JAVA, JAVA, JAVA: Add New York City to the list of places that think that kids really ought to learn how to code—so much so that it should be part of the school curriculum.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio laid out a vision for New York City public K-12 schools which includes all children reading on level in 2nd grade and completing algebra by 9th grade. In that same speech, de Blasio pledged that within a decade, all of the city's public schools will be required to offer computer science classes to all students. Middle and high schools will be allowed to call computer science an "elective," meaning it will not be a graduation requirement. But still the requirement will mean that more students will be coding than reading say, Une fois pour toutes.
New York will be joining Chicago and San Francisco in offering coding classes to kids.
The New York Times reported that the initiative is expected to cost New York City $18 million over 10 years and it will have to train 5,000 teachers. The city aims to raise at least half from private sources. Early contributions have come from groups including the AOL Charitable Foundation, the Robin Hood Foundation and venture capitalist, Fred Wilson and his wife Joanne (who started the first New York City high school devoted to computer science.)
Editor's note: This story was updated on September 16.
