On 04 Jan 2001 11:04:56 -0800, Kirby Urner wrote:
It's just that math courses are cram packed with stuff it makes sense to program around. So even IF the computer science or programming courses ARE offered separately down the hall, by other teachers, my sincere hope is that the math teachers don't sit on their hands and make do with mere calculators, while the real party passes them by.
It doesn't "make sense" to program around math stuff to someone who finds math unpleasant to begin with. Instead, they associate programming with math and become convinced that programming is not for them either.
Math class should be fully endowed with high tech, not languish as a "calculator ghetto" while all the good stuff happens in other areas.
Graphing calculators are getting powerful enough to qualify as "good stuff", and they have the added advantage of being possible to use. Even in a compartively wealthy school district like Arlington, there is very limited opportunity for math classes to have access to computer labs. Graphing calculators, by contrast, are affordable. I'm not at all saying that we shouldn't advocate curriculum integration, but if we are serious about having an impact we need to have a real sense of the possible. jeff elkner yorktown high school arlington, va