Should everyone young person learn how to code? As technology becomes more integrated in our lives and with more jobs and industries relying on technology more than ever, the answer might be a “yes” for some. Over in Chicago, the city’s mayor Rahm Emanuel seems to think so as well.
According to a report from The Hill, Emanuel expressed his opinion that every high school graduate should know how to code, to the extent that he thinks such classes should be made a requirement in schools. Emanuel was quoted as saying, “Just make it a requirement. I am fine with Common Core. We adopted it in the city, one of the first cities to do it. I’m great. [But] you need this skill — national policy. Make it a high-school graduation requirement.”
Emanuel has been a huge proponent of making coding a requirement in schools. Ever since becoming mayor in 2011, he has made several steps towards that goal and by 2018, computer science is expected to become a requirement in high school graduations, at least as far as Chicago is concerned.
He even thinks that computer science could be used to count towards math, science, or even a foreign language credit. Emanuel is not alone in his crusade. Over in Arkansas, high schools are now required to offer coding classes. Even President Obama thinks that teaching kids to code in high school is a great idea.
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