When I was 12 years old (back in 1995-96) I was in the sixth grade and I learned how to build websites. The next year, in seventh grade, I learned how to code in basic on old Apple II's.
In high school, (at Analy High School in Sebastopol, CA) I took two years of computer programming, in which we used visual basic and built awesome projects including some hilariously original and unique video games.
So for many years my peers and I have been involved in computers and computer programming within our public education system.
Not only did I have a great time designing and coding video games even back in high school, but this didn't prevent me and other friends like me from participating in school athletics, leadership, and other activities like music, art and theater.
These days, it seems like everyone and their grandmother has an internet connection and participates in our huge blossoming digital communication culture.
And while many modern computer users are not as well versed and/or trained in the art of programming, there are still plenty of us as there have been for many years.
Web 2.0 technology already posits average computer users as co-creators of the web.
I wholeheartedly concur that computer science is a fascinating subject and that it behooves us to encourage people to empower themselves by furthering their knowledge and understanding of these machines.
That notwithstanding, I feel that with the prevalence of Internet use today, we are well beyond a time where being associated with computers is being associated with something that is socially "uncool" and that people who want to learn already have in their clutches the power of the information superhighway to help get them started!
