[plt-scheme] Last year students...

Hi all,

This semester I'm teaching Data Mining and Data Warehousing techniques
to last year students in Software and Computer Engineering (which has
nothing to do with Scheme). So I asked in all my classes the exact
same thing:
"Who has programmed in Scheme since it's first year subject
Programming Fundamentals?"
Nobody!

"Well, ok, so in what do you usually program in your free-time? Maybe
Java, C++?"
Nothing...

"Nothing? I asked astonished? So you're have never been interested in
participating in an open source project or develop some personal
project on your own apart from college software projects?"
Nope... Their answer was No!

Well, I was a bit shocked... not really due to the fact that they have
not programmed in Scheme except as a first programming language but
that software engineering students were not involved in
extra-curricular projects outside college and they were not even
interested to get involved.

I'm quite curious to know some information from other colleges, are
the majority of your students like this? If not, why do you think this
is so? Has your  college enforced any rule to make them participate in
extra-curricular software development? I think any commentary is
welcome...

Above all, it seems to be that Flatt's, Shriram's, Findler's, etc...
have some post graduate student working with them in PLT Scheme... How
come you found those? Are those a minority willing to work with
Scheme? Before they started to work with you, did they use Scheme at
all?

Cheers,
--
Paulo Jorge Matos - pocm at sat inesc-id pt
Web: http://sat.inesc-id.pt/~pocm
Computer and Software Engineering
INESC-ID - SAT Group