[Edu-sig] Re: CP4E

[Jordan Johnson]

On Sunday, April 10, 2005, at 10:07  AM, Arthur wrote:
> The first time my son became excited about computers was when he 
> figured out
> that he could manipulate the size of fonts, and thereby exert less 
> effort
> while fitting within the letter of the law requiring him to write a 
> one page
> paper.

And that's fine, IMO, provided that we teach what shortcuts to use.  I 
try to cultivate that sort of laziness in my students and direct it in 
productive ways, so that they can get at the "real work" with less 
effort.  Everyone seems to enjoy learning things like tab-completion, 
right-justify, find/replace, and other tricks that save effort.

This also requires being honest and persistent about some things, e.g.: 
  "Don't bother putting a border on the page or setting a different font 
until you're done writing.  It doesn't matter how pretty it is if you 
haven't answered the questions."

jmj