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The rationale for this rapid curricular renovation is economic. Teaching kids how to code will help them land good jobs, the argument goes. In an era of flat and falling incomes, programming provides a new path to the middle class – a skill so widely demanded that anyone who acquires it can command a livable, even lucrative, wage.
This narrative pervades policymaking at every level, from school boards to the government. Yet it rests on a fundamentally flawed premise. Contrary to public perception, the economy doesn't actually need that many more programmers. As a result, teaching millions of kids to code won't make them all middle-class. Rather, it will proletarianize the profession by flooding the market and forcing wages down – and that's precisely the point.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday September 24 2017, @10:40PM
In other words, that their motives are impure. Why do we care?
Labor isn't free. They still have to pay for it in wages and benefits.
I'll note that this has been done for a long time with doctors and nurses. I've read of immigrant Indian medical professionals in the late 80s, IIRC. Education for managers and CEOs is in great oversupply. That's not the restriction on those careers.