There’s never been a better time for children to learn coding skills and there’s never been a more convenient situation (like the one we’re facing today) than for children to learn this valuable skill online. If your children, like so many, have been less than thrilled by your homeschooling efforts and are looking for a little excitement to jazz up their learning routine, stick around to check out this exclusive interview that Moms.com obtained from speaking to Sajid Shariff, head of WhiteHat Jr. North America.
Even if your little one doesn’t seem particularly interested in taking Silicon Valley by storm in their future, there are heaps of benefits just waiting to be claimed in coding. We’re talking about increased memory function, concentration, logical thinking, creativity, overall improved academic skills, and much more. On the other hand, if your 7-year-old wants to be the next 7-year-old to design an app and take it to market, well, then, you’ve found the right folks!
HK Parra for Moms.com (M): WhiteHat Jr. is described as “world’s first tech curriculum”. How did this offering this service to children come about?
Sajid Shariff (SS): WhiteHat Jr. is a leading ed-tech company focused on teaching coding to kids aged 6 to 14 through one-on-one live virtual classes. It was the first online coding school to create a program that specifically caters to teaching kids through its proprietary, activity-based curriculum spanning simple drag and drop programs and ending with complex logic apps. Every step is designed for young kids based on creativity, engagement, and applied learning in order to help students understand and enjoy code. The idea came about when our founder, Karan Bajaj, left his career in business (he was the former CEO of Discovery Networks India) to write best-selling novels, and he realized he wanted his children to have a way to know they can be creators of their own worlds, too.
M: Why is offering this sort of education important to children? What should moms know about job opportunities in the future that could be possible for their kids?
SS: Coding, like learning to write, transforms the way kids think and learn. Learning how to code at a young age has shown to improve kids’ overall learning at school by increasing the speed at which children acquire new cognitive skills, like mathematics, logic, writing, and language learning. Additionally, child-programmers have a better memory: kids who learned to code are proven to remember bigger chunks of information, have a greater short-term memory span, and make more thoughtful choices. In 20 years, approximately 47% of jobs in the United States will become completely automated (according to a study done by The University of Oxford). This means the demand for coding skills will only continue to grow, and the education that WhiteHat Jr. provides is invaluable to kids across the globe.
M: What is the biggest question parents have before getting their children started? Is Silicon Valley really just 40 classes away? Tell us more!
SS: The biggest question parents seem to have prior to WhiteHat Jr. is “will my kids enjoy coding?” A lot of kids don’t like science or mathematics in school, so of course, a lot of parents sign their kids up for WhiteHat Jr. to help them learn to love these subjects! This is one of the best parts of kids initially learning through games and progressing to learn how to make games—students are able to see coding and math in an entirely new light!
After a student completes 40 classes, they are eligible to enter WhiteHat Jr.’s Silicon Valley Challenge. This means that with the help of a teacher, children build prototype apps and submit their ideas to the WhiteHat Jr. panel of judges. The top selected students win a trip out to Silicon Valley to meet top scientists, engineers, VCs, and entrepreneurs. Due to COVID-19, this year’s SVC took place virtually. This led to increased participation, but we look forward to returning to in-person Silicon Valley meetups when it’s safe to do so!
M: 26 of your students have decoded the Silicon Valley Challenge. Can you tell us what the Silicon Valley Challenge is?
SS: The Silicon Valley Challenge is a program that invites all WhiteHat Jr. “Young Visionary” students from the Advanced program to create an app to solve real-life problems. Silicon Valley is the epitome of innovation, a personification that nothing is off-limits, and WhiteHat Jr. created this challenge to reinforce these ideas with kids. The 26 winners, shortlisted from an exhaustive list of over 7,000+ entries from across the globe, are invited to learn from and work with the engineers, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists from the Valley. The kids present to these leaders in the industry, including veterans such as Amit Patel (Managing Director of Owl Ventures), Arun Saigal (Co-founder and CEO of Thunkable), and Suvir Sujan (Managing Director of Nexus India Capital Advisors). The competition makes industry veteran collaboration a reality and helps kids understand that nothing is out of bounds if they dare to dream!
M: Now that these 26 WhiteHat Jr. students have cracked the Silicon Valley Challenge, what’s next for them?
