My wife is eager to learn computer programming, but has no background
whatsoever.  She is fascinated with Smalltalk, and I would like to help
teach her programming via Squeak rather than the typical BASIC or C
which have "Dummies" books galore.

She is attending an awful "Introduction to Computers" course at the
local community college that is using Visual Basic (insultingly calling
it object oriented) and a poorly written text that is mostly an encomium
for Microsoft.  Her background is in Fine Arts, and she loves the look
of Squeak and will lose interest in computers entirely if she has to
struggle with Visual Basic much longer.

The closest books I found are Ted's excellent "A Taste of Smalltalk" and
someone else's "Adventures In Objectland", but there are obvious
problems (kinda dated, based on non-Squeak Smalltalks) and less obvious
ones (assumptions about programming experience or mathematical knowledge
inherent in choice of examples).

I might well have to write the book myself, and would like references to
work that has been done in the area of teaching Smalltalk as an
introduction to computer programming for intelligent adults with limited
computer literacy.  I think it can be done.

Those of us who remember the goals of Dynabook will know that Smalltalk
was intended to be accessible to beginners and even children.

The textbook and course would use graphics- and text-oriented examples,
teaching some basic sorting and searching along the way, maybe some
basic mathematical examples that can be verified on a pocket calculator
(sums, factorials, etc.).  It would teach Object thinking as a problem
solving approach, some fundamental design and development-process
patterns, and the Smalltalk brand of "use the Source" for software reuse
and writing style.  I don't have any experience with formal teaching,
but have an excellent resource in my wife, who will give me instant
feedback as to whether I am doing the right thing or not.  In fact, I am
myself a "newbie" (I HATE that word) to Squeak, which may actually be an
advantage in this undertaking.

In fact, simply updating and revising "Taste" along these lines might be
sufficient, but I notice that Messrs. Kaehler and Patterson ceded their
rights to the publisher (Norton) for reasons that I am sure made sense
at the time.  I don't know how to go about securing permission to use
this book as a starting point, or if the best course is to start from
scratch.

If this seems like a worthy project, or a complete waste of effort,
please let me know your opinions.  If I end up undertaking it, I would
like to be able to find contributors and reviewers in our ranks.

Ed