Being literate in this day and age is essential to being able to explore the treasure trove of information that has been made available to us throughout history

Being literate in this day and age is essential to being able to explore the treasure trove of information that has been made available to us throughout history. It's a necessity for modern communication, and a tool that enables access into all kinds of knowledge from virtually EVERY domain. Meanwhile coding IS a way of communication in itself (as is something like math), but it boils down to being a specification for the behavior of an agent. The versatility that it grants you in the job market, or the algorithmic thinking that it cultivates on the day to day just doesn't seem comparable to the advantages of reading. Text is a literal inscription of the languages used to express the entirety of the human experience verbally. Any programming language just can't compete with the value of being able to read general text (the value added just isn't the same).