Do You Know How To Code? Build A Business Teaching Kids To Code

Public school doesn’t teach kids to code

The problem with attending public schools is that kids are mostly taught to excel in examinations that requires rote memorisation instead of learning critical 21st century skills on how to manage money, how to negotiate, or how to communicate. Many people assume that these skills would be taught by the parents but not all parents are qualified to teach these lessons, and many presume that school is “enough learning.” The school system would no doubt be a perfect place to learn these indispensable skills but sadly many public schools are just set up to teach us what matters most.

In the recent years, programming boot camps in private schools are popping up in numbers, showing how the current public school model lags behind. In 2–3 months, 90% or more of graduates with such a skillset have a job making more than $80,000 a year (within just a few months of graduation).

Programming boot camps are apprenticeships where students learn to code from knowledgeable programmers already working in the field. It’s all hands-on work with a focus on the work in today’s world, and the graduates are highly valued for the skills they possess when they enter the job market. Competition from such private schools is much needed to spur an improvement in the public school system.  

Coding isn’t nerdy anymore, it’s a necessity

Gone are the days where a person who types away furiously on the computer’s keyboard is considered a geek. At the turn of the century, the Third Industrial Revolution has automated production making it more efficient using electronics and information technology. Now the Fourth Industrial Revolution is building on the Third, evolving at an exponential pace rather than a linear one. Moreover, it has brought about disruptions in various countries across the many industries.

The ability to code or computer program is an important skillset to enable us to be ready for the fourth industrial revolution as it makes it possible for us to create computer software, apps and website.

The importance of having the skillset of coding is being highlighted among many of the employers today. There are an increasing number of businesses relying on computer code today. According to Glassdoor, eight of the top 25 jobs are job positions related to technology. A software engineer could just as easily find themselves working at Apple, as they could in a hospital, or at an automotive manufacturer. It is therefore necessary for us to be able to learn coding to keep ourselves competitive in the job market, opening up a plethora of job opportunities.

Additionally, by learning coding one will achieve the below skill set.

• Kids become more innovative. They will learn the fundamental skill that is behind many of the technologies used today which has changed the way we lived. ( Eg. Self-driving cars and robotic technologies)
• Kids gets more creative. They are allowed to experiment with projects that they like.
• Kids gain confidence. When they learn how to code, they are able to come up with projects and proudly display it for their family to see. This will perhaps help them to realise their ability in doing something great and believe in themselves more.
• Lastly, learning coding would correlate to better performance in other subjects as learning how to code is strongly intertwined with the other disciplinaries such as math and reading

There’s not a lot of money in teaching, but there is a lot of money in kids coding academies.

To achieve quality economic growth instead of just a high one, China has rolled out various economic reforms which has seen the country invest more in educating her people. This is because China wants to move away from being a manufacturing driven economy (secondary sectors) to one who is driven by her quaternary sectors ( eg. Research powerhouse). This has led to a rise in demand for people who possess valuable skills such as coding. Similarly, in other countries, educators and policy makers are increasingly seeing the need to incorporate skills such as coding into the curriculum. The market for kids coding academies is huge with many parents wishing to give their children a head start in life. Increasingly, we are seeing many more kids ages 5-16 being enrolled in such courses across the countries.

There are various courses that are being offered in the industry for kids coding academies such as Coding, Design, Game Development and Robotics. Additionally, the opportunities for such programmes can take form in short term summer camps or in the longer term, progressive courses. Different academies offer various approaches in teaching such computer science courses to a kid. Such approaches can be in the form of a traditional classroom setting where educators deliver the content to the student or on online platforms where kids learn independently from videos.

On the other hand, it can be a more intimate approach such as Launch’s hybrid learning model which is a flipped learning model based on a one-to-one in person support. Launch is a kids coding academy in Austin, TX. This ensures that the kids would be able to learn independently at their own pace and yet receive the support they would need along the way. (Parents can monitor students’ progress projects.)  Such an approach allows students, educators and parents to work hand in hand to bring about an enhanced learning experience for the kids.