The True Value of Coding: It Teaches You to Think Differently | Gene Luen-Yang | Big Think

The True Value of Coding: It Teaches You to Think Differently
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As a high school teacher for 17 years, Gene Luen-Yang experienced the highs and lows of teaching computer science. Initially offered as a standalone course at Bishop O’Dowd High School, where Luen-Yang taught, faculty came to believe that computer science was so essential that it be integrated into every subject. Still, interest in learning coding among students varied with market fortunes. When the dotcom bubble burst in the late 1990s, fewer students wanted to learn the zen of programming languages. That's a shame, says Luen-Yang, because more than an employable skill, coding is a gateway to using logic to solve large problems creatively. Gene Luen Yang's most recent book is Paths & Portals.
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GENE LUEN-YANG:

Gene Luen Yang began making comics and graphic novels in the fifth grade. In 2006, his book American Born Chinese was published by First Second Books. It became the first graphic novel to be nominated for a National Book Award and the first to win the American Library Association’s Printz Award. It also won an Eisner Award for “Best Graphic Album – New.”

In 2013, First Second Books released Boxers & Saints, a two-volume graphic novel about the Boxer Rebellion. Boxers & Saints was nominated for a National Book Award and won the L.A. Times Book Prize. He’s done a number of other comics, including Dark Horse Comics’ continuation of the popular Nickelodeon cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender and DC Comics’ Superman!

In addition to cartooning, he teaches creative writing through Hamline University’s MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults. I teach alongside amazing authors like Anne Ursu, Gary Schmidt, Laura Ruby, Matt De La Pena, and more.

In January 2016, the Library of Congress, Every Child A Reader, and the Children’s Book Council appointed Gene as the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.

Yang was named to the 2016 class of the MacArthur Fellows Program, receiving what is commonly called the "Genius Grant". The MacArthur Foundation that names the fellows said that his "work for young adults demonstrates the potential of comics to broaden our understanding of diverse cultures and people."
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TRANSCRIPT:

GENE LUEN YANG: I was a high school computer science teacher for 17 years. I taught at Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland, California.

I taught during the dotcom boom, I taught during the dotcom bust, and I taught during sort of the recovery of the tech industry afterwards, and I did see the interest in what I was teaching fluctuate.

It would go up and down every year largely tied to the economy, which was a little bit weird to me. And even as a school, you know, when I began to teach in the late 90s the school itself actually had a computer requirement. You were required to take a certain number of computer classes before you were allowed to graduate. They got rid of that requirement. They got rid of that requirement because at some point they felt like computer literacy was so important that it ought to be integrated in all the other subjects. So it shouldn’t be a thing in and of itself.

So in the beginning I agreed with that. But after seeing how it played out I don’t think it was as effective as we wanted it to be, you know. I think that computers are still a fairly specialized type of knowledge, computer science. And teachers today still—I don’t think we’ve been trained on how to integrate computer science well into the other subjects.

So ultimately what ended up happening at that school site was we would graduate students who would know how to use computers but would not necessarily understand how they worked or even understand how to maximize what they could get out of the computer.

As a computer science teacher, something I used to talk to parents about—especially during the dotcom bust when interest in my class started to evaporate—is coding is not about training students how to type into a computer. That’s the least of it. Coding is actually really about training students to think in a certain way. It’s about training students to take large and complex problems and break them up into small pieces. It’s about training students to take things that are vague, that are difficult to wrap your mind around, and putting them into concrete sequential steps...

[MoysésGurgel]

I am now 37 years old and I am learning Python. I tried to learn programming early, but despite all my efforts this opportunity was not given to me in my country. Despite all the obstacles I have never given up on this dream and now I am more motivated than ever to learn from the precious help of the internet. Luckily there are many bright people here who kindly help anyone looking to learn computing. Although very difficult, I hope that one day I will become a programmer.

[alanbdee]

Programming is a lot more like Math then a lot of people realize. Not that we (Software Engineers) actually perform a lot of mathematical operations, there are functions for all of those. It's similar in that you take a problem that seems insurmountable and break it down in to smaller pieces that you can then solve easily. Many people argue that Math is a waste of time yet I assert that the skills gained in doing a lot of math are similar to those gained by learning to program. Those same skills prove to be extremely useful in ways you never expected and not by writing a program or solving for x.

[ultravidz]

Kids need to learn critical thinking skills, problem solving and skepticism from a young age. Learning how to learn is also crucial. There should be entire courses dedicated to that rather than simply shoving facts down their throats.

[grejen]

You've missed the mark.

