teaching programming to children

[Duncan Booth]

andy at post.tau.ac.il wrote in
news:mailman.138.1066287341.2192.python-list at python.org: 

> A young friend of me (12 years old) has asked me to teach him
> programming (after I shortly described my programming job as telling
> the computer what to do and not the other way arround). I choose
> python because I personally like it but I was wondering to what extent
> is it appropriate for this task. 
> 
> a) Its interpreter is very nice but it hides some basic truths about
> computers. Namely, the need to compile and the differences between the
> languages of humans and languages of computers.
It hides the need to compile, but a basic truth about computers is that 
they can hide things that you don't need to know about. A lot of languages 
hide, or make less obvious, any compilation stage. I think you 
underestimate the difference between human language and Python. Even though 
Python is readable it is still very different.

> 
> b) Most simple tasks can be achieved so easily that "there's nothing
> to learn". What do you think would be our first programming
> assignments? And what language constructs should we start with?
> 
> c) Should we run to "cool" things (GUI, networking, other proposals?)
> or should we first make a good hold of "algorithms" (which in my
> opinion is at the heart of programming).
> 
> I would be gratefull if people who had a similar experience would told
> me about it. Or if someone could refer me to sources and articles.

Have a look at http://www.livewires.org.uk/python/ and see if it is what 
you want.

-- 
Duncan Booth                                             duncan at rcp.co.uk
int month(char *p){return(124864/((p[0]+p[1]-p[2]&0x1f)+1)%12)["\5\x8\3"
"\6\7\xb\1\x9\xa\2\0\4"];} // Who said my code was obscure?