My Kids, Your Kids: The Next Real Geeks, or Not

Back in September 2011 I wrote about schools failing to educate students with the necessary skills and knowledge to head off to college. It seems that high schools need a kick in the pants to get off dead center on this, and soon.

While I was in High School at Oswego High I was instructed with core programming knowledge by staff (Howard Manthei), who made this wide-eyed kid think of computers as the future. Well folks, the future is here and we need talented students with this infectious drive to move us forward. 

Kids moving into college are ready for classes, but not fully ready for those computer science classes and course instruction. The tell is colleges today, unless focused on computer science, look at programming as a basic level class and focus more on how to use Word or Excel to finish the papers required in all classes. This, frankly, is a poor line to take to get America back as a leader in all sciences.

Computer programming uses the extended skills of mathematics and logical reasoning; you know, those skills that also suggest right from wrong. The issue is overseas, logic, programming and higher level math classes are standard in high school, why not here? Being a tier one-level programmer, “a geek of geeks,” and a business owner, it troubles me that my next new hires will not be Americans, but the nice thing is they will be trained to a degree that my life will be easier.

Please understand I’m not saying buy/hire American only, but I’m saying let us at least try again to become that leader not a follower.

So next time you see your teachers in high school, ask the following questions:

What computer science programs are taught here?

What logic or extended math is taught here?

I think we need more real learning and less golf and tennis, so that in 10 years we can say, “We are America, leading the technology way once again.” Or we will be saying, “I had a great round of golf, how about you?” Time is ticking away quickly!

CAW (Cool Application of the Week):

CAW this week is more of an observation and, yes, a tool rolled into one. I recently played with an iPad3 and yes, it is way cool viewing, but not way cool on heat. This puppy gets really hot almost to the point that extended use would be hard on my lap.

So I started looking at tools for my Windows Laptop and I found this handy tool, Speedfan. This not only helped me understand the heat, but also helped with hard drive cooling, and voltage issues. You see, the faster the cpu or hard drive, the more voltage and heat is created and used. Watching more closely helped me increase my battery life by 20%, and this also will help increase the life of the laptop. So slow it down and keep cool with Speedfan.