Python for a 10-14 years old?

[Bengt Richter]

On 24 Mar 2005 07:21:33 -0800, "El Pitonero" <pitonero at gmail.com> wrote:

>Lucas Raab wrote:
>> tnozh at yahoo.com wrote:
>> > I am blessed with a *very* gifted nine-years old daughter...
>> > Now, I would like to teach her programming basics using Python
>>
>> Let her mess around with it on her own. I'm 15 and have been using
>> Python for 2-3 years and had nothing to really go on. Give her Dive
>Into
>> Python or How to Think Like a Computer Scientist and let her ask
>> questions if she needs help.
>
>In the chess world, people have long learnt to take young prodigies
>seriously. Most of the grandmasters start to play chess at age 4 or
>earlier. Bobby Fisher became the US chess champion at age 14, and a
>grandmaster at 15. And that's considered old by modern standard: Sergei
>Karjakin became grandmaster at age 12.
>
>http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=310
>http://members.lycos.co.uk/csarchive/gilbert.htm
>
>Sure, programming's skill set is a bit broader than chess playing or
>ice-skating, but young hackers have plenty of contacts and resources
>through internet, and many of them live (will be living) in Brazil,
>Russia, India and China (the so-called BRIC countries.) So, a thorny
>question for matured programmers is: what's your value in face of this
>competition? :)
>

I guess that depends on how you measure value of human beings and competition ;-)
What is best to teach children about that?

If you imply that any child's "value" is measured only by their competitive
performance rank in some arena, or that their OWN value as a human being
is insignificant compared to the value of their prodigious talent,
that may be an effective motivational framework for some of them,
but I'm not sure it's not ultimately cruel to celebrate the gift if
ignoring whose burden or blessing it actually is.

Emotionally, they may grow to see themselves as ugly, with their own gift
being a stunningly beautiful sister who gets all the attention.

Or they may identify with their gift and become insufferable narcissistic
egotists as a refuge from human isolation and emotional starvation.

Or they may become wonderful human beings after all, happy stewards of
what becomes a gift to humanity, not just an advantage to exploit meanly.

Regards,
Bengt Richter