Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site pucc-k Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!ihnp4!inuxc!pur-ee!CS-Mordred!Pucc-H:Pucc-I:Pucc-K:ag5 From: ag5@pucc-k (Henry C. Mensch) Newsgroups: net.college,net.cse Subject: Re: Should Computer Science be taught at the High School level? Message-ID: <725@pucc-k> Date: Wed, 19-Dec-84 14:31:46 EST Article-I.D.: pucc-k.725 Posted: Wed Dec 19 14:31:46 1984 Date-Received: Fri, 21-Dec-84 01:48:18 EST References: <241@mss.UUCP> <705@ames.UUCP> <598@utcsrgv.UUCP> <685@clyde.UUCP> Organization: Tower Acres Pleasure Center Lines: 57 Xref: watmath net.college:554 net.cse:272 <<>> I also worked as a Teaching Ass't/Lab Ass't when I was a student at Syracuse University, and I agree that a computer-ignorant freshman is more desirable as a student than those who have had computing in high school. One of the courses that I worked for was a freshman introduction to Computer Science in which the language of instruction was UCI Lisp. Of course, all those freshmen who walked in with a blank slate fared better than those who carried high-school programming knowledge because -) the high-school programmers invariably learned how to 'program' in BASIC or FORTRAN IV on incredibly-outdated equipment (In high school, I learned on a Nova 2/10 which, when driving four terminals <3@110baud, 1@300 baud> was as slow as a VAX with a >30 load average), -) the high-school teacher who would wind up teaching these courses was either learning the material on-the-flyor were recalling it from a course in programming which they had while in college several eons ago (since most high schools haven't the cash to hire someone truly competent, and since private industry has the cash to siphon off those math/physics/other-science teachers who have had considerable experience with computers), -) the students assumed that, since they had computing in high school, this course wouldn't present much new knowledge, and, as such, would blow it off . After all this, it would be easy to conclude that I am against programming/'computer science' courses in high school. This is *not* the case. Instead the high school course needs to be greatly modified. A competent teacher being paid a livable salary has to teach the course. (The 'livable salary' part puts the high school course beyond the means of most school systems since schools pay abysmally low salaries to their teachers). Sufficient equipment must be available to the students. Four terminals on an incredibly slow and out-of-date machine for >100 students doesn't quite work. The bottom line: if the course can't be taught well, then don't teach it. -- ------------------------------------------------------------------- Henry C. Mensch | User Confuser | Purdue University User Services {ihnp4|decvax|ucbvax|seismo|allegra|cbosgd|harpo}!pur-ee!pucc-i!ag5 ------------------------------------------------------------------- "Ah, the sweet song of the morning grouch!"