Learning to code, and learning to debug so you can have code that actually works, is not just about breaking down large problems. Many other fields (e.g. math) necessarily teach this. It's not just about separating what the users see (UI/X) from what the computer is doing. Industrial design, art, mechanics all do that as well.

The real value in learning to code is learning how to think logically and critically. To separate, or at least recognize the emotional part of yourself. The part that will not fix problems and probably even make them worse. Beyond "if then else" thinking, learning to code forces you to think very pedantically. Because a computer lacks them entirely, you learn to recognize how your perceptions and communications are colored by your emotions and experiences. You then understand how other people have different perceptions than you do.

It also teaches you patience and to appreciate that the error is only your own. You learn to accept that the result you get is exactly the result you ask for regardless of what you think it should be. You stop using the word "should". In today's world learning to debug code is a great way to learn the difference between reality and BS. Things do NOT come true because you wish for them really hard. Like reality, computers do not care what you believe.

That is the value in learning to code.

[gplus]

What he has described here is exactly what I've been experiencing as I learn coding. It is fantastic.

[pablobragato]

haha Im a programmer since 12ys and now I have my own company, love coding

[tiancilliers]

Coding teaches problem solving. Looking at a problem and thinking about the optimal solution. And this is a very valuable skill, not only in computer science but in life as well

[rdvqc]

I wrote my first program in 1969 and still frequently code today. I have also managed other "coders" and top technical folk over the intervening years. Good coders are rare! The aptitude to break a problem into instructions is especially scarce. I agree it spreads into other areas as well. If you can debug a program or solve a system or network problem, you can diagnose many other situations as well. I have always thought that doctors should have to learn coding and demonstrate debugging skills to demonstrate diagnostic ability.

[brynwhitehead]

Coding teaches logarithmic thinking about programmatic solutions. How do we get to point b from point a? What are the steps? And, how will that affect other parts of the system?

Keeps [*] creative.

[eradius]

this was very accurate. problem solving is the greatest gift programming will teach you. once that mentality sets in you will find it easily transferable to any other coding language. so in a very short time you will go from knowing a couple of languages to knowing 10-15+

[mrfaithandphysics]

It requires concentration and real thinking. Music has a similar effect. I figure it is simply the mental exercise that strengthens neural connections.

[Skatox]

Awesome video! I'm a professor and that's something I like about teaching, teaching people how solve problems in a different way.

[nickstoli]

Don't believe this. The future is coal, people. Learn to be a miner. I kid, I kid.

[jakejake]

He's absolutely right! Especially the part about breaking big problems into a collection of smaller problems. I bet he's an excellent teacher.

[kdiaz]

Thank you Gene Luen-Yang! This is SO important for the children growing up today!

[saturn]

I took computer science for the first time last semester, on C language. I've never learned so much in one semester, because computer science is completely unexplored to me, it was just wow. It made me appreciate all the brilliant apps and games being made.

[rolfw]

Kudos to you, Gene, for teaching CS in high school! That must not have been an easy path. And, good point about the need to understand something about how computers actually work.

[abrahamanand]

Language has always been part of our evolutionary process. With coding, it will bring us to heights unimaginable

[nachannachle]

I would say that there is only so much effort people are going to invest in developing their cognitive skills.
Artists want to solve problems with chiroscuro/tones/perspectives in their work, Mechanics want to solve problems with rotations/electrics. This is all CONCRETE/sensory data.
On the other hand, scientists, philosophers, linguists want to solve physical and metaphysical problems, which integrate CONCRETE/sensory data and BEYOND.

I would say the reason why the number of coding-enthusiasts will always be "limited" is because most people (wrongly) convince themselves that "if I'm never going to be a programmer, then why should I bother look at the programming language(s)". This mentality is the result of Educational policies driven by "job-readiness", "employment prospects" and "the imperative to reduce unemployment figures".
People have convinced themselves and their children that learning anything beyond the "requirements of their/a job" is beyond their grasp, therefore unnecessary. As if anything we learn/observe/see/do in life needs has to be for utilitarian purposes.

My view is that Computer Science, just like Foreign languages, just like Physics, just like Philosophy or Pure Mathematics will always be marginalised in the curriculum because they are not "finite" disciplines: the learning is always work-in-progress because you get problems thrown at you everyday and you need PASSION to enjoy plodding along. Unlike Home economics, Arts, Human Biology, History, Creative writing or even Chemistry, they don't have a "standard" threshold where you can stop and say "I've learnt all that is needed for my job/performance/work".

[iboremytherapist]

jump in to coding! no problem! actually, that is vague: query / search engine coding, software coding, developing a smart phone app, ... I wouldn't know where to begin / which would be best