Coding Teaches Life Skills

Sam Parr shares his experience with "The Last Mile" program, which teaches coding to prison inmates. He observed that learning to code not only provides technical skills but fundamentally changes how inmates think about their actions and consequences, similar to programming logic.

Key Points:

• Program Impact:

  • Graduated approximately 800 people
  • Zero graduates have returned to prison
  • Contrasts with typical 65% prison recidivism rate

• Transformation Through Coding:

  • Inmates learn logical thinking patterns
  • Programming concepts transfer to life decisions
  • "If-then statements" become a framework for behavior
  • Helps develop impulse control
  • Participants learn self-reflection alongside technical skills

• Broader Social Impact:

  • Creates diversity in tech industry
  • Provides role models for black communities
  • First time many kids see black programmers
  • Helps address both recidivism and tech diversity

• Program Structure:

  • 2-3 year coding education
  • Leads to jobs at major tech companies (Slack, eBay)
  • Focuses on practical skills like JavaScript and MongoDB
  • Limited to 20-30 people per cohort
  • Operating in approximately 15 prisons

• Success Factors:

  • Provides marketable skills
  • Creates employment opportunities
  • Helps with reintegration into society
  • Changes thinking patterns and decision-making processes