----------------------<snip>---------------------
>What appears to be missing in "public edjamacation" these days is
>teaching *how* to think, and *how* to learn.
Most all education throughout history has had this same lack. Rote
used to be even a bigger part of education.
As an appropriate example, learning how to program a computer involves
both rote memorization and synthetic thinking. Vocabulary and grammar
can be learned separately, of course, but how much better it is to USE
the components as they are learned. That's mostly accomplished by
writing code, and the more code a person writes, the more likely s/he
is to learn what makes a good program. (Not guaranteed, of course.)
In my experience, students dislike "wasting their time" memorizing
instructions. Me, too, but how else can one develop a usable
vocabulary, not requiring each word (instruction) to be looked up?
--------------------------<unsnip>----------------------------
I PARTLY agree, Mike. Don't forget the language skills to explain a
problem or upgrade to non-DP staff in terms that they can understand.
Spitting control block acronyms can be counter productive. And the
language of TACT can't be ignored. Nobody liikes being called a D***
fool, but most folks can respond to the comment "Yes, it seems to be
working, but this might work even better. Can we try it?"
Are you the Mike Stack responsible for the NIUMACS package?? Fine piece
of work.
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