Coding Education in the AI Era: Is It Honestly Necessary?
Lately, hearing that even elementary school students are getting coding education has left me with a lot to think about. I also wonder whether it makes sense to start by learning syntax when AI can write code for us.
Still, I think the idea that learning to code builds the ability to break problems down and think them through remains valid. That said, rather than memorizing a language, I believe the approach should shift toward completing even small projects.
From a parent's perspective, what I'm curious about is how much coding education actually helps kids. I'd like to hear from people with experience.
10 answers
Honestly, starting by memorizing grammar feels a bit outdated now. Facts.
Isn't the idea that coding builds thinking skills kind of outdated? That's just a marketing slogan for cram schools. They say math builds thinking skills too, but that alone doesn't make everything work, does it?
I'm the parent of a fifth-grade daughter. Last year, while we made a game together in Scratch, I saw for the first time how she would stick with a problem and keep working at it longer than I expected. Honestly, her coding skills aren't anything special, but the biggest takeaway was that she developed the habit of investigating why something isn't working when it fails. That said, I wasn't very satisfied with the academy's teaching, which focused mostly on syntax. In the end, it seems like everything comes down to what you actually try to build.