Communications of the ACM
Taking a Second Look at the Learn-to-Code Craze
The aim of making computer science a new basic skill for all Americans has driven the formation of dozens of non-profit organizations, coding schools, and policy programs.
Credit: Sue Ogrocki/AP
The aim of making computer science a "new basic" skill for all Americans has driven the formation of dozens of nonprofit organizations, coding schools and policy programs.
As the third annual Computer Science Education Week begins, it is worth taking a closer look at this recent coding craze. The Obama administration's "Computer Science For All" initiative and the Trump administration's new effort are both based on the idea that computer programming is not only a fun and exciting activity, but a necessary skill for the jobs of the future.
However, the American history of these education initiatives shows that their primary beneficiaries aren't necessarily students or workers, but rather the influential tech companies that promote the programs in the first place. The current campaign to teach American kids to code may be the latest example of tech companies using concerns about education to achieve their own goals. This raises some important questions about who stands to gain the most from the recent computer science push.
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