I'd like to see computer science taught at a slower pace, especially in the beginning. I know, I know, standards. And they do matter! But when I was a grad s

I'd like to see computer science taught at a slower pace, especially in the beginning. I know, I know, standards. And they do matter! But when I was a grad student at Berkeley (not in CS, I just knew someone taking the course), I saw what undergrads go through in their second course in CS (data structures and algorithms), and egads. I see this as particularly worrisome in CS, because I consider the course to be a bit like teaching Spanish to people who grew up hearing Spanish but answering their parents in English. Yes, technically they are taking an intro course on grammar and writing, and maybe even speaking, but there's a gulf of difference between someone like that and someone who is genuinely new to Spanish (or perhaps has grown up in a monolingual environment). The reason this is insidious, in my opinion, is that places like Berkeley take smart young people who would be good CS majors, puts them in an "impacted" major that is deliberately trying to shed students, and knocks them out by teaching Data Structures and Algorithms at a brutal pace. I think this is irresponsible, especially in an environment where 1) industry is braying about a shortage of talent, and 2) there are serious questions about low representation from certain demographic groups. How about you teach data structures form the book, the first time around? Here's a linked list, here's how you code one. Now, let's code a binary tree. Now a hash map. Finally, let's try a graph. Ok, let's redo those an a more interesting context. If you're new to the language we're using, we'll give you the option of taking some time to learn it. I don't want to lower standards long run, and I'm all for CS remaining a very rigorous major, but I think we lose real talent but running the major this way. There's also a possibility that Berkeley is atypical, in that it is a program that draws strong students, but unlike an ivy or Stanford, has a lot of undergrads and is trying to weed them out. That may be a rare combination that gave me an unusual impression of what happens to CS majors. Still, I hear there is a high attrition rate in CS even at elite privates that have more support. I've probably said this enough times, but I'll repeat it once more - I am not in favor of lowering standards too far, just taking it a little slower. I think many students lost to the major would meet these higher standards with a bit more time in the beginning.