NYCPHP Meetup

[tedd]

At 7:38 AM -0400 6/8/06, Peter Sawczynec wrote:

-snip-

All of what you said, you said very well.

However, I take exception to:

>I believe that we can all enhance our product with a single well-applied
>master stroke: Start teaching the OOP paradigm, first thing, right out of
>the box. Make it the first essential construct that needs to be bridged to
>youthful developers. No more first step "echo 'hello world';" examples,
>instead go straight to something more like: "class output{ function
>present_output($matter){ return $matter; } } $msg = new output();
>$msg->present_output('Hello World'); echo $msg;".
>
>Why not segue OOP examples and techniques into all your new instructional
>material right now.

I am always concerned about the beginners, for they are the future.

I would prefer teaching a class "Hello World" and have them experience something immediately positive than teaching them OOP and have the majority not understand or become frustrated with its complexity. What is easy and obvious to you, may not be to others.

Also, keep in mind that innovation and advancement in any field seldom comes from established norms (schools, industry, government), but rather by the fringe, which includes beginners. The examples around us are abundant, such as those found in the histories of Xerox, Apple, Excel, and the list goes on and on.

I taught Karate when I was much younger and my teacher was literally at the top of his craft. I asked him once "Who do you learn from?" and he pointed to a group of white belts.

White belts in Karate, programming, or in any field for that matter, can learn the complexities and benefits of advanced techniques, but only after they learn the basics. And the easier the basics, the better the chance of taking root and supporting growth.

My $0.02.

tedd

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