Why Johnny Can't Code and How That Can Change 527
snydeq writes "Fatal Exception's Neil McAllister discusses why schools are having a hard time engaging young minds in computer science — and what the Scalable Game Design program in Colorado is doing to try to change that. 'Repenning's program avoids this disheartening cycle in three important ways. First, it deemphasizes programming while still encouraging students to develop the logical thinking skills they'll need for more advanced studies. Second, it engages students by encouraging them to be creative and solve their own problems, rather than just repeating exercises dictated by their instructor. Third, and perhaps most important, students are rewarded for their efforts with an actual, concrete result they can relate to: a game.'"
Re:In other words .... (Score:4, Informative)
Not necessarily. Johnny could be a diamond in the rough, but thinks that programming is hard and pointless. By giving him a rewarding goal that shows results quickly, he might discover that he actually has a talent and a passion. It worked for me - I only learned to program so that I could hack Netrek, and now I do some fairly deep fu.
Remember, we're competing for Johnny's heart and mind. Would we rather that he became a lawyer, or an accountant?
I'm interested too. (Score:2, Informative)
Not good engough to say X is bad and then don't bother to explain what is wrong. How are things going to get better otherwise?
Re:Offshoring. (Score:5, Informative)
So tell me how you "kill" offshoring? I'm curious what you magic antidote is to prevent companies from operating in a cost-efficient manner.
Easy - remove the loopholes that make it cost-efficient for companies to offshore.
This doesn't mean protectionism - just closing the rules that allow companies to shift their revenues and losses between tax districts will do wonders to encourage companies to work in house.