Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site brl-tgr.ARPA Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!mhuxn!mhuxj!mhuxr!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!godot!harvard!seismo!brl-tgr!scooper From: scooper@brl-tgr.ARPA (Stephan Cooper ) Newsgroups: net.college,net.cse Subject: Re: Computer Science in High School Message-ID: <6844@brl-tgr.ARPA> Date: Sun, 30-Dec-84 02:31:03 EST Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.6844 Posted: Sun Dec 30 02:31:03 1984 Date-Received: Mon, 31-Dec-84 03:45:09 EST References: <241@mss.UUCP> <705@ames.UUCP> <194@uthub.UUCP> <754@gloria.UUCP> <233@harvard.ARPA> Reply-To: scooper@brl-tgr.ARPA (Stephan Cooper (CTAB)) Organization: Ballistic Research Lab Lines: 21 Xref: watmath net.college:595 net.cse:292 Summary: Computer science is not an essential at the high school level. True, it is an aid for those wishing to pursue into a field in which computer literacy is essential, however, the basis behind computer science is what needs to be stressed more. Programming (not the actual coding, but the thought process behind it) requires a sense of logical progression and organized thinking, does it not? The act of learning a specific language is irrelevent at the high school level, or anywhere else. That's the EASY part. The importance of programming comes in the efficient thought processes in problem solving. Aren't these the very essentials supposedly stressed in high school English (a good course, anyway) and ALL Mathematics? The course of programming in high school is a waste unless the concepts behind EFFICIENT progamming are stressed. I have seen many high school students too worried about getting their programs in on time, or what the syntax for a FOR-NEXT loop is, rather than understanding how these things work, and WHY they are used, and how they make the process efficient. Overall, this whole arguement is rather bogus. I think we all agree that it is the logic and organized thought processes that are important, not how to print "My name is Johnny" in 19 different computer languages. -Steve