Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!cica!news.cs.indiana.edu!news.nd.edu!cartan!ndmath!nstar!freewill From: freewill@nstar.UUCP (Bill Williston) Newsgroups: comp.edu Subject: Re: programming for math credit - rational Message-ID: Date: 4 Dec 90 09:48:23 GMT References: <15404@cs.utexas.edu> Sender: bbs@nstar.rn.com (BBS User) Organization: Northern Star Communications, Ltd. Lines: 31 turpin@cs.utexas.edu (Russell Turpin) writes: > not think word processors are a detriment to composition and > writing skills. They are a great convenience. But that is all > they are. High schools should require all students who are > academically capable to take four years of rhetoric, writing, and Word processing is convenient. Do you practice spelling, grammar, rhetoric when you word process? Requiring students to write well and use their language seems to be practicing english... > > department head, and better understands where high schools are > failing, and that word processing classes and most programming > classes do not contribute to the solution. I would like to respond to 'where high schools are failing' if you could be more specific... As a high school teacher I can tell you that schools begin 'failing' before high school. > > At the university level, I would prefer an entering freshman to > have strong writing skills and high school math at least through > trigonometry, rather than less English and math, but knowledge > of how to "word process" or write Pascal programs. I think this > is best whether the freshman majors in English or computer > science. > aren't writing skills and word processing synonymous in 1990? If students learn problem solving in math then programming is not needed. BW Brought to you by Super Global Mega Corp .com