Re: teachers=magicians ?

[Lois Breur Krause <krause@CLEMSON.EDU>]

Let's keep in mind that scientists, even physicists, are more than just
scientists.  we are also parents, sibings, neighbors, spouses, people.  and
as such should have a decent level of reasoning and communication ability
in many areas. My high school Latin has served me well, as has my early
programming courses.  I still think of planning lessons in many of the same
patterns as programming.  algorithms.  teaching problem solving is easier
if the students understand algorithms.  reading even a decent novel is
easier if you've had some Laitn and Greek.  When you run across a word you
are unfamiliar with, you can often decode based on L/G pieces.

I wish I had an excuse to teach programming to my El Ed majors for the
logical reasoning it forces.

-Lois


> > Programming is an excellent way to promote thinking and to
> > develop good working habits. Knowing where to click does
> > not contribute much to intellectual development.
>
>
> I completely agree.  They used to say that they taught Latin (and trig?) in
> order to promote logical thinking.  It seemed to me that Fortran, or Basic,
> or Pascal, or whatever would have taught the logic as well as having some
> perhaps more practical value than Latin, at least for anyone going into the
> sciences.
>
> Now before the flames start, let me say that I took 4 years of Latin in high
> school and 2 in college.  However, school time being limited, if you're
> trying to teach logic, then programming is a good vehicle.
>
> Br. Robert W. Harris
> Catholic Memorial High School
> rwharris@cath-mem.org
> brotherphysics@hotmail.com
> http://www.cath-mem.org/physics/contents.htm