[Edu-sig] ACM article on Python

[Kirby Urner]

> 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.
>

Having the motive to master Minecraft is a good reminder that a lot
of us tackle a language as a means to an end not as an end in itself.

Saying "Python is easier" is no consolation, like saying, "why not
Sanskrit, it's easier than Czech" when, in fact, you're moving to
Prague?

A lot of us "like programming" and "enjoy learning languages" but
lets remember our own personal story is just that.  Some of us really
do like to argue and/or debate whereas others just see that as being
disagreeable.

Finding good friends in the Java / Minecraft community, true peers
who enjoy the same projects, might possibly be a critical step, though
not knowing the individual in question, that could only be a guess.
Perhaps those friendships have already been made.

I had breakfast with a former Python student who was still overseas
when we met online.  He's a computer science student at a local
university these days and is using C++.  Although good at Python
and steeped in SQL, he's not disrespectful of what C++ does for us
in this world:  a lot.  Python extends through these languages i.e. is
made the richer for them.

Kirby
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/edu-sig/attachments/20150323/aa2df425/attachment.html>