In an interview with programming advocacy group, Re/Code, President Barack Obama said, “Everybody’s got to learn to code early.” Ex-mayor Mike Bloomberg made it his 2012 New Years Resolution to learn to code, and Code.org released a video of former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor saying, “Becoming literate in code is as essential as being literate in language and math. It is the only way for you to prepare for the future.”
Celebrities from Ashton Kutcher to Will.i.am have made coding their cause du jour by adding their voices to the “Hour of Code” campaign — a global movement working to give all people with Internet access the opportunity to gain the most “necessary 21st century skill.”
In recent years, a common thread has emerged: people who don’t seem to know much about computer science are calling coding the literacy of the future. While giants like Mark Zuckerburg and Bill Gates have pushed for coding instruction in the nation’s elementary schools, their advocacy comes from the knowledge that for many underprivileged students, coding’s low barriers to entry and high job prospects are one viable solution for breaking cyclical poverty. Unlike other trades or technical skills, the economic return for programming knowledge is often much higher.
Politicians have pushed that agenda to the extreme, lobbying for all students to learn to code. However, leading programmers in the field of computer science are speaking out on NPR, Slate and TechRepublic to say, resoundingly and repeatedly, that no matter what Obama says, “Not everyone needs to know how to code.”
Multiple articles liken coders to specialized engineers or technicians. Just because the world runs on automobiles, they say, doesn’t mean everyone needs to become a mechanic. However, drawing the parallel between mechanics and programmers is as inadequate as comparing cars and computers themselves. Cars only have one function: to take passengers from point A to point B. They can do this in style and in varying amounts of safety, but their objective is singular and all innovation happens on a linear plane.
Alternatively, computers have infinite functions. As an aid to (and often an extension of) the human brain, there are as many possibilities in computer programming as there are functions for the mind to complete. Coders are not mechanics — not only do programmers debug code (essentially fixing a broken engine), they also create new systems for solving problems and invent functionalities for computers that previously did not exist.
That said, I understand and agree with coders who say not every person needs to learn how to code. I’m not sure Obama or Eric Cantor will ever lead 24-hour Hack-a-thons or write the foundation of the next Venmo. But I do believe both have the capacity to ideate technological solutions to pressing policy issues. Their visions will be difficult to realize if they cannot explain to coders what objective they are trying to achieve and how they envision their product functioning. This is why I am an advocate for coding literacy, not mastery.
Not every person needs to be a master coder. Coding is not the only technical skill that develops mental focus, enhances problem-solving capabilities and hones creativity. However, I do agree with Obama that coding is a new literacy that must be acquired so that all people can understand computer science basics and communicate effectively to programmers who have the capacity to make their ideas a reality. Employers know this, and increasingly more are looking for candidates with basic HTML and CSS literacy.
This is why I believe the College must begin to offer more Computer Science classes and, in addition, reassess its language requirements. Currently only two large lectures for CS 1110 (Intro to Programming) are offered and both are over-enrolled. When I tried to add the class to my schedule, I was placed at 78 on the wait-list. While I desire to achieve coding literacy, it is difficult and often expensive, with online classes or coding boot camps running in the thousands of dollars, to learn to code on my own. Both the College and the Engineering School should recognize the importance of coding literacy as a basic skill for all students to acquire and work to expand the Computer Science classes offered to students in all schools.
These classes should be different than intro classes catered to students planning to major or minor in computer science. They should focus on the skills beneficial to a variety of academic and career paths: basic HTML, CSS and Java as well as an understanding of Adobe Creative Suite basics.
Additionally, to encourage more students to enroll in computer science courses, schools should reassess what can fulfill a language requirement and consider adding coding languages to the list of possibilities. Ruby and Python are just as foreign as French and German (if not more so) and are far more pragmatic in today’s technology revolution than dead languages like Latin. By adding more intro classes and expanding the possibilities for language requirement fulfillment, the University can do its part to encourage coding literacy without adding to the over-hyped notion of necessary coding mastery.
Lauren Jackson is a Viewpoint writer.
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