Teaching Students Computers... (Semi-OT)

At 19:06 13-05-98 +0300, you wrote: They are used as a tool to show the student the short and/or easy way to an answer. Not enough real thinking and problem solving being taught as a result. That's right! I completely agree this is a good place to start helping a student to try to figure just what he/she will do as a career. I *really* wish I had been encouraged to keep on with advanced learning when in 3rd-4th-5th grades as that was when I recall being especially enthused about technology (this was 1962-65 during the beginnings of the US Space program which I gleaned *all* info possible from the news media). I was, IIRC, discouraged from really getting into this in grade school because (probably) I was not learning the exact same things as the 29 other kids in the classroom were expected to and the teachers and administration were not prepared to handle a somewhat more advanced kid like I possibly was then. My future learning actually suffered a bit because of this. Tim, I see in you a some of the frustration that was in me when I was your age. The German educational system, in which the student is being encouraged toward a career beginning when he/she is around 10 years old, is something like this. Most of my engineering colleages at my company's German parent company began to turn toward engineering/technical programs at grades 5 through 8 or 9 under this system. Some of the wives, girlfriends/boyfriends that I know outside of the company also began their careers around the same time whether they were technical or non-technical. Later, in high school, the student works at one or two companies related to their career choice for ten or so weeks every couple of years. We've had a couple of students doing their 'practical' work at our US company. Sometimes the high school itself is geared toward a career. One of my pals over there went to what he calls a language high school. Still fluent in several languages even now and several other not so fluent languages he is one of the most creative and articulate software writers I know. He's even better in control systems hardware design. Later still, in college, the student does more practical, real-world work. I've sponsored getting a couple of German college students over to this company for their college 'practical' in cooperation with our parent company. Hardware design and software engineering were the areas we had them work in. The system is a bit more complicated than my oversimplification here, many variables to include, but I'm saying that it overall appears to be a better system for them and prepares the student to be ready for the job and rather mature in his/her emotions and thinking. Anyway, this is what I think I could have really benefited from here in the States beginning in grade shool if our educational system was geared toward that concept of "co-operative education". Sadly, I have seen a few German kids who were about the same probably because the system is not perfect. However, they are much fewer than any of us see in the States.