Give your child the power of grit, and they can never quit! – How coding and technology courses build persistence.
Putting your child in computer coding for kids early on gives them new skills while sharpening existing ones to build their overall educational perseverance and grit. Having grit means having that extra motivation to meet a goal! Establishing grit and persistence early in development can lead to many successes in the future. Here are some key points that show how coding and technology courses strengthens a child’s will to learn!
Building STEM Confidence for Girls and Minorities
According to statistics from Code.org, women who try AP Computer Science in high school are ten times more likely to major in it in college. By starting early and building that persistence, kids are able to dip their toes in the water with topics like coding, robotics, and more.
From the same statistics, students who take AP Computer Science in high school are 6 times more likely to major in computer science than those who do not, and Black and Hispanic students are 7 or 8 times more likely.
Texas has no required coding fundamentals in public schools — so by enrolling them in a computer science course outside of school, you are exposing them to the opportunities not usually offered through traditional education.
computer coding for kids
Importance of Computational Thinking
By learning computational thinking, kids will learn key attributes that help them face a complex problem. With computer science, kids are faced with challenging subjects like programming, hacking, and learning algorithms. By teaching them the way to face the challenges and problems they might run into, you are giving them valuable skills to make them future leaders.
BBC’s Bitesize stated, “Computational thinking allows us to take a complex problem, understand what the problem is and develop possible solutions. We can then present these solutions in a way that a computer, a human, or both, can understand.”
Teaching kids not to give up
Psychologist Angela Lee Duckworth defines “grit” as “perseverance and passion for long-term goals.” In her compelling Ted Talk on the subject of perseverance, she argues that a child’s grit and capacity for perseverance is a much stronger indicator that they will succeed in their education and professional careers. At Launch, we understand this grit as a supplemental educational skill to be developed along with any other. Here are some of the steps we take to ensure that our students develop skills perseverance as well as computer programing skills:
Teach by example: “Showing” rather than “Telling” makes a much greater impact.
Provide challenging activities: Growth can’t be done in your comfort zone.
Offer praise and encouragement: Validation when deserved reinforced positive behavior
Set age appropriate goals: Challenging does not mean impossible, realistic goals ensures a definable path to success.
Realize frustration is OK: Challenges are just that, challenging. When a child learns that it is okay to struggle, and in fact embrace it, they will advance to higher and higher achievements.
Being Receptive to Constructive Criticism
Taking constructive criticism to better oneself rather than handling it negatively is a key to building grit and persistence. By teaching kids that it is okay to learn from their mistakes, you teach them to continue on with their goals and make improvements rather than giving up. Constructive criticism includes offering examples of things to work on or by offering clarification to something that may seem confusing to them through their work. You are building a positive atmosphere through feedback. coding for kids summer camp can often be frustrating, but by working through problems with an instructor who provides constructive criticism, your child can work through coding errors and excel in creating an online presence.
At Launch, we pride ourselves in making sure kids are comfortable and work through complex problems that may arise in projects. We strive to build grit and persistence in our students so that they can be successful in their future goals.