為什麼讓孩子學編程——哪個孩子不想當魔法師呢？
朗讀者是我的妻子
讓孩子在很小的時候就通過與母語是英文的老師在線進行交流來學習英文，這在中國已經成為非常受家長認可的方式。顯然，這是一種學習語言的好方法，也是拓展孩子對外面世界了解的渠道。有很多研究表明，在孩子早期為其建立「雙語大腦」是有許多優點的。
然而，現在在美國有一種更大的趨勢，是讓孩子從很小的時候就開始學習軟體編程技能。美國教育工作者專註於培養孩子從小的邏輯思維能力和解決問題能力，即通過增加STEAM教育（科學Science、技術Technology、工程Engineering、藝術Art、數學Mathematics），形成五門學科的交叉融合。在學習編程的過程中，並不僅僅教授孩子計算機語言，而是通過賦予孩子在動手設計代碼的過程中掌握數字時代里解決問題和創新的能力，並且其附帶好處是有利於學習數學。
當我自己還是一個十幾歲的孩子時，我周圍為數不多的一些同學便開始學習編寫計算機操作軟體 ——儘管那時大多數的同齡人都認為我們幾個是書獃子，很奇怪我們為什麼搗鼓那玩意兒。我十幾歲的時候開始編寫軟體程序 ，主要使用BASIC語言——一種直譯式程序設計語言。我在大學時曾創辦過兩家公司，都是圍繞著軟體和計算機技術。現在想來怪不得我大學畢業後的第一份工作就是在微軟，它當時只是一家僱員少於1100人、相比現在規模小很多的公司。今天，我能成為在移動互聯網領域的一名企業家 ，多少與我大學時就開始創業的經歷有些因緣際會的意味吧。
沒有人再懷疑人類已經進入信息時代，互聯網與我們每個人的生活密切相關，我們甚至無法想像沒有它的世界。當代孩子生而被數碼產品簇擁，生活中的方方面面都離不開機器和代碼。學習編程能讓孩子了解他們玩的遊戲、玩具背後的原理。甚至有人認為編程是數字時代的「讀寫能力」（literacy）。
可能有些父母擔心，小朋友連識字都有困難，如何能夠理解這些複雜的東西呢？愛爾蘭國立大學的計算機科學家保羅·吉布森說，「5至11歲之間的孩子在學習演算法和計算上表現出的突出潛質讓我覺得如果等到他們十幾歲了再學這些基礎知識就太可惜了。」可視化的編程語言已經可以足夠教予小朋友們基礎的編程邏輯和概念，有了這些基礎，小朋友就像有了「第三隻眼睛」，理解世界也更容易、更全面了！
如果你的孩子可以學習一門外語，那他也可以學習編碼，兩項活動都動用到大腦的相同模塊。編程，很快就會成為孩子們需要學習的一門語言。英國在 2014 年成為世界上首個把編程帶進小學和初中的國家。從 5 歲起直至中學畢業，學生們可以在學校里循序漸進地學習編程技能；隨後法國、美國也將編程列入初等教育選修範圍內；香港特區政府也正計劃把編程列為小學教學大綱的一部份，而目前香港小學生課後的編程興趣班持續火熱中。麻省理工教授瑞思尼克認為，孩子只有在設計、創造和表達的時候才能獲得最好的學習體驗。透過仔細觀察及邏輯思維，孩子可以快速掌握解決困難謎題的方案，並開始吸收基礎編程思維的關鍵要素。要知道現今世界以科技主導，編程技巧變得越來越重要。事實證明越早接觸一項事物，學習時便能越快掌握。學習編程也一樣！在兒童年紀小小時讓他們接觸編程，讓他們在引人入勝的電腦科技領域上有個好開始。
我有這樣一個看法：培養學生在考試中取得好成績的學術做法並不會教給孩子們創造性或邏輯性的思維，當然也不會教他們如何處理失敗。孩子們需要把他們自己看成是有想像力的創造者，而不僅僅是消費者。可視化的編程語言可以給孩子即時的反饋，他們的創造力能馬上變成可交互的現實，這種樂趣和成就感是很多其他活動不能給予的。通過教孩子編程，讓孩子獲得創造科技的可能，也讓孩子多了一種表達自我、釋放創造力的方式。
亞馬遜創始人兼CEO貝索斯在最近的一次採訪中表示，「失敗和創造是密不可分的雙生子。」貝索斯一直在反覆灌輸失敗的重要性。他說要是沒有失敗，你就無法有真正的創造。貝索斯說，無論是企業、初創企業還是政府機構，誰都想有創造性，「大家都喜歡創造發明，但問題是，大家也都害怕失敗。「 「如果你已經知道這可以成功的話，那就不叫實驗了。只有通過實驗才能實現真正的創造。最重要的發明創造來自於不斷試錯，這必然導致大量失敗。」
讓孩子從小學習編程可能是你可以為他們做的最有影響力的事情之一。不一定是為了讓你的孩子成為程序員，就像我們讓孩子學習英語，也不是為了讓他們去當翻譯員，但是接觸這種思維方式和編輯邏輯，就像為他們打開了又一扇門，通往更多元的世界。
在大人的世界裡，魔法是不存在的。但是，誰不曾在小時候憧憬著自己能擁有魔法呢？現在，試著讓你家的小朋友學編程，讓他獲得最接近「魔法」的力量。不要擔心學習太早。
還記得20歲創立臉書卻已經有十多年編程經驗的馬克 · 扎克伯格嗎？把學習編程作為一種啟蒙，並讓興趣來引導發展，說不準一不小心你的孩子還真能改變世界！
如果你對這個話題感興趣，歡迎與我探討、給我留言，我將非常樂於交流。
祝你一切順利，
朗龍傑
----- Rough English Translation -----
Why Children Should Code: what child doesn』t want to make magic!
