Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!apple!limbo!taylor
From: nancy@limbo.Intuitive.Com (Nancy Louie)
Newsgroups: comp.society
Subject: Re: Teaching Children about Computers
Message-ID: <918@limbo.Intuitive.Com>
Date: 29 Jun 90 18:21:49 GMT
Sender: taylor@limbo.Intuitive.Com
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Approved: taylor@Limbo.Intuitive.Com

Kids these days are probably smarter than you think.  They also respond
to positive feedback and encouragement.  Especially when they may not
get it in the home.  (We just don't live in the June and Ward Cleaver
society anymore.  Kids don't always have the happy household to go home
to ....)  It may have helped her to know that she was demonstrating some
of the aspects of "real" programming.  You may not have had to gone into
detail, but imagine it if you were in her place, the teacher sees what
your doing and says "Thom, that's wonderful!  You've figured out one of
the basic tools that a computer programmer uses to work!  Would you like
to try some other things?  Why don't you try to make xxxx happen?  I'll
come back in a few minutes to see how you're doing and if you want/need
any help, just ask, ok?"

Kinda makes you feel good inside.  Especially if you're pre-5 years
old.

Thom Gillespie comments: 

> I've never had a kid say they wanted to use the computer as a tool, no 
> kids ever said they wanted to use a word processor first, they want 
> to control the machine and that means programming. Kids live up or down 
> to our expectations.

Here I agree.  Kids of that age always try to live up to their parents
expectations.  It's later in life that they start to rebel.

I think the more important issue here is *how* they are encouraged to
learn.  Younger children with shorter attention spans tend to find
pictures and games the better medium to learn through.  It makes
learning fun for them.  Everyone learns better and retains the material
longer when they enjoy learning it.

There's nothing wrong with starting the children out slow.  What you
don't want to necessarily do is to assume that "Gee, since these are
sixth graders, I think we should start learning how to prgram in BASIC
first.  We'll get into the graphics and games later."  Not all students
want to learn how to program, however, getting them *comfortable* around
a computer so that they're no longer afraid of them and would be willing
to possibly learn a few programs later in life would be great.  Getting
them used to the changes in society right now is much more important
than making sure they can write 3000 lines of BASIC code to do data
analysis of their class.

My father hated computers.  (Too bad since his daughter tutored high
school students and adults in computer programming and all.)  Using some
of the applications available on the computer would have helped him to
do his job much more efficiently and make him feel ess rushed at the
office.  If he had been exposed to using computers earlier in life, he
probably wouldn't have been as paranoid about them as he was.  Wouldn't
that be a good goal to shoot for?

Regarding some of the comments from George Leach, I agree that learning
is done in stages.  K-4 grades don't "need" to learn about programming
yet.  Although, if there are some students who show an aptitude and an
interest for learning programming skills, this shouldn't be prevented
either.

My first programming class was in the summer of my seventh grade year.
We learned WATFIV Fortran on cards.  (Blech, I'll never miss those card
readers ....)  I didn't have space in my school schedule to take another
programming class until 10th grade, though I ran grading programs the
previous years to calculate grades and scores for students in our
department.  My two older sisters went through a "schedule" very similar
to mine.  Neither of them works in the computer field.  In fact, both
are fairly far from the field.  They're both far from being computer
illiterate, but they *chose* not to pursue a career in computers.

Whatever we teach the children, we have to remember that what they
ultimately do with their lives is their decision.  We merely provide
them with various avenues to explore before making that decision so that
they can at least make an informed decision, and aren't just forced to
take one avenue because that's the only one available.

When I tutored high school mathematics, there were students that I
worked with who were trying to learn material which they could barely
read.  For many, it was the second (or third) time that they had taken
the class, and this was only Algebra 2.  The students taking Trig and
Calculus had much higher aptitudes for learning, and were also more
interested in getting further in life?  How can you motivate students to
want to learn so that they'll *want* to "get ahead" in life?

Emphasizing the basic R's when the students are young will definitely go
a long way towards this.  Using the computer to augment this training
and hopefully make it more enjoyable to learn may just help us to
increase the literacy ratio in this country.  It's amazing how much
easier it is to learn when you can actually read and comprehend what
you're trying to learn ...

Actually, learning a second language might actually be a good use for
the computers.  I started taking french lessons in first grade through
the MGM program.  A small group of us had one hour a week of french
lessons instead of the normal curriculum.  This went on until sixth
grade.  In high school, I took up german for three years.  I still
remember a fair amount of both.  But having the exposure to the language
makes it much easier for me to pick up the vocabulary again since I'm
already familiar with the grammatical structure.

We used to write programs which would drill us on our vocab words for
our language classes in high school.  Something along these lines,
perhaps incorporating pictures and such might be great for teaching
younger children a foreign language.  They'll tend to have an easier
time learning the same language in junior high or high school.

Finally, people learn ethics in all walks of life.  The basis for
teaching these is providing good role models and the support needed by
the children if something happens that makes them confused about what's
right or wrong.  If the adults that the children interact are open to
talking with the children, they'll pick up the skills on their own.
Let's face it.  Children learn by imitation.

Nancy Louie