What do you think about coding education for kids?
I have an elementary school child, and I hear it's trendy these days to send kids to coding academies. Some say creativity matters more than coding in the AI era, so opinions are divided.
Personally, I'm not planning to do it yet. I think building a reading habit comes first. Curious how everyone else is handling this.
10 answers
Yeah, books are the best.
Reading books is a good habit, lol
My child is in the first year of middle school. During elementary school, we just had them read a lot. Now that they've started coding in middle school, they're keeping up well. I guess fundamentals really are what matter.
I don't send my kid to private academies either. I let them explore coding games on YouTube, and the kid likes it. Forcing it can backfire.
Nowadays, isn't coding also a basic literacy?
Agreed. In elementary school, play and books are the best.
I've had my child try it. At first, they started because they liked games, but they got better at logical thinking. However, there are plenty of free resources you can use at home rather than a private academy, so start with those. The child's interest matters most—if you force it, they won't stick with it for long.
That just seems like following the trend, but I'm not really into it.
The article says that 'creativity is more important in the AI era,' but I think coding education actually helps foster creativity too, since problem-solving requires creative thinking. Viewing it as a simple coding vs. creativity dichotomy might actually instill a narrow perspective in children.
I'm not opposed to coding education itself, but I believe that for lower elementary grades, block play and reading are more important. It's enough to start coding in middle school or later. I've also seen kids around me lose interest after being sent to academies too early.