[sudo-discuss] "learn to code" events subject to full-WTF scale crackdown...any ideas?

[Anthony Di Franco]

Outside of the narrow regulatory question, this reminds me of another
relating to the vocationalization of programming to supply commoditized
labor to large corporations, which is something I am uneasy around and
which I think reflects a shifting power balance that deserves to be
opposed. Here is a line of criticism that I think is right on, running from
Seymour Papert to Bret Victor to
this<http://programmingisterrible.com/post/73056840109/paperts-dreams-and-our-grim-meathook-reality>
:

*"In “Meanwhile, at code.org <http://worrydream.com/MeanwhileAtCodeOrg/>”,
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..."*


On Thu, Jan 30, 2014 at 6:15 PM, GtwoG PublicOhOne <g2g-public01 at att.net>wrote:

>
> What this is about:
>
> The bootcamps in question are charging in the range of $15,000 for
> 10-week programs, and telling applicants they're going to be able to get
> job offers at companies such as Facebook, Google, and Adobe.
> (Personally I'd sooner work for NSA than Google or Facebook.)
>
> The existing ones are probably wholly legit.  But there is a large risk
> of fraudsters offering these types of courses with big promises, and
> fleecing their students.  There are many examples of that in other areas
> of vocational & technical training.  That's what the regulators are
> freaked out about:  big money for the courses, and big promises of
> high-paid employment.
>
> There is nothing there to say that regulators are concerned about FREE
> courses that do NOT make claims of high-paid employment upon
> completion.  Grassroots-based free stuff such as what I imagine SR,
> Noisebridge, et.al. are offering, are in NO risk of being shut down or
> subjected to fines.
>
> A modest proposal:  Free grassroots hacker bootcamps should also teach
> people about workers' issues: how to organize a union without getting
> fired, workers' rights re. wages & hours laws, and so on.  The idea that
> coders, engineers, etc. are some kind of elite that are "above" the
> working class masses, is a hallucination promoted by those who profit by
> exploiting young & inexperienced workers.
>
> We are the 21st century equivalent of electricians, plumbers,
> carpenters, masons, and mechanics: the new skilled trades that are
> building the new infrastructure.  We should be darn proud of continuing
> a tradition that started with the steam engine, indoor plumbing, and the
> bicycle.  But the interests of labor have never been the same as the
> interests of capital.  Our smarts & skills can potentially do as much
> for the well-being of working people everywhere, as they can for the
> technologies we build.
>
> -G.
>
>
> ======
>
>
> On 14-01-30-Thu 4:51 PM, Hol Gaskill wrote:
> > like it says on the tin:
> >
> http://venturebeat.com/2014/01/29/california-regulator-seeks-to-shut-down-learn-to-code-bootcamps/
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