> It is fine and good to learn a single language, but this is not > computer science. A single language is just a tool. It is necessary to > learn several languages in order to have an idea of what computer > science actually means.
I believe that introductory computer science should be taught with more than one language. Certainly, teaching several languages poses its own problems. I believe two languages are just right for CS1/2 courses. My personal choice has been Python for CS1 and Java for CS2. In this way, students get familiar with the two principal programming language cultures: interpreted languages and compiled languages. My experience shows that students learn Java easier after having been acquainted with Python. Also, teaching CS1 with Python and then CS2 with Java allows one to cover more concepts (than by using only Java for both CS1 and CS2) namely because the two languages are so different. > Different languages have different > orientations, different tools, and different fundamental assumptions. > I would want my students (indeed, myself) to be able to solve a > problem/write a program satisfying particular criteria in ANY > appropriate language, and also to recognize which languages are > inappropriate for a given task. Prerequisite to this is knowledge and > use of more than one language. Very well said, indeed. It can hardly be said better than this. Atanas Radenski mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.chapman.edu/~radenski/ Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably why so few engage in it -- Henry Ford _______________________________________________ Edu-sig mailing list Edu-sig@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
