I'm a math teacher who uses python for personal purposes, but the cs teacher in my building told me that the higher level cs ab ap was axed for this year - that could contribute to lower enrollment. Apparently ap italian was also on the chopping block until the gov't of italy ponied up....if only there were a wealthy benefactor for cs...
On 2009-08-28, kirby urner <kirby.ur...@gmail.com> wrote: > On Thu, Aug 27, 2009 at 10:11 PM, Helene Martin<lognatu...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> Our user group PPUG has kept bringing up Sage (the free Python >>> product) and the Sage community as one to get work with. But our >>> ranks include mostly family guys or up and coming private sector, >>> precious few in the teaching professions. >>> >>> As you say, there's a big cultural disconnect between what goes on in >>> the classroom and what goes on in a Python user group -- and that's >>> wrong, why waste so much time on a wild goose chase (chasing the >>> specter of maths gone by). >> >> Collaboration is always expensive so sometimes it just feels easier to >> pursue an idea in isolation. I'm definitely guilty of that myself. >> > > And sometimes that's a good thing, as that's what artists call > artistic control e.g. none of the great poems were written by > committee (I might be challenged on that, but it sounds right to say). > You need that unifying vision. > > But then I think you need exposure to other artists to keep it fresh > and relevant. > > So probably a mix of collaboration and solo work is the best in many > cases. Observing Portland's music scene, I'm seeing much to confirm > this. > >> I'm aware of Sage but I don't think I'll be using it, at least for >> this first year. It sounds like I'm taking a decidedly less >> mathematical approach to teaching Python than you and probably a lot >> of people would prefer. In my mind, the goal initially is to get >> students -- and not just the AP kids -- curious enough to use >> programming as a way to express themselves and dare to try things they >> don't know will work. For a lot of kids, math is not going to be the >> hook but interface design, data visualizations, automated music >> generation and other such things might be. I'd like for them to think >> of Python (or JavaScript or Processing or Java) as another great tool >> they can use to pursue whatever goals they have. >> >> There's a delicate balance to strike between academic content and a >> good hook, though. It remains to be seen whether I can strike it >> properly. >> > > Yes, I'm all for hooks, proving up front that this stuff is going to kick > ass. > > My classes have tended to be purely elective, outside regular school, > on Saturdays, for a fee, and not for academic credit (except that > around here, Saturday Academy certificates are valued, a real asset on > college admissions forms, plus there's the internship program). > > So I've had to work extra hard to make my classes exciting. That's > meant showing some cartoons and then talking about ray tracing as a > way to make frames of film (render farms give us more frames at a > time). They watch short movies like 'Warriors of the Web' and 'Code > Guardian' as specimens, then turn to a simpler workbench where we use > Python with POV-Ray. > > We also talk about lore quite a bit i.e. what is the history of open > source, where did Linux come from, who is Richard Stallman, what is > GNU? I've been known to screen excerpts from 'Revolution OS' which > starts from the birth of Linux through the first dot com boom, so > dated, but still interesting. > > This more math-centric approach I'm talking up on this list > (edu-sig@python.org) is more in the storyboard phase i.e. it's an > attempt to break away from the pattern of an elective subject that > needs to rely on just word of mouth. > > We're hoping to shift more of the computer stuff into the math domain > because that's where you get the required credits. > > If our digital math track includes enough calculus (among other > things), it could probably completely replace that analog math track > though all four years of high school. > > Once kids have a test of learning math in conjunction with ray > tracing, making colorful polyhedra spin in a VRML browser, they don't > easily go back to the old formats. > >>> It's the same scene of being surrounded by high tech, kids full of >>> hope, and schools in the dark ages. >>> >>> Our Hillsboro Police Department (next to Intel) was really tired of >>> getting asked to bust kids chops for software piracy, ripping off >>> music (this was Napster's golden year) and when they found about about >>> FOSS they went apeshit, going "why do we have to play the mean guy >>> enforcer when we could be having fun watching these kids develop >>> cyberspace skills and not end up career criminals?" >>> >>> So HPD opened a Linux Lab right there in West Precinct (hand-me-down >>> Compaqs running Red Hat). >>> >>> Me 'n Jerritt (with linuxfund.org back then) were two of the teachers, >>> contracted through saturdayacademy.org. >>> >>> But guess what: teenagers don't really think of a police station as >>> being congenial to their way of life, so the marketing was a real up >>> hill battle. >>> >>> Also the premise was born or desperation: schools so not doing their >>> jobs that the police needed to step in as digital math teachers, when >>> they're supposed to be running forensics labs. Like how twisted is >>> that? George Heuston, the brains behind this project, along with his >>> chief, was unusually ahead of the pack in his thinking (quite a >>> resume, FBI, NORAD... I don't know the half of it I'm sure). >> >> This is a really interesting anecdote. It's really disappointing to >> think that the police force would be more aware of the need for >> technology education than schools! I wonder whether I could get a >> digital forensics expert to talk about his/her work. I bet that would >> be interesting to kids. >> > > We have these Science Pubs around Portland, sponsored by the science > museum and the leading brew pub chain. > > The crime lab police woman was tremendously popular, in part because > there are so many forensics shows on TV these days. > > http://worldgame.blogspot.com/2009/06/big-science.html > > George Heuston did more digital forensics i.e. analyzed hard drives > recovered from crime scenes. I think these would be dynamite speakers > as well, in a science pub or even math pub context. > >>> Garfield High in Seattle? Where my mom went as a kid? And Jimi Hendrix? >> >> The one and only! >> > > Cool! > > Glad to be on your Ning thing, thanks for inviting me! > > Kirby > _______________________________________________ > Edu-sig mailing list > Edu-sig@python.org > http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig > _______________________________________________ Edu-sig mailing list Edu-sig@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
