added by nibras and · updated 5d ago
Cultivating Agency
" I want to highlight how the value of coding isn’t really about teaching programming skills. It’s about teaching agency."
from Cultivating Agency by Nadia Asparouhova
nibras added 1y ago
My sense is that those with a strong sense of personal agency don’t always realize that not everyone shares this position.
from Cultivating Agency by Nadia Asparouhova
nibras added 1y ago
" Despite our devices becoming easier to use over the last few decades, technical proficiency appears to be more widely dispersed across younger populations, as opposed to older generations, where it is viewed as a specialized skill reserved for a small percentage of the population. However, I’d guess that young programmers typically know less abou
... See morefrom Cultivating Agency by Nadia Asparouhova
nibras added 1y ago
If you believe that the world is shaped by your and others’ actions, then the climate crisis or other global catastrophic risk don’t look quite so scary: they’re an opportunity to do something meaningful.
from Cultivating Agency by Nadia Asparouhova
nibras added 1y ago
If Gen X and Millennials grew up with a “digital divide,” perhaps Gen Z will face an “agentic divide”: those who believe they have the power to change their circumstances, versus those who do not.
from Cultivating Agency by Nadia Asparouhova
nibras added 1y ago
The world doesn’t happen to us; it is shaped by us. More people now have access to simple tools that allow them to “program,” or modify, the world around them. Teaching kids that the world is programmable – whether it’s through actual coding, games like Roblox and Minecraft, encouraging them to ask for what they want, or even white-hat
... See morefrom Cultivating Agency by Nadia Asparouhova
nibras added 1y ago
"If “grit” – the desire to persevere when faced with a challenge, popularized by psychologist Angela Duckworth – has been the human trait du jour of the last fifteen-odd years, I suspect that “agency” – a belief in one’s ability to influence their circumstances – could be the defining trait of the next generation."
from Cultivating Agency by Nadia Asparouhova
nibras added 1y ago
" Younger generations didn’t become “more technical”, per se – if anything, they’re probably less technically literate overall. It’s programming itself that became easier, because there are now so many tools and layers of abstraction available that make coding a much more trivial practice than before."
from Cultivating Agency by Nadia Asparouhova
nibras added 1y ago
If our social attitudes towards agency are as important as they seem, we should measure its prevalence in the general population, then find ways to track it over time. I grew up in the heady halcyon days of globalism, where celebrities sang “We Are the World” [ 3 ] and Whitney Houston proclaimed that “I believe the children are our future.”
... See morefrom Cultivating Agency by Nadia Asparouhova
nibras added 1y ago