{"id":203071,"date":"2018-05-16T17:28:42","date_gmt":"2018-05-16T17:28:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress-581638-2158332.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=203071"},"modified":"2024-02-07T03:00:37","modified_gmt":"2024-02-07T11:00:37","slug":"coding-language-of-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flexcollegeprep.com\/coding-language-of-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Coding: The Language of the Future"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have a friend who, in many ways, is a typical parent. She loves her children; she wants them to be happy; she wants to give them the tools they need to be successful. <\/strong><\/p>\n

As a result, she often finds herself chauffeuring her kids to piano lessons, taekwondo, art. Most recently, she had her daughter (age 5) and son (age 4) begin an activity she feels is more important than all of their other activities combined: coding for kids.<\/p>\n

Not long ago, English was the universal language. The ability to communicate fluently in English was considered indispensable, both academically and socially. Those who struggled with English found themselves at a considerable disadvantage, and parents invested considerable resources to ensure that their children were strong English communicators. In the technological world of today, where global connectivity is just one click away, there is a new language: the language of computers.<\/p>\n

As far back as the 1960\u2019s, prescient experts were arguing that computer science be part of a well-rounded education. By 2000, technology writers such as M. Mitchell Waldrop were calling programming \u201ca fundamental intellectual skill, like mathematics.\u201d In fact, some considered computer science even more important than something as basic as Calculus. \u201cCalculus is generally considered part of a liberal education,\u201d argued Alan Perlis, a pioneering computer scientist. He continued, \u201c[While] Calculus is the study of rates, and rates are important to many fields\u2026computer science is about process: Its specification, its execution, its composition, and its limitations. And process is important to everybody<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other, more prescient nations have taken the rise of the computer very seriously. Russia is building an \u201cinnovation city.\u201d Saudi Arabia has poured 10 billion dollars into a new science and engineering university. Students in Asian countries are earning 2\/3 more graduate degrees in STEM majors than those in America. Even in the US, the majority of students who are studying science and technology at American graduate institutions are Asians, according to the Wall Street Journal. This is particularly troubling when you consider the following statistics, reported by the San Jose Mercury News (a newspaper located at the heart of Silicon Valley):<\/p>\n