Should programming be a required curriculum in public schools?
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Wouldn't work (Score:5, Insightful)
I remember reading something a while back about how certain people's brains are just more geared towards programming and that other people simply won't really "get" it no matter how much you try to force it into their head. There should definitely be more programming classes available to those who want them, but if you're going to force the less tech-oriented students to take a tech class, it should be something that either teaches them general computer usage or helps them use computers in education.
That's another issue with how computers are used in education: you have to strike the perfect balance between "using teaching time and resources to teach technology" and "using technology to educate". Getting the wrong mix ends up screwing both aspects over since you end up with technology being forced into places it doesn't belong, or you end up with students who only know how to use a computer to do their homework.
Problem Solving (Score:5, Insightful)
No, but make it available as an option everywhere (Score:4, Insightful)
Obvious missing option -- ELECTIVES! (Score:5, Insightful)
[x] No, it should be elective.
Remember electives? Typing was elective when I went to HS. I took it specifically because I figured it would be useful for computing. Home ec, auto shop, languages, etc. All elective. IIRC, you were required to take at least one elective to broaden your horizons; but the choice was yours. I'm pretty sure my HS computer class (with 8-bit NECs!) was elective because there just weren't enough resources to make it required. That made for a teacher and students who were both motivated. The teacher was a consultant who only taught for that one hour. I wonder what he's up to these days.
Re:Problem Solving (Score:5, Insightful)
I think problem solving and logic are much more important than coding itself. Lots of kids have no interest in coding and it will just be another class they struggle in. Teach them how to solve a problem logically and they can apply it to lots of things in life. Coding can be used as examples to show how the logic flows through the process from beginning to end, but to try and force a bunch of kids to learn how to code variables, If Then statements, recursive loops, I'd be banging my head against a wall as a teacher.
"Ah, but teaching them coding is a vehicle for teaching them logical problem solving," said the ex-math teacher in rebuttal. I used to use the same rationale for explaining to students why they needed the logical problem solving abilities they were learning in my math classes as much (if not more) than they needed the actual math techniques. I don't know how you would teach "logical problem solving" without some vehicle like math, programming, etc.
Cheers,
Dave
Re:Wouldn't work (Score:5, Insightful)
"My teenage brain wasn't wired for going home and learning things I spent all day learning."
No teenage brain is. That is why parents also have to instill a reasonable work ethic and show them algorithms for reaching goals. If we all just passed stuff off that we weren't naturally good at as not being worth it we would be inadequately prepared for life.
I was not and am not naturally inclined towards math, but in my adulthood I went back to school, spent hours a day at it and had tutors and I finally got through basic calculus and even a little linear algebra. It was hard. And it was worth it.
Re:Wouldn't work (Score:5, Insightful)
It's not about having a predisposition towards programming. Plenty of people aren't predisposed to math, science, english, etc, but they still have to take these courses.
Just because you take a few classes that help you to understand logic and how computers work doesn't mean you have to be a computer scientist.
Re:Obvious missing option -- ELECTIVES! (Score:4, Insightful)
I would argue that food prep should be a required class. When I was in school, everyone was required to take cooking, sewing, and wood and metal shop. Cooking is, or ought to be, a daily activity for most people; they certainly shouldn't count on a lifestyle that has somebody else preparing all their meals. A cooking class with a good emphasis on nutrition could do a lot to reduce widespread obesity.
Re:Please no more required subjects (Score:3, Insightful)
Anyone who can learn how to read and write, and is capable of following a recipe for baking a cake, is capable of learning how to understand and write a simple program.
Have you ever tried it? Have you ever tried to teach people programming? I do it for ten years and according to my observastions there are some people (about 75% of population) who will never be able to program.
I'm convinced you'll observe the same if you try to teach a class Chinese, yet in China, everyone manages to learn it just fine. Start early and practice every day works for almost any skill.
Re:Wouldn't work (Score:0, Insightful)
I can basically trace all my problems in this regard to my parents tendency to praise me for being smart...
Man, that is the dumbest thing I've ever read.
So much to say on this topic (Score:4, Insightful)
What are mandatory STEM subject that nearly everyone else thinks are useless? math, chemistry & physics
Now that we are adults (many of us are now parents also) we can see that this all of it was important and we should have applied ourselves better in high school. We can say "all kids need to learn computing theory, programming etc. because it is important" all we want; but, look how it was when we were young. Ultimately, the lessons I take away as far as educating our kids:
1. We need to pay & respect teachers better to get better results in public education
2. For key STEM subjects, you must find a way to make it relevant to the student TODAY.
3. Parents must work everyday to keep their kids motivated to learn.
4. Bottom line: kids need discipline and fun in their lives in equal measure. Don't beat it into them, motivate them & let them WANT to do it.