Rant: Everyone says learn Python first but I think that's bad advice for some people

I visited a local coding meetup last Tuesday and watched three beginners get stuck on Python's indentation errors for an hour straight. It seems like everyone pushes Python as the default first language, but from my experience running a small concrete crew for 8 years, I think a language with clearer brackets like JavaScript or C# teaches structure better for hands-on learners. Am I the only one who thinks the 'Python first' crowd is doing a disservice to people who think in a more visual or linear way?

2 comments

2 Comments

irisg577d ago

Did you try having them write out their code on paper first?

karen4106d ago

Wait, you mean like with actual pen and paper? lmao I feel like my students would look at me like I just asked them to chisel code into stone tablets. I tried it once with a kid who kept copying from Stack Overflow, he spent 20 minutes drawing stick figures fighting the "if statement monster" instead of actually tracing the logic.