It's true that high-school coding classes aren't essential for learning computer science in college.
诚然，高中的编程课对于大学学习计算机科学课程来说并不是必需的。
Students without experience can catch up after a few introductory courses, said Tom Cortina, the assistant dean at Carnegie Mellon's School of Computer Science.
卡耐基梅隆大学计算机科学学院副院长汤姆·科尔蒂纳这样说道，因为即使是没有编程经验，学生也能在上过一些入门编程课程后赶上来。
However, Cortina said, early exposure is beneficial.
科尔蒂纳说，不过，较早地接触计算机科学是有益处的。
When younger kids learn computer science, they learn that it's not just a confusing, endless string of letters and numbers — but a tool to build apps, or create artwork, or test hypotheses.
当年轻的学生学习计算机科学的时候，他们就会知道计算机科学并不是令人困惑、无穷尽的字母和数字串——而是一种工具，这种工具能编写应用程序、创造艺术作品或检验假设。
It's not as hard for them to transform their thought processes as it is for older students.
相比于大一点的学生，这些学生在转变自己的思维过程方面的难度就小得多。
Breaking down problems into bite-sized chunks and using code to solve them becomes normal.
把问题分解为多个小的问题，然后用代码解决这些小问题，这种方式成了常态。
Giving more children this training could increase the number of people interested in the field and help fill the jobs gap, Cortina said.
给予更多孩子这样的训练会让更多的人对计算机这一领域感兴趣，同时还有助于弥补这一职业缺口。
Students also benefit from learning something about coding before they get to college, where introductory computer-science classes are packed to the brim, which can drive the less-experienced or-determined students away.
学生在上大学之前，学习编程的一些知识也是有益处的，因为大学里的计算科学入门课一向爆满，这就可能会使那些对计算机缺乏经验或者是还在犹豫的学生放弃这个专业。
The Flatiron School, where people pay to learn programming, started as one of the many coding bootcamps that's become popular for adults looking for a career change.
熨斗学院是一所付费编程培训学校，它创建之前只是众多的编程训练营之一，如今这所学院很受那些考虑更换职业的人的欢迎。
The high-schoolers get the same curriculum, but "we try to gear lessons toward things they're interested in," said Victoria Friedman, an instructor.
编程讲师维多利亚·弗里德曼说道，高中生学的编程课程也是该校的那种，“他们尽量设置一些学生感兴趣的课程。”
For instance, one of the apps the students are developing suggests movies based on your mood.
例如，学生们正在开发一个根据用户心情推荐电影的应用。
The students in the Flatiron class probably won't drop out of high school and build the next Facebook.
熨斗编程培训班的学生可能不会高中辍学，然后创建出下一个“脸书”公司。
Programming languages have a quick turnover, so the "Ruby on Rails" language they learned may not even be relevant by the time they enter the job market.
编程语言的更新很快，因此等到他们进入劳动力市场时，他们所学的“Ruby on Rails”编程语言甚至与市场需求都不太相关。
But the skills they learn — how to think logically through a problem and organize the results — apply to any coding language, said Deborah Seehorn, an education consultant for the state of North Carolina.
北卡罗来纳州教育顾问黛博拉·希霍恩说道，如何运用逻辑思维思考问题和理清结果，这些他们学到的技能适用于各种编程语言。
Indeed, the Flatiron students might not go into IT at all.
的确，熨斗学院的学生可能根本就不会进入IT行业。
But creating a future army of coders is not the sole purpose of the classes.
但培养一大批程序员并不是这些编程班的唯一目标。
These kids are going to be surrounded by computers — in their pockets, in their offices, in their homes — for the rest of their lives.
在这些学生日后生活中，他们所处的环境中处处都有计算机——他们的口袋里、办公室里和家里。
The younger they learn how computers think, how to coax the machine into producing what they want — the earlier they learn that they have the power to do that — the better.
他们越早知道计算机的工作原理，越早让计算机为他们所用，越早掌握这种技能，就越好。