On Wed, 25 Jul 2012, Jason White wrote:
It was more than this when I was in secondary school. Then, at least, everybody did a little programming (in BASIC or Logo). Some of us learned Pascal too.
But that was at a time when computers barely figured in everyday life. And you had to program to use computers. These days IT is everywhere, as a car is. But it does not make car mechanics a mandatory subject.. Most people use a car, and do not have any interest to figure out how it works. IT at school is quite often a marketing exercise as well, to get people used to Microsoft or Apple or whatever products. At school my daughter learned to use Microsoft Word. Great;-) But as a library leader she does some web design etc. - it is fun for her. There are plenty of opportunities to do something with computers, if you are interested. The curriculum, as far as I know, describes a minimum "core" of subjects to be taught everywhere in Australia. It does not stop a school to offer more, and a student to choose other subjects when interested. For them it may be more interesting to program, instead of being told how to use Word. It also challenges the teacher to choose topics to attract students, instead of being restricted by a set of mandatory Word and Excel lessons prescribed by a bureaucrat in Canberra. Regards Peter