Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site Glacier.ARPA Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!genrad!decvax!decwrl!Glacier!reid From: reid@Glacier.ARPA Newsgroups: net.college,net.cse Subject: Re: Should Computer Science be taught at the High School level? Message-ID: <2014@Glacier.ARPA> Date: Thu, 20-Dec-84 23:12:20 EST Article-I.D.: Glacier.2014 Posted: Thu Dec 20 23:12:20 1984 Date-Received: Sat, 22-Dec-84 02:19:15 EST References: <241@mss.UUCP> Distribution: net Organization: Stanford University, Computer Systems Lab Lines: 30 Xref: watmath net.college:565 net.cse:277 > My question to the net readership is what should the content of a required > course be? If you are a college educator, what information do you want > incoming Freshmen to possess regarding computers? Not just students in CS > but *all* of your incoming students. Do potential English majors really > gain something by learning how to code Pascal? Or would they be better > served learning word-processing and spread sheets? I teach the "weedout" CS course at Stanford. I think that teaching CS in high school is a mistake. I would much rather see high school students left alone to hack, computer club style, while their coursework concentrated on math, science, and English. Especially math. There is no particular crime in teaching CS in high school (see caveat in next paragraph) but people usually make room for it in the curriculum by leaving out math, which is a crime. I also like students who can spell and who can write literate paragraphs. The things that I wish incoming high school students knew include proof technique (logic and proof by induction), more geometry and trig, more problem-solving abilities, number bases, matrices and systems of simultaneous linear equations (minimal exposure, not complete mastery), physics, expository writing, and probably lots more that I can't think of now. The things that I wish incoming high school students didn't know include anything having to do with Basic other than pure, simple Dartmouth Basic, (if your Basic has PEEK, POKE, or PRINT # you should throw it away), anything having to do with small-computer operating systems (CP/M, DOS, etc.), and any skills involving floppy disks. Brian Reid Stanford