Why -Not- Teach Programming at School

Those of us who believe in teaching programming at school level are often asked to give a rationale for it. This is especially the case in Girls' schools where elective courses in programming have a hard time getting the necessary numbers. The following is not a list of reasons to teach programming. Rather, it is an argument for starting the discussion with the question: "why not teach programming?"

A student who can program is able to:
  1. Design and bring a dream to reality. Computers make it possible to turn vision into reality. Making this happen on the screen requires no special equipment.
  2. Build interactive content. This takes students from consuming content to producing their own. We value this with the written word, why not do the same with on-screen content? Click here for more on interactive literacy.
  3. Understand how a computer works. "You don't need to know how a car works to drive it." True, but understanding how the car works has its own advantages.
  4. Participate in the future of ICT. Many students I speak to have no concept of what it takes to make an App for their iPod Touch. Being able to make one themselves empowers them to make things that others can use. They can evolve with the technology rather than simply be dazzled by it.
A friend recently told me that programming was not an expected skill. After all, it was not something that everyone did. This is true. The question is: Do we want our students to play catch up to what everyone does or do we want them empowered to go beyond that?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Baalbek (City of the Sun)

We have just returned from a day in Baalbek. Internet access is down, so I am writing this to debrief myself. I have always wanted to go to Baalbek as it is an iconic place in Lebanon. I didn't know much about what was there, except for the fact that I would find a well preserved Roman temple. It was a very Lebanese experience! The army had come in and shut down the whole place in preparation for a visit to the Baalbek festival by the President, the Prime Minister and several other dignitaries. We found ourselves pleading our case with those in charge. We then gained the concession of being allowed to join a group of French tourists who were being looked after by a well-connected guide. The guide was very knowledgeable. He conducted the tour entirely in French. The temples I learned that the first temple was built by the Phoenecians. It was dedicated to Baal. Bek came from the name of the location, the Bekaa valley. The Romans then transformed it into the largest temple dedicated t
Read more

Book Review: The Math(s) Fix - Part 1 of 2

Image
The Math(s) Fix is Conrad Wolfram's case for teaching mathematics with the assumption that computers exist! To be clear from the beginning, Wolfram is not advocating that we solve the same problems but with a greater reliance on computers and calculators. He wants us to recognise that computers have revolutionised the discipline of mathematics and that we need to reflect this change in our curricula. In the following lines, I will present a summary of Wolfram's thesis, as I understand it. My aim is to give you enough of an idea so you can decide whether you want to read the book for yourself. This part will concentrate on the case that the book builds for a radical change of the maths curriculum. Part 2 will explain the alternative in more detail.
Read more