----- Original Message -----
From: <gafisher at sprynet.com>
To: <squeak-dev at lists.squeakfoundation.org>
Cc: <squeak-dev at lists.squeakfoundation.org>
Sent: Friday, September 28, 2001 12:34 PM
Subject: Re: Computerchannel.de: Squeak 3.0 tested


> Gary;
>
> I was trained first as a teacher and have never run into any such
> conspiracy.

Thank you for your consdieration, but no conspiracy theory. I believe at one
point in time it was against the law to teach certain people to read and
write.

While Charity (Public) Schools here in the US often
> concentrate on vocational training rather than real education, that is
> imposed more by parents than by "the establishment."  I admit things may
> well be different elsewhere and I do not question your experience, but
> even in the former Soviet Union I was given virtually a free hand in
> both what and how I taught.

Well, I have a friend from the former Soviet Union, she was taught English
mostly there and a small course in England. She has just taken an English
exam and received a grade A. While someone else I know brought up and taught
in England has just received a grade C in the exact same exam.

As far as I'm concerned the former Soviet working class people who live in
the cities get a better education than working classes in England. But then
again there aren't really classes in the former Soviet Union (yet).

I've seen how some of these Russians are taught. They get a heavy education
in literacy and grammar. In England, that's not true. Grammar has been
abolished from the curriculum (Except for the expensive private schools run
for the rich). I know people who leave school not even knowing what a verb
is. Sorry but that isn't by accident.

> Having said all that, though, anything that makes Squeak easier to
> master will encourage its acceptance.  Anyone who's seen a kid figure
> out the obscurities of a new video game has seen how persistence can be
> engendered through good interface design.  You'll never see a cryptic
> error message or a sloppy exit in a successful video game.  Ideally,
> everything a user can do should generate some recoverable result, which
> users can either undo or employ to develop a strategy for the next
> action.

Well, I was thinking more along the lines of Roboteacher :o) where anyone
can download the program over the web and get a good solid education in
literacy and grammar just as the well educated people get.

Regards,
Gary


> I'm rambling.  <g>
>
> Gary
>
>
> "Gary McGovern" <garywork at lineone.net> wrote:
> > Please don't forget in all of this that people of all ages need help
with
> > education and not just children. I cannot say for other countries, but
in
> > England the working classes have a hard time getting a good education,
> > mostly engineered slyly by the some of the upper and middle classes "to
keep
> > people in their places" or to keep competition out of the picture.
There's
> > many very clever people who are considered 'thick' because they don't
have
> > qualifications, but they don't have qualifications because they're
education
> > is sabotaged. I've even been publicly and verbally attacked by a teacher
for
> > daring to help a couple of students with some reading/literacy skills,
> > though he wouldn't admit that was the reason.
> >
> > In the old days, it was harder for the commoner but some of the modes of
> > thought have been inherited.
> >
> > I just hope that Squeak won't be targeted at just white upper and middle
> > class kids and that all people will be targeted.
> >
> > Yours sociologically,
> > and with a family tree to support my words.
> > Gary
> > (and wearing the asbestos coat borrowed from Dan)
>
>
>