Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!netnews.upenn.edu!msuinfo!ss8.cps.msu.edu!enbody From: enbody@ss8.cps.msu.edu (Dr Richard Enbody) Newsgroups: comp.edu Subject: Re: programming for math credit - rational Message-ID: <1990Dec1.210542.10280@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu> Date: 1 Dec 90 21:05:42 GMT References: Sender: news@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu Reply-To: enbody@ss8.cps.msu.edu (Dr Richard Enbody) Organization: Computer Science Dept., Michigan State Univ. Lines: 37 PROGRAMMING IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR MATHEMATICS!!!!!! The basics of mathematics at the high school level should be mastered by all. Let me go one step further. If computer science is to be taught in high school, something in the current curriculum must be removed to make room for it. What should that be? Certainly not mathematics or the sciences. Certainly not writing. Certainly not history. Certainly not foreign languages. ... If all the classic high school topics are mastered, one could consider computer science. How much mathematics is more important than computer science? Calculus. (Notice that I am not saying that Calculus is a prerequisite for programming.) Should computers be used as a tool at the high school level? Absolutely. Write essays on word processors, a hypertext encycolpedia of history would be wonderful, use Mathematica to help teach mathematics... (Don't use a computer as a teacher -- but I digress, I could rant and rave on that topic for even longer...) I speak from experience with high school mathematics and college computer science. Background: BA in Mathematics, Carleton College 6 years as a high school math teacher PhD in Computer Science, U of Minnesota 4 years as a university professor -rich enbody@cps.msu.edu Brought to you by Super Global Mega Corp .com