After reading the articles, do you believe that coding is the new literacy? Should everyone be exposed or required to take a computer science or coding class? 

After reading the articles, I believe that we are in demand of more programmers but I don’t believe that everyone needs to be a programmer. That being said, I do think it is valuable to take at least one computer science class, as it teaches a different way of thinking about things. It requires people to think about things in an abstract way in order to solve problems.

Also, I think it is useful to understand how a lot of software works under the hood. For example, consider the following quote:

“Right now, many people use dating apps with no idea how the algorithm that could literally help them meet their future spouse works.”

–A Plan to Teach Every Child Computer Science

You really could have no idea how the software introduced you to your future spouse, and I believe that is something worth knowing.

How should computer science fit into a typical K-12 curriculum? Is it an elective or a requirement? Does it replace existing subjects or is it an addition? What exactly should be taught in this CS4All curriculum? Is this computational thinking? programming? logic? computer literacy?

Computer Science should be required at least once in a typical K-12 curriculum. It seems like learning programming from a young age is a big advantage when pursuing a career in computer science. It also teaches you how to begin thinking analytically from the start. It should be an introduction to programming, possibly with an object-oriented language like Java. My first programming course in high school was Java and I felt like it was a good way to be exposed to programming and object-oriented design. It is also important to have a helpful IDE so that you aren’t throwing young students into a terminal and trying to explain Unix at the same time.

Can anyone learn to program? 

Yes. I think anyone can learn to program, at least at a very basic level. That being said, I don’t think anyone has the ability to become Donald Knuth or Linus Torvalds. But to create a simple webpage or GPA calculator, yes I believe anyone can do it with practice.

Should everyone learn to program?

Yes. It teaches you how to solve abstract problems. Even if you don’t intend to become a software developer, this way of thinking helps you in other aspects of life.