I'm still in high school and I can happily say that I know several different programing languages such as C++, Perl, Python, PHP, HTML(if you want to count markup languages), SQL (if you want to count that). I've even had a job that required some slight modifications to FORTRAN code. All these languages I have learned on my own over the years starting with starting with BASIC around 3rd grade ish. I still remember reading in the book about the IF-THEN statement and just not understanding it. I've come a long way since then.
But enough of my story. I think that there are three major reasons why more kids don't program:
You think we have free time? We don't, so programing must be really, really interesting if we are going to find time for it.
Many kids these days aren't as awed by the power of computers. They don't care how they work. I think most of the kids who go into computers because they want to create games or write an application, but they don't actually know the work involved -- they don't really care about programing.
Even the ones who do want to learn have trouble. As computers have grown more and more complex some of us have kept up... but it is making the initial learning curve steeper and steper.
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- You think we have free time? We don't, so programing must be really, really interesting if we are going to find time for it.
- Many kids these days aren't as awed by the power of computers. They don't care how they work. I think most of the kids who go into computers because they want to create games or write an application, but they don't actually know the work involved -- they don't really care about programing.
- Even the ones who do want to learn have trouble. As computers have grown more and more complex some of us have kept up... but it is making the initial learning curve steeper and steper.
Those are my thoughts anyway.