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"Everyone should learn to code" makes at least as much sense as "everyone should learn trigonometry." To me, it makes much more sense, actually. I'm a software

by zekenie 10y ago

"Everyone should learn to code" makes at least as much sense as "everyone should learn trigonometry." To me, it makes much more sense, actually. I'm a software engineer. I might not be if I wasn't exposed to it in high school. Exposing more people to software is a decidedly good thing because it gives people agency. Teaching coding in high school also can enhance math and science that's already being taught. It gives students another interface to the curriculum that's far more exploratory than pen and paper. Everyone should learn to code. Everyone should not be a software engineer. Obviously. People should do what interests them. That doesn't mean bootcamps are bad. Actually, I work at one! I think we do a really good job. There are problems with the market that Basel correctly identified. Its hard for consumers to assess the quality of bootcamps. There are certainly are snakeoil salespeople out there. But, I've watched hundreds of my students go on to start fulfilling careers in tech because of their hard work and ours. The market will sort itself out. The bad actors will eventually go out of business.

logfromblammo 10y ago
Every high school should have a calculus teacher. That doesn't mean that all graduating students will know calculus when they leave. And at least since 1990, every high school should now have a computer science teacher. It's not so much that everyone should learn to code, but that everyone should be able to have enough of an introduction to it that they will then know whether they need to learn the rest of it or not. Even if they don't, they will still have a better idea about what it entails, and technology will be less arcane magic and more like something that anybody could learn if they had the time and motivation.
- zekenie 10y ago
  I agree. I'm not sure everyone should be forced to learn for loops, or whatever. I also don't think high schoolers should have to memorize the krebs cycle or the fact that pv=mrt for gas systems. I don't know. I really think young people should be in an environment where they can explore and grow passion for things. I think coding is fuel for that fire. I think its not enough to have CS teachers around. I think people should be exposed. It should be in the ether. You should see it in chemistry. You should talk about genetic programming in biology. I just think HS should be so different from what it is now.

by zekenie 10y ago

logfromblammo 10y ago

Every high school should have a calculus teacher. That doesn't mean that all graduating students will know calculus when they leave. And at least since 1990, every high school should now have a computer science teacher. It's not so much that everyone should learn to code, but that everyone should be able to have enough of an introduction to it that they will then know whether they need to learn the rest of it or not. Even if they don't, they will still have a better idea about what it entails, and technology will be less arcane magic and more like something that anybody could learn if they had the time and motivation.

zekenie 10y ago
I agree. I'm not sure everyone should be forced to learn for loops, or whatever. I also don't think high schoolers should have to memorize the krebs cycle or the fact that pv=mrt for gas systems. I don't know. I really think young people should be in an environment where they can explore and grow passion for things. I think coding is fuel for that fire. I think its not enough to have CS teachers around. I think people should be exposed. It should be in the ether. You should see it in chemistry. You should talk about genetic programming in biology. I just think HS should be so different from what it is now.