I agree with you (almost) entirely. My family got a Commodore VIC-20 when I was 8. I started "programming" immediately. Except that my "programs" were actually a series of PRINT statements, with an occasional input required for pagination. I was just writing stories, but doing it in BASIC. I distinctly recall being confused by the meaning of 'string' (the metaphor for stringing characters made no sense to my young brain).
I played with computers non-stop, however. To the best of my recollection, my first real programs started around the age of 12 or 13.
Changing the way we teach mathematics would probably do much, much more to improve our future than pushing programming on younger students.
I played with computers non-stop, however. To the best of my recollection, my first real programs started around the age of 12 or 13.
Changing the way we teach mathematics would probably do much, much more to improve our future than pushing programming on younger students.