These days in China it is very popular to have your children learn English at a very young age by talking directly with native English-speaking teachers online. Obviously, this is a good way to learn a language and an excellent way to broaden their experience and understanding of the world outside China. There are numerous studies that show building a bilingual brain early has many advantages in real life.
However, in America one of the biggest trends is have your children learn software programing skills (coding) from a very young age. American educators focus on developing student』s logical thinking and problem solving abilities. This is done by increasing the focus of curriculum on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math). That is why many American parents are encouraging their children to learn software coding.
When I was a teenager in the 1980』s all the really smart kids were learning to write software to control personal computers--but there weren』t that many of us and most people thought we were nerds or even worse, just plain weird. Nevertheless, I embraced this fully and began writing software programs when I was in my early teens—mostly using BASIC language. I started two businesses in college, both centered around software and personal computers. So, I guess it is not surprising that my first job when I graduated from college was Microsoft (at the time a much smaller company with less than 1,100 employees) and my first boss was Steve Ballmer. Fast forward today, I am a successful entrepreneur in the software and mobile Internet field--and still a nerd, I guess.
Human beings have irreversibly entered the information age. The Internet and technology is a huge part of our daily lives. It is becoming increasingly hard imagine the world without all the technology we use every day. Modern children are born and surrounded by digital products. All aspects of life are inseparable from computers and software. Learning programming allows children to understand the principles behind the games they play and the things they use in their daily lives. Some people even think that programming is the new "literacy" of the digital age.
Some parents may worry that children, who have not fully mastered native language literacy, will be unable to understand complicated things like coding. Paul Gibson, a computer scientist at the National University of Ireland, says, "the outstanding potential of children between 5 and 11 years old in learning algorithms and calculations makes me feel that it is a complete waste of good talent if they wait to learn basic knowledge when they are in their teens." Visual representations of programming languages do a fine job of teaching children basic programming logic and concepts. With this foundation, children can understand the world in a new way, as if they had an extra set of eyes.
If your child can learn a foreign language, he or she can learn to code. The same parts of the brain are used for both activities. Programming will soon become a language that children need to learn. Britain became the first country in the world to bring programming into primary and junior high schools in 2014. From the age of 5 until they graduate from high school, students learn programming skills in school. France and the United States soon followed suit. Now the Hong Kong government is also planning to programming as part of the primary school syllabus, and currently Hong Kong elementary school after-school programming classes are already very popular. Professor Ray Faith Nick, a professor at MIT, believes that children can get the best learning experience only when they are designing, creating and expressing themselves. Through careful observation and logical thinking, children can quickly grasp the means to solving difficult puzzles, and start to absorb the key elements of basic programming thinking. In today"s world which is dominated by technology, programming skills are becoming more and more important. Studies have shown that the sooner you come in contact with a subject, the sooner you can master it. Learning programming is the same! When children are young, parents need to let them experience programming, so that they have a head start in the fascinating field of computer technology.
Old fashioned academic practices that focus on helping students achieve good results on examinations will not teach children creative or logical thinking, nor will they teach them how to deal with failure. Children need to think of themselves as imaginative creators, not just consumers of information. Visual programming languages can give children instant feedback, and their creativity can instantly become an interactive reality, which can not be replicated by most other activities. By teaching children to program, it is possible for children to experience science first hand and actually create technology. And as a result gives children a way of creatively expressing themselves.
Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com said in a recent interview, 「Failure and invention are inseparable twins. You can』t have one without the other.」 Whether an large company, start-up or government agency, everyone wants to be innovative. Bezos says, "Every person or organization wants to create something new, but the problem is that everyone is also afraid of failure. If you already know that something will be successful, it is not an experiment. It is only through experiments that real creation can be achieved. The most important inventions are from constant trial and error, which inevitably leads to a large number of failures. "
Getting children to learn coding from childhood may be one of the most impactful things you as a parent can do for them. It doesn"t necessarily mean that your child will become a programmer, just like when children learn English, it is not to have them become an interpreter. It is more about opening up a new way of thinking and developing critical thinking skills to prepare them for the world out there. For example, for adults, magic does not exist. But what person didn』t believe in magic when they were a child? Coding is like magic. It gives kids the ability to create something where there was nothing. There is no need to worry about kids learning coding skills too early.
Remember Mark Zuckerberg, who at 20 years old already had more than 10 years of programming experience? Encourage your kids to learn programming as a form of enlightenment, and let their interest guide the development. Who knows, your child might really change the world some day!
If you are interested in this topic, feel free to contact me if you want to know more. This is something I am very passionate about.
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