[jolmg]

> As a teacher ... tasks such as writing or programming

I hadn't realized programming was being taught pre-university. From a quick look online it seems high-schoolers may be learning Python. That's pretty cool. Wonder how widespread this is, and how early children are taught.

[ericmcer]

My kid is in a programming class, so far it has been... kind of a joke. Extremely controlled environments and dragging "code" around in the form of colored blocks.

I wish they taught JS/HTML web dev stuff. Even if someone only gets a year in the knowledge will stay relevant because they are using the internet daily. Just basic understanding of cookies, http, IP addresses, etc. is something kids should know.

[viraptor]

Scratch is great. I used it when teaching and it allows kids to focus on the goal rather than deal with concepts like syntax errors and compilers. Sure, they can learn more later, but at the level of "computers follow instructions, you know?" it's a very appropriate tool.

[ericmcer]

oh yeah I wasn't bashing it, but my kid is a sophomore in high school. Thought there would be something more advanced at that age.

[SAI_Peregrinus]

Eh, they might hit LabView in university. If they're really unlucky they'll end up in an industry that uses LabView in practice, and Scratch is really good prep for that pain.

[andybak]

So you've just completely dismissed Scratch/Blockly which has an illustrious and fairly respectable history. I'm not saying it's the be all and end all, but the way you tossed it aside with scare quotes felt a little... flippant?

[owlninja]

Not sure your location or grade of your kid, but mine started on Scratch in school as well and in 6th grade they had started using Python.

[oerdier]

In the Netherlands, programming in secondary education (ages 12-18) is not uncommon but also not widespread. If it's offered, it's not great. Like programming taught at universities, it's mostly people with a knack for it that actually improve.

For my msc thesis, which I finished 6 years ago, I researched how to teach programming to people without natural talent. I found a method with great results, and have yet to see anyone do something remotely similar. I'm not teasing a sale, all my stuff will be fully free. I've been working on it fulltime for the last three years, and I expect to have a 1.0 in two years, so let's say four years.

[quasse]

My high school had several years worth of programming courses available, and that was in the 2000s.

Now days American high schools are becoming much more focused on teaching technical skills again (thankfully). There's a renewed focus on teaching things like CNC machine programming and robotics alongside traditional computer science courses.