Do You Really Need to Learn to Code?

By Katherine McKean, Junior and President of my high school AI Exploration Club

At lunch last week, someone asked if we still need to learn how to code. It was in between bites of a pretty solid burrito, so I wasn’t fully ready to answer. But it got me thinking. If AI tools can now build websites, analyze data, and write Python scripts using plain English, is programming still something teens should be learning?

Here’s what I’ve figured out after a few conversations, experiments, and way too many hours testing tools that promise to make coding optional. Spoiler: they’re fun, sometimes helpful, and not quite magic.

how we used to code (and still do)

Coding used to mean typing things into a text editor and praying you didn’t miss a semicolon. Most high schoolers still learn it that way—either with block-based tools like Scratch, or jumping into languages like Python or Java. It’s slow at first, frustrating often, but oddly satisfying when it works. You get logic, structure, and problem-solving muscles that no autocomplete tool can give you.

Teachers love to talk about how coding teaches resilience. That’s true. But it also teaches humility when your code runs for the first time and breaks everything two seconds later. Still, there’s a sense of control. You know what’s happening. You built it.

now enter the ai tools

The newer generation of AI platforms lets you describe what you want, and they do the coding part. Want a website with a sign-up form and a blinking llama GIF? You can type that into something like GPT-4o or Claude, and it’ll generate HTML, CSS, and sometimes JavaScript on the fly. Tools like Replit Ghostwriter or GitHub Copilot go even further, suggesting code as you type.

Then there are drag-and-drop tools with AI boosters—things like Bubble, Thunkable, or Glide. You don’t write code. You move stuff around and describe behavior in plain English. For simple apps, they work. They’re especially useful for students building projects on tight timelines or who don’t know if they want to code long-term.

what high schoolers are actually doing

I asked some friends across schools in the Bay Area what their experience looked like. One built a game using Unity and C# for a summer program and never looked back. Another created an app entirely using AI-generated code and didn’t touch a single line. A third used MIT App Inventor with a few GPT plugins and said it made things ten times faster.

There’s definitely a divide. Some students want to understand how things work from the ground up. Others just want something that works. The rest are somewhere in between, doing a little of both.

does coding still matter?

This is where the burrito lunch question gets serious. If AI can do the coding for us, what’s the point of learning it at all?

First, you don’t know what you don’t know. AI can spit out code, sure. But you won’t always know if it’s right or efficient or even secure. Without at least basic coding knowledge, it’s hard to fix problems or improve things. You end up relying on the tool without knowing what’s under the hood.

Second, creativity sometimes starts in the details. You might not invent the next game engine by dragging and dropping blocks. But by learning how code works, you get ideas for things no one’s done yet. Not just remixing, but actually creating new types of tech.

Also, AI isn’t perfect. It guesses. And when it guesses wrong, debugging it without understanding code can be like arguing with someone in a language you don’t speak.

but do you need to learn it deeply?

Not everyone wants to be a full-time developer. That’s fair. Some of the most useful AI tools are being used by students who know just enough code to steer things where they want. A basic understanding lets you prototype, test, and communicate with programmers. It’s like knowing how to cook simple meals, even if you’re not a chef.

Even designers, marketers, or scientists benefit from learning basic programming. It helps you automate repetitive stuff, ask better questions, and collaborate more easily with engineers. And if you ever want to customize AI tools or build your own models, you’ll need some technical know-how.

where the no-code trend actually works

Plenty of school clubs are now using no-code and low-code tools for real projects. One robotics team used AI to organize their task board and generate scheduling code. A nonprofit project used ChatGPT and Airtable to match student volunteers with tutoring opportunities. Nobody coded everything from scratch. They used smart tools—and learned just enough code to stitch it all together.

It’s not about avoiding code forever. It’s about knowing when you need it. No-code platforms are amazing until you hit a limit. That’s where knowing how to code—even a little—gives you more options.

learning to think like a coder

One teacher I talked to compared coding to chess. You might not need to play in tournaments, but learning the rules helps you think strategically. Coding teaches you how to break problems into steps, test solutions, and not give up after one error message.

AI tools are great, but they often solve problems you already understand. Coding helps you define those problems. It’s the mental modeling that matters most—not just the syntax.

so what do teens think?

In our AI club, we ran a mini poll. Most students said they still want to learn coding, but they also want tools that make it faster. They see AI as a co-pilot, not a replacement. One student said, “AI is like auto-tune. You still need to know how to sing—or at least understand music—to use it well.” Another said they’d rather spend time on ideas than figuring out semicolons.

That checks out. We’ve reached a point where coding is no longer the only way to build with technology. But it’s still one of the most powerful ways to understand it. And as AI gets better, knowing how to guide it becomes just as important as knowing how to build it.

so what’s the answer?

Do you really need to learn to code? Maybe not in the way people used to. You might not need to memorize syntax or build a compiler from scratch. But learning the basics—how logic works, how functions run, how to structure code—is still one of the best ways to think clearly in a world shaped by algorithms.

And if AI ever takes a weird turn and decides pineapple belongs in spreadsheets, you’ll want to know how to fix it.

Want to bring the power of AI to your school? Check out this step-by-step guide on How to Launch a High School AI Club in 10 Easy Steps.