Should Kids Learn to Code?

My father was a computer programmer for a long time.  Throughout my childhood that’s what he did.  But I didn’t try my hand at coding until last semester.  I took the intro to programming course for my major, and found that I was pretty good at it.

Every video we watched or article we read hammered home the point of the need to teach coding in elementary schools.  Reasons given ranged from improvement in other subjects such as math or languages, to preparation for jobs in tomorrows technologically advanced.  It almost sounded like an old “here is the world of tomorrow,” advertisement.

I think that teaching coding to young students, in one form or another, would have some valuable benefits.  Coding is in essence a language, and because at younger ages the language center of the brain is still open, the lessons may be more easily received.  The languages used to code are based in mathematics and logic.  So an understanding in coding will lead to better understanding of math as well as an improved ability to think and reason logically.

What the videos and articles didn’t touch on, that I feel is important, is how learning coding can make a person a better teacher.  One thing my father always told me about coding, “The computer can’t think.  It will only do what you tell it to do.”  You need to learn how to explain how to do a job to a creature that can’t think for itself.  This requires logic, problem solving, and patience.  Much like teaching.

Learning to code has value, although it may be difficult to see until you have tried it yourself. “Coding is great and all, but the necessity of it still doesn’t seem that relevant to me.” – Andrew.

Education Needs A Digital Upgrade

In her article, Ms. Heffernan argues the point that not only do we need to do more to incorporate modern technology in our education system, but also we need to restructure how we teach students.  Ms. Heffernan believes that a return to more archaic system of education, retooled for the digital age, would better prepare students for jobs that don’t even exist yet.  To support her ideas, she largely cites a book called “Now You See It” written by Cathy Davidson.  Unfortunately, her lack of multiple sources results in this op-ed piece sounding much like a plug for Ms. Davidsons book by the end.

            I tend to agree that incorporating technology into our educational system is important and to instruct students on how to use outside sources to supplement the information in the classroom.