Should I send my high schooler to a coding academy?
My child is more humanities-oriented, but lately—maybe because of AI—they’ve been saying they want to learn coding. Looking around, though, everyone seems to send their kids to Python academies first. I’m wondering whether Python is really the answer, or whether it would be better to focus on learning that builds logical thinking instead.
7 answers
Agreed—Python is just a tool.
Python isn’t really the answer so much as a solid, low-friction choice for beginners. If you’re more humanities-oriented, it’s easier to get interested by starting with something like Excel or spreadsheet automation rather than a coding bootcamp. You can see the results right away.
Well, I disagree. These days, if a high schooler says they’re going to skip cram school and self-study, most of them give up after watching three YouTube videos. It feels like a waste of money, but I think in the beginning you need someone—whether it’s a cram school or whatever—to pull you along.
Logic skills? You just get those by doing math lol. Coding improves your logic as a byproduct—learning it specifically for that purpose seems a bit off.
Got a source? Isn’t the whole “liberal arts majors should learn Python” thing outdated? These days, building web apps is way more fun, so my kid started with JavaScript. They got bored just printing to the Python console.
For a high school student, there are tons of free options to try before you stop paying for academy classes. Try doing something like code.org or Harvard's CS50 intro course together for just a month, and first see whether they genuinely enjoy it. The point isn't saving on academy fees—it's a bigger waste to keep your kid going for months when they're not interested.
If you want to learn because of AI, it’s better to start by choosing a project—“What can I try with AI?”—rather than starting with coding. Pick one thing you’d like to build with your child. For example, a chatbot that tells you the school lunch menu. Along the way, you’ll naturally end up touching Python or whatever else is needed.