Comments for Anne Z.

Comment on But what about learning? Recognizing the signaling function of higher education by Anne Z.

Anne Z. — Sat, 05 May 2012 21:26:19 +0000

Jim: I probably overstated the case for learning-free classes, but I have experienced too many where the ratio of learning to effort and time seemed way too small. You’re right though, there are hard-to-measure learning payoffs for many seemingly extraneous courses.

Rick: the JD/bar exam topic is interesting because that’s yet a third reason for higher education–credentialing and licensure. It seems reasonable that to become an attorney you should be aware of issues around commercial paper but it sounds like the detailed knowledge required goes too far.

Comment on But what about learning? Recognizing the signaling function of higher education by Rick

Rick — Sat, 05 May 2012 19:49:59 +0000

This post definitely resonates with me, as does Jim’s comment. I thought a few of my graduate engineering courses were mundane, but later became useful as I moved into engineering management. But in my JD program, just how important was it that I learned the innards of “commercial paper” just in time for the bar exam? When is the last time a bank teller (if you can find one!) phoned up a lawyer to discuss liabilities associated with third-party endorsers? I do agree with the idea that exposure to “outlier” classes can help build skills for future TBD use or perspective (ala the foreign language instruction mentioned), but it should be highly limited in volume, as in no more than 10 or 20% of the “core” program.

Comment on But what about learning? Recognizing the signaling function of higher education by Jim Stephens

Jim Stephens — Sat, 05 May 2012 15:47:55 +0000

Another relevant piece Anne. I think one of the challenges with understanding what is learned in a class, at the post secondary level, is not always immediate. I remember the foreign language requirement in my PhD program was useless at the time, I still can’t speak the language, but I often find myself reflecting on the perspective it provides for my understanding of communications and now even information technology. Thanks for sharing the wisdom. Jim

Comment on Should everyone learn to program? And by everyone I mean women by Silvia

Silvia — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 11:37:50 +0000

I wish I read this blog my first year of college. No worries, I am tring to fix it and am learning all this computer stuff now. There are so many resources that I don’t have to go back to school. BS in Business and MPA in Public Administration are enough.

Comment on Should everyone learn to program? And by everyone I mean women by Anne Z.

Anne Z. — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:29:07 +0000

MutantSupermodel: I had the same experience when I went back to math after college — it was hard but only because I needed to put a lot more time than I had imagined before to really get it. I think we do a grave disservice to both men and women when we pretend that getting these subjects has to do with talent rather than effort.

Cloud: I hope all three of my kids have basic exposure to programming that’s for sure. Like my dad (Leigh) said, you can do so many different things with it.

Nicoleandmaggie: I don’t have patience for longer programs either. I program as part of my statistical work but I leave building reliable reusable systems to the real developers.

Jim I’m so glad to hear that there are more girls getting involved in robotics. I was bummed that my first year teaching bc calculus at DSST there was not a single girl in the class. I hope that as girls come up through the middle school more of them will be prepared for second year calculus in high school.

Comment on Should everyone learn to program? And by everyone I mean women by MutantSupermodel

MutantSupermodel — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 14:12:54 +0000

Interesting post for me. I have a bachelor of arts in English that is mainly rooted in that whole natural aptitude thing. Now I’m going back to school for a bachelors of science in computer science. And for whatever reason, maybe my age or life experience or whatever, I am approaching this from a hard work mindset and it’s working (so far). I’m getting an A in my Pre-Calculus when the majority of my class is struggling. In high school I struggled with all of my math classes.
Funny enough I want to do Statistics too but my university doesn’t offer it as a major or a minor. I could get a Minor in Mathematics that would include only Stats classes. We shall see!

Comment on Should everyone learn to program? And by everyone I mean women by Cloud

Cloud — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 20:09:33 +0000

Hi, I followed a link over from Nicoleandmaggie’s. I think everyone should have a basic exposure to programming. Not everyone will end up wanting to program, but understanding what can and cannot easily be achieved via programming is a really helpful skill to have.

And personally, I wish I knew more about programming- I know databases and some scripting, but not “real” programming. One of these days, I’ll fix that…

Comment on Should everyone learn to program? And by everyone I mean women by Leigh

Leigh — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 16:43:56 +0000

One of my favorite parts about the field is that you can combine it with anything. You love languages? Natural language processing. Business? CEOs and Product Managers with a technical background are amazing. Music? You can go work for Pandora! Geography? All sorts of things you can do there with automated mapping and other tools for geo.

I loved math in high school, but I found it pretty weird in college – way too abstract. Programming was far more practical, which suited me better.

Comment on Should everyone learn to program? And by everyone I mean women by link love « Grumpy rumblings of the untenured

link love « Grumpy rumblings of the untenured — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 07:51:52 +0000

[...] Anne Zelenka asks if everyone (including women) should learn to program. [...]

Comment on Should everyone learn to program? And by everyone I mean women by nicoleandmaggie

nicoleandmaggie — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 20:34:18 +0000

Great post!

One thing I would add even though it’s really beside the point for this post:
Programming also requires patience. I have about enough patience for data analysis, but not really so much for longer programs. Actually now that I’m older I might be a better programmer, or at least less likely to try to destroy a computer monitor when something isn’t working.