As you are reading this, you are using a computer, a tablet, a smartphone, or a laptop, but do you know how to code on any of this technology? For many people, the answer to this question is no. This is not their fault; rather, it is the fault of the American public school system for not making basic coding a part of the required curriculum. As apps continue to be developed and software continues to be created daily, coding is a very prominent topic in the world. Coding sites continue to be made, as well as camps for coding and coding classes, but nothing in the school system changes. Coding should definitely be a required course for every student in the public school system.
As a student taking AP Computer Science, I am fully aware of the importance of learning even the basics of coding. One major reason for neglecting the importance of coding is the negative connotation that coding has taken on. Many of my friends and classmates feel like coding is for insane gamers or computer nerds, but considering I am neither of those things, I can easily disprove this. After just a year and a half of taking computer science as an elective, I have learned three coding languages: visual basic, c++, and java. I know first hand that learning a computer language allows you to understand on a deeper level the technology you are using and see how important computer programmers are as we continue to develop software and apps. Coding is becoming a leading occupation, but there will not be enough programmers if coding continues to be ignored by public school systems.
Students need to be exposed to the basics of coding for many reasons. They need to understand how the technology they use daily is created, but more importantly, they need the opportunity to see if coding is something they enjoy or are interested in. I would have never taken Computer Science if my mom did not convince me of its importance, but I thank her all the time for exposing me to something I love. Students need to learn a basic coding language in order to learn about the developing world around them which is controlled by technology. Apps and technology are in control of basically every aspect of our lives and will only continue to grow more important. However, how can it continue to be developed if people are so ignorant when it comes to the programming and technology they use everyday? Just teaching children the basics of coding will promote it and show people what it is. The required courses of public school systems need to be altered in order to coincide with the technologically-run world students now live in. Altogether, in my opinion, coding is a crucial topic for students to learn if they want to be successful in a world where technology is included in every aspect of life.
