Programming Is Not for the General Mass.
Feb 13, 2014
Many websites are promoting learning to code/program a computer and strangely several politicians have said they will learn it and encourage the public to learn it as well.
Coding/programming is not for the general public just like diagnosing an illness or defending a case in the court or fixing a car engine. Just because we use computers and the internet a lot does not mean we need to learn how computer programs are made. Learning to avoid computer virus, theft or misuse of their data is for the general public but not coding.
http://politicalscrapbook.net/2014/02/tory-boss-of-government-coding-education-initiative-cant-code-lottie-dexter/
Above links to an article about the Director of UK government's "Year of Code" initiative. She does not know how to code herself, she says things like "code is an international language", "I think you can pick it up in a day" to show her ignorance.
Politicians or politically connected getting a job they know nothing about is old news but this topic is close to me so wanted to share my thoughts.
Will I teach my kids how to code/program computer? Maybe. If they have an interest and if it is part of their school curriculum but not because they need it or they will get a good job or make a lot of money.
What I would force them to learn? cooking, swimming, doing nothing and being bored ;-)