Ask HN: Long term effect of British children being taught programming?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3461294

by tomx • 15 years ago

6 3 15 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

The UK government are introducing programming lessons into British schools: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-16509298

Does anyone have any opinions on how this may affect the programming landscape of the UK in the future (say, 5-10 years from now)?

I thought it might be interesting to consider how such a scheme may change code quality, employment prospects, programming language prevalence, the number of programmers and so on.

LarryMade• 15 years ago

Well in the 80s many of us got an introduction to programming with BASIC/PASCAL/Logo/etc. many didn't do anything with it, though there are a good number that can attest that that education put them in the tech industry.

So I think like most other school vocational classes, it gives the students exposure to the concept, which might let them pursue a career or not - or at the very least be understanding about the technology and/or process..

chris_dcosta• 15 years ago

That's probably because we all wanted to be pop-stars in the 80s. I did anyway...

Today you only have to look at Youtube to see 12 year old kids doing professional level programming presentations to know that programmers are the new pop-stars. They spend ages in their bedrooms practicing their programming and showing the world through screencasts.

The vast majority of these have american accents and whilst it's difficult to know where anyone is from a film, I'm guessing the UK lags behind somewhat but this decision is a very timely one.

ayers• 15 years ago

I don't really think that programming is something that ever kid needs to learn. IT fundamentals certainly, but I am not sure programming is something that is a necessity in life. If it is just an optional subject then that is different.

I was going to say that years down the line it might impact on the ability to get programming jobs as everyone will "know" how to programme. Upon reflection I don't think this will be the case though. People need to enjoy a subject to choose it as their vocation. Being taught something at school doesn’t equate to people wanting to make it their profession. Compulsory (if it is) exposure to programming at school at such an early age might captivate people whom might not be exposed to it otherwise. So the number of programmers might increase slightly but I doubt the numbers would be noticeable in the job market.

As for quality; it will only be as good as the teaching resources that are put together. At the moment the quality of different teaching institutes vary so much. I don't think it will have a noticeable impact on the overall quality of new programmers. I could be wrong though :)

Ask HN: Long term effect of British children being taught programming?

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