When I got to college, they didn't teach programming in a sane way. They still don't! Most professors retreat into lecture mode due to large classes, inabilty

When I got to college, they didn't teach programming in a sane way. They still don't! Most professors retreat into lecture mode due to large classes, inabilty to teach, and wide variance in student quality. When students are motivated it is mostly towards things outside CS (games, IT, etc.). Industry has a pernicious influence and when their initiatives fail they assume it's because the academics didn't follow the PHB's plans far enough. Even if you're on top of all that, it's still incredibly difficult. I taught CS courses a few times, and the hardest part by far was pacing -- simultaneously pulling the lost students along and pushing the advanced students towards stuff they can sink their teeth into.