Why focus on design thinking and problem-solving rather than just tools?

Because tools change and thinking doesn’t. The specific framework or language that’s hot right now will be replaced in a few years; the problem-solving skills you build will still work. Design thinking isn’t a buzzword here — it means looking at a situation, figuring out what’s actually going on, weighing tradeoffs, and making a decision you can defend. That’s the durable part. Once you have it, picking up a new tool is a weekend exercise. Without it, every new tool is the same struggle dressed differently. PE teaches the tools too — you’ll leave with real technical skills. But the ceiling on what you can do with those tools is set by how well you think, not how much syntax you’ve memorized.