Teaching Students Computers... (Semi-OT) - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

13 May 1998

...
 At 07:06 PM 5/13/98 +0300, you wrote:
>to learn anything in perticular, except for stuff pertaining to... anyway, I
...
 >think that here's a good time to give students
a choice to know what they're
...
 >going to do.  I, for instance, want to specilize in
Computers.  Spending
>time learning "Pre-Algebra" (Just spent 2 class periods making a
protractor
...
  accurate to
90' from a piece of paper.) isn't helpful, at least not that 
Okay, so maybe you're a wiz in math/science, but you've got two
misspellings in there (pArticular and speciAlize) so perhaps you should be
concentrating on grammar/literature/etc?  8^) 

I'm not a wiz in math/science at all.  That's the point.  I'm not learning
anything, and neither are the 14 or so people that I really know in the
class.  In a class where 2/3 isn't learning jack SHOULD tell the teacher
something.
...
 >>High school, take the first two to the next
levels and add skills needed
>>to find paying work.
>
>I say that some students should be given the oppertunity to do this in Jr.
>High.  Not everyone, but some people.  After all, by this time, you know if
...
  you're not
going to be a chemist, programmer, or anything. 
Well, in Jr. High I was all set to be a private dick... er, detective.
Early high school, I was ready to head for Harvard Law School.  Late high
school, the plan was U-Ill/Urbana-Champaign for under Grad Elect/Elect
Engineering, then MIT for grad school.  During college (SF City College) I
was going to join the FBI.  After dropping out of college, I wanted to be a
synthesist, or maybe an inventor.  Now, I want to be a politician.

So when is it you know what you want to be when you grow up? Computers. 
Entrepreneur.  I'll start my own company developing software.
I'd start out with simple stuff, such as an e-mail client, and grow.
Another good thing to do (at least now) is to start a web page/Virtual
Community.  That's changed a single time since Kindergarten, where I wanted
to be an aeronautical engineer, seeing as how I had zip experience with
computers.  My idea's been the same for 5 years now.

Tim D. Hotze