John Pane wrote:
Why shouldn't programming be included in the mix of experiences a child
has?
I think we need to be clear whether we are talking about informal
education in the home led by parents, or a national curriculum for
delivery by teachers in schools.
I think the OP was concerned with the former. I find it hard to see why
anyone would think it 'wrong' for a parent to show some aspects of
programming to a child who expresses an interest. However inclusion of a
topic area in a national curriculum (or exclusion from) is a different
matter. In that situation the decision involves thousands of teachers,
millions of children and consumption of significant economic resource.
Consequently it is appropriate to require such a decision be supported
by a strong evidence base.
There is also the issue of teacher training. I worked as Head of IT at a
sixth-form college ( 16-19 year olds) for around 10 years, and I found
it very difficult to recruit staff who were good teachers and also had
an adequate knowledge of programming. And recently I've spoken to a
teacher/researcher who has told me children in primary schools (9 - 10
year olds) are being taught 'algebra', and being told the idea is that
a=1, b=2, c=3 and so on.
Sometimes its better to not teach something.
