[LINK] Let's pause before drinking the 'coding in schools' Kool-Aid

[JanW]

At 05:13 PM 3/06/2015, Bernard Robertson-Dunn you wrote:

>Let's pause before drinking the 'coding in schools' Kool-Aid
>Patrick Keneally 

This guy's claim to fame is writing the News Quiz for The Guard. So? 
He/anyone can dis almost anything taught in schools. Doesn't mean you stop schools teaching xx. It's all pretty much a 'mug's game' to use his terms.

There is a super EduTech conf going on in Brisbane right now. I followed a bit of the twitter stream yesterday and stumbled across a couple cool things:
- a session done by a 13 y.o. kid that took the show for her views on learning (make mistakes, forgive them, be kind, etc.)
- a website about making things for a whole range of purposes, with kids and adults documenting the processes. Lots of 3d printer and robotics in it. I posted about it yesterday http://www.instructables.com  

I think the problem with blanket statements by people who don't spend a lot of time thinking about the context and pros/cons is that they miss things and fully overstate, in both directions. In the case of coding, it's a one size fits all approach and far too granular at the same time. It may not be appropriate to have coding throughout the entire curriculum because it is not a foundation skill, but it is appropriate to have reading throughout the curriculum. Reading is definitely a basic skill to enable all other learning in some fashion. Maths is probably secondary, but still a critical skill in various ways, another enabler. Who remembers 'modern math' where we all were supposed to learn binary and octal? Ha! But those who went on to work in digital technologies who were in school in the 60s/70s needed it.

The funny thing about Abbott was that he was dissing Labor for promoting something HIS government was already doing! I cracked up! It's almost in the same class as the Libs voting DOWN their own small business bill today because Labor brought it up for a vote. Yes, that dumb.

So I agree w/ Bernard re the need for analysis and thinking by people who are involved in the larger educational philosophies, guiding principles, knowledge of human development, the in-place education systems including teachers and facilities, costs, teacher training and pro dev, content structures, short and long term tertiary education pathways and employment opportunities.........ad infinitum almost. But to compare to learning xx language, as the journo does, or even modern math, misses the point.

Jan


I write books. http://janwhitaker.com/?page_id=8

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
Twitter: <https://twitter.com/JL_Whitaker>JL_Whitaker
Blog: www.janwhitaker.com 

Sooner or later, I hate to break it to you, you're gonna die, so how do you fill in the space between here and there? It's yours. Seize your space. 
~Margaret Atwood, writer 

_ __________________ _