In “Meanwhile, at code.org”, Bret juxtaposes the ideals of Seymour Papert and the dreams of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. Papert wanted to use programming as a way to let children explore powerful ideas and let their imagination run wild. The agenda of the political, wealthy, and powerful is to build a new generation of worker bees to fuel their startups. One sees code as a liberation, and the other as a vocation.

I’ve talked about these sorts of things before. I see code as a medium for design, engineering, science, art and play, and a computer as a lever long enough to move the world. Which is why I’m thankful for tools like Scratch and the work of the lifelong kindergarden group at MIT. They’re not the only ones trying to Revive Papert’s Dream–

[In Papert’s first article about LOGO “Twenty Things to Do with a Computer” he] described how children might program computers to control robots, compose music, create games, draw recursive pictures, and do many other creative activities.

It was a radical vision. At the time, in 1971, computers still cost tens of thousands of dollars, if not more. The first personal computers would not become commercially available for another five years. Yet Papert foresaw that computers would eventually become accessible for everyone, even children, and he wanted to lay the intellectual foundation for how computing could transform the ways children learn and play.

Some aspects of Papert’s dream have become a reality. […] At the same time, important elements of Papert’s dream remain unfulfilled. Papert envisioned a world in which children not only learn to use new technologies, but become truly fluent with new technologies. In Papert’s view, children should be able to design, create, and express themselves with new technologies. Rather than just interacting with animations, games, and simulations, children should learn to program their own animations, games, and simulations — and, in the process, learn important problem-solving skills and project-design strategies.

Despite the naysayers, to me programming is the ultimate sandbox game. Which is why I want to put these tools in the hands of children just to see what wonders they create, following in the footsteps of Seymour Papert. Just like Mitch Resnik

[After a] keynote presentation at a major educational technology conference, someone asked: “Wasn’t Seymour Papert trying to do the same things 20 years ago?” The comment was meant as a critique; I took it as a compliment. I answered simply: “Yes.” For me, Seymour’s ideas remain as important today as when he published his first article about Logo in this magazine in 1971. His ideas continue to provide a vision and a direction for my research. I will be happy and proud to spend the rest of my life trying to turn Seymour’s dreams into a reality.

I want to dream bigger — Code is just one way to revolutionise education, putting powerful ideas in the hands of the next generation. It’s never been about the code, but the learning through play.