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Jeff Atwood: Learning to code is overrated

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Re: Jeff Atwood: Learning to code is overrated

#11

"If someone tells you “coding is the new literacy” because “computers are everywhere today,” ask them how fuel injection works. By teaching low-level coding, I worry that we are effectively teaching our children the art of automobile repair." I think this article misses the point that "fuel injection" and other vocational skills are nowhere near as prolific and impactful as code on daily life.

Electric wiring is a vocation that is far more important than coding and yet society isn't constantly encouraging everyone to be an electrician.

Every single person at my office regularly run into problems where they could save a bunch of time if they felt comfortable with automating things by writing a short script or two. The same is not true for electric wiring.

We shouldn't encourage everybody to become programmers, just like we shouldn't encourage everybody to become authors. We should encourage everybody to learn how to program, just like we encourage everybody to learn how to write well.

Re: Jeff Atwood: Learning to code is overrated

#12
Whew. Title made me disagree. Then I read "There’s nothing wrong with basic exposure to computer science. But it should not come at the expense of fundamental skills such as reading, writing and mathematics" and "We shouldn’t be teaching kids “computer science.” Instead, we should provide them plenty of structured opportunities to play with hardware and software. "

Agreed. Coding is a means to an end. Although I must say, 'coding' in Scratch is very helpful for my kids to better understand logic flow in their minds and think in a structured manner. It's means to an end of building something. At the end of the day, I still want them to get outside and experience the world rather that sitting in front of a computer all day. Moderation is key here.

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