JOIN USOpen sesame | Do young minds enjoy learning how to code?
Tech entrepreneurs like Bill Gates feel coding is an essential 21st-century skill and early know-how can give an edge to one’s career. But critics argue that many parents are sending their children to coding classes out of insecurity and peer pressure.
We ask youngsters why they are making a beeline at coding camps.
‘Like to see the output’
Srikar Raghavan started learning Python at the age of nine at a coding camp in 2020. He is now learning Scratch in school and is looking forward to an HTML course. Does he want to be a career coder? He can’t say for sure but he is “doing it for fun now”.
Now 11, Srikar says, “I like seeing the output of my programmes. In the coding camp, I learnt basics like printing statements and importing if-else statements. I also learnt how to code a rock-paper-scissor kind of a game. I would like to learn more coding but the schoolwork doesn’t leave me with much time.”
‘Not interested’
Twelve-year-old Samarth Praveen attended a coding camp in 2020 because his friends were going. “I don’t do it anymore. I don’t find it interesting,” he says.
‘A creative outlet’
The coding camp George Joseph Pottamkulam, 14, went to was roughly a month-long but it has left a lasting impression on him. He learnt the basics of Python, using which he made games and several drawings. He now hopes to pursue a career in tech. “Coding helps me express my creativity and execute original ideas,” he says.
‘Want a career in tech’
Eapen Kadamapuzha Eapen, 15, got drawn to coding because of his father. “He once made a speaker for himself and also a device for the car, which regulates and shows RPM (rotations per minute) of the wheels. That was cool,” he recollects. He has been fascinated since then and would like to pursue a career in tech.
He started learning Python from his uncle during the peak of the pandemic in 2020. “I learnt basics like strings, loops, functions, and data structures. I like coding because it feels great to get something working after failing many times.”
‘Kids like it’
Kavitha S P is a computer science teacher at Vishwa Vidyapeeth School, Bengaluru. She teaches Scratch coding to Class 6 students, web design to Class 7 students, Python to Class 8 students and advanced coding to Class 9 and 10 students.
“Students are interested in coding. Every time I teach a concept, they come back the next day with questions and enthusiasm to learn more,” she says.
Most popular
Python is the go-to coding language among middle and high school kids. One can write shorter and more succinct programmes in Python than in C++ and Java.
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