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I’m a Developer. I Won’t Teach My Kids to Code, and Neither Should You (2018)

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Re: I’m a Developer. I Won’t Teach My Kids to Code, and Neither Should You (2018)

#21

Post by spacephysics »

Nursie wrote: post #7

I would, were I going to have kids. "while these products may teach kids specific coding languages, they actually have very little to do with the work of creating software." Yes, and learning to read has little to do with the dramatic structures of high literature, but without the one you're going to struggle to express the other. This article comes across as attention-seeking contrarianism.

That’s a good point. It also shows that those who are worried about everyone learning to code, and our job market subsequently becoming saturated, is rather a needless worry.

Sure some saturation will occur, but furthering your point, just because most can read and write doesn’t mean they’ll all become professional writers.

Re: I’m a Developer. I Won’t Teach My Kids to Code, and Neither Should You (2018)

#22

Post by Stratoscope »

> One day, my son was concerned that a chair of his was wobbly. We looked at it and he helped me isolate the problem: One of the screws was loose. I found one of our many leftover hex wrenches and showed him how to screw it back in. After that, he was curious what would happen if he screwed the other way, which he did until the screw came out. We ended up taking the chair all the way apart and putting it back together a couple of times, often mismatching pieces, before he was satisfied the job was finished. Try something. See how it works. Try again.

My dad and I did this too! Not the chair, but things like it.

One time he gave me a sock full of shaver parts and said "I took my shaver apart and can't figure out how to put it back together. Can you see what you can do with all these parts?" It took a lot of experimenting and trial and error, but I managed to get a working shaver put together.

TVs had tubes in those days (not just the picture tube, but a couple dozen tubes in the circuit). As the tubes burned out, the TV would "go on the fritz". So I got to pull all the tubes out, and we drove down to the corner grocery where I plugged them into the tube tester, set the dials and checked the meter readings to find the bad one. We went home with the replacement, put the tubes back in, and the TV worked again! For a while.

Mom liked to sew, so I got to be the sewing machine repairman, cleaning and oiling, untangling and threading the bobbin.

Then I went to kindergarten where I had fun pranking the other kids and the teacher. For show and tell I brought a big fat electrolytic capacitor that I'd charged up at home, and a screwdriver. I told them what capacitors were and how dangerous they could be unless they were discharged. Then I "accidentally" touched the two terminals, one with each hand, and pretended I was getting electrocuted.

I somehow managed to break free, and then shorted the screwdriver across the terminals with a big spark and a loud and scary pop. I put my hands on the terminals again, smiled, and said, "It's discharged. It's safe now. You can try it." And a few brave ones did.

What I didn't tell them was I'd only charged it up to six volts!

Re: I’m a Developer. I Won’t Teach My Kids to Code, and Neither Should You (2018)

#23

Post by tartoran »

4636760295 wrote: post #9

While I have no interest in breeding, if I did have kids I would let them choose their own interests rather than forcing mine onto them.

You’re right, they should find their own interests. However, kids are preyed upon and lots of trivial things are competing for their attention. As a parent you might help then decide when they can’t. Also as a parent one might expose them to different things and build projects together and programming may be one of those. Others may be musical instruments, books, math, sports and other things that put them on a good path. But yes, forcing ones kids to program is not likely to be fruitful.

Re: I’m a Developer. I Won’t Teach My Kids to Code, and Neither Should You (2018)

#24

Post by BiteCode_dev »

pydry wrote: post #20
BiteCode_dev wrote: post #11

My brother asked me when and how I though I could teach my baby niece so that she could make "a lot of money as a developper". My answer was "when she asks for it". There are many things a kid should learn, and among them, a huge number are more important than programming (plus sometimes a pre-requisite for it): - reading - writing - basic maths - critical analysis - building your own idea - defending yourself verbal…

my nephews asked for it. it was Minecraft that got them into it. unfortunately that also meant that they wanted to learn Java, so they will probably be put off for life.

I always believed that minecraft had a plugin system allowing the use of many programming language. Did MS remove that when buying it?

Re: I’m a Developer. I Won’t Teach My Kids to Code, and Neither Should You (2018)

#25

Post by jkhdigital »

BiteCode_dev wrote: post #11

My brother asked me when and how I though I could teach my baby niece so that she could make "a lot of money as a developper". My answer was "when she asks for it". There are many things a kid should learn, and among them, a huge number are more important than programming (plus sometimes a pre-requisite for it): - reading - writing - basic maths - critical analysis - building your own idea - defending yourself verbal…

> when she asks for it

Or, better yet, when she seeks it out on her own. But yeah, I agree 100% with the spirit of this comment.

