When my son was 10, he started downloading Java script code to teach himself how to write and mod it. This was adorable. But being his mother, I thought I could help him find an easier way. I tried to find someone in his school who could help him with this and was met with blank looks and even anger. It was frustrating. This is a basic skill in a world that’s driven by technology. But no one in the entire education community he was a part of even had it on their to-do list. (He’s in high school now and it still isn’t offered.) I went online, got him some books, and downloaded some games that teach. He managed. But this should not be this hard. This should be taught in schools. But 90 percent of schools don’t teach computer science. Since this is Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek), I’m posting this video from Code.org. There is a petition. Please sign it. And think about joining the Hour of Code.
3 thoughts on “Why Don’t Schools Teach Coding?”
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I suspect the #1 reason programming is still not taught much in schools is because schools can’t even begin to match the sort of salary a mid-level computer science major can expect to earn in the non-educational workforce. I know several people at the office I work who would like to get more involved in education of children in programming, but they make $150k/yr, can expect 5% raises over the next 10 yrs, and aren’t at all interested in giving that up (yet).
A couple people do a little spot work on the side now and again but, typically, mostly focus on higher ed. or seminars for already-employed engineers (interns and such). This is likely because teaching kids requires actual special training, while teaching adults is usually a simple matter of jotting your own knowledge down is somewhat haphazard form and letting them do the hard work of comprehending it.
I totally agree kids should be taught coding. I taught special children in the late 80’s and made my students computer monitors to assist teachers and students when they had problems load disks and starting programs in the class room. Each student was assigned to a class. It did wonders for the student’s self worth to have others look to them for help. This is the way of the future and it is never too early to start.
Hi, I did the “Hour of Code” and it was too much fun. It was just like playing Angry Bird games, and I learned a lot. I’m 60 years old, it’s never too old to learn to code!