Teaching python (programming) to children

[Paul Rubin]

"Arthur Siegel" <ajs at ix.netcom.com> writes:
> The problem with this slant is that there is little justification to
> bring the necessary resources to bear for "teaching programming
> languages to all (or most) schoolchildren" if the end result is
> scripts cataloging mp3s.
> 
> If the end result is a deeper appreciation of math concepts,
> scientific concepts, etc. 

I think a big goal of the Mindstorms crowd is teaching the concept of
debugging.  Most skills are taught with the idea that you master
something by learning it well enough to do it perfectly, so if you
make a mistake at it you haven't learned the skill yet.  Teaching
programming to young kids is supposed to develop the cognitive skill
of diagnosing and correcting errors.  That's more fundamental than
"applications" like cataloging mp3's or even understanding math
concepts.