Re: I’m a Developer. I Won’t Teach My Kids to Code, and Neither Should You (2018)

#26

Post by Nursie »

BiteCode_dev wrote: post #11

My brother asked me when and how I though I could teach my baby niece so that she could make "a lot of money as a developper". My answer was "when she asks for it". There are many things a kid should learn, and among them, a huge number are more important than programming (plus sometimes a pre-requisite for it): - reading - writing - basic maths - critical analysis - building your own idea - defending yourself verbal…

I think programming should enter a kids learning environment around the same time and priority as a second language.

How would someone know whether to consider it, if not exposed to it at all?

Most people in the English-speaking western world won't make a vast amount of use of that second language. Some will though, and the rest of us will appreciate that the training we did get helps us see things from a different perspective and maybe lets us interact a little easier on vacation. Most won't use their Chemistry or Physics education in day to day life, but it will help them understand the world better.

As our world becomes dominated by software, training in it becomes similar - even those who aren't going to go all in and follow a career in it, can conceivably benefit from some training.

Re: I’m a Developer. I Won’t Teach My Kids to Code, and Neither Should You (2018)

#27

Post by 4636760295 »

tartoran wrote: post #23
4636760295 wrote: post #9

While I have no interest in breeding, if I did have kids I would let them choose their own interests rather than forcing mine onto them.

You’re right, they should find their own interests. However, kids are preyed upon and lots of trivial things are competing for their attention. As a parent you might help then decide when they can’t. Also as a parent one might expose them to different things and build projects together and programming may be one of those. Others may be musical instruments, books, math, sports and other things that put them on a good…

Kids need to learn things themselves and walk their own path. Sure you can guide them away from bad things, but there is too much hand holding and coddling of young people these days. One example is lining playgrounds with rubberized material, resulting in an increase in injuries. Another example is keeping kids away from peanuts which causes an increase in peanut allergies.

Re: I’m a Developer. I Won’t Teach My Kids to Code, and Neither Should You (2018)

#28

Post by jkhdigital »

pydry wrote: post #20
BiteCode_dev wrote: post #11

My brother asked me when and how I though I could teach my baby niece so that she could make "a lot of money as a developper". My answer was "when she asks for it". There are many things a kid should learn, and among them, a huge number are more important than programming (plus sometimes a pre-requisite for it): - reading - writing - basic maths - critical analysis - building your own idea - defending yourself verbal…

my nephews asked for it. it was Minecraft that got them into it. unfortunately that also meant that they wanted to learn Java, so they will probably be put off for life.

Yep, same with my son. Minecraft just might be the most singularly influential phenomenon in an entire generation of budding software engineers.

My son, who is not yet 6, will watch YouTube videos about creating something in Minecraft and then build it almost exactly to spec later, not while watching the video. This includes some redstone contraptions. It’s pretty mind-blowing to watch him.

Re: I’m a Developer. I Won’t Teach My Kids to Code, and Neither Should You (2018)

#29

Post by BiteCode_dev »

jkhdigital wrote: post #25
BiteCode_dev wrote: post #11

My brother asked me when and how I though I could teach my baby niece so that she could make "a lot of money as a developper". My answer was "when she asks for it". There are many things a kid should learn, and among them, a huge number are more important than programming (plus sometimes a pre-requisite for it): - reading - writing - basic maths - critical analysis - building your own idea - defending yourself verbal…

> when she asks for it Or, better yet, when she seeks it out on her own. But yeah, I agree 100% with the spirit of this comment.

Of course. Notice interest, whatever the clue is, and be part of the process.

Re: I’m a Developer. I Won’t Teach My Kids to Code, and Neither Should You (2018)

#30

Post by tartoran »

scarface74 wrote: post #13
onion2k wrote: post #6

The article is spot on. Teaching kids to code so they learn skills like problem solving and dealing with ambiguity is a good reason to teach them. Teaching them to code because tech jobs pay well today is a lot less likely to be useful in 20 years when they're entering a job market that's very different to what we have right now.

I’ve been in the job market since 1996. While it didn’t pay the astronomical salaries that it does now, it consistently has paid a nice wage. What trends do you see that would lessen the need for software development in the next 20 years?

I see a trend thats pushing away older experienced programmers just to replace them with young ones.
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