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High schoolers shouldn't really be taking CS. I get that that's a hot take for HN, but they need more time learning the basics of critical thinking, communicat

by duped 3y ago

High schoolers shouldn't really be taking CS. I get that that's a hot take for HN, but they need more time learning the basics of critical thinking, communication, and emotional intelligence before learning what the hell time and memory complexity are. I think we should be teaching kids how to code but the science side of it can stay put in higher learning. We're terrible at teaching young adults it, let alone children.

Izkata 3y ago
It's a good place for learning programming though, and then they have a solid practical foundation to apply the abstract CS concepts to. Unfortunately I think it's about the same, not many teachers, let alone good ones.
throw47474777j 3y ago
> but they need more time learning They don’t need more time. They need a serious curriculum.
seanmcdirmid 3y ago
High schoolers would benefit from intro CS, like they would benefit from more algebra and gettin to calculus by their sophomore or junior year. They would also benefit from learning how to code, which is something they are much more likely to get excited about and it should be relatively easier to find teachers for. There is just more profit in teaching coding, and expense in teaching CS, but CS would be useful.
robotresearcher 3y ago
Critical thinking, communication and emotional intelligence can be gained by experience and achievement in technical subjects including Computer Science, as well as other ways. I don’t propose to require CS in high school but it’d be great if it was an high quality option for more people. Lots of people do AP math, and many of them could do well with CS as an alternative if it was available. Also, some other people who are better programmers than mathematicians (like me) would benefit from this option. Sadly, the number of good CS grads that would choose to teach at high school will stay very small as long as other opportunities are so much more attractive. I agree that a lot of college CS teaching is not very good, for similar reasons.

by duped 3y ago

Izkata 3y ago

It's a good place for learning programming though, and then they have a solid practical foundation to apply the abstract CS concepts to. Unfortunately I think it's about the same, not many teachers, let alone good ones.

throw47474777j 3y ago

> but they need more time learning They don’t need more time. They need a serious curriculum.

seanmcdirmid 3y ago

High schoolers would benefit from intro CS, like they would benefit from more algebra and gettin to calculus by their sophomore or junior year. They would also benefit from learning how to code, which is something they are much more likely to get excited about and it should be relatively easier to find teachers for. There is just more profit in teaching coding, and expense in teaching CS, but CS would be useful.

robotresearcher 3y ago

Critical thinking, communication and emotional intelligence can be gained by experience and achievement in technical subjects including Computer Science, as well as other ways. I don’t propose to require CS in high school but it’d be great if it was an high quality option for more people. Lots of people do AP math, and many of them could do well with CS as an alternative if it was available. Also, some other people who are better programmers than mathematicians (like me) would benefit from this option. Sadly, the number of good CS grads that would choose to teach at high school will stay very small as long as other opportunities are so much more attractive. I agree that a lot of college CS teaching is not very good, for similar reasons.