CS in HS - Read Write Code
csinhs.com
csinhs.com
They also suggest that computing skills will be required for "any" job, which raises some important questions. First of all the claim itself is bs: Yeah, computers will become more and more ubiquitous, but many vocations just don't and shouldn't require computational skill. In many cases it could be a distraction from the core issues of the vocation. I don't care if my therapist, dance instructor, baker, farmer, mother, coach, musician, ... (ad infinitum) knows how to reverse a linked list. Sure, computer literacy would help all of them achieve certain things, but let's be honest about what level of CS education is _essential_. Secondly, a world where EVERYONE has a job where computing is of central importance is one I personally would never strive towards. We should ask ourselves if we really want to stick all of society behind a computer.
Similarly, having an exposure to coding and computational thinking also fosters those sorts of critical problem solving skills that are helpful whether or not you're a programmer.
> I don't care if my therapist, dance instructor, baker, farmer, mother, coach, musician, ... (ad infinitum) knows how to reverse a linked list.
That is not the argument we are making. We are not advocating that a baker must also be a professional programmer, but we are saying that a certain level of computer literacy is important no matter what field you are in.
Similarly, we wouldn't expect your dance instructor to be well versed in Hemingway, but you would still value a basic level of reading and writing skills.
I agree with your second point too, but "computer literacy is important" belies "any job requires computational thinking". I think it's a great cause and I'm happy to chip in, but the hyperbolic text makes me crave a more nuanced discussion of it all.
Many mothers probably regularly use a calculator for household budgeting. Excel can do that better. However for most mothers it is not worth the effort to learn it, because their calculator is good enough. Providing future mothers with good excel skills would improve their lifes in my opinion.
This is not really what we are advocating. Our claim with "Read Write Code" is that these are now essential skills, even if that is not what you spend all of your time doing. Few become professional readers or writers, but many find reading and writing useful skills. Computers are used in many parts of daily life--even if you don't become a programmer, a knowledge of problem solving with computers will be useful.
For example, to draw a circle, you just need to type:
var circle = new Circle(radius);
circle.setPosition(x, y);
circle.setColor(Color.blue);
add(circle);
is it? (Not that that is a bad thing, just saying).
The focus of CodeHS is much more on the instruction from teachers, and it has more structure. We have tutors that give debugging help and feedback on all programming exercises and projects, so you learn much more about programming style in addition to functionality.
I think Khan has a cool tool, but it's only a tool, whereas we're giving the entire learning experience, teacher included.
We've found that starting right with graphics (even though very fun to tinker with) is too large a barrier for many students, since there are too many new concepts at once.
I, on the other hand, had started a web-based photo sharing company with a friend using Python at this point, yet was still struggling with malloc. Going through lower division really made me appreciate my deficiencies as a self taught coder and gave me deep respect for the need to truly grok first principles and theory.
I truly resonate with your sentiment. I don't know that everyone should learn to code, but educational experiences like the one I've shared above make me think that everyone should have good access to proper computer science education, at as early of an age as possible, in case they want to develop their craft.
We are launching a crowdfunding campaign to teach 1,000 high school students to code over the next six months.
We focus on providing help from real people along the way--because when you are learning to program, everyone gets stuck, and needs debugging help and feedback.
We are also making a site to collect 30-second videos from people across all fields saying "why you should learn to code." It would be great to get some help from HN supporting this cause.
The course we've made is definitely inspired by what we taught at Stanford, but it's very much a different course targeted specifically for high schoolers.
I'm currently reading Seymour Papert's amazing book _Mindstorms_ (after reading a comment on HN, appropriately enough). I am in complete agreement with his assertion that schools currently present topics as a series of disconnected rote pieces with no "point" or basis for deeper understanding. Computers can provide the platform for understanding, intuiting, and even self-teaching concepts in a way that just isn't possible with pencil and paper.
The whole book makes me unconsciously flex my hands into fists and suppress a scream, "yes! This!"
I was one of those kids who thought they just weren't made for math and I hated it and felt bad about it. Later in life, I finally figured out that all of the math I'd been taught in school was about as complex as a "hello world" program. It's laughable, really. And I don't feel bad about it anymore. I wish somebody had been able to tell me that then.
Also, great idea. I'm still stunned about how little attention programming gets in schools.
I think this is a pretty solid product. In my opinion, it's definitely better than things that I've evaluated like it. Getting feedback on your submissions is huge, and having tutors there to help you is pretty awesome. It also solves some pretty glaring issues that still haven't been fixed in CodeAcademy for example. Of what I saw, there isn't a whole lot there yet, but hopefully there's a lot planned moving forward (or even in the non-free content). I think the real value in things like this is the visibility it gives to current students, and most of all the accessibility to new resources for them to keep learning, especially when they hit roadblocks.
I wish you guys immense success!
1. http://christian.gen.co/2012/09/21/tedxsmu-hilltop-you-shoul...
The majority of High School "tech" teachers are utterly unqualified to teach CS.
As we grow, we will begin to structure it more and have more options for being a paid tutor, but for now, it's for the joy of helping and inspiring beginners (and sharpening your debugging skills as well).