The myths and realities of studying computer science
On nights that Kshetrapal Singh, 17, worked his part time job as a night watchman, he dreamed of computer science.
Canada Goose sale “Of everything taught in school, the only subject that can get me a proper job is computers,” said Kshetrapal, a student in class 12 at Sangam Vihar’s Government Boys Senior Secondary School, known locally as the pahadi school. “And that’s the one thing canada goose outlet legit they aren’t teaching cheap canada goose me.” Canada Goose sale
Kshetrapal can do little more with computers than switch them on and type. Partly this is because he’s a humanities student, and therefore effectively ineligible for canada goose outlet online uk computer classes. It doesn’t help that the school in Sangam Vihar has four thousand boys and only 10 computer terminals.
Canada Goose online Students in middle school must wait months for the chance to spend 20 minutes with a machine. Class 12 students canada goose outlet toronto factory like Kshetrapal have never had the opportunity to use a computer at school. Canada Goose online
“By the time the computer lab was built, we were told to concentrate on our board exams,” said Kshetrapal. “It is very frustrating.”
Kshetrapal feels he is only a few computer monitors and class hours away from a secure, well paying job. But the experiences of Kshetrapal’s own teachers suggest that the subject no longer guarantees meaningful employment.
Kshetrapal, a class 12 student at the pahadi school, feels learning computers could be his ticket to a job.
buy canada goose jacket cheap In theory, any student in class 11 or 12 can choose to study computer science or ‘information practices’, a less technical subject. In practice, most public and private schools, including the pahadi school, offer the subject only for those studying physics, chemistry and mathematics. buy canada goose jacket cheap
Regardless of the form it takes, an education in computers in Delhi schools tends not to prepare students for a career. Students at the school are expected to spend two periods a week at canada goose jacket outlet the computer lab, but end up visiting monthly at most.
“If they miss that class, two months pass between lectures,” said Manish Kumar, the information and communication technologies (ICT) teacher at pahadi school. “Children love the lab, but the gap between classes is so long, they often forget what they learned last time.”
The pahadi school at least tries to give each child time in a lab. A number of ICT teachers at other schools confessed that they simply read the textbook out loud to their students in classrooms without computers.
“School principals don’t take this class seriously,” said one ICT teacher in Delhi. “They send us 100 kids together. What can I teach them in one 40 minute class?”
canada goose factory sale The pahadi school in Sangam Vihar has four thousand boys and only 10 computer terminals. canada goose factory sale
Even ICT programs that are taught correctly may not prepare students well for future study or work.
buy canada goose jacket Every year, IIT Kanpur professor Dheeraj Sanghi begins his introductory computer science lecture with the same counter intuitive message: “If you have studied computer science in Class 11 and 12, you are at a disadvantage.” buy canada goose jacket
Canada Goose Coats On Sale The problem, said Sanghi, is the standard school syllabus. Most school students in India are taught C++, a powerful and useful computer language that has widespread industrial applications. Canada Goose Coats On Sale
“But C++ is so hard that we scare off a good 20% of our students,” Prof. Sanghi said. “That talent is lost forever.” Those who persist, he added, end up spending more time grappling with C++’s abstruse syntax than on refining the logic that undergirds any good programme.
In 2013, the Central Board of Secondary Education decided to replace C++ with another language called Python, which also has https://www.canadagoosessale.org widespread applications and is much easier buy canada goose uk to learn.
“In my experience, kids who start with Python and graduate to C++ become much better programmers,” Prof Sanghi said.
But the Board soon reversed its decision.
“We faced resistance from the private canada goose outlet ontario textbook lobby, who didn’t want to invest in fresh textbooks for Python,” canada goose outlet jackets said a source in the CBSE who disapproved of the canada goose outlet new york city rollback. “Teachers also protested, as they would have to prepare new lesson plans and learn a new language.”
Python was made optional, then removed from the syllabus altogether. A dalliance with progressive education ended.
canada goose Now computer science is taught the way most other subjects are with an emphasis on rote memorisation of lessons, rather than on structured, logical thinking. canada goose
An exception that proves the rule
Students who succeed in computer science tend to be exceptional. Abdul Basit, for example, downloaded an algorithm design manual on his dad’s cheap smartphone to become a better programmer.
uk canada goose outlet Abdul attends class 12 the Shaheed Amir Chand Government School in Ludlow Castle. canada goose outlet store quebec It is a world apart from Kshetrapal’s pahadi school. Where the pahadi school barely has a playground, Ludlow Castle has its own swimming pool, three computer labs, and a competent computer science programme. uk canada goose outlet
Abdul first used a computer in class 1, while he was enrolled in a private school. But it’s at Ludlow Castle where he’s grown into a gifted coder, his teachers say, suggesting government schools can at least nurture talent if they are given the resources to do so.
cheap Canada Goose Government schools can nurture talent if they have resources. Abdul Basit learnt to be a gifted coder at his government school in Ludlow Castle cheap Canada Goose.