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Opinion on Programming Classes in High School

Opinion on Programming Classes in High School

Updated on January 18, 2016 in Discussions

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HunGARE 12 1 on January 17, 2016

Hey guys. So my courses for next year (Junior) are due soon, and I am a little split on what I should take for my elective. I have already chosen one, but I still have another. I am deciding between Computer Programming 1 and a graphic design course. In the programming course I believe they teach Java or Python, both of which I have experience with. I don’t believe it is centered around game development either, just programming in general. I have taken a graphic design course before, and have enjoyed it, but it uses Adobe products which I can’t afford at home.

I would like to ask for anyone’s opinion who has taken a Programming course in school. Did you enjoy it? Was it hard or easy? It may be too easy for me as someone who has prior coding knowledge, so I am concerned it might be a waste, but it may be nice to have an easier class. Thank you.

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Dion Dokter 5 0 on January 17, 2016

So right now I’m doing a Computer Science study. I’ve had a half year of C programming introduction.
And I’ve got to say… Except for Pointers, I haven’t learned anything. (And I could’ve learned that in 20 minutes from the internet)

So I’d say: Ask what they will go over in the course. If there are too many known subjects, then choose graphic design.

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HunGARE 0 on January 17, 2016

Thank you Dion!

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James Ball 0 on January 17, 2016

I’ve been doing Computing for a while at school now, and I couldn’t agree with this more – I’m not a very experienced programmer and still, I haven’t learnt much at all yet, just some new concepts etc. that could be useful in the future. However, I’d highly recommend choosing Computer Programming, purely because of the reward at the end of it. Programming allows you to expand into many different jobs and is proving more and more necessary in today’s times – Not to mention the extremely high average wage of a programmer currently.

Graphics design is great, and of course, if you’re a lot better at gfx, then I’d go that route – but for something that I would think is more beneficial, I would say you should do programming, even if it does teach you things you knew before. Also, keep in mind – What do you want to do later? Does choosing this change what you’re allowed to study at a later date or are you still open to every subject?

Hope this helps and draws you nearer a conclusion!

I've been doing Computing for a while at school now, and I couldn't agree with this more - I'm not a very experienced programmer and still, I haven't learnt much at all yet, just some new concepts etc. that could be useful in the future. However, I'd highly recommend choosing Computer Programming, purely because of the reward at the end of it. Programming allows you to expand into many different jobs and is proving more and more necessary in today's times - Not to mention the extremely high average wage of a programmer currently.<br /><br />Graphics design is great, and of course, if you're a lot better at gfx, then I'd go that route - but for something that I would think is more beneficial, I would say you should do programming, even if it does teach you things you knew before. Also, keep in mind - What do you want to do later? Does choosing this change what you're allowed to study at a later date or are you still open to every subject?<br /><br />Hope this helps and draws you nearer a conclusion!

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HunGARE 0 on January 17, 2016

Thank you James. I am still unsure about which area I want to focus on in game development. I like programming the best right now, but the dream for me is to be indie full time.

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James Ball 1 on January 17, 2016

Ah, okay, I love the idea! In that case maybe expanding into an area you haven’t before, like gfx, is a good idea 🙂

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zrk03 1 on January 17, 2016

I’ll be a softmore next school year. I took programming. I guess I’ll find out if it was good.

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BinaryBeal 1 1 on January 18, 2016

I agree with Dion, If you don’t think you’ll learn anything productive in the Programming course, choose the Graphics Design course. Not only will this help you out with your side projects like game development, but you should be able to “test out” of the programming course and jump in with the Programming 2 course (if offered) later on.

Also, I wouldn’t be too worried about the cost. because usually, Teachers have student editions of the adobe products available. These are literally made to be free for students. OR sometimes, you can have a free account set up if you provide a valid student email (usually one ending in ‘.edu’). Even if none of these suggestions were to work out for you, one of the instructors at your school might still be able to set something up for you. I wish I was still technically a student so that I could capitalize on the student deals everywhere.

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HunGARE 0 on January 18, 2016

Thanks for the information Binary