I don't think that the languages are as important as knowing how to
solve the problem. I know that each language has its pro's and cons
and some are better for specific things.
I feel that the only true difference is syntax. Instead of learning a
specific language students should learn how to learn different
surtaxes.

I learned how to program c++ in high school, and continued using it in
college. I had to teach my self ruby, java, php, lisp, VB, C#.  I do
not clam to be a pro in each of these, but if i need to do something i
know what the syntax looks like, and i can research the information i
need.

My teaches like the phrase "Learn to learn". I dont like it, but
students who like to learn will teach themselves. I found ruby by
accident, and now love it.

Becker



On 3/19/06, gregarican <greg.kujawa / gmail.com> wrote:
> anne001 wrote:
>
> > I was wondering if anybody taught the traditional computer courses in
> > ruby.
>
> It's funny how every decade or so the prominent language taught at
> colleges and universities changes. The late 80's probably were all
> about Smalltalk. Then the late 90's were likely Java-centric. Where are
> things now? I would guestimate C# perhaps? I think it's a shame that
> most schools might not offer a variety of different languages to choose
> from. Like a survey course for a general overview of many different
> languages. Or tracks consisting of 1) one of the major commercial
> languages (Java, C#, C, C++) and 2) one of the lesser known programming
> languagues (Ruby, Python).
>
>
>