alice-teacher Help! Alice being replaced by Python in my intro classes

[Barnum, William]

Carlos,

I'm actually much better at argument than programming, so this is my kind
of question. 😃

My guess is your administrator, like most administrators probably doesn't
know much about programming.Probably someone convinced him/her that Python
is more "real-world."

I would encourage you to ask probing questions to understand his/her
thought process and engage him/her in a problem-solving exercise.

1. Why Python as opposed to many other languages? What other languages
should we consider, and how should we evaluate them?
2. In our introductory class, do you think the language-specific syntax is
more important, or would you like us to focus on underlying programming
concepts?
3. How important is student engagement in the introductory course?
4. How important are accessibility of curriculum and student diversity in
the introductory course?
5. What disadvantages might there be in switching to a Python curriculum
for Intro?
6. Are there other places in our course progression where Python might fit
fell?

I'd recommend doing mainly listening during the first meeting and
schedule a follow-up appointment after you've learned his/her preferences
and had a chance to do some research.

If you'd like to talk off-list, feel free to send me an e-mail.

Bill Barnum
Computer Science Teacher
York Community High School

On Wed, Mar 10, 2021 at 9:07 AM Carlos Bovell <cbovell at nburlington.com>
wrote:

> Hi,
>
> Somebody has convinced my administrator that we should really be using
> Python in our intro courses. I could use some reasons why Alice makes a
> great alternative. Any and all arguments would be welcome!
>
> Carlos Bovell
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