50% of Parents in the US Believe Coding Most Beneficial Subject For Their Children, 75% Believe Big Tech Firms Should Be Involved in Helping Schools: Study (microsoft.com)

Long time reader theodp writes: According to a Microsoft-commissioned survey, 50% of parents in the U.S. with children aged 18 and under believed coding and computer programming to be the most beneficial subject to their child's future employability ("compared to foreign language skills at 28%"). From the Microsoft Education blog post: "When asked about the technology industry's involvement, 75 percent of parents said they believe big tech companies should be involved in helping schools build kids' digital skills. Many companies, including Microsoft and organizations like Code.org, are working to do just that. Programs like TEALS, which is supported by Microsoft Philanthropies, pairs trained Computer Science professionals from across the technology industry with classroom teachers to team-teach the subject." In 2016, Microsoft partnered with Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo to help bring computer science education to every public K-12 school across the state, an initiative that Raimondo is now touting in her 2018 bid for re-election (political ad).

Comments

Its a matter of visibility

[Anonymous Coward]

Programmers are in high demand and command high salaries. Tech businesses own the world and basically print money. In addition, they have been blanketing our country with propaganda about how great a career is and how easy it is to learn coding. And it has worked, people believe this.

So, parents think their kids need to learn coding, to have stable careers and make lots of money.

None of this addresses the much-resisted fact that doing really well as a software developer requires above-average intelligence and a natural enjoyment of abstract problem solving. Most people do not fit that bill, and no amount of education will make them fit that bill.

If this wasn't true, we wouldn't be in a position where programmers are in high demand and can command high salaries. We would have a market awash with competent programmers, probably relying on programmers unions to protect themselves from employer abuse.

Re: Coding for what?

[HornWumpus]

An excess of BAD computer programmers.

You can no more make 50% of the population good computer programmers than you can make 50% of the population symphony class musicians.