[sudo-discuss] "learn to code" events subject to full-WTF scale crackdown...any ideas?

[Romy Ilano]

Well to play devil's advocate:

creative, qusetioning students with computer science skills are valued by
the industrialists nowadays. They actually seek out people who are a little
rebellious.

I read that some of the more innovative Chinese high schools are ditching
standardized tests, encuraging more creative education, as they see it as
their only ticket to becoming an economy on the high end of the value chain
(more creative, more design-focused)

What if the evil capitalists support a more intelliectual, creative
education free of rote education?




>>>>>>>>>>

Message: 11
Date: Thu, 30 Jan 2014 18:23:34 -0800
From: Anthony Di Franco <di.franco at gmail.com>
To: GtwoG PublicOhOne <g2g-public01 at att.net>
Cc: sudo-discuss <sudo-discuss at lists.sudoroom.org>
Subject: Re: [sudo-discuss] "learn to code" events subject to full-WTF
        scale crackdown...any ideas?
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        <CAOJkv1pDK2k_oPcbssg42MHZOkSzfqANQPxfoTNmx7wWF4wLSw at mail.gmail.com>
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Outside of the narrow regulatory question, this reminds me of another
relating to the vocationalization of programming to supply commoditized
labor to large corporations, which is something I am uneasy around and
which I think reflects a shifting power balance that deserves to be
opposed. Here is a line of criticism that I think is right on, running from
Seymour Papert to Bret Victor to
this<
http://programmingisterrible.com/post/73056840109/paperts-dreams-and-our-grim-meathook-reality
>
:

*"In ?Meanwhile, at code.org <http://worrydream.com/MeanwhileAtCodeOrg/>?,
Bret juxtaposes the ideals of Seymour Papert and the dreams of
entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. Papert wanted to use programming as
a way to let children explore powerful ideas and let their imagination run
wild. The agenda of the political, wealthy, and powerful is to build a new
generation of worker bees to fuel their startups. One sees code as a
liberation, and the other as a vocation..."*


=============================

Romy Ilano
romy at snowyla.com
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