[ILUG] [OT] noncomputing nonscience in secondary.

[Caolan McNamara]

Err.. ObLinux
www.vex.net/parnassus was just what I was looking for for
a python lex, it was called, doh, Plex.

if(bInterestLinuxOnly) return;

<rant>
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/front/2000/0619/fro1.htm

Flicking through the irish times this morning I see that
they reckon they need a computing course in school. Of
course it can't be called science because they believe females
will avoid it for reason of nomenclature, and while they
are at it they don't like the word computing all that much
either.

Putting any sort of computer close to people who might not
otherwise not be able to get their hands on one will
certainly help sucker people into our industry, so thats a good
thing. But my concern is that the school system has a wonderful
history of shagging up computing needs. There has been free
pcs for secondary and primary schools before, and quite a few
half hearted programming and computing modules. With many of those
free pcs gently rotting in corners seeing as there is noone among
the teachers with any skills to teach them, or if there is then
its a lucky school as its a self taught teacher working on his own
initiative as theres no training for teachers in IT. If free
soldering equipment were handed out to all schools and that was
that, would you expect schools to start teaching practical
electronics when none of the teachers would know which end to plug
into the wall, no but for some reason computing is expected to be
different. A friend of mine used to carry about 4 huge library books
around campus with him which he never opened, claiming to learn
by osmosis through the covers, but I don't think it actually works
that way.

Expect to see this computing course decay into stupidity unless
there is some amazingly good luck. Of much more use than
"Information Studies" (which is the sort of name I expect them to
end up with, and with a curriculum carefully tuned to allow
non trained teachers to teach it, i.e. no actual computing except some
plinking with a word processor, and lots of historical stuff on
computing etc), would be to teach how to read and write,
an essential skill for a computer professional. Last months
Economist for example reported statistics of 20% of Irish folk not
competent to read anything of depth. You might be able to teach yourself
pretty much everything with enough determination, but you're have to
be bootstrapped up to reading to go from there.

Add to this the dearth of females in any technical discipline, which
is not going to be solved by renaming the word science and engineering
to something else for christ sake, "a rose by ..." etc. One thing that
Ive noticed in at least one or two all girls schools is that they
don't have an honours maths teacher, if you don't carry maths then
none of those pupils are going to be doing any engineering, full stop,
whether they want to or not. Actually as an aside onto that there
is a cunning journalistic game with the work engineering, countless
articles tell the aspiring female engineer "engineering is not a
male discipline, engineering is not all about grease", what the ?
Neither occurred to me until I read articles which were so quick
to reassure me that it wasn't like that, that you start thinking about
fires where there is smoke. And while Im at it whats with domestic
science, now theres a festering pile of crap which should be placed
into concrete boots and dropped over the side.

To me computing (like everything else) is about paying attention,
thinking things through, visualizing the repercussions of your
actions, formulating a plan of approach, understanding your
problem and knowing your tools. General stuff, learning to learn
and all that. A general technical education covers the fundamentals
of computing, engineering and science. Not some aimless flailing
about waffling about Information. Adding a computer course to
school is worthy, but sorting out incompetence would make a lot
more difference. It is a barefaced lie that the Irish education
system is of a high quality, for its primary purpose of teaching
to read it is equal to Romania's. Interestingly teachers cannot
be questioned by anyone into their performance, there is absolutely
no real checks in place to track own the utterly useless and
incapable ones. As a teacher I could teach Swahili during my French
class for years any noone would know.

The old lie was that we were well taught, the new lie will be that
we are some sort of fount of technical prowess. Chuckle, any
Scandinavian country kicks our butt so hard when it comes to
computing, phones, net access, online banks and services,
literacy and linux kernel contributions that it isn't funny.
</rant>

C.