-=> Quoting Charles Beams to Sheila King <=-
 CB> I don't often disagree with you on matters educational, but on this
 CB> one  I'm of a different mind.  Who needs to write programs today,
 CB> especially  in BASIC or LOGO?
Uh, how about programmers? Are you of the opinion that hardly anyone
programs for a living, so it isn't worthwhile teaching it to students?
And BTW, Visual Basic outsells every other Windows programming language,
including C++ and Delphi. Moreover, since a subset of VB is embedded
in most MS Windows Office applications as a replacement for the old
system of "macros", every application user becomes a de facto programmer
to some degree, whenever he needs to extend an application beyond its
built-in, off-the-shelf capabilities. Lastly, take a look at some
source code from PowerBuilder, CA Visualizer, and a host of other
"database" languages sometime. It may not say "BASIC" on the box, but
the source sure looks like BASIC.
 CB> Perhaps for students with a particular interest in computers, such as
 CB> those in a computer club or special activity group, teaching
 CB> programming  would be beneficial.  However, based on my own experience,
 CB> most of the  5th and 6th grade kids really didn't care for programming.
Sure, it _should_ be an elective if offered as an entire course. But
it should also be _encouraged_. Do you tell your kids "Who needs to
write programs today"? If so, you're doing them a disservice IMO.
coffeerp@adan.kingston.net  Û] COFFEE MUG SOFTWARE Û]
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