There have been a ton of initiatives over the past few years which aims to make programming a skill that all kids should learn, or at the very least learn the basics and concepts behind it. US President Obama has been a huge proponent of such programs, and has recently launched a new initiative called Computer Science for All, and pledged $4 billion in funding for it.
In fact during President Obama’s 2016 State of the Union Address, he was quoted as saying, “In the coming years, we should build on that progress, by … offering every student the hands-on computer science and math classes that make them job-ready on day one.” So what is this program about?
The idea is to help expand computer science curriculums that are currently being taught in K-12 schools. This will be done by creating better course materials, partnerships, as well as improving the training of teachers to make them more qualified to impart their knowledge. That being said, as pointed out by Engadget, there are currently many schools that do not have any computer science programs.
There are also many states in which do not recognize the credits that counts towards a high school diploma, but hopefully with the funding and the emphasis placed on making it a necessity, things will start to change, but what say you? Do you believe that coding is a skill similar to English or Maths that all kids should learn?
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