SS: The next WhiteHat Jr. challenge for kids who participated in the Silicon Valley competition is “18 Under 18—Building your own company.” With the help of their WhiteHat Jr. teachers, students will build and operate their own company. In line with WhiteHat Jr.’s mission of teaching children that no dream is too big and creating the next generation of innovators, the challenge encourages students to put the skills they have learned into real-world problem-solving.
M: What age groups does WhiteHat Jr. cater to?
SS: WhiteHat Jr. is available for kids aged 6-14.
M: Is there an ideal age that you recommend kids start learning to code at? If so, why is this?
SS: It’s proven that learning to code transforms the way kids think and learn, boosting their creativity, logical thinking, and work ethic. Students that start to learn to code as early as Kindergarten age (6-7) consequently instill these skills for life and therefore, have a greater opportunity to apply their elevated way of thinking to all the subjects they learn in school and beyond.
M: Can classes be customized for each child’s level?
SS: Included in the 1:1 experience is the flexibility for a student’s teacher to coach them at their own pace. A student can enter at whichever level they feel most comfortable, then be introduced to a new curriculum in as little or as much time as needed to master the previous subject.
M: Is there a certain level of coding knowledge that a child should have before coming to WhiteHat Jr.?
SS: WhiteHat Jr.’s curriculum is structured so students can join at any age and start at whatever level they’re most comfortable with. WhiteHat Jr. offers courses at different levels including Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and Professional in addition to the Applied Tech course for grades 10+. We welcome students who are starting from scratch and cover a thorough introduction to coding in our Beginner course. Our website outlines the curriculum for each course so students can reference and start where they feel a fit.
M: All of your classes are taught one on one with live instructors. This isn’t where parents are being sent links to videos or kids are being crammed into packed Zoom sessions. WhiteHat Jr. is one student to one teacher. Why have you found that this model works better than group sessions or small group settings?
SS: The one-on-one, personal format allows for the student to receive full attention from the teacher—something they’re not getting from Zoom school. This way, kids stay engaged, are able to ask questions, and have the opportunity to explore their creativity to build the apps they want. We have 11,000+ women-only certified teachers, creating a comfortable environment for students to learn in a private setting.
M: We’ve heard some amazing things about your instructors! Can you tell us about them, how they are selected?
SS: There is a unique process for us to find our expert coding instructors and educators for our students. We follow a four-step selection process to confirm teachers so your kids are learning from the best and the brightest. The first step is a phone interview with a candidate, then a live demo class. Next, the candidate’s technological capabilities are reviewed and finally, if accepted, the teacher is trained and certified! Only 0.1% of candidates are chosen to be educators for our platform, so it is truly an intense and thoughtful process. Since its inception, we’ve been able to hire over 11,000 women!
M: How are students paired with instructors?
SS: Our students are taught via a live one-on-one online platform so they have undivided attention from the teacher. Students are paired with instructors based on the teacher’s availability and curriculum, along with the student’s familiarity levels with coding and programming. Our teachers are committed to creating a safe environment for students to learn in a private setting.
M: You currently have over 1 million students (and counting!) Do you have any special success stories you can share with us?
SS: Absolutely! We’re so proud of our one million-plus students and what they’ve gone on to do with their coding and programming skills. Many of our students have created apps that promote peace, equality, and social good that are now available for download in the Google Play store! One student who shines is seven-year-old Hirranyaa; she created an app that translates common phrases to sign language. She was inspired by her disabled brother and has always been passionate about helping those in need. The app helps those with hearing impairments by showing people sign language for each letter in a word entered.
M: How can parents get started?
SS: If you are a motivated parent that is passionate about technology and student success, WhiteHat Jr. is the perfect place for your child to learn coding skills that will benefit them throughout their life. You and your family can sign up for a free trial class to discover the programming courses that WhiteHat Jr. has to offer. Friendly reminder that no previous coding experience is required!
M: What is the most special thing about WhiteHat Jr. that moms should know about?
SS: You may wonder if coding courses will benefit your child, but we can guarantee that our programming classes and expert instructors will help your child far beyond job opportunities in the future. WhiteHat Jr. teaches skills for your child to thrive in a tech-focused world but also prioritizes essential…