[Edu-sig] Re: Teaching Middle-School Math with Python

[Kirby Urner]

>Also, as you start working with educators and educrats you will 
>find out that "obscure" isn't helpful at all.

Guess we'll just have to do something about that. :-D

Kirby

PS to Matthias:  

I've been studying the MzScheme docs more intensively, plus 
downloaded the latest/greatest PLT for Win98. I now have a better 
understanding of how to do objects (in the sense of classes with 
inheritance) in that language, although I haven't actually 
developed any myself yet.  

As you may recall from our earlier correspondence, given my 
focus on geometry and "math through programming", my technique 
is to use polyhedra as paradigm objects, both in the tangible-
modelable-physical sense, and in the OO sense.  I go into this
more at http://www.inetarena.com/~pdx4d/ocn/trends2000.html

The gist of my recent postings to edu-sig@python.org is that 
whereas I think Python is destined to achieve greater market 
share in K-12 than it has to date, it can be presented in such 
a way as to keep many doors open to other languages and 
development environments, including Scheme and/or LISP.
http://www.norvig.com/python-lisp.html is informative in this 
regard.

In other words, I think TeachScheme! should be preparing to 
receive a greater percentage of new students who've already 
had some initial exposure to Python, perhaps _not_ in any
computer science context -- and that's knowledge you can 
intelligently build on, not dismiss as irrelevant or (worse) 
incapacitating.