Coding for Kids — Why Should One Learn to Code?
There are many coding platforms available online that teach coding in a very systematic, step-by-step manner.
There is a heap of initiative and talk about enabling kids to learn to code through various online and offline activities, Hour of Code, in-class lessons, etc.
But the question is, ‘Why learn coding?’
Parents and educators often ponder or talk about the need of introducing one more subject in the already burdened study schedule of students.
The answer of this lies in the exploration of the lessons and concepts that coding courses teach to learners.
Coding for kids courses have lessons teaching concepts like functions, loops, conditional codes, bug fixing and variables.
If you read it closely, you will realize that these concepts don’t just apply to coding a website, game or app, but to problem solving in real life. Let’s discuss the role of each of these attributes in brief.
How coding concepts help kids solve real-life problems:
1. Functions: Functions not only make a monkey go straight, left or jump to collect bananas, but it teaches students about the cause and effect relationship of things in the word. It teaches them that an action or specific command leads to a certain reaction in a controlled environment.
It’s brilliant how such a profound lesson is taught with just a few tabs on a mobile device.
2. Loops: Coding loops embody all the happenings around us that occur repeatedly. We often automate many daily activities, so that we do not have to undertake them again and again. It can be as simple as setting on the repeat mode of our alarm clock to wake us up at the same time every day.
3. Conditional codes: These are very close to many real-life conditions. We often make decisions like deciding to go to the market if there is no milk in the refrigerator, and to take highway number five if you leave work before 3 pm. There are so many conditions we apply in daily like to define the course of our actions and decisions.
4. Bug fixing: This, as we all know, is one of the most important life-skill to learn. Kids must learn how to identify a bug or an issue and fix it.
E.g., if their mother is angry, they must stop and think what has upset their mother, and how they can fix it (It’ll be such a happy day for the mothers), or if their toy car is not working properly, they can stop and identify if the battery needs to be changed or if the toy is broken, and then think of a suitable action to solve the situation.
5. Variables: This covers the concept of how different elements interact in the multi-dimensional real world, and we are not just talking about directional dimensions, but behavioral and emotional ones, too.
It applies to logical situations like, ‘If the width of a table is X inches, and the door is Y inches wide, will the table go through the door or not?’ It also applies to behavioral situations like, ‘Should I be polite or matter-of-fact to earn favor from a person who is objective and logical?’
These applications of coding concepts might seem apt to some and out of context to others, but the truth is that once a kid’s mind learns a concept, they apply them in different contexts and situations.
Therefore, no matter if you want to prepare your kid for the tech-savvy world or not, the concepts taught in coding for kids courses are great lessons for any learner — young or old.
