Hadi PartoviVerified account

DISCUSS: "The social good of having every high school student in America learn Salesforce might outstrip other trendier agendas in tech,” via new @BrookingsInst @MarkMuro1 report on workforce digitilzation. @tressiemcphd @hadip @vincebertram @audreywatters @chrislehmann @rec54

If I'm reading correctly, @markmuro1 is drawing a distinction between training on Salesforce and teaching broader CS, arguing that exclusive focus on latter may deny many future workers basic skills they need to enter shifting labor market.

The reason to teach CS isn't for the 5-10% who want to become coders, it's to provide foundational learning for all careers. By @markmuro1's argument we could also stop teaching math or biology and teach how to answer phone calls because there are more jobs in call centers.

Meanwhile, most U.S. schools already teach the tech skills @markmuro1 suggests (e.g. how to use Word) but they want to upgrade these classes because students are bored. Do most salespeople need classes on using Salesforce? Did @markmuro1 need a class to learn how to use Word? No

As basic apps get easier each year, the need to teach how to use them drops. A student who learns CS can learn how to use apps. Not vice versa. I couldn't disagree more with the report's conclusion that we should teach kids apps over CS.