There’s no arguing with the fact that technology is all around us. So many things have microprocessors in them now that it becomes quite challenging to consider existence without them. Knowing how to interact with and efficiently make use of technology is a MUST for our future leaders (not to sound cliche’ or anything). This also means more that just being able to efficiently read as many Facebook posts as possible or how to find the cheapest flights possible to a chosen destination.
You can imagine how happy I was to read a blog post that hinted at the fact that we really need to be teaching every kid how to code (well, it was actually much more than just a hint…). I feel like the following quote really sums up how I feel about this:
I believe that we should be teaching all our kids to code – every single one, to the ultimate benefit of each of them, their lives and whatever jobs they come to do. But first, we need to tackle an overarching problem – “normal people” simply don’t understand what it means to be able to code.
The last sentence really hits the nail on the head. I would argue that people that know how to code recognize the importance of that skill. Its the rest of the population that we really need to convince. The post goes on to make a great point though: its not about learning a particular programming language. Its more about learning to think logically and how to express that logic
Anyhow, Coding for Success was a fantastic read. Check it out….
I completely agree. For me, learning basic programming skills in high school really taught me how to use a computer. It makes you think differently about what “error” messages mean, how to fix a problem, and it even makes you learn how to think in a “step-by-step” way instead of “only end-result”. It amazes me how many schools say they are “preparing [their] students for the future”, and don’t offer ANY computer science classes (my high school tried to convince me that “Photography” was a CS class…).