Should students learn to code?

In my opinion, Java/JavaScript and HTML are pretty popular coding languages, and I’d heard of them for a long time before even coming to Carleton. Having expressed prior interest, getting to try both within these tutorials was a really interesting experience, and i think is something every student should be introduced to the fundamentals of coding for the web. For example, even though this site has a built in features to bold or italicize text, that last sentence was done by hand through editing the HTML within the site

“At recess in middle school, while others played soccer or traded Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, I pored over tomes on HTML, JavaScript, and PHP—which paid off, socially, when I built a proxy server to let classmates access banned Flash games.”

_{Cory Doctorow, “Social Quitting”, Special Features, Locus, Vol. 90, no. 1 #744 (January 2023), pp. 29, 49.}

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
	<title>My first web page</title>
</head>
<body>

<h1>This is my <em>first</em> web page</h1>
<p>How <strong>exciting</strong></p>
<h2>What this is</h2>
<p>A simple page put together using HTML</p>
<h2>Where to find the tutorial</h2>
    <p><a href="http://www.htmldog.com">HTML Dog</a></p>

<h2>Why this is</h2>

<ul>
	<li>To learn HTML</li>
    
	<li>
	    To show off
	    <ol>
		<li>To my boss</li>
		<li>To my friends</li>
		<li>To my cat</li>
		<li>To the talking duck in my brain</li>
	    </ol>
	</li>
		
	<li>Because I've fallen in love with my computer and want to give her some HTML loving.</li>
</ul>

<p></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>

line one <br>
line two

<p></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>

<table>
    <tr>
        <td>Row 1, cell 1</td>
        <td>Row 1, cell 2</td>
        <td>Row 1, cell 3</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>Row 2, cell 1</td>
        <td>Row 2, cell 2</td>
        <td>Row 2, cell 3</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>Row 3, cell 1</td>
        <td>Row 3, cell 2</td>
        <td>Row 3, cell 3</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>Row 4, cell 1</td>
        <td>Row 4, cell 2</td>
        <td>Row 4, cell 3</td>
    </tr>
</table>

<p></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>

</body>
</html>

Coding experience

The only experience I can claim is from my CS 111 course that I took last spring in python, and the current Data Structures 201 class I’m in this fall. Although it hasn’t been much, or very successful for that matter, the practice of Kotlin within Data Structures helped a bit with the JavaScript tutorial, and Python with Kotlin. This kind of relationship apparently holds true for the vast amount of coding languages that exist, which makes me more inclined to emphasize that learning even just one could immensely benefit students in the long run. Overall, despite my experience not being very long, I believe it still held value.

Closing thoughts

Even if just a single coding language, I’m sure any student could take that skill and grow with it to be able to use it for future endeavors. The internet is widely used across the globe, and students in particular have an advantage of learning its intricacies for personal and societal benefit. After going through the HTML beginner tutorial and enjoying the content as well as the process of creating my own web page, I wish I’d been introduced or taught something like this sooner. Introducing it at such a young age like the quote above might be excessive, but its message still has value. Consider teenagers who’d want to beef up a resume, or get a head start with internships or personal projects, this could be a really useful tool. Additionally, I’m sure there are many people who’d complain about the current school systems in what is being taught, and from a student perspective, coding has value especially for those interested in stem fields.