you ask a kid what they want to be when
they grow up what’s usually the answer
maybe think it’d be something like a
doctor or a firefighter or police
officer but a common one I’ve heard is
video game designer if you’re asked my
little brother that’s what he’d say he
wants to do when he grows up and that’s
probably what I would have said when I
was his age too but coding the skill
needed for this profession is only
taught in 25% of schools do you know
what coding is since it’s often the
subject of confusion coding aka
programming means inputting technology
to direct it to do something like
instructions I’ve met many kids
teenagers and even adults who don’t even
know the most basic ideas of coding for
example I want to add a friend who
thought there’s only two coding
languages when in reality there are
hundreds many things we consume every
single day I have people with coding
behind them things like Facebook Twitter
Google TV video games it all started
from me about two and a half years ago
when I just turned 10 years old my
parents had bought me a laptop and two
coding books for Christmas and well I
didn’t really end up using the books
themselves the websites the books were
based off ups helped me a lot the first
language I learned was scratch created
by a group of computer programmers out
of MIT
it’s a program mostly for kids but
really it’s accessible for all ages it
utilizes a simple drag-and-drop platform
of colorful blocks that can attach
together to make a project and project
can be anywhere from games to stories to
animations I also had the incredible
opportunity to go to MIT the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology to
learn another coding language a Python
not every kid is going to get these
opportunities though however I believe
all kids should have access to learned
code just like all kids should I have
access to books to read many kids aren’t
going to be able to go to camps around
laptops coding shouldn’t be a privilege
everyone should have access to it
regardless of race gender or class by
not teaching coding at schools the kids
that can get those skills or gaining
advantages over the kids who just can’t
and that’s not fair teaching coding in
schools is an uncharted territory either
countries like England Australia Holland
some cities and states in the United
States and even Canadian provinces like
British Columbia and Nova Scotia are
already starting to implement these
changes and more definitely to come even
Justin Trudeau our Prime Minister
recently spoke out in favor of coding
another important point is the
engagement of students currently I’m
volunteering once a week to teach a
group of grade threes how to code using
scratch they’ve had a couple classes so
far and they’re really getting used to
the language they’re fascinated how
they’re able to do even simple things
like making the scratch cat the mascot
of the website move up and down but here
in Newfoundland and Labrador there are
only two computer coding courses in the
curriculum their elective courses taught
in high school and are very difficult to
build off of
since coding is an essential new
literacy shouldn’t be talked too much
earlier than late high school after all
how would we feel if we had to wait till
late high school to learn how to do
things like read or write or do math
it’s not fair that only these kids in
this grade 3 class are getting proper
coding education coding doesn’t only
help in technology-based subjects either
for example when I first started coding
scratch I didn’t know X&Y positioning
yet a vital part of the language so I
asked my parents how to do it and they
showed me and when we did it in school I
was the only kid who knew it all already
but even if these kids don’t pursue a
career in technology I believe they’re
learning a skill that has many benefits
who knows maybe they will become a
programmer one day maybe even the next
big programmer like Bill Gates or Mark
Zuckerberg coding also makes important
contributions to the economy here in
Newfoundland and Labrador we are a
resource-based economy that historically
focused on renewable resources like fish
and forestry non-renewable resources
like oils minerals and natural gases the
two main problems with these resources
is that one they can get overused in
industries can collapse
for example the kaabah moratorium of the
1990s and current concerns at the shrimp
fishery and too unstable prices
associated markets such as oil and
natural gas an issue that’s still
happening computer science related
industry on the other hand is such a
bountiful and rapidly growing resource
that it’s only becoming more important
in fact by 2019 Canada will have one
hundred and eighty two thousand open IT
jobs and that’s only IT but without the
proper skills to fulfill these jobs
people just won’t be able to do them and
isn’t that the main purpose of schools
to teach us skills to help us get
employment since it’s widely predicted
that jobs will become more and more
computer science related wouldn’t
teaching us code be vital coding has
very money outside of school benefits as
well this can include the development of
problem-solving and critical thinking
skills which we all need to learn better
also our self confidence is boosted when
we learn a new skill especially one like
coding that has so many uses and
opportunities that come with it also
when you code you will make mistakes as
I can tell you from experience sometimes
I’ll have to search through all your
lines of code just to find one spot
that’s causing all of it to malfunction
you could say it also helps develop
patience coding has have an important
impact in terms of jobs skills are just
a fun hobby that’s engaging to learn and
everyone deserves to learn it so what
are you waiting for
try coding out learn more about how it
works or even challenge schools and
whether they should be teaching code and
with technology advancing so quickly I
promise it won’t be a waste of your time
[Applause]
