Before I read this article, I thought about thus and I felt this should be done in Nigeria, not knowing the Americans are already implementing it. Tech is the future, Please read.


At every high school, students are required to show proficiency in certain subjects to graduate. Now there’s a push to include computer coding as one of those subjects.

The idea is that such a skill will be invaluable in a world that increasingly runs on computer technology. What’s more, many companies report shortages of workers with programming skills.

Nearly 20 states have already passed legislation requiring public schools to make computer-science classes accessible to high-school students, according to Code.org, a nonprofit founded by tech investors that says coding and other computer skills should be seen as essential in the 21st century.
Critics don’t like the fact that many of the leading advocates have direct ties to the tech industry—companies that would arguably benefit most from a bigger pool of job applicants with software-writing skills.

They also argue that adding a coding requirement for graduation is at odds with the very purpose of public education, and its focus on humanistic values.

Prof. Robert Sedgewick at Princeton University argues that proficiency in coding is good for students and society in the 21st century. Larry Cuban, a professor emeritus of education at Stanford University, says public schools should not be turned into job-training sites for tech companies.
Teaching students to code introduces them to logical thinking, as well as fostering creativity and problem-solving skills. It encourages experimentation, develops persistence and promotes collaboration. Learning to think as a coder gives one a valuable set of strategies for understanding a variety of situations that one will encounter later in life—particularly those who are working outside of tech. A more code-literate set of Iowa Democrats might have been able to foresee problems with the poorly designed app that contributed to the recent fiasco in the Iowa caucuses

Then there’s the societal benefit: Our technology-driven economy needs coding-literate citizens who are competitive, astute and discerning in the global marketplace of ideas, opportunity and commerce.

Some critics say there is no research proving that learning to code carries such benefits. But I’m not aware of any research showing that each and every thing taught in math, science, English, history and foreign language offers more benefit than coding.

I would agree that one purpose of public education should be to develop proud, literate, humane citizens who give back to their communities. But can one claim to be proud of not understanding how one’s phone or the internet works? Can one claim to be literate without being able to understand even the simplest piece of code? Can one be humane and ignore the role technology can play in addressing the problems of the developing world?

Today’s reality is that many community values and the development of many aspects of one’s character cannot be addressed without a basic understanding of technology. Values like security, privacy and honesty are threatened precisely because most citizens do not understand technology sufficiently well to be able to push back.

Our public-school curriculum, as ever, needs to evolve to stay relevant. Making room for coding and computer science may not even require any reductions in teaching of other subjects. In fact, I believe the opposite is true: Having coding-literate students will enhance the teaching of many other subjects. For instance, students in biology can search for patterns in genomes; in physics they can simulate the motion of planetary bodies; in math and science they can study large data sets or write programs to control robots and drones.
Perhaps the most important reason to integrate coding and computer science into the K-12 curriculum is to eliminate gender-based and economic equality gaps. Coding needs to be a standard component in public-school curricula, not just an enrichment program for the well-to-do.

The drive to democratize coding literacy is led by concerned individuals who, instead of acting in their own self-interest, understand that coding is a critical skill for the 21st century. It is not vocational training any more than English is vocational training for journalists or economics is vocational training for business executives. I have personally taught thousands of teenagers coding and computer science (and many more online). Only a fraction of them work in tech companies—the rest have gone into a broad variety of careers, feeling empowered to face technological challenges. Coding literacy is not limited to Silicon Valley companies and IT departments. It is becoming a necessity in such sectors as health care, social assistance, business services, construction, entertainment, politics and manufacturing.

The basis for education in the last millennium was reading, writing and arithmetic. Now, it is reading writing and computing.

Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles

That's a country with vision, knowing what china Has done with 5G, the USA needs to plan for the future, so has the Brazilian are a talent hub for football, the US in 10-15 years will have loads of Tech firms with ideas that will rule the world. May God help Us with leaders who a visionaries in Nigeria.

This is a good idea that has to be implemented with caution, doing this in Nigeria might lead to rasing the Next Generation of hackers if not done properly. I just love this Americans sha, imagine the kind plan they have. God help Nigeria.

AlayeKondogbia:
This is a good idea that has to be implemented with caution, doing this in Nigeria might lead to rasing the Next Generation of hackers if not done properly. I just love this Americans sha, imagine the kind plan they have. God help Nigeria.

I agree with you that doing this in Naija can be tricky, we need to plan for the future. With 200 million citizens and counting we need to prepare the Nigerian child for the future

AlayeKondogbia:
This is a good idea that has to be implemented with caution, doing this in Nigeria might lead to rasing the Next Generation of hackers if not done properly. I just love this Americans sha, imagine the kind plan they have. God help Nigeria.

You won't even find many people on this thread, since it's not about a failed marriage and some snake someone killed. Have you seen the most searched words in Nigerian google in recent years?