NewsTeaching a Homeless Person to Code

Teaching a Homeless Person to Code

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Three months ago, developer Patrick McConlogue offered a deal to Leo, a homeless person McConlogue passed on the street regularly: McConlogue would either give Leo $100 or he would give Leo everything he needed to learn to write code—including daily one-hour lessons. Surprising many, Leo opted for the coding lessons. Leo has made a lot of progress and now plans to build an app that will help save the planet by tracking the CO2 emissions people are saving by carpooling.

In the beginning, McConlogue’s blog about the project generated a lot of controversy and criticism from those who felt coding lessons weren’t the best way to help Leo. Over time, a large community has begun offering Leo daily encouragement.

Now, McConlogue is offering a challenge: “I am asking for 10 software engineers who would be willing to choose from among the thousands who have emailed about Leo, asking to learn to code themselves. These software engineers would commit two months, one hour a day, to teaching one student how to build an app or a website in the language the engineer is comfortable with.”

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