memorization plus practical application/speaking worked the best. I also took Spanish in a US public school for 3 years and we had a combination of both. There is no magic. If you truly want to learn a foreign language, it takes tons of discipline and time. Most people give up at any hint of difficulty or plateau at a very basic level.
  - wallflower 11y ago
    Lo que quería decir por 'rote learning' era las lecciones tradicionales que acentúan aprendiendo las formas de verbos en una secuencia estricta (presento en el semestre primero, imperfecto en el semestre segundo, etc.) De acuerdo que 'rote memorization' es mas importante para escuchar o hablar sin esfuerza, como automático. ¿Qué es tu lengua segunda que aprendes? ¿Podrías recomendar las materiales que sean buenas por 'rote memorization' o sitios de web para mejorar como nos aprendemos?
programmarchy 11y ago
> States consider allowing kids to learn I suppose corporate demand for coding skills has reached the point where it's time for the benevolent overlords of the state to forcefully "allow" the public to subsidize those inputs.
a3n 11y ago
Learn Spanish - Spanish will be spoken the rest of your life, whether you go into that "field" or not. Learn Java - will eventually drop off the Tiobe list, whether you go into that field or not. Learning to code should be an alternative to a technical class, not a humanities class.
spacemanmatt 11y ago
This seems ridiculous to me. We don't speak to people the same way we express computation to machines. This totally undersells the cognitive benefits of speaking more than one language.

5 points by chewymouse 11y ago

With the way that foreign languages are taught in American schools (rote learning, treated like any other subject, lack of practical application), it is not really a loss to learn the ongoing process of how to be a creator v. a consumer with the ugly magic of coding. That being said, moving from AP CS to a more structured, less-niche curriculum has its own fundamental challenges. > “The types of learning that schools were set up for isn’t going to continue to prepare students for the world they’re entering. Knowledge is not the commodity—the commodity is being able to take these various parts of a problem and put them together in a new creative way,” Steele says. From http://qz.com/608355/education-in-america-is-on-the-cusp-of-a-dramatic-change-will-the-country-let-it-happen/ http://qz.com/608355/education-in-america-is-on-the-cusp-of-...

bobby_9x 11y ago
"rote learning, treated like any other subject, lack of practical application" I'm onto my second foreign language and you need rote memorization. A good method for learning involves a combination of practical application+rote memorization. The problem is that in a classroom setting, if you just sit around talking, nobody will learn anything. I also ran a language learning meetup group and tried multiple methods of study. Structured lessons with rote memorization plus practical application/speaking worked the best. I also took Spanish in a US public school for 3 years and we had a combination of both. There is no magic. If you truly want to learn a foreign language, it takes tons of discipline and time. Most people give up at any hint of difficulty or plateau at a very basic level.
- wallflower 11y ago
  Lo que quería decir por 'rote learning' era las lecciones tradicionales que acentúan aprendiendo las formas de verbos en una secuencia estricta (presento en el semestre primero, imperfecto en el semestre segundo, etc.) De acuerdo que 'rote memorization' es mas importante para escuchar o hablar sin esfuerza, como automático. ¿Qué es tu lengua segunda que aprendes? ¿Podrías recomendar las materiales que sean buenas por 'rote memorization' o sitios de web para mejorar como nos aprendemos?

programmarchy 11y ago

> States consider allowing kids to learn I suppose corporate demand for coding skills has reached the point where it's time for the benevolent overlords of the state to forcefully "allow" the public to subsidize those inputs.

a3n 11y ago

Learn Spanish - Spanish will be spoken the rest of your life, whether you go into that "field" or not. Learn Java - will eventually drop off the Tiobe list, whether you go into that field or not. Learning to code should be an alternative to a technical class, not a humanities class.

spacemanmatt 11y ago

This seems ridiculous to me. We don't speak to people the same way we express computation to machines. This totally undersells the cognitive benefits of speaking more than one language.