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By THOMAS HARTWELL

Coding has become a skill that will almost guarantee a potential employee a job in today's digital workforce. Like many potentially valuable trades, though, coding has been ignored in public school curriculum -- that is, until now. Florida has begun a trend that a few other states have shown some interest in: substituting foreign language requirements with coding course work.

Coding is the make-up of many computer software programs, apps and websites. Without coding experts, we'd be without so many of the things that meet our ever-growing need for entertainment and in-the-moment updates. We teach, in most curricula and in theory, what we deem most essential to creating a well-rounded, prepared member of the workforce. In an age dependent on all things digital it only makes sense to offer courses in coding, right? But what do we choose to cut time from or replace to allow the teaching of code? Well, that's exactly the concern many have voiced in Florida and across the nation.

Critics of the coding replacement say, "why can't we have both?" Many feel that giving students the choice between foreign language and coding courses potentially takes away a vital exposure to the understanding of different cultures through language. 

"Instead of debating which is more beneficial for our students," says Erin McCormick of Middlebury Interactive, "why can’t we recognize the value of both coding and world languages as important 21st Century skills and the unique opportunities they each create?"

From codethefuture.org

I have to say, I agree with Ms. McCormick -- there should be some sort of happy medium between recognizing a new and important skill in schools and omitting another important subject. Let's support the creation of organizations like this one, that recognizes the importance and works to provide the training for these kind of skills. I am excited that coding is being incorporated into public schools, but let's also remember that there are other skills that have become increasingly important as they have disappeared from public school teaching (electricians, welders, carpenters, etc).

Coding is the future, but let's not forget what has proven to be important in the past.

Google algorithm creator to retire

By THOMAS HARTWELL

Amit Singhal, the mind behind Google's search algorithm, is set to retire at the end of February. Singhal says that he wants to spend more time with his family and, as any good "rich guy" should, pursue philanthropic endeavors (article here). He will be replaced by the creator of Google's RankBrain, John Giannandrea.

The news of Singhal's retirement has sparked discussion, and in some cases sheer terror, on where Google might be headed without him. Many took to Twitter to express their melancholy and wish Singhal well, but others condemned Google to failure without him. While simply the statement "Google is doomed to fail" is ridiculous to me, I do realize that fear, in the face of change in a company as large and influential as Google, is normal. Let me tell you why Google is going to be fine, though. 

RankBrain, another kind of SEO and almost "jumbled search decryption" engine developed by Google is going to thrive. The technology, run by Giannandrea, will transition to 100 percent artificial intelligence in "guessing" what search words are searching for. Amazingly, the RankBrain technology will be able to appropriately replace the loss of a Google pioneer like Singhal (or the 1 percent that was still not AI) with what is being called a "gut feeling" like a human's in guessing what a person might be searching for on Google, according to Greg Corrado, a senior research assistant at Google. 

Now, yes, Google's stock did fall after the SEO mastermind's announcement, but no one expert has cited his retirement as the sole reason for the 4.03 percent drop in February 2016. As things at Google stabilize and consumers and stock holders realize that the end isn't in fact nigh, those numbers will climb again. Think about it, what competition does Google have? Bing? Yahoo? Nope. I'm sure Singhal will be sorely missed, but Google will be just fine.