D.C. Director of Planning Harriet Tregoning didn’t exactly sound like the coolest person ever when she suggested at an economic development forum Friday that kids forego sports in favor of learning more about writing computer code.
“We need to get technology in the hands of all kids in D.C.,” she started off.
That drew some applause (although don’t enough kids already have a cell phone in one hand and a game controller in the other?)
But then she went on.
“Forget tennis camp or baseball camp — what about code camp?” she said. “Wouldn’t it be great if a kid east of the river was writing code for a new iPhone app?”
Ummm … we’re not sure you could even convince most adults to sign up for code camp. To be fair, Tregoning was speaking on an important point — that children in the District don’t grow up equally. That kids in the poorer sections of the city don’t have access to much technology in schools. And that’s a shame, she added, because children are typically more adept at figuring out new gadgets than the old codgers for whom they were made.
But don’t hate on sports. Some might say sports (also known to promote social adjustment and character building for youths) is just as important during a time when urban kids are more prone to obesity than ever.
