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To my daughter's high school programming teacher

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Re: To my daughter's high school programming teacher

#171

Post by jacalata »

jacalata wrote: post #160
bragh wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A school with "no violence or rape" wouldn't be just nothing wrong, it would be extraordinary. Even elite schools in developed and rich countries are filled with bullying: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/28/swedish-school-... Maybe you really ought to think about which school you went into in which neighborhood, which social clique you were a part of and if you still think no bullying happened, maybe it's t…

I went to an all girls school, and while I'm sure there was bullying, there was definitely no violence or rape.

Although I'm not really sure why your defense of rape as normal high school experience managed to turn into a subtle accusation that I may have been a bully myself, and I probably should have ignored that.

Re: To my daughter's high school programming teacher

#173

Post by joseph_cooney »

x0054 wrote: post #78
hfern wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> While I was attending SC '12 in Salt Lake City last November, my daughter emailed to tell me that the boys in her class were harassing her. "They told me to get in the kitchen and make them sandwiches," she said. Even if you think the parent is overstepping their bounds here, I would rather a parent be too concerned as oppose to not being concerned at all. Double so that he is in the tech sector while we are facing…

What kind of relationship do you have with your kid that she has to tell you important information like this via email? Does she have a dad? I am guessing NO? Honestly, just the fact that the OP is writing the letter after the class is over, rather then confronting the teacher during the class does not sound right to me at all.

How is the presence of a father relevant? The mother was away at a conference, possibly in a different time-zone or otherwise not contactable. Email seems perfectly reasonable to me.

Re: To my daughter's high school programming teacher

#174

Post by Nate75Sanders »

dandrews wrote: post #155
hga wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My high school programming course, in 1977---IBM 1130 FORTRAN 'IV'---was taught by a coach . Who, without referring to notes, nor was it in the book, one day taught us 2s compliment representation on the blackboard (and boy was it useful to get a peek under the hood!). I suspect, like in the real world, programming ability still sometimes counts more than credentials. Pity that unlike my teacher he wasn't so good at…

Heh, Louden's book? Still got it here somewhere. For an hour of nostalgic fun and an excuse to burn a Bass Ale while your wife watches DWTS, take a look at the 1130 emulator at http://ibm1130.org/sim

Wow, you really managed to do that in a thread pertaining to sexism in tech.

Re: To my daughter's high school programming teacher

#175

Post by cgag »

yeukhon wrote: post #39
spamizbad wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My Programming I class was taught by a math teacher (who was an excellent algebra instructor). Unfortunately he was only a chapter ahead of the class in computer programming. But that wasn't the worst part. For guidance, he turned to his brother-in-law, who was a manager of developers at Motorola. He stated as much the first day of class, boasting "You're going to have the rare treat of learning how programming is do…

How does he get through the course certification? Shouldn't he has to demonstrate he has the qualification to teach CS class? Is this a high school from a small town? I'd imagine in NYC this could mean firing the school's principal if New York Daily finds out.

My programming teacher was a math teacher who'd never programmed before. This doesn't seem to be unusual.

Re: To my daughter's high school programming teacher

#176

Post by sev »

mathattack wrote: post #130
spamizbad wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My Programming I class was taught by a math teacher (who was an excellent algebra instructor). Unfortunately he was only a chapter ahead of the class in computer programming. But that wasn't the worst part. For guidance, he turned to his brother-in-law, who was a manager of developers at Motorola. He stated as much the first day of class, boasting "You're going to have the rare treat of learning how programming is do…

There are two topics here, and the more important one is getting neglected. Almost by definition of being on this website, all of us are well advanced of our pre-college computer science teachers. My first was actually a chemistry teacher. My second was biology. One had me doing tech support in junior high. It wasn't until the AP class that I found one who could teach me. But teachers using outdated technology isn't…

Although I agree completely, that's a very high expectation of teachers (pre-college) for the amount they get paid.

Re: To my daughter's high school programming teacher

#177

Post by glesica »

johndavidback wrote: post #92
glesica wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> dad/daughter humor inserted. Not to be a dick, but you may be guilty of a little benign sexism yourself there... the author is a woman.

> Not to be a dick Not to be a dick, but doesn't saying Not to be a dick mean you're being a dick but saying it's okay?

Hehe, yeah... sorry for that.

Re: To my daughter's high school programming teacher

#178

Post by sologoub »

sev wrote: post #176
mathattack wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are two topics here, and the more important one is getting neglected. Almost by definition of being on this website, all of us are well advanced of our pre-college computer science teachers. My first was actually a chemistry teacher. My second was biology. One had me doing tech support in junior high. It wasn't until the AP class that I found one who could teach me. But teachers using outdated technology isn't…

Although I agree completely, that's a very high expectation of teachers (pre-college) for the amount they get paid.

That's a really sad comment. Teaching may not pay well, but the tenured teacher has significantly higher job security and potential for other incomes. Yes, it's not a typical programmer pay, but if you are taking it upon yourself to teach children, you take on far more responsibility than any pay can justify and you should act like it.

Re: To my daughter's high school programming teacher

#179

Post by jessedhillon »

discostrings wrote: post #162
jessedhillon wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One time in college, I went to a busy ice cream restaurant with some friends of mine (Fenton's in Emeryville). After entering, we saw there was just one single open table, so we went and put our jackets down on it and then got into line. After getting our ice cream we went back to the table only to find our jackets gone and some fat people sitting there, eating ice cream with their fat kids. When I asked where our ja…

> After getting our ice cream we went back to the table only to find our jackets gone and some fat people sitting there, eating ice cream with their fat kids. > When I asked where our jackets were, a man, presumably the father of the obese family, told us that there were "some jackets" on the table but that they had the security guard come and clear them. Is it just me, or is this comment really absurd, off-topic, an…

You're right. Well, maybe -- I'm not agreeing that obesity slams are on the same level as racial slurs, but what I wrote was needlessly offensive and I can understand that it was hurtful to some others. I apologize to you and anyone else, I could have written the story without those references and the point would still remain. I should have known better.
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