Yes, teach coding by all means, if there is time. But DO NOT teach coding if this means that less time is devoted to fundamentals like learning how to speak and write using proper English.

Having worked at an online publisher, I can attest that a LOT of time was wasted due to situations where programmers were forced to decipher poorly written instructions (poor grammar/spelling or just not knowing the right word to describe something) written into the business specifications on what a user was wanting to see in the original design or update of a website page. Ensuing guesswork resulted in lots of unnecessary back and forth in the design process, which could have been avoided if the user had been able to articulate his/her wishes using better English.

This is just one example of lost productivity resulting from our schools churning out students who no longer know how to construct a proper sentence. I'm sure there are more.