Re: peasant revolt against DrScheme!

[Matthias Felleisen <matthias@cs.rice.edu>]

Okay, in all honesty, I suspect that *most* people who teach introductory
programming do a bad job. They teach syntax and little else. It is
certainly true in Rice's C/C++ programming course. If you were to put a gun
to my head and force me to teach a C/C++ course (or Java), I could do a
much better job than they do. I would translate HtDP into this {->*&!--};
language and teach these kids some good stuff. But do I want to? No way! 
I think I'd rather wait for you to pull the trigger :-)

-- Matthias

   From: Brent Fulgham <brent.fulgham@xpsystems.com>
   Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2001 16:18:27 -0800

   > But, even our hard-core systems faculty members who kind of
   > agreed with the engineering school and who taught this second
   > course several times came to me and told me that Scheme/HtDP
   > students were better prepared for the C/C++ course than C/C++
   > students. 
   > 

   That's pretty interesting.

   Mike and I have often forwarded each other particularly amusing
   reviews of "Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs"
   from the Amazon.com web site.

   Every fall there is a new group of 1-star reviews with arguments
   along the lines of the Cal Tech student's complaints.

   Thanks,

   -Brent