The Two Codes Your Kids Need to Know
Computer Science and the Constitution
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/12/opinion/college-board-sat-ap.html
I thought that it was fairly inane. As most of the (many of them tech people themselves), commenters said, you don’t need to know how to code to do most jobs. Any more than you need to explain how a car engine works to drive, or wire your own house to turn on a light. Not that those are useless skills, just not what you “need” to know. Most people working in the industries mentioned will use computers and programs and apps, and might even be designing websites etc, but they don’t’ need to “code” to do that. That is a specialized skill for specialized jobs.
And yes, I think people should understand the Constitution and how the country works. I think everyone should get an education in information literacy, and everyone should be better at critical thinking, analysis, critiquing sources, etc.
That’s not a “code” though.
This is just PR for the College Board. I’ll honestly say that I think nothing good can come out of a combination of Thomas Friedman and David Coleman, both of whom lack real critical thinking skills but are great at pat surface level snap judgment.
Computers are going to write better code than humans soon. Those jobs will be automated. Ask most experts what skills are most important and they’ll tell you creativity and critical thinking/reasoning.
I agree that understanding the Constitution and learning about key USSC case throughout history are valuable skills that I wish all Americans had. My D had a great teacher for AP US Gov and I think it will benefit her for a long time.
Similarly, the focus on the concepts of computer science (which != coding) is of great benefit in today’s society. Some of what my younger D is learning in AP CSP in 9th grade is terrific, but there’s only minimal JavaScript coding, just to understand the key ideas.
All of which is buried in the late paragraphs of this article, after an introduction that seems to be as if someone dared the writer to use the word “code” as much and as irrelevantly as possible.
“Computers are going to write better code than humans soon. Those jobs will be automated.”
Not in our lifetimes.
Just remember, it takes programmers to program the machines that can generate code.
On a somewhat related note, as a DB architect, I cringe every time I have to walk into a company that has used an ORM to generate database CRUD code. Takes months and years to undo all the junk code that it produces, since it’s almost impossible to make the generated code perform and scale.
Why and how do you think understanding the Constintution will benefit your daughter? I took some courses on it, and the only benefit was in the grades I got in those courses, to be honest. In fact, the more closely I studied it the more obvious were its flaws–2.5 of the 3 branches of government are explicitly anti-democratic (Senate, President, SCOTUS), after all!
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Those aren’t flaws. It’s by design. The founders where petrified of democracy. So they set up a republic. Learning what, where, why is important for any citizen. The USA is advanced citizenship – require a little bit of work.
" Most people working in the industries mentioned will use computers and programs and apps, and might even be designing websites etc, but they don’t’ need to “code” to do that. That is a specialized skill for specialized jobs."
Maybe not presently but for the future. I thought the same as above but D who has since started to learn coding (she’s not a CS major and doesn’t have to code herself but works in an industry which uses computers extensively) now realizes how helpful it has been to “read” code that others have developed. She says it allows her to follow some of the thinking of the developer and to communicate better with them about what she wants a program to accomplish when she’s requesting changes. And I think “specialized jobs” are becoming more the norm these days.
I liken computer code to a new language–I never use the foreign language I learned in HS (still don’t know why it’s a big deal except as a brain exercise) but if I work with people who use that language then it’s handy to be able to communicate even if I’m not fluent.