Disney Thinks High Schools Should Let Kids Take Coding In Place of Foreign Languages

theodp writes: Florida lawmakers are again proposing a contentious plan that would put coding and foreign language on equal footing in a public high school student's education. Under a proposed bill students who take two credits of computer coding and earn a related industry certification could then count that coursework toward two foreign language credits.

"I sort of comically applaud that some would want to categorize coding as a foreign language," said Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho. "Coding cannot be seen as an equivalent substitute." Disclosure records show that Walt Disney Parks and Resorts has three lobbyists registered to fight in support of the bill. Disney did not return an email seeking comment, but State Senator Jeff Brandes said the company's interest is in a future workforce... Disney has provided signature tutorials for the nation's Hour of Code over the past three years, including Disney's Frozen princess-themed tutorial.

Comments

Coding achieves the "expand your mind" objective

[El Cubano]

So, if you look at the foreign language requirement for what it is (an "expand your mind" requirement), then it is plainly obvious that coding achieves the same objective.

Joel Spolsky,in his rant on Java Schools, sort of touches on this:

Heck, in 1900, Latin and Greek were required subjects in college, not because they served any purpose, but because they were sort of considered an obvious requirement for educated people. In some sense my argument is no different that the argument made by the pro-Latin people (all four of them). âoe[Latin] trains your mind. Trains your memory. Unraveling a Latin sentence is an excellent exercise in thought, a real intellectual puzzle, and a good introduction to logical thinking,â writes Scott Barker. But I canâ(TM)t find a single university that requires Latin any more. Are pointers and recursion the Latin and Greek of Computer Science?

Granted, he is arguing for CS students always having to learn fundamental CS concepts like pointers and recursion, but I think that it is not too much of a stretch to think that coding will eventually become the Latin and Greek of our culture. Everybody should have to learn a bit of it if they want to consider themselves well educated and well rounded, and a small number will choose to specialize in it as a field of endeavor.

And if you are thinking to yourself, "Well, what's the point, they won't remember any of it?" Please go find any random middle aged person whose only exposure to foreign language was their 2 year requirement in high school and ask them how much Spanish, French, German, etc. they remember? Hint: their high school foreign language class didn't make them an expert in the foreign language, so would two years of programming in high school be seen as any less valuable from a macro-pedagogic perspective?

Re:Coding achieves the "expand your mind" objectiv

[Anonymous Coward]

Of the people who know Latin, only the idiots who didn't learn enough of it to read well ever say that one needs to learn Latin as an intellectual puzzle. The rest of us appreciate the ability to pick up and read literary (and scientific and historical) texts from medieval and early modern Europe (and dissertations up to the early twentieth century from some European universities) no matter what the nationality or native tongue of the author. The surviving Latin-language output of the sixteenth century alone is two or three orders of magnitude (yes, really) the size of all the literature surviving from the ancient world, and most of it was never translated into English. You don't learn Latin to learn a puzzle: you learn it as a key to unlocking vast libraries of literature that most people don't know ever existed. There's a long, eighteenth-century epic poem (the Rusticatio Mexicana) on the hardworking people of Mexico and their oppression by Europeans. There are treatises on state action against non-state actors (like Grotius' De iure piratarum) that still have an impact on international law and the controversial idea of treating terrorists as hostes humani generis. There are histories of the Americas, Africa, Asia, even the early Jesuit visits to China and Japan, all in Latin, and not translated into English. When you learn Latin well enough actually to read it, without puzzling over it or needing a dictionary, you open yourself up to being able to discover vast swaths of human intellect and history to which you have no access otherwise.

Re: No

[Opportunist]

Understanding other cultures is crucial for international trade relationships. Have you ever tried to seal a deal in China without understanding their customs? I tell you, don't even try. Sure, you'll get your deal. Chinese never say no. But be prepared to get ripped a new one in the process. Never make a deal with a Chinese without first having spent an evening with him going from bar to bar and strip club to strip club. And yes, you pay. Show him what you got, they don't deal with beggars and miserly nobodies!

Or try the same in the Arab world. You call them? They won't even talk to you. Face to face or not at all. They want to look into your eyes when they seal a deal, very important! And again, show what you got, because he'll do the same. Be careful with praises, you might get to exchange "gifts" you didn't want to exchange...

Germany? Be punctual. 5 minutes late and you better have a GOOD reason. "Traffic jam" might work, but for the first meeting, be early. Make your presentation snappy and without bells and whistles. Germans are pretty much their stereotype until you get to know them. If you get invited to an "evening out", jackpot! Do not make the mistake and decline, even if you're jetlaggy, even if you're about to throw up, this is your foot in the door, now kick it open. And unlike the Japanese, what happens during the night is still valid the next morning, if you're buddy, you stay buddy. Small gifts are appreciated but don't overdo it, also don't be disappointed if they decline, most corporations in Germany have strict rules what their representatives may accept.

And so on. And ALL THIS you can actually "feel" when you get to know the language. Chinese is a very tonal language that smells of emotion, and German is the exact opposite. And the people are like their languages. If you want to know the people, learn their languages.

Not to mention that people usually LOVE it if you try to speak their language. Even and especially if you can't do it well. It makes them feel superior and appreciated at the same time. Try it! A few key words and phrases (like "please", "thank you", "yes" and "no", along with relevant gestures where applicable) go a LONG way, even if you're just a tourist asking for directions.