Obama Pledges $4B to Computer Science in US Schools
Only a tiny fraction of the population needs to understand computer science. Most people will struggle through it, learn to hate it, and immediately forget it after they graduate, just as they do with math and science. Meanwhile, college professors will have to spend inordinate amounts of time unteaching all the stupid things kids learned in K-12, because there is no way to structure these curricula in a way that serves as a good foundation for those who will actually major in the subject and is simultaneously approachable for everyone else.<p>Public education should serve some practical purpose: teaching kids the basic skills <i>everyone</i> needs to be productive in the workforce and to contribute as citizens. To that end, I&#x27;d advocate taking courses away instead of adding them. Math and science education in K-12 is a disaster and a waste of time for all but a small fraction of kids. We&#x27;d be better off taking those out, shortening mandatory education to K-10, and letting kids who actually want to go into particular fields study the relevant coursework when they&#x27;re old enough to actually learn it properly.