they grow up what’s usually the answer
maybe think it’d be something like a
doctor or a firefighter or police
officer but a common one I’ve heard is
video game designer if you’re asked my
little brother that’s what he’d say he
wants to do when he grows up and that’s
probably what I would have said when I
was his age too but coding the skill
needed for this profession is only
taught in 25% of schools do you know
what coding is since it’s often the
subject of confusion coding aka
programming means inputting technology
to direct it to do something like
instructions I’ve met many kids
teenagers and even adults who don’t even
know the most basic ideas of coding for
example I want to add a friend who
thought there’s only two coding
languages when in reality there are
hundreds many things we consume every
single day I have people with coding
behind them things like Facebook Twitter
Google TV video games it all started
from me about two and a half years ago
when I just turned 10 years old my
parents had bought me a laptop and two
coding books for Christmas and well I
didn’t really end up using the books
themselves the websites the books were
based off ups helped me a lot the first
language I learned was scratch created
by a group of computer programmers out
of MIT
it’s a program mostly for kids but
really it’s accessible for all ages it
utilizes a simple drag-and-drop platform
of colorful blocks that can attach
together to make a project and project
can be anywhere from games to stories to
animations I also had the incredible
opportunity to go to MIT the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology to
learn another coding language a Python
not every kid is going to get these
opportunities though however I believe
all kids should have access to learned
code just like all kids should I have
access to books to read many kids aren’t
going to be able to go to camps around
laptops coding shouldn’t be a privilege
everyone should have access to it
regardless of race gender or class by
not teaching coding at schools the kids
that can get those skills or gaining
advantages over the kids who just can’t
and that’s not fair teaching coding in
schools is an uncharted territory either
countries like England Australia Holland
some cities and states in the United
States and even Canadian provinces like
British Columbia and Nova Scotia are
already starting to implement these
changes and more definitely to come even
Justin Trudeau our Prime Minister
recently spoke out in favor of coding
another important point is the
engagement of students currently I’m
volunteering once a week to teach a
group of grade threes how to code using
scratch they’ve had a couple classes so
far and they’re really getting used to
the language they’re fascinated how
they’re able to do even simple things
like making the scratch cat the mascot
of the website move up and down but here
in Newfoundland and Labrador there are
only two computer coding courses in the
curriculum their elective courses taught
in high school and are very difficult to
build off of
since coding is an essential new
literacy shouldn’t be talked too much
earlier than late high school after all
how would we feel if we had to wait till
late high school to learn how to do
things like read or write or do math
it’s not fair that only these kids in
this grade 3 class are getting proper
coding education coding doesn’t only
help in technology-based subjects either
for example when I first started coding
scratch I didn’t know X&Y positioning
yet a vital part of the language so I
asked my parents how to do it and they
showed me and when we did it in school I
was the only kid who knew it all already
but even if these kids don’t pursue a
career in technology I believe they’re
learning a skill that has many benefits
who knows maybe they will become a
programmer one day maybe even the next
big programmer like Bill Gates or Mark
Zuckerberg coding also makes important
contributions to the economy here in
Newfoundland and Labrador we are a
resource-based economy that historically
focused on renewable resources like fish
and forestry non-renewable resources
like oils minerals and natural gases the
two main problems with these resources
is that one they can get overused in
industries can collapse
for example the kaabah moratorium of the
1990s and current concerns at the shrimp
fishery and too unstable prices
associated markets such as oil and
natural gas an issue that’s still
happening computer science related
industry on the other hand is such a
bountiful and rapidly growing resource
that it’s only becoming more important
in fact by 2019 Canada will have one
hundred and eighty two thousand open IT
jobs and that’s only IT but without the
proper skills to fulfill these jobs
people just won’t be able to do them and
isn’t that the main purpose of schools
to teach us skills to help us get
employment since it’s widely predicted
that jobs will become more and more
computer science related wouldn’t
teaching us code be vital coding has
very money outside of school benefits as
well this can include the development of
problem-solving and critical thinking
skills which we all need to learn better
also our self confidence is boosted when
we learn a new skill especially one like
coding that has so many uses and
opportunities that come with it also
when you code you will make mistakes as
I can tell you from experience sometimes
I’ll have to search through all your
lines of code just to find one spot
that’s causing all of it to malfunction
you could say it also helps develop
patience coding has have an important
impact in terms of jobs skills are just
a fun hobby that’s engaging to learn and
everyone deserves to learn it so what
are you waiting for
try coding out learn more about how it
works or even challenge schools and
whether they should be teaching code and
with technology advancing so quickly I
promise it won’t be a waste of your time
[Applause]
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