Re: Required common programming language

[Mel Bartels <mbartels@efn.org>]

> Well here is a good chance to see whether we have any consensus.  Suppose
> we are voting on which programming langauge ALL students learn in
> elementary school, that we have the power to mandate this choice to all
> school systems and the funds to empower them to actually teach it,  so that
> we can build on that knowledge later.  Do you vote for  Basic, Pascal,
> Java, C+, ...

To change the direction of the thread a bit...

Ah ha!  Finally something I might be able to humbly comment on, being a former
educator and working in the computer field now.

There is a style of sequential thinking or problem solving, along with
creativity, that makes the top notch programmer: one who intuitively
understands how to draw the most from the machine, from the compiler, and how
to allow for extensive modifications down the road.  The language is truly
immaterial, as long as it is structured.  Once you have this type of thinking,
you can pick up any language quickly and be very proficient.

It's this style of thinking that needs to be taught.  Unfortunately,
programming classes bog down in intricacies of syntax, that is, maneuvering
between the trees and never seeing the forest.  Classes on the other side of
the spectrum like compiler classes and processor classes similarly miss the
boat.

If you teach anything remotely to do with computers and languages, try to
instill the style of thinking, give the students the feeling that they are
creating, and not sweat to death the details.  This is no surprise to all the
former musicians who work in the computer field, but there is a very close and
similar style of thinking that occurs when you play an instrument and take
music classes.

I've long had an interest in kids who, particularly in math and physics
classes, 'don't get it'.  I believe there is a way to reach every one of these
kids by concentrating on the style of thinking necessary to make that 'ha! ha!
I finally get it' experience happen.  One of the ways to reach these kids is
through computer classes that teach by concentrating on the style of thinking,
and through music classes.  If you want to teach physics and math, then teach
computers and music.

--
Clear skies, Mel Bartels    Programmer/Analyst, amateur astronomer
Eugene, Oregon, USA         homepage: http://www.efn.org/~mbartels
mailto:mbartels@efn.org     atm, atm-digest list-owner
Motorize A Dob: http://zebu.uoregon.edu/~mbartels/altaz/altaz.html