[geeks] Education [was: [rescue] Mainframe on eBay]

[velociraptor]

On 9/26/05, William Enestvedt <William.Enestvedt at jwu.edu> wrote:
> Nadine wrote:
> >
> > As an example, why do architecture degrees still teach drafting on
> paper?
> > Why don't they go directly to Autocad, TurboCad, etc?  No one actually
> > uses manual drafting anymore in the "real world".  They do so because
> > there are things architects need to know how to do themselves--and
> > computer programs allow the students to "cheat" on the basics.
> >
>    Yes yes YES. My last job was at America's oldest
> continually-operating architectural firm, and one of The Twelve Mighty
> Principal architects didn't use his computer. At _all_. (Well, maybe for
> email, but not that I could tell, judging from the size of his mail
> spool...)
>    A very technical, egg-heady friend just started Yale's architectural
> Master's program, and she showed up on campus in later summer in order
> to take a basic drawing class. And instead of resenting it, she's
> already written that it helped her.
>    This is a narrow sampling from within a single profession, but it's
> still valid.

There's also the point that an architect with a pencil and paper can
whip out a half-dozen different ideas for his clients in 15-20 minutes
vs. the tedious stuff required to do the same with a CAD program.
Or that, CAD programs, as with all software can have bugs and be
wrong.  A good drafter will catch these issues.

> > Jobs change, careers change, tools change.  Technology is a moving
> > target.  Students need to be taught to be flexible and
> > adaptable.
> >
>    "Teach principles, not practices" perhaps? :7) One senses a whiff of
> manifesto from the liberal arts students!

Yes.  And teaching principles also means teaching those necessary
for developing the practices.  As an example of that, a good IT security
curriculum would give a foundation in general host security (e.g. what
things make a host secure) and while a lab might address these on a
given OS, the focus of the curriculum would be the broad principles of
host security, not "how to secure OS du jour 2025."

I am a Heinleinian after all: "Specialization is for insects."  By teaching
tools you are teaching specialization; and specialization, in the worst
case, can result in extinction.

=Nadine=