On Wed, 26 Jul 2017 20:49:00 -0400
Robert Marmorstein <robert@???> wrote:

> > >>> My high-school programming class was advertised as teaching
> > >>> people how to
> > >>> program in C and do all sorts of low-level stuff. I signed up
> > >>> thinking I might finally meet a "computer expert" that actually
> > >>> knew what they were talking about...
> > >>>
> > >>> The teacher began by forcing us all to make "hello world"
> > >>> applications IN JAVA!
>
> I teach Computer Science at a small public university. There is a
> wide variety in the high school preparation of my students. Most of
> them wind up in Java classes similar to yours, which demotivates them
> and makes my life harder. Some of them have absolutely excellent
> classes. It depends a lot on whether the school district can afford
> to have dedicated computing/technology faculty. My general
> impression is that large, wealthy school districts are able to devote
> enough resources to provide I.T. classes, but most (smaller and
> poorer) school districts can't.
>
> That said, I agree completely with you about the importance of a
> "low-level" understanding of computer systems. You don't have to
> understand how an engine works to be a race-card driver, but it
> helps. And if you want to be in the pit crew, you'd better know the
> difference between a metric wrench and an imperial one. Knowledge of
> binary, especially, shows up in lots of applications other than
> "systems-level" coding -- graphics filters, subnet masks, digital
> signal processing, numerical analysis, bitsets for network flags,
> lots of places. _______________________________________________

Next question:

Given that instructors in both high school and college vary from the
guy who has a Gigabit Ethernet connection between his brain and yours,
and the clown who can't explain what a loop is and how it's used, and
given the enormous debt incurred by going to college, what is the way
forward for folks without the money to take courses and hope they get a
good instructor?

SteveT

Steve Litt
July 2017 featured book: Quit Joblessness: Start Your Own Business
http://www.troubleshooters.com/startbiz