🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Dec18.120709.16965@dircon.co.uk> uad1221@dircon.co.uk  
(David Lomax) writes:
> When you talk about teaching smart/open-minded people NeXTSTEP, 
> are you assuming that even though they have no previous NeXT 
> experience, they do have previous OOP/D experience. 
> [munch]
> I would be very happy to take on staff who had never used a 
> NeXT box before but would be a lot more retiscent about people 
> who had no OOP/D experience.
> 

Nope, only Dave had previous OOP/D experience (in C++). As mentioned in my  
original posting, I had only programmed in BASIC before. Dave taught me  
what OOP/D is all about. It took a week to reach a fuzzy understanding and  
another month of poking around and making sense of examples to get the  
point. And of course, I had to complete an entire complex project to learn  
what works in a larger context than two or three simple classes. Object  
toolkits don't spring up fully formed in your first at-bat. The classic  
advice "Always be prepared to throw one away" is still valid. That's why I  
say you need at least one or two people as mentors. They can provide a  
sanity check on unnecessary 'recycling' by less experienced personnel.

If you're a reasonably good teacher, and I think I am, it's not that hard  
to convey the essence of OOP/D to bright people. You just have to know how  
to do it effectively. The best teachers are skilled at leading students to  
model within their own brains what is already known and understood by the  
teacher. As a result, the true limitation on learning speed lies with the  
*teacher*, not the student, in most cases. I'm sure you're a bright  
person. I'm sure you can remember a teacher who had a knack for helping  
you grasp new concepts, and another who left you in a fog no matter how  
hard both of you tried. How fast would you have learned OOP/D under both  
of them? Whose 'fault' would it be in the slower case?

It's often said that it's easier to teach OOP/D to people who do NOT have  
traditional programming experience (less de-programming, pardon the pun),  
and I have found that to be true. I stick to my original conclusion.

--
Gregory H. Anderson          | Thus spake the master programmer: 
Master Programmer / Manager  | "Let the programmers be many and  
Anderson Financial Systems   | the managers few; then all will be 
greg@afs.com  (Nextmail OK)  | productive." -- Tao of Programming