Much has changed over the past 6 years! In 2019, my wife and I had just opened Code Ninjas at Wilson Square in Franklin in the hopes of starting a path for our elementary school age son and for providing a new resource for the kids of middle Tennessee.
We’d personally searched for on-going coding classes for him and hadn’t been able to find any options. Now, while it may be difficult to remember the world pre-Covid, as well as pre-ChatGPT, we can now see things have changed so rapidly in just that short window of time.
Our then 10-year-old is now a Junior at Franklin High School, has a great GPA and is pursuing a path of Cyber Security, so all our boxes have been checked by Code Ninjas. He will narrow his choices for colleges soon and be off to the first great adventure of his life. We are so pleased that Code Ninjas has played a role in his development and confidence.
He has, as a student, learned problem-solving and critical thinking skills, but more importantly, he has surrounded himself with academic overachievers and now, we’re delighted that he heads up our staff of Sensei.
Side note to parents: perhaps the greatest influence on our kids is the company they keep.
For my wife and I, we couldn’t have imagined a better path for him and are extremely proud of how he’s navigated life’s curveballs — especially during Covid, when his experience in our dojo helped immensely for his zoom classes. We have learned, in the 6 years our center has been open, that if a child shows up with curiosity and perseverance, many doors can open in the future. They meet and overcome challenges and we can see the confidence bloom before our very eyes.
Kids learn to think like a computer and can therefore become creators of technology, not just consumers. There is perhaps no greater need as we are at the dawn of the age of AI than to foster the next generation of great thinkers.
With our philosophy of ‘keeping a human in the loop’, the dojo has become a community center for the 21st century and I have no doubt that there are young ninjas in our Code Ninjas’ 350 national locations all over the country that are learning the tools to imagine a better future for us all.
We are proud to play a part in Williamson County kids reaching their potential through our philosophy best summed up by hockey legend Wayne Gretzky:
“Skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”
Find more information about the tech camps for kids available this summer at Code Ninjas in Franklin here.
