> While a good understanding of computers will help with almost any job in the future, unless you're going into computing as a career, learning specifically pro

> While a good understanding of computers will help with almost any job in the future, unless you're going into computing as a career, learning specifically programming will be absolutely no help. [...] how much better do you think they would be able to do their job if they knew how to program? Education is -- or should be -- about drawing out a learner's latent talents so they can achieve their full potential. It shouldn't merely be a narrow, Gradgrindian, process aimed solely at turning someone into an obedient wage-slave for corporations. I think learning programming can help someone achieve their full potential in three ways: 1. programming forces someone to think very clearly and logically about a problem. This is a very useful skill, even if you never write code ever again. 2. introducing someone to programming helps them to understand computers. We are rapidly becoming a society where computers are ubiquitous, so thins will be important to them throughout their lives -- as an individual using technology, as a citizen, as a voter, as a parent, and yes, as an employee. 3. an introduction to programming will inspire some people to take it further, as a career or as a hobby.