"Most web designers I know want to know more about programming and jump at the opportunity to learn."
Because they enjoy it, or because they want to advance in their career?
Because they enjoy it, or because they want to advance in their career?
In my opinion Web design requires a very similar skill set. Debugging CSS/HTML takes a programmer's mindset. It is not that difficult for most designers to make that jump. Many of them have picked up Javascript just fine.