Papert was going more about actual thinking and exploration using new tools, rather than "teaching everyone to code".
Kids on an extended trip to France reliably learn French. IIRC Papert asked why we can't have a Mathland that works that way, and tried to build one in Logo and the culture around it. This produced at least one awesome, ripping book (Turtle Geometry), some excellent ones like Computer Science Logo Style, and I imagine some local incarnations of Mathland where enough acculturated people got together. I'd guess that schools taking it up too quickly was what smothered it, under school's immense power to turn everything in school into more school. I haven't yet read Papert's later books, though.
We need both let's-make-school-suck-less and ways to learn outside it. I hope someone with experience in these matters will comment.
so sad :(
Children need to learn CS concepts in order to use a computer about the same amount they need to learn mechanical engineering in order to ride on the school bus.
I won't go into why CS concepts are important in school. My coffee has not yet reached my bloodstream.
