CS (intro to programming, really) courses were an elective at my high school long before I got there, and were standard in the county. (Graduated in '99, went to high school in Fairfax County, VA.)
I think that as we depend on computers more, it's more important for people to have a basic understanding of what it even means to program. Demystifying technology is important. They may not even program, but I think it is becoming an important part of being educated for our society.
I think that as we depend on computers more, it's more important for people to have a basic understanding of what it even means to program. Demystifying technology is important. They may not even program, but I think it is becoming an important part of being educated for our society.