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Early Childhood & K-12 EdTechEdTech Futures
Home›Early Childhood & K-12 EdTech›Why Coding Should Be a Compulsory Subject for Students

Why Coding Should Be a Compulsory Subject for Students

By Matthew Lynch
March 21, 2017
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The main role of the educational system is to teach children how to become responsible, productive citizens of society. Schools offer a variety of subjects to equip kids with the skills and knowledge needed for adulthood – starting from kindergarten, where children learn the basics of writing, reading, and simple math and logical problems. These classes are designed as the ‘building blocks’ of knowledge. There are new blocks in education with every consecutive year.

When we talk about computer-related knowledge, one of the most important classes in schools is typing class. By learning to touch-type, children get used to the visual environment and improve their typewriting speed. Although the typewriter is outdated, keyboards and typing remain relevant today, particularly when entering data or programming devices.

One might say that kids intuitively acquire knowledge about information technology and its usage. They start touching keyboards and screens at a young age, and quickly learn how to navigate the Internet. But what about coding? Should our kids also learn how to code? Fundamentally understanding these new technologies—how they operate and how to customize them for better functionality—would improve kids’ experience with today’s digital devices.

Introductory programming classes in schools can help children understand the basics of programming structure, logic, and design. Of course, not all children will become software engineers; however, learning programming may help sharpen their practical and logical thinking skills. What’s more, some people found coding helped them get more out of their computers, tablets, smartphones, and other popular digital devices.

There are a lot of possibilities for a child that knows how to code, and the most important skill they acquire along the way is that they learn how to create their own solutions. Many would argue that it is hard for children to learn to code, but there are a number of applications and games designed specifically for that. Additionally, learning to code is the same as learning new language skill, especially for the children.

Since we are living in a digital age, technology plays a huge role in our daily lives. Smart devices are all around us—at home, school, the office, and so on. Although we use these devices every day, we typically only use them for basic functions, such as text messaging, phone calls, entertainment, music, etc.

When software and hardware designers make devices or apps, they usually add a lot of functions and features that most customers barely use. Mobile technology is developing rapidly, so the cell phones in our hands act as small personal computers with a broad range of tasks. Even TVs and other home appliances have become multifunctional devices.

Did you know that coding is a background for many of these devices? Unfortunately, most of us are unaware of the importance of coding. By teaching people how to create software codes that run devices, they will better understand how these devices actually work. Aside from that, coding classes can help students realize how applications are designed, as well as how the software triggers the device capabilities. That’s why coding should be a compulsory subject for students in the future.

Most experts emphasize the importance of introducing of coding into the school systems. According to Douglas Rushkoff from Codecademy, who is considered to be one of the world’s leading digital experts, schools have to incorporate code programming into their curriculum. By teaching students to code, we will create more future software and hardware engineers and meet the high demand for skilled tech workers.

Schools must recognize that both technology-related devices and coding are integral parts of our lifestyles. They should incorporate coding into their curriculum as a building block, to help kids not only understand how technology works and how to utilize its potential but to possibly get them interested in a future career in digital technology.


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10 comments

  1. Bob Zenhausern 23 January, 2017 at 21:06 Reply

    I pose a question. Do we need to have a formal touch type program? When fixing a mistake was cumbersome touch typing made more sense. But when you see the way people text, no one taught them to the correct way to thumb. Might we let the students type as they will and save the time for more important ideas.

    I do not think that coding is the main issue. I would concentrate on teaching the structure of programs to develop good alogorithms. That will lead many ways to code from Visual Basic for Applications and other macro languages.

  2. Bryan Adams 24 January, 2017 at 08:25 Reply

    The code is an algorithm or step by step approach that seeks to address a given problem or, alternatively find a solution to a problem. I appreciate your message on coding, it is the best way students can have a broad understanding of the way systems work from hardware to software and the problems they solve upon implementation.
    I hope you will continue to research and write more on coding. Looking forward to the next series of articles on this topic.

    • Preston Dorey 28 January, 2017 at 06:20 Reply

      It is very true that lessons like this allow for a better understanding of how these systems work.The future has a lot in store for the coming generation and learning code is work in progress, it has wide-reaching benefits.
      I look forward to seeing more of your work.

  3. Pedro Martinez 24 January, 2017 at 09:06 Reply

    I commend you for the great job done so far in addressing tech and the way it has changed the education landscape. Coding is vital as the student is in a position to perform certain tasks and also get accustomed with how hardware and software integrate.
    Thanks, Mathew.

  4. Peter Ferrero 28 January, 2017 at 05:19 Reply

    Thanks for the informative piece.Coding has a direct influence on the students future.We are going to be using more advanced technology given it keeps evolving as time goes by.Having an understanding of the way software works and gives capabilities to the hardware device is the most important part of education.

  5. Sang Cho 21 March, 2017 at 17:35 Reply

    Coding has proven to be the future of technology. Most systems would revolve around the use of programming languages in form of codes to give instructions for these systems to perform certain tasks.By teaching coding we are equipping our kids for the future skills needed to drive the economy.
    I celebrate your further success in bringing to the public such vital information.

  6. Tiffanie Bosson 22 March, 2017 at 15:53 Reply

    Coding is fundamental in shaping the future of technology. It is now high time learning institutions embrace a perrfect model to suit the needs of the future.
    This information will surely be of great value to many.

  7. WHY CODING SHOULD BE A COMPULSORY SUBJECT FOR STUDENTS | Goaler Education 19 September, 2017 at 19:56 Reply

    […] Read full article here: https://www.thetechedvocate.org/why-coding-should-be-a-compulsory-subject-for-students/ […]

  8. Coding, Phygital | Beyond the Screen of a New-Age Classroom | Educational Innovation 360° 30 May, 2019 at 02:04 Reply

    […] Why Coding should be a compulsory subject for students: https://www.thetechedvocate.org/why-coding-should-be-a-compulsory-subject-for-students/ […]

  9. TechyKids 28 September, 2020 at 03:25 Reply

    Totally agreed with what you said, teaching programming for kids at early stage has a significant role in the overall growth of kids. It sharpens their practical and logical thinking skills. Due to the tremendous growth of technology, educating kids about basic concepts of coding has become relatively easy. We now have all the resources available like coding apps & games which makes understanding of coding for kids a lot more fun & interactive. TechyKids Canada teach computer programming for kids and prepare them for the future. Kids learn the core coding languages like Python, HTML, Java and JavaScript. They start from the basics and move forward at their own pace with full teacher support. Thank you so much for sharing such a great piece of content which will be very much beneficial to many kids & parents out there.

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