I like the idea of encouraging people to learn how to code –
whatever that means. I’ve tried at least one variation of coding – using simple
HTML not only on this blog but in an online class I teach. I built my own
websites in the early 1990s, mimicking the code I saw back then. I haven’t kept
up with it much, I admit.
You know what I like better? Encouraging people to learn how
to read.
I listen to a lot of young boys read. I mean a lot of young
boys. And most of them can’t. They stumble over pronouncing words. Simple
words. And if you ask them to explain what it is they just read, the pat answer
is “I don’t know.” And they’re telling the truth, because when they read aloud,
they’re saying the words, but that’s all they’re doing. They’re concentrating
on getting to the end of the passage, everything else is secondary.
I can tell the readers from the non-readers at the first
meeting. They sail through simple and complicated texts – and I hear them read
everything from news stories to their Boy Scout manual to more complicated
texts, like the King James version of the Bible. If they encounter a word they’re
unfamiliar with, they sound it out, and usually get it right. They can guess at
meaning, and usually get it right. And if they’re stuck, they know where to go
to find the answers. They can summarize. They can explain.
The non-readers can’t do any of that. Or at least they don’t
try.
And it’s not just young boys. I also can tell pretty quickly
which of my college students are readers and which are not. I don’t get to hear
them read aloud, but I do get to see them think as they write essays and post
responses in our online classes. Those less interested in reading stand out,
even more so than those for whom English is not their first language – and I
have a lot of students that fit that category too.
These aren’t dumb kids. They have other talents ranging from
excellent math skills, a deeper understanding of emotion and empathy, and
athleticism, among others. Reading isn’t “their thing.”
But it’s fundamental to everything. Including coding.
We haven’t left it up to schools to teach our kids to read.
We read to them. We started early, with picture books, then Dr. Seuss, now
others – right now, I’m reading CS Lewis’ “Prince Caspian” to my two youngest
kids. And we read aloud, nearly every night, from our scriptures. We take turns
reading and explaining what we read – requiring our kids to go over what they
just read and using their own words to explain what’s happening.
And they’re readers. They’re up late at night reading,
getting yelled at to turn off the lights and go to bed. They’re always sneaking
books into the car for trips, sneaking books off the shelves to read at
mealtimes. They’ll read newspapers. And magazines. And comic strips. I’m sure
if I put a book on coding in front of them, they’d read it. And maybe get
interested.
But the reading comes first. If it doesn’t, well, we’re
slipping into Snow Crash a lot faster than previously thought. Technological
achievement is highly valued in the Metaverse, but that achievement can be as
shallow as it is stunning.
There is, of course, this argument:
Coding does require a lot of mental discipline, dealing with
the concrete hidden in the abstract. Yes, a lot of what is written is drivel.
But so is a lot of what is on the television. As is much of what is coded.
Coding for the sake of coding, I’m not necessarily in favor of. Coding with a
foundation on the ability to think and reason, well, that sounds a whole lot
better.
Could coding prod a non-reading kid into reading more? I’m
certain it could. But you’re going to get more coding kids if they’re reading
kids first.
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