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"zero usable experience" is a bit harsh and doesn't reflect reality. There are internship programs where students have a chance to gain work experience as well

"zero usable experience" is a bit harsh and doesn't reflect reality. There are internship programs where students have a chance to gain work experience as well as work-study. And anyway, programming is not rocket science and even rocket scientists have "zero usable experience" in rocket science when they land their first jobs. Fresh-out-of-college hires should be placed in junior roles and mentored systematically by experts rather than handed over to project-management professionals who will thrust deliverables upon them. As for "one year of programming" [before college] what do you mean? There are already AP computer science courses for students in high school. Most high schools have enough trouble getting students ready for college, no need to add comp-sci when the basics are on such poor foundations. Much more effective to provide a solid grounding in mathematics, writing, and science, history, and literature in high school.

hajile 11y ago
I worked in Huntsville, AL once upon a time (for those who don't know, Redstone Arsenal and the Huntsville research park do a huge percent of the world's so-called "rocket science" and the city has the highest percentage of STEM people of anywhere in the world). Their university takes engineering pretty seriously (and is literally squashed up against the research park). Even so, things can be difficult. If you get an internship with one of the big companies, you will very likely have a great career in Huntsville. If you don't, then you'll have a much harder time. There are only around 180K EE jobs in the US compared to a couple million CS jobs. The dropout rate for EE is huge and the pass rate for FE/PE exams is somewhat low (you have to become certified after graduating). Companies must take a risk to hire new people because the barrier of entry is so high, but even then, they are fairly picky about experience. How much more picky will they be about experience when they have more options? The argument about having trouble with current school curriculum is a red herring. Just because they are already failing and need an overhaul does not mean that the overhaul shouldn't include an introduction to coding in middle school (and for the record, they need new curriculum, better teaching methods, and most importantly, parents who actually care about their kids enough to become involved in their day-to-day education). I don't believe for a minute that everyone can code well enough to do it for a living any more than I believe everyone who takes English classes will make a living as an author. English is important for communication, math is important for calculating and thinking, and coding is important for focusing on creative logical reasoning (complementing math very nicely). Learning how to make a turtle go through an obstacle course will teach way more about logic than a thousand "word problems". Most children will take such a course and walk away disliking coding, but hopefully with a little better logical ability. The rest will discover a subject they enjoy and increase their proficiency before college.
- crispyambulance 11y ago
  "Word Problems" -- these are absolutely critical. There's only so much students can absorb and they need the basics FIRST. While computer programming studies are a nice enrichment for the students which are ready, it would be a waste of time if the kid can't do algebra and word problems by high school graduation.

hajile 11y ago

I worked in Huntsville, AL once upon a time (for those who don't know, Redstone Arsenal and the Huntsville research park do a huge percent of the world's so-called "rocket science" and the city has the highest percentage of STEM people of anywhere in the world). Their university takes engineering pretty seriously (and is literally squashed up against the research park). Even so, things can be difficult. If you get an internship with one of the big companies, you will very likely have a great career in Huntsville. If you don't, then you'll have a much harder time. There are only around 180K EE jobs in the US compared to a couple million CS jobs. The dropout rate for EE is huge and the pass rate for FE/PE exams is somewhat low (you have to become certified after graduating). Companies must take a risk to hire new people because the barrier of entry is so high, but even then, they are fairly picky about experience. How much more picky will they be about experience when they have more options? The argument about having trouble with current school curriculum is a red herring. Just because they are already failing and need an overhaul does not mean that the overhaul shouldn't include an introduction to coding in middle school (and for the record, they need new curriculum, better teaching methods, and most importantly, parents who actually care about their kids enough to become involved in their day-to-day education). I don't believe for a minute that everyone can code well enough to do it for a living any more than I believe everyone who takes English classes will make a living as an author. English is important for communication, math is important for calculating and thinking, and coding is important for focusing on creative logical reasoning (complementing math very nicely). Learning how to make a turtle go through an obstacle course will teach way more about logic than a thousand "word problems". Most children will take such a course and walk away disliking coding, but hopefully with a little better logical ability. The rest will discover a subject they enjoy and increase their proficiency before college.

crispyambulance 11y ago
"Word Problems" -- these are absolutely critical. There's only so much students can absorb and they need the basics FIRST. While computer programming studies are a nice enrichment for the students which are ready, it would be a waste of time if the kid can't do algebra and word problems by high school graduation.