tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677687.post5129294093580084668..comments2024-03-27T15:13:24.764-04:00Comments on Computer Science Teacher: To College or Not To College?Alfred Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575057876858763822noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677687.post-52609659971781376552015-04-07T22:08:20.833-04:002015-04-07T22:08:20.833-04:00So here's the question: are colleges actually ...So here's the question: are colleges actually teaching kids how to do more than program? Are they actually learning the critical thinking and problem solving skills required to succeed - not just in programming, but in just about any discipline?<br /><br />And the next question is: are colleges doing that teaching in the most efficient, effective, and economical way?<br /><br />IMO... the answers are: maybe, and definitively NO. <br /><br />And I think that's the problem... it's not that people don't think college education has value... it's just that just about everyone knows that it probably isn't worth the investment that most students (parents & taxpayers) put into it.<br /><br />So... if we're trying to teach life skills and critical thinking, wouldn't the first test be whether or not a student would choose to poorly invest a large sum of money? AS far as I see it, anyone who pays more than state-school, in-state tuition prices for college should have a ding against them for their lack of financial and economic judgment. :)<br />Dan Kasunnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677687.post-59645406610167281002015-04-07T11:21:56.439-04:002015-04-07T11:21:56.439-04:00Every time I get a guest speaker from the tech ind...Every time I get a guest speaker from the tech industry that is one of the questions I ask for the kids to hear an honest, real world answer to. In every case the emphatic answer has been pro-college. Business to not seem to want to hire programmers. They want to hire people who can do more than program, people who understand the systems they work with, and that understand the underlying basis of coding. They want to hire people that know how to learn. They have all said the biggest thing college teaches is how to learn. Self trained programmers are just too limited in scope.Garthnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18677687.post-53514650722171786742015-04-07T08:58:53.464-04:002015-04-07T08:58:53.464-04:00You may not need a college degree to be a "pr...You may not need a college degree to be a "programmer". But nobody should be aspiring to be a "programmer"; people should be aspiring to be "system designers".<br /><br />It's the difference between knowing how to add and knowing how to compute actuarial tables. It's the difference between knowing how to drive and operating a commercial limousine service. It's the difference between growing a house plant and operating a 100-acre farm.<br /><br />To do any of the latter, you'll need advanced training.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com