Scratch

What programming skill?

Have you ever heard of functions? Maybe not but that's basically what it does. I honestly don't see any reason why scratch 2.0 will "kill your programming skill". Think of it this way, there is a big segment of code that I'm going to use throughout my program, instead of copying lots of code each time I create a procedure which does what I need. SO when ever I need to use that procedure I just call it. Simple eh? And no, this is not only in scratch it's also in many other languages including Pascal 

I think it really depends on the point-of-view.

My programming professor was using Scratch as jumping platform before delving into C++. She found that students who experiment with Scratch first learned programming a lot better than students who did not. This comes as no surprise: Scratch was designed as a way to introduce programming to younger kids, as well as an introductory tool for those new to programming in general. It's why a lot of teachers who plan on teaching programming trying starting off with Scratch first before moving onto more traditional programming languages like C++ or Java. In that respect, Scratch can promote programming skill than kill it.

The use of the new block building reminds me of functions, as many others have pointed out. Perhaps having this function will allow kids and newcomers new to programming to be more familiar with how functions work, again, another promotion of programming skill, not necessarily a killer of it.

I'd imagine that the only way Scratch 2.0 will be a killer of programming skill is if users regress or stay stagnant - that is, if users don't move on beyond Scratch in general. Scratch is a great creative tool and there's nothing wrong with anyone of any level using it for whatever reason; but, especially for beginners, it's important that whatever one learns from Scratch, they should expand on that knowledge and take it to the next level.