UK to start teaching 5yr olds programming

Z

zippy

Honorary Master
Joined
May 31, 2005
Messages
10,320
Reaction score
897
Location
Kent, UK
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-28987787
Millions of children in England will begin a "tough" new national curriculum when they return to school this week.

Five-year-olds will learn fractions and computer coding, while those in early secondary school will have to study at least two Shakespeare plays.

The curriculum is being implemented for most year groups simultaneously.

Teachers' leaders say the timetable is unrealistic, but the Department for Education said its aim was to prepare children for "life in modern Britain".

A spokesman said the government wanted "all children to learn the core knowledge in key subjects - the ones universities and employers value the most".

All state primary and secondary schools have to start teaching the new national curriculum from the start of term.

The rewritten national curriculum, described by the prime minister as "rigorous, engaging and tough", sets out the framework for what children should be taught between the ages of five and 14.

However, academies - which are now a majority of secondary schools - will not be required to follow the curriculum.

Former education secretary Michael Gove has said changes were necessary for England to keep pace with the most successful education systems in the world.

The new-look curriculum puts a stronger emphasis on skills such as "essay writing, problem-solving, mathematical modelling and computer programming".
Click to expand...

The history curriculum takes primary pupils through British history from the Stone Age to the Normans. They can also study a later era, such as the Victorians. "Significant individuals" to be studied include Elizabeth I, Neil Armstrong, Rosa Parks and suffragette Emily Davison. Secondary schools will teach British history from 1066 to 1901, followed by Britain, Europe and world events from 1901, including the Holocaust and Winston Churchill
Maths will expect more at an earlier age. There will be a requirement for pupils to learn their 12 times table by the age of nine. Basic fractions, such as half or a quarter, will be taught to five-year-olds. By the end of Year 2, pupils should know the number bonds to 20 and be precise in using and understanding place value
English will strengthen the importance of Shakespeare, with pupils between the ages of 11 and 14 expected to have studied two of his plays. Word lists for eight- and nine-year-olds include "medicine" and "knowledge", by 10 and 11 they should be spelling "accommodate" and "rhythm"
Science will shift towards a stronger sense of hard facts and "scientific knowledge". In primary school, there will be new content on the solar system, speed and evolution. In secondary school, there will be a clearer sense of the separate subjects of physics, biology and chemistry. Climate change will also be included
Design and technology is linked to innovation and digital industries. Pupils will learn about 3D printing and robotics
Computing will teach pupils how to write code. Pupils aged five to seven will be expected to "understand what algorithms are" and to "create and debug simple programs". By the age of 11, pupils will have to "design, use and evaluate computational abstractions that model the state and behaviour of real-world problems and physical systems"
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
That's awesome.

Total opposite of the dropping standards we have here.
 
Wait 5 year olds can't even read and write effectively yet how are they supposed to code?

(don't get me wrong I think everyone should learn basic coding at least to get a better appreciation for how their electronics work but 5????)
 
porchrat said:
Wait 5 year olds can't even read and write effectively yet how are they supposed to code?

(don't get me wrong I think everyone should learn basic coding at least to get a better appreciation for how their electronics work but 5????)
Click to expand...

I don't see how learning basic coding will help one "appreciate" how their electronics work. It may help kids realise how mundane programming software is. It's not as if our society is not already overloaded with electronic/tech noise and gobbledygook. I also don't see why people need an appreciation of how their electronics work. Teach kids maths and logic, but programming.... nah.

And why should electronics be given a special place.

Obviously teaching kids of 5 how to program will not involve C++ instructions but some sort of baby language - maybe in pictograms or as puzzles.
 
porchrat said:
Wait 5 year olds can't even read and write effectively yet how are they supposed to code?

(don't get me wrong I think everyone should learn basic coding at least to get a better appreciation for how their electronics work but 5????)
Click to expand...

They only need to learn 1 and 0
 
porchrat said:
Wait 5 year olds can't even read and write effectively yet how are they supposed to code?

(don't get me wrong I think everyone should learn basic coding at least to get a better appreciation for how their electronics work but 5????)
Click to expand...

Not only that! What about American and English spelling? I am referring to a tearful incident in my youth using American Basic. I could find nothing wrong with the coding. I had spelt colour “colour” instead of “color”. A pox on American spelling!
 
Space_Chief said:
I don't see how learning basic coding will help one "appreciate" how their electronics work. It may help kids realise how mundane programming software is.
Click to expand...
You've said it right there. It will show kids how much effort goes into making electronics do what they do.

I still think 5 is unrealistically young though. They lack basic language skills.
 
porchrat said:
You've said it right there. It will show kids how much effort goes into making electronics do what they do.
Click to expand...

Not really. Maybe if you got kids to work in a Chinese sweat shop. And besides that, why electronics. What about food production? What about the guy who collects garbage? Or the guy who digs trenches? Or the people who assemble cars or sow clothes. Or the nurse who washes peoples' butts.

To summarise I don't see why electronics get privileged. I know this is an IT forum, that's why, but that's a biased view. Secondly, programming is not electronics. Maybe if these kids were taught how to design NAND gates and circuits. Or even better how people in China work in sweatshops. That won't happen.

I still think 5 is unrealistically young though. They lack basic language skills.
Click to expand...

You don't really need basic language skills. As said they could learn in pictogram form. They can compose simple instructions how to make a teddy bear move from a playground to the school lunch room. Ideally what they do would be as non specific as possible and not linked to computers at all but somehow help - maybe - learn logic.

I don't think the aim here is to turn kids away from making gamez.
 
Space_Chief said:
Not really. Maybe if you got kids to work in a Chinese sweat shop.
Click to expand...
Oh for fscks sake stop being a pedantic schit. Of course it won't let them know every single detail unless they work in the industry it is just to give them some idea rather than no idea. I shouldn't have to point this out.


And besides that, why electronics. What about food production? What about the guy who collects garbage? Or the guy who digs trenches? Or the people who assemble cars or sow clothes. Or the nurse who washes peoples' butts.

To summarise I don't see why electronics get privileged. I know this is an IT forum, that's why, but that's a biased view. Secondly, programming is not electronics. Maybe if these kids were taught how to design NAND gates and circuits. Or even better how people in China work in sweatshops. That won't happen.
Click to expand...
because in our modern world that technology is the one thing that we are all exposed to on pretty much a daily basis.


You don't really need basic language skills. As said they could learn in pictogram form. They can compose simple instructions how to make a teddy bear move from a playground to the school lunch room. Ideally what they do would be as non specific as possible and not linked to computers at all but somehow help - maybe - learn logic.
Click to expand...
I see no mention of any of that. I see mention of learning computer coding, not just logic.
 
Simple things like changing backround colours and position of a item just to get the process started is pretty cool.

Most 5 year olds can outmanouver me on a tablet so I dont think doing a few simple logic exercises is a bad idea.
 
Britain does have serious education problems. Had to do research and write a Essay on the education systems of different countries.
More than 8.5 million people has the mathematics skills of a 10 year old. And Britain is the only First world country that the retired and retiring population have a better education than the school leavers. Not even mentioning that their university degrees is equivalent to metric in the eastern countries like japan.
 
Some have missed a key point about this. These changes are to "keep pace with other countries". I.e. 5yr olds in other countries are already getting this type of education. So 5yr olds can do it. Its already happening.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X