Programming as a core subject?

Should programming be a core subject in school, alongside Swedish, math and English? Found a movie on youtube this week, where Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and others argue for the importance of knowing programming. And of course it's true. Learning to program from school age means training in logical thinking, problem solving and creativity. This should benefit the learning of other subjects and be needed throughout life. It would also increase understanding of technology, which in turn would probably increase young people's interest in technical professions. Perhaps it is high time for Swedish politicians and decision-makers to look up and see what other countries are doing and thinking. And we don't have to go very far. Just look at what Estonia is doing - they have decided that all pupils between the ages of seven and 19 should learn to code.

Last week, the Maths Commission was launched by a number of stakeholders from business, organizations and the education system. We think it's a good initiative, but strangely enough, there was an immediate debate about whether math is important or not. No one believes that we can have world-class skiers or footballers without good training. Nor should we think we can get world-class engineers and software developers without good training - and you get that when you study math. And programming. It's all about brain training. Then, the teaching pedagogy should probably be improved - for example, with more IT-based educational tools - including a simple programming language.

It should go without saying that programming is part of the core subject of math. It both makes math more fun and increases understanding of technology. Understanding IT is as important as knowing languages. Because while IT developers need more business knowledge, other professionals need knowledge of program development and understanding of the new technology. In addition, it would probably attract more people, both boys and girls, to technology professions. Because we also need the real specialists, the really sharp software developers who can develop the brand new. The things that will exist tomorrow but that we cannot even dream of today...