Coding is the modern equivalent of playing the recorder ...

Over the past few years, the private sector, various non-profits, and educational organizations of all sizes have been responsible for sensitizing us to how the US lags behind other countries from a technology education standpoint, and, how exposing more children to programming will right this ship. Now, President Obama has stepped up with an even larger commitment -- $4Billion over five years -- directed at increasing computer science access in classrooms. These initiatives are often distilled down to "everyone should learn to code."

As a career technologist, a parent, and, an educator, I find it difficult to sort through all the arguments, new "educational" programs and toys, advice, theory, and reality. Some will have a lasting benefit, some will not -- only time will tell what difference this all makes in the future success of our children and the country. Therefore, I think it's best to focus on putting this "movement" into perspective and using that to shape our directions and investments. 

At a time when arts and music programs -- even learning to write in cursive -- are disappearing from our schools, computer science appears to be trying to take their places. In the past, where we may have all learned to play the recorder as our introduction to music -- somehow I was spared from that -- now, children are experiencing "an hour of code" as their introduction to computer science. There's no reason to expect that everyone will become a programmer based on this activity, in the same way, that not every recorder player eventually became a musician. So what's the value of this exercise?

Computer science is misnamed. The hardware engineering side of it is a science, the software engineering side of it is more of an art. I've always found a high correlation between those who love to code and those who love to create music or paint or pursue other artistic activities. Coding is a problem solving and discovery process and a very personal one, and therein lies the benefit. All children can benefit as this activity broadens their knowledge and hopefully intensifies their curiosity, but don't expect this to be the chosen career path for all.  So is there a downside?

There is a downside if these investments shift too many resources away from other equally valuable programs. However successful, I don't expect we'll see a glut of coders in the next decade as not everyone will be drawn to this profession -- a bigger concern is that if the money is not invested wisely, these initiatives may serve to ignite desires that children in underserved areas find hard to fulfill. If the money is well spent on raising the technology bar for the US education system by ensuring broadband internet access, adequate computing facilities, and the availability of skilled/dedicated teachers and mentors, then we've taken a strong step forward. If misspent, we may raise a generation that misses out on enrichment opportunities that bring variety, enjoyment, and skills to their lives and ours.

Now, all us parents need to do is figure out how to keep up with the kids.

For a different, yet similar, perspective, read Jeff Atwood's Sept 27, 2015 Daily News article.