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I got my degree in the mid 90's and let me tell you - high school guidance counsellors in the 1980's had no clue at all what computer science was. I arrived at

I got my degree in the mid 90's and let me tell you - high school guidance counsellors in the 1980's had no clue at all what computer science was. I arrived at university expecting to be writing a lot of programs and was soon struggling with a heavy load of mathematics and proofs. Our introduction to computer programming professor made it clear that that class was the only one where we would be taught to program. Computer science, he said, was mostly done with paper and pencil. It wasn't quite true. We eventually did a lot of programming, but it was nothing like I was expecting.

hot_gril 2y ago
The problem with actually learning to code in school is that you'd spend a lot of time learning specifics that become outdated, which you could've self-studied anyway. Idk what it was like in the 1980s, but in 2015 our CS practice problems and tests were mostly pencil+paper, with actual code only used as a teaching tool in projects and some homework (more in lower divs).
- criddell 2y ago
  That’s why I think the old SICP-based curricula are so great. Learning Scheme isn’t really the point. It’s all about fundamentals of computation.
  - hot_gril 2y ago
    We used Scheme too, it was a good way of teaching general computation.
PhasmaFelis 2y ago
> high school guidance counsellors in the 1980's had no clue at all what computer science was. My problem was that the fucking college counselors didn't know either. When I signed up, I told the lady I wanted to be a computer programmer, and she said "You'll want computer science, then," and that wasn't true. The CS program was only interested in teaching me how to be a CS professor. A few years in I was scouring the course lists for classes on graphics, web, anything with a GUI even, and there was nothing. It was 100% command line C++, and they didn't even bother teaching us about IDEs and debuggers. Just Telnet, vi, g++. It was like taking a pure math degree to become an architect.
- jimbokun 2y ago
  > Just Telnet, vi, g++. Those have absolutely stood the test of time than any specific IDE or debugger.
  - criddell 2y ago
    That doesn't necessarily make them a great choice for teaching. A '57 Chevy has stood the test of time, but a modern car with an automatic transmission, power steering, power brakes, and air bags is probably a better choice for a driving school today.

hot_gril 2y ago

The problem with actually learning to code in school is that you'd spend a lot of time learning specifics that become outdated, which you could've self-studied anyway. Idk what it was like in the 1980s, but in 2015 our CS practice problems and tests were mostly pencil+paper, with actual code only used as a teaching tool in projects and some homework (more in lower divs).

criddell 2y ago
That’s why I think the old SICP-based curricula are so great. Learning Scheme isn’t really the point. It’s all about fundamentals of computation.
- hot_gril 2y ago
  We used Scheme too, it was a good way of teaching general computation.

PhasmaFelis 2y ago

> high school guidance counsellors in the 1980's had no clue at all what computer science was. My problem was that the fucking college counselors didn't know either. When I signed up, I told the lady I wanted to be a computer programmer, and she said "You'll want computer science, then," and that wasn't true. The CS program was only interested in teaching me how to be a CS professor. A few years in I was scouring the course lists for classes on graphics, web, anything with a GUI even, and there was nothing. It was 100% command line C++, and they didn't even bother teaching us about IDEs and debuggers. Just Telnet, vi, g++. It was like taking a pure math degree to become an architect.

jimbokun 2y ago
> Just Telnet, vi, g++. Those have absolutely stood the test of time than any specific IDE or debugger.
- criddell 2y ago
  That doesn't necessarily make them a great choice for teaching. A '57 Chevy has stood the test of time, but a modern car with an automatic transmission, power steering, power brakes, and air bags is probably a better choice for a driving school today.