Leaders and trendsetters agree more students should learn to code

Steve Jobs Gov. John Hickenlooper “I think everybody in this country should Arne Duncan Drew Houston learn how to program a computer because it teaches you how to think.” Lee Hood Enrique Iglesias Fred Wilson Leland Melvin Maria Klawe President Bill Clinton “Every single year in America there is a Anousheh Ansari Anousheh Ansari standing demand for 120,000 people who are Dr. John Deasy Dean Kamen training in computer science.” Vice President Mithra Irani Ramalaey Richard Branson Elena Silenok Stephen Hawking Arianna Huffington Steve Case “Whether you want to uncover the secrets of the universe, or you just want to pursue Mike Bloomberg Marc Benioff a career in the 21st century, computer Meg Whitman Gabe Newell programming is an essential skill to learn.” Dr. Mehmet Oz Dick Costolo Todd Park Chris Stephenson “Learning to write programs stretches your House Majority Leader Tim O’Reilly mind, and helps you think better, creates a Eric Cantor Nicholas Negroponte way of thinking about things that I think is Brad Smith helpful in all domains.” Mayor Cory Booker Randi Weingarten Hilary Mason Senator Marco Rubio Rob Glaser “Computer programmers are in great demand Senator Ron Wyden by American businesses, but there are not enough graduates to fill these opportunities.” Steve Ballmer Richard Barth Senator John Thune Yishan Wong will.i.am Salman Khan “An understanding of computer science is Wendy Kopp Peter Denning becoming increasingly essential in today’s Tony Hsieh Jane Margolis world. Our national competitiveness depends Dennis Van Roekel upon our ability to educate our children in this critical field.” Michael Cohen Mark Pincus Chris Bosh Louise Waters Dr. John Hennessy Susan Wojcicki Mark Surman “Learning to program is exciting: it’s stimulating, fun, develops new ways of Jack Dorsey thinking, and in a very short time you can Snoop Dogg Vanessa Hurst build programs that will impress your friends Dara Khosrowshahi Ed Lazowska and family!” Governor Jay Inslee Lucy Sanders Dr. Larry Corey Mitch Kapor Mehran Sahami “Computers are an increasingly essential Ashton Kutcher Brad Feld part of understanding cancer and developing Jeff Wilke new therapies. Knowledge of computer Gina BIanchini programming is almost as important as Jan Cuny Jeff Skoll knowledge of anatomy when it comes to Harry Lewis Douglas Rushkoff medical research or clinical care.” Mario Armstrong Dr. Alan Goodwin Dr. Lee Hood Jason Hirschorn “Computer scientists have become essential Ron Conway Tony Smith as part of cross-disciplinary teams of researchers who tackle some of the most challenging issues in science today.” See the full list online: code.org/quotes