"Everybody should learn to program a computer, because it teaches you how to think," said Steve Jobs in 1995.
Well, he was in the computer business and he wanted to sell his Macs after all.
Yes, you techy geeks will remind me he was at the helm of NeXT at the time, but he was already planning to move back to Apple. And incidentally, NeXT was all about using OOP as the basis for OSes, and went on to become the mainstay of Mac OS.
So now that we have that out of the way, the real question is: should we make our children take coding classes in their early years while they're still learning how to sharpen their pencils or pedal a bike?
Maybe. But not for the reasons that Steve Jobs or present-day online coding class peddlers would have you believe.
While the internet is awash with mommy bloggers writing articles like "X Reasons Why Learning to Code Will Turn Your Dumbass Child into a Genius" for a few dollars of affiliate income, let me help you revisit the much-debated question – in my "expert with experience" capacity as an early education specialist, computer science engineering graduate, blogger, and most important of all, mommy.
First, some myths propagated online about why kids should learn programming along with walking.
Myth: Coding Fosters Creativity
Really? Like, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison and Walt Disney were all a bit slow in the head, weren't they, because they didn't have a Commodore 64 in their basements? While we won't get into the genetics vs. environment argument here, creativity in humans existed well before coding was a thing. In fact, all software is a direct result of human creativity.
In fact, programming practices "box" kids' thinking into "modules" and limits their capabilities to functions and libraries available within the programming stack; it constricts their thinking into logic-bound steps. Papers, pencils, balloons, slime and some cool outdoor activities can do far more to cultivate creativity in young children than coding.
Myth: Coding Improves Communication Skills
Yeah. Like, developers are the most articulate, understanding and empathetic people ever. If you're a developer (or a project manager), I know you're laughing out loud right now. Hey, devs don't even comment their code for other devs. You think they care two hoots about communication and collaboration? The only time they're good at communicating is when they're writing assembly.
"I'll commit the requested changes by EOD," said no eight-year-old.
Myth: Coding Boosts Academic Performance
Many parents and teachers seem to think learning to code will help kids learn math faster. It's actually the other way round. Arithmetic and algebra form the basis of algorithms, coding and logical thinking itself, so make sure kids get their addition, multiplication, fractions and equations right before they try defining a variable.
Others say like learning to code is like learning a new language. Excuse me? By conforming to syntax and using constructs like if, else and endif? What's your everyday equivalent of ENDIF? And of course, parentheses, curly braces, spaces and tabs have a special place in the grammar of programming languages.
And oh, a special word for those of you who claim the future will be full of coding jobs! How much of the things you learned in school, college or university do you still use today at work? That medieval history class you took in 8th grade is helping you develop a new COVID vaccine, isn't it? In the same way, Python and Swift will be obsolete and long gone by the time your kids grow up.
By now, you're wondering if there are any reasons at all why kids should even go near a laptop, aren't you? Of course, there are! I wrote an article about it on my own blog –
The Complete Guide to Coding for Kids
Now, before your shock turns to anger and you dismiss me as a hypocrite, I want to walk you through some real reasons how kids can gain a life skill or two by tinkering with computer software.
Truth: Coding is Integral to Modern, STEM-Based Education
STEM education isn't just about science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It is a whole new approach to learning that overcomes the limits of traditional schooling. STEM is an integrated and student-centric approach to discovery of facts, integrated study of various subjects, application of knowledge and learning by doing. The premise and process of coding are closely aligned with this new and intuitive method of learning.
Which is why Andreas Schleicher, Director of Education and Skills at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), denounced teaching kids to code as "a waste of time" at the World Innovation Summit for Education in Paris. In the same breath, he emphasized that teaching kids computational thinking – or how computers solve problems – is the way to go. Which brings us to…
Truth: Coding Aids Problem Solving Skills
Computational thinking is basically solving large problems by breaking them down into smaller, more manageable problems, and solving those first. This is what today's information-overloaded kids need to learn while a million things are vying for their attention at any given time. Coding helps kids develop patience and persistence, look for alternative solutions in different places, and ask for help when necessary (OK, Google).
Moreover, coding boosts kids' critical thinking abilities – if you're the kind of parent who'd like them to know how the TV, fridge or even grandpa's piano works, you certainly want them to tinker with the software that's likely to power every appliance we use in the future. That's far more practically relevant and useful than knowing the names of all the rivers in your country or memorizing the events that led to peasants and nobles killing each other in strange, foreign lands.
Truth: Coding is Fun
"What will make kids successful in this tech-driven world is whether they can think – creatively, innovatively, and expansively – and that is accomplished through free, unstructured play," says Jim Taylor, PhD, author of Raising Generation Tech: Preparing Your Child for a Media-Fueled World.
While time spent coding is an opportunity cost for interacting with other kids, gardening, reading or telling silly jokes, children can learn the concepts of coding without even a computer, as I explain in my ultimate guide to coding for kids. Because hey, which kid doesn't like playing racing games on dad's smartphone, emptying out muffin trays, drawing three little pigs in their mathematics notebook or walking blindfolded through bubble wrap?
Top comments (2)
Let's start with the fact that your child does not have to do anything, and if he wants to, then let him try to code. If he is not interested in it, I think that forcing him to do it is stupid and wrong. Although I have read your post and agree with many things, I'd say you still need to start with the fact that coding, as an activity, is useful for the human brain. For example, when the pandemic began, I decided to become the guardian of several children, and each of them liked different things. One of them likes to play the guitar, another one watches YouTube videos about science experiments, and yet another one is interested in programming.
I think so. We develop children and their worldview. In the era of neural networks, it is very important to develop new skills for a child. There are a bunch of useful sites that do these functions. I can recommend wunderkiddy. A great site for entertainment and skill development. For example, we played this game with a child (tulip craft) wunderkiddy.com/template/tulip