Problem solving
Schools are to educate, not train
Education covers basics such as the 3 Rs, basic science (esp. biology as we seem good at forgetting we and the world are "biological"), introduction to literature, history, geography and a foreign language, with a lot of emphasis on problem solving and understanding. This equips children for an ever changing working and LIVING environment and gives them some sense of their place in the world, culture and society, with the open mindedness, one hopes, to adapt and learn.
Training is directed towards a particular career, job or skill. We do not demand that children learn dentistry, hair cutting, engine maintenance or house building. We do want them to possess a good basic education that prepares them for training and gives them the ability to choose and change as the world changes. Just a thought, how much training did schools give Newton, Darwin, Babbage, Ada Lovelace, Mendel, da Vinci, Brunel, Turing, Frisch and so many others in the fields in which they made their names? But they did generally have a d-d good basic education, often consisting mainly of the classics being drummed into them, along with the basics of the 3 Rs and a foreign language, though one must say that what they considered "basic" arithmetic would probably flummox the modern school child.
I am, certainly, a hardened sceptic: but I have met some clever people with some form of computing degree; very few of them (and none whom I work with now) seem to have the discipline to work with others or to follow basic engineering processes, such as a proper analysis and design, properly (or at all) structure code in any language or design and run adequate testing, understand, submit their ccde/documents to review or be prepared to do reviews. Of the younger ones and most of the offshore staff, anything other than a Windows click-and drag interface has got them frightened to death. If they do write a shell script, for instance, it tends to be a cut and paste from their typing at a command prompt.
The best engineers I have worked with have been anthropologists, a couple of biologists and quantum chemists, a classics scholar and a dropped-out medic.. These are adaptable, open and understand the why and how of engineering and the needs of end users.
Computer course graduates seem to be stuck on whatever their lecturers told them, be unaware of the world outside Windows ar a Linux GUI, stick with Java come what may, be semi-literate and have no idea about end users or even of the poor sods who have to run the systems. (Confession: I hold a higher degree in something perilously close to "informatics").
No, leave the kids alone. Educate them for life in a changing world where the ability to solve problems, adapt to change in job or environment and have a healthy perspective on one's place, culturally and socially, are enormous and rare strengths. Particular skills can be learned as they become necessary, given the strong foundation. I would even go so far as to say, ban computers from schools. Teach the children self reliance and good judgement.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
