[nycphp-talk] Re: OT: webmaster test
Kristina Anderson
ka at kacomputerconsulting.com
Sat Apr 19 16:28:12 EDT 2008
Ajai, I think you misunderstood grossly several points I was trying to
make.
i.e.
> I could also argue that any programmer who has used several
> programming languages would have those skills regardless of whether
they
> took liberal arts courses or not. It comes with experience.
(I hope you would not waste your time "arguing" over something so
glaringly obvious. My point was that these skills are learnable in
different ways, not just through a CS major).
Also, in case you are not familiar, public high schools in the US do
not charge "fees" -- but are supported by government funds and tax
dollars from property taxes -- and the school administration can make
policies about which classes are open to which students, and they were
within their rights at the time to refuse enrollment in certain classes
to female students. They also required at that time "home economics"
for girls and "shop classes" for boys. We were not allowed to choose
which one we wanted, but were assigned based on gender.
-- Kristina
> On Sat, 19 Apr 2008, Kristina Anderson wrote:
>
> > Yes, that is what I was referring to and you are right, the
educational
> > system has to change over time to meet society's needs...but right
now
> > in the US we have this particular system still in place.
>
> So, what you're saying is that the US hasn't adapted as much as other
> wstern European nations in their attitudes of higher education.
>
> > And also I feel there is a lot of transferability between liberal
arts
> > and any field one chooses to go into...for instance, I studied the
> > structure and usage of human languages...now I use different
> > programming languages and they have similarities and differences
just
> > as human languages do...and then I spent 7 (of the most boring)
years
> > of my life proofreading and editing legal contracts...which taught
me
> > patience to wade through tons of code (which isn't exactly
stimulating
> > reading either in most cases!!), and a careful eye for detail. So
I
> > feel that even if it's not "vocational," there is a place for
liberal
> > arts in education and it's not a waste of time to study it on the
> > university level.
>
> I could also argue that any programmer who has used several
> programming languages would have those skills regardless of whether
they
> took liberal arts courses or not. It comes with experience.
>
> > school life)...and still they would not let me enroll. Hopefully
> > things have changed a bit since then.
>
> They would not "let" you enroll? You mean, registering and paying
your
> fees would be blocked? By who? The Police?
>
> I started college at the end of the 80s and my CS class did include
women.
> Again, this is in the UK so maybe your comment about the system still
> being in place in the US (and thus any institutionalized prejudices
too)
> may have something to do with that.
>
> It should be noted that in general, if you look at the numbers,
> undergraduates in science, math and related technical fields have
been on
> a download path in the US since the bust 2001. Those occupations are
> perceived as not "safe" so generally numbers are down (and hence
numbers
> of females too).
>
>
>
> --
> Aj.
>
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