[plt-scheme] Question on Teaching Scheme with DrScheme

Erich Rast <Erich.Rast at t-online.de> writes at 12:07 06-Nov-2002 +0100:
> That's why I think that RAD tools like -- no joking, I know you'll hate 
> me for what I'll say now ;)-- VisualBasic (or Realbasic on the 
> Macintosh) are the best teaching tools. Perhaps even an 8 year old, but 
> for sure a 12 year-old can write his/ her own address book, calendar, 
> diary application or mars-invaders game. That's a far better motivation 
> than text in, text out applications or nice-looking, but pretty useless 
> turtle-graphics.

I think "RAD" tools are targeted at IT/MIS grunt programmers who churn
out the same thing, year after year, following the methodology: "paint
your GUI form, maybe glue it to a database, and cram in some lines of
`business logic' where the RAD tool wants you to."

There's a need for that kind of thing, particularly in in-house IT
shops, but I'd hate to stunt kids' development by implying to them that
they should aspire to the intellectually- and spiritually-impoverished
IT and `desktop productivity' applications.

I think the Squeak people have much better ideas for kids than the IT
tools people do.

-- 
                                                        Neil W. Van Dyke
                                             http://www.neilvandyke.org/