Obama wants $4B to help students learn computer science

Associated Press ^ | Jan 30, 2016 6:03 AM EST | Darlene Superville

[Olog-hai]

President Barack Obama says he'll ask Congress for billions in new spending to help students learn computer science skills.

Obama announced the plan in his weekly radio and Internet address on Saturday. He says developing analytical and coding skills is a must for jobs in the new economy. ...

[txnativegop]

can we give him $4B in Italian Lira? or maybe Zimbabwe dollars?

[Dalberg-Acton]

I’m curious how well the Common Core method of computer programming works.

[Slyfox]

Does anyone realize how many grubby hands the 4 Billion will go through before it gets to the students?

This means Moochelle will have some very fine vacays this year.

[Mr Apple]

fu mullah obama

[TigersEye]

Will they learn the difference between .gov and .com domains?

[dsrtsage]

I think of programming as an art. Same thing as there are certain people who can pick up a violin, or a guitar or some other instrument and make beautiful sounds with it that I personally can never ever do regardless of instruction....similarly, you can teach someone to “program”, but they will never ever be able to do it as an art....you are either born with it, or you are not

[Jim from C-Town]

Why would anyone go into computer science? Do they have a desire to be unemployed after they train their new Hindu H1B replacement who is making 60% the pay you did and barely speaks English? He will move his entire family here from New Deli and immediately start having American Anchor Babies!

[Cvengr]

Yes, but Obama wants to train people to program using Eubonics. Computers aren’t fair, they’re racist. /s

[Pontiac]

President Barack Obama says he'll ask Congress for billions in new spending to help students learn computer science skills.

Jim from C-Town beat me to the point.

Why bother teaching skills that will gain you a low income job if you can get one at all.

The only reason to seek such skills in school is if you are already talented enough on your own and you only seek certification and intend to start your own company.

Four billion dollars of tax payer money is way more than is necessary to fund the education of a few dozen Americans.

[Eagles6]

Don’t they teach this in high school and college?

[P.O.E.]

Does spelling count?

[MacMattico]

In my daughter's high school there is now so much common core mandated crap I doubt they'd even have time for more than an introductory computer science course which is already offered. And hardly anyone has time in their schedule to take it.

[Bobalu]

I say just get them each a Raspberry pi model 2 and a bunch of web links.

If they have any inclination towards comp sci this is enough to get them started!

All for just 35 bux!

[FredZarguna]

main()
{
    printf("'sup?\n");
}

[Billthedrill]

Hooboy, where to begin? The difference between computer science and programming is a very large one and it's getting larger. Coding is an essential skill, to be sure, but it isn't really done at the elementary school level anymore. When I first learned it, to get the computer to print "Hello, world!" was a bit of black magic that had us all cheering. These days, a kid who already has a Facebook page, a Twitter account, and a high-level games character is going to be a lot less impressed (although he should be).

The difficulty is that computer science is a derivative course of study demanding a grasp of fundamentals in mathematics, logic, and even a bit of systems analysis. It is precisely those fundamentals that Common Core appears to have a difficult time communicating, and I'm not sure the problem is money. I think it's curriculum.

[AnotherUnixGeek]

President Barack Obama says he'll ask Congress for billions in new spending to help students learn computer science skills.

This doesn't require billions in new spending. All it requires is using the billions already being spent to give students a decent underpinning in basic mathematics and science. That combined with an aptitude for logical thinking and a passion for software will take care of the rest - it was good enough to produce people like Don Knuth as well as Kernighan and Ritchie. I doubt billions in new spending are going to produce anyone who contributes that much.

[FredZarguna]

There's also this. Your first interactive program in the "CC" [Common Core] programming language.

string name = '';
comefrom EndLoop if (name = '')
   printf("what is your name?\n"); 
   gets(name);
   printf("Yo. %s\n", name) if (name <> ''); 
EndLoop: ;

Yes, it's backwards and stupid. That's the CC programming language.

[CurlyDave]

What he really means is that he wants to throw more money into the inner city schools to teach the uninterested skills that are beyond their grasp.

Of course there is a problem, but it is not one that money can cure.

[CurlyDave]

...Yes, it's backwards and stupid. That's the CC programming language.

You do not understand the purpose of Common Core. It is to lower the difference between low and high achievers. It does this by lowering the high achievers, not by raising the low achievers.

Once this is understood, all will be clear.