Let's not rely on nostalgia to inform our concerns. I remember what it was like to grow up with a general purpose computer. It ran closed-source software and there were no programming environments, resources, or classes easily available to a kid.
It's true that some kids learned to program on their home computers. They did so against incredible odds.
Today's kids are surrounded by cheap, plentiful, powerful computers, and awash in information about programming on the Internet and in bookstores and libraries and schools. It has never been easier for a kid to learn to program, if they want to.
> How do we inspire even a few kids in each generation to take up programming, if the only computer they've ever used is un-programmable.
This is like asking how do we inspire kids to be writers if none of the books they've ever read have been typewriters. There is more inspiration for kid programmers today than there ever has been in the history of the world, because they are immersed in more computing than any previous generation.
It's true that some kids learned to program on their home computers. They did so against incredible odds.
Today's kids are surrounded by cheap, plentiful, powerful computers, and awash in information about programming on the Internet and in bookstores and libraries and schools. It has never been easier for a kid to learn to program, if they want to.
> How do we inspire even a few kids in each generation to take up programming, if the only computer they've ever used is un-programmable.
This is like asking how do we inspire kids to be writers if none of the books they've ever read have been typewriters. There is more inspiration for kid programmers today than there ever has been in the history of the world, because they are immersed in more computing than any previous generation.