Coding is becoming a big thing right now, particularly as an educational tool. Some schools are promoting programming and computer science classes, even a full curriculum that lasts through the entirety of education. And then there are the commercial and political movements such as Code.org and the Hour of Code. It seems that everyone wants children to learn something about computers, beyond just how to use them.
On the other side of the debate are the detractors of the “learn to code” push, who argue that it’s a boondoggle at best. Not everybody can learn how to code, they argue, nor should they. We’re past the point where anyone who wants to use a computer must learn to program it, too.
Both camps have a point, and I can see some merit in either side of the debate. I was one of a lucky few that did have the chance to learn about programming early in school, so I can speak from experience in a way that most others cannot. So here are my thoughts on the matter.
The beauty of the machine
Programming, in my opinion, is an exercise that brings together a number of disparate elements. You need math, obviously, because computer science—the basis for programming—is all math. You also need logic and reason, talents that are in increasingly short supply among our youth. But computer programming is more than these. It’s math, it’s reasoning, it’s problem solving. But it’s also art. Some problems have more than one solution, and some of those are more elegant than others.
At first glance, it seems unreasonable to try to teach coding to children before its prerequisites. True, there are kid-friendly programming environments, like MIT’s Scratch. But these can only take you so far. I started learning BASIC in 3rd grade, at the age of 8, but that was little more than copying snippets of code out of a book and running them, maybe changing a few variables here and there for different effects. And I won’t pretend that that was anywhere near the norm, or that I was. (Incidentally, I was the only one that complained when the teacher—this was a gifted class, so we had the same teacher each year—took programming out of the curriculum.)
My point is, kids need a firm grasp of at least some math before they can hope to understand the intricacies of code. Arithmetic and some concept of algebra are the bare minimum. General computer skills (typing, “computer literacy”, that sort of thing) are also a must. And I’d want some sort of introduction to critical thinking, too, but that should be a mandatory part of schooling, anyway.
I don’t think that very young students (kindergarten through 2nd grade) should be fooling around with anything more than a simple interface to code like Scratch. (Unless they show promise or actively seek the challenge, that is. I’m firmly in favor of more educational freedom.) Actually writing code requires, well, writing. And any sort of abstraction—assembly on a fictitious processor or something like that—probably should wait until middle school.
Nor do I think that coding should be a fixed part of the curriculum. Again, I must agree somewhat with the learn-to-code detractors. Not everyone is going to take to programming, and we shouldn’t force them to. It certainly doesn’t need to be a required course for advancement. The prerequisites of math, critical thinking, writing, etc., however, do need to be taught to—and understood by—every student. Learning to code isn’t the ultimate goal, in my mind. It’s a nice destination, but we need to focus on the journey. We should be striving to make kids smarter, more well-rounded, more rational.
Broad strokes
So, if I had my way, what would I do? That’s hard to say. These posts don’t exactly have a lot of thought put in them. But I’ll give it a shot. This will just be a few ideas, nothing like an integrated, coherent plan. Also, for those outside the US, this is geared towards the American educational system. I’ll leave it to you to convert it to something more familiar.
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Early years (K-2): The first years of school don’t need coding, per se. Here, we should be teaching the fundamentals of math, writing, science, computer use, typing, and so on. Add in a bit of an introduction to electronics (nothing too detailed, but enough to plant the seed of interest). Near the end, we can introduce the idea of programming, the notion that computers and other digital devices are not black boxes, but machines that we can control.
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Late elementary (3-5): Starting in 3rd grade (about age 8-9), we can begin actual coding, probably starting with Scratch or something similar. But don’t neglect the other subjects. Use simple games as the main programming projects—kids like games—but also teach how programs can solve problems. And don’t punish students that figure out how to get the computer to do their math homework.
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Middle school (6-8): Here, as students begin to learn algebra and geometry (in my imaginary educational system, this starts earlier, too), programming can move from the graphical, point-and-click environments to something involving actual code. Python, JavaScript, and C# are some of the better bets, in my opinion. Games should still be an important hook, but more real-world applications can creep in. You can even throw in an introduction to robotics. This is the point where we can introduce programming as a discipline. Computer science then naturally follows, but at a slower pace. Also, design needs to be incorporated sometime around here.
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High school (9-12): High school should be the culmination of the coding curriculum. The graphical environments are gone, but the games remain. With the higher math taught in these grades, 3D can become an important part of the subject. Computer science also needs to be a major focus, with programming paradigms (object-oriented, functional, and so on) and patterns (Visitor, Factory, etc.) coming into their own. Also, we can begin to teach students more about hardware, robotics, program design, and other aspects beyond just code.
We can’t do it alone
Besides educators, the private sector needs to do its part if ubiquitous programming knowledge is going to be the future. There’s simply no point to teaching everyone how to code if they’ll never be able to use such a skill. Open source code, open hardware, free or low-cost tools, all these are vital to this effort. But the computing world is moving away from all of them. Apple’s iOS costs hundreds of dollars just to start developing. Android is cheaper, but the wide variety of devices means either expensive testing or compromises. Even desktop platforms are moving towards the walled garden.
This platform lockdown is incompatible with the idea of coding as a school subject. After all, what’s the point? Why would I want to learn to code, if the only way I could use that knowledge is by getting a job for a corporation that can afford it? Every other part of education has some reflection in the real world. If we want programming to join that small, elite group, then we must make sure it has a place.