When we first started teaching children and teenagers programming, we thought it was simple: give them a laptop, show them the code, and everything would work. The reality turned out to be different. Educating teenagers in IT is like launching a startup: there are a lot of ideas, a lot of energy, but without the right system, mentors and environment, everything falls apart.

1. Motivation and attention retention Teenagers quickly lose interest if the material is boring or disconnected from their lives.Our approach: we do projects that are close to them — websites for friends, Roblox games, Telegram bots.

2. Different starting levelsThere may be a student in the same group who has already written scripts, and someone who is holding a laptop for the first time.Our approach: a modular program with the ability to adapt the pace for everyone.

3. Parental supportMany parents expect instant results without understanding the learning process.Our approach: regular reports, demo days, joint events where the child shows what he has already done.

• Project approach — each module ends with a finished project in the portfolio.
• 1-on-1 mentoring — supervisors monitor each student's progress.
• Gamification — levels, badges, challenges.
• Public Advocacy — children learn to present projects by developing public speaking skills.

• A student who started with HTML at the age of 13 is already making commercial websites.
• A group of teenagers built an entire virtual city in Roblox in 2 months.
• Graduates win school hackathons and continue to study in the IT field.

1. Don't overload with theory.
2. Let's get tangible results in the first month.
3. Involve parents in the process.
4. Balance creative freedom and discipline.At CAP EDU, we believe that teenagers can create world-class projects already at school. The main thing is to give them the right support and environment. If you want to see how it works, come to our open lessons.