On Sun, Mar 22, 2015 at 7:23 PM, David Handy <da...@handysoftware.com> wrote: > This evening I had an interesting conversation with a very determined > 10-year old boy who wants to learn programming in Java and nothing but Java. > I told him that I recommend Python as a first programing language, because > learning Python is easier. But he was adamant. It's Java or nothing. Why? > Minecraft is implemented in Java. That made Java the ultimate in coolness to > him. No "risk-averse bureaucratic" thinking there, just a willingness to do > hard things to get what he wanted. > > So I told him, go for it, more power to you, and offered my assistance. What > else could I do? :) In the face of determination like that, it's lead, > follow, or get out of the way...
When I was an undergrad at Caltech, we had no good courses in programming or computer science, and I really wanted to understand computers. So I dedicated most of one summer to slugging through several feet of IBM manuals. My first "computer language" was JCL!! It was a total waste. I lost interest in programming for many years. Same thing happened to my interest in literature, after a string of really bad teachers in high school. Give that 10-year old plenty of encouragement, but be ready to catch him when he falls. Write the Java for him, if necessary, but then show him the equivalent in Python. _______________________________________________ Edu-sig mailing list Edu-sig@python.org https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
