May 26th, 2021
David Peachment
Computer programming is a pretty crazy thing when you think about it! At the base level, a huge string of 1s and 0s all collect together to form how a computer operates. That string tells the computer what to do when you click your mouse on an icon. Now thankfully, as technology progressed, a much more straightforward way of programming was created. It took those 1s and 0s and put them into a programming language which is a heck of a lot easier to understand and manipulate! Over the years, the languages got easier to use and provided for more robust options. Today, there are languages designed for everything from building websites to teaching kids.
And that’s where I come in.
When I was younger, I often spent chunks of my time (probably too much time) playing video games. After playing for years, I decided I wanted to try my hand at creating my own. I learned several crucial lessons along the way that helped guide me in other areas of school and even my life in general.
The satisfaction of creating something
One of the first lessons I learned through coding is the satisfaction that can be gained from creating something out of nothing. I’ll never forget the excitement I harboured when I tested my own program and realized I had created something. I made sure to show all of my family and friends that I created a computer program! It gave me a lot of intrinsic value and self-esteem that helped carry me into new interests and trying scary things. From that initial experience, I was able to give a shot at things outside of my comfort zone and pursue new things to learn and do.
Doing my best
Another lesson I learned is the art of putting my all into something and doing my absolute best. In coding, one can’t simply put a superficial amount of effort into designing a program. If they do, the program might not work as expected or might not run at all!
Because there is a lot of specific inputs and coding phrases to write, if you do something as basic as putting a lowercase letter instead of an uppercase, it can completely throw the program out of whack! Being present, checking your work, and maintaining focus are all essential to finishing a completed product. It won’t work if you don’t see it to the end. Coding taught me some valuable skills about doing my best that translated into my future learning and career.
Trying new things
The final lesson I learned that I want to talk about is how through coding, I developed a desire to try new things and figure out my interests. Because programming has such a wide breadth of applications, it caused me to look into other areas of interest I wouldn’t have necessarily considered. Building websites, coding video games, IT, cybersecurity, and many more! Coding opened the door to new worlds I hadn’t even imagined yet. And what’s really cool is how the knowledge I gained by learning coding even at a younger age helped me years in the future in my career in ways I never thought it would! Something as simple as understanding how to read/manipulate a bit of code can be applied in a ton of different software such as Excel, accounting software, marketing software, and so much more!
Final Thoughts
Learning to code was a super fun thing to do, provided me with lots of great life lessons, and has helped my career in countless ways. I’d highly recommend teaching it to your kids! Even if they don’t want to build a career out of it, it will help them immensely down the road!
If you’re unsure of where to start, click HERE to check out some of our great summer camps that explore subjects such as coding and much more! Or, if you want just a basic introduction, click HERE to sign up for a FREE coding class for your kids!
But no matter what you do, I hope you look into getting your kids to try out coding. I guarantee they’ll thank you for it!
David Peachment