[txnativegop]

can we give him $4B in Italian Lira? or maybe Zimbabwe dollars?

[Dalberg-Acton]

I’m curious how well the Common Core method of computer programming works.

[Slyfox]

Does anyone realize how many grubby hands the 4 Billion will go through before it gets to the students?

This means Moochelle will have some very fine vacays this year.

[TigersEye]

Will they learn the difference between .gov and .com domains?

[Jim from C-Town]

Why would anyone go into computer science? Do they have a desire to be unemployed after they train their new Hindu H1B replacement who is making 60% the pay you did and barely speaks English? He will move his entire family here from New Deli and immediately start having American Anchor Babies!

[Eagles6]

Don’t they teach this in high school and college?

[P.O.E.]

Does spelling count?

[MacMattico]

In my daughter's high school there is now so much common core mandated crap I doubt they'd even have time for more than an introductory computer science course which is already offered. And hardly anyone has time in their schedule to take it.

[Billthedrill]

Hooboy, where to begin? The difference between computer science and programming is a very large one and it's getting larger. Coding is an essential skill, to be sure, but it isn't really done at the elementary school level anymore. When I first learned it, to get the computer to print "Hello, world!" was a bit of black magic that had us all cheering. These days, a kid who already has a Facebook page, a Twitter account, and a high-level games character is going to be a lot less impressed (although he should be).

The difficulty is that computer science is a derivative course of study demanding a grasp of fundamentals in mathematics, logic, and even a bit of systems analysis. It is precisely those fundamentals that Common Core appears to have a difficult time communicating, and I'm not sure the problem is money. I think it's curriculum.

[AnotherUnixGeek]

President Barack Obama says he'll ask Congress for billions in new spending to help students learn computer science skills.

This doesn't require billions in new spending. All it requires is using the billions already being spent to give students a decent underpinning in basic mathematics and science. That combined with an aptitude for logical thinking and a passion for software will take care of the rest - it was good enough to produce people like Don Knuth as well as Kernighan and Ritchie. I doubt billions in new spending are going to produce anyone who contributes that much.

[CurlyDave]

What he really means is that he wants to throw more money into the inner city schools to teach the uninterested skills that are beyond their grasp.

Of course there is a problem, but it is not one that money can cure.

[EinNYC]

Any time I’ve seen ghetto high school students with access to internet-capable computers, the LAST thing on their agenda was doing any work vaguely connected to academia. Number one activity was perusing high-dollar sneakers. That was the vast majority of them. Number two activity was watching sports games, mainly NBA. Number three activity was listening to crap music videos. and downloading stolen iTunes to their own iPods. Yeah, I can really see wasting $4B on “improving the computer skills of students”.

[Organic Panic]

Of course we need a massive federal program to learn coding. It’s not like any kid with access to the internet couldn’t just go online with the thousands of free online courses themselves. And if anyone opposes the billions.. You’re racist and hate children.

[jamaksin]

Not Common Core, but two oldies ...

The Art of Computer Programming Volume 1 (Fundamental Algorithms) Donald E(rvin) Knuth, Addison-Wesley, Copyright 1968.

(Dedicated to the IBM 650, a bi-quinary computer, drum memory, ...), and

The Mythical Man-Month by Frederick Brooks, as in the La Brea Tar Pits ... The story of software development for the IBM 360 ...

[cynwoody]

The ones who want to learn computer science will. And will do great things.

The ones who don't, won't. But some will do something else great.

But the $4b is just to buy 'Rat votes!

[SkyPilot]

Since many of the black riots, flash mob robberies, rapes, and Knock Out Games were all organized on social media, I would say they don’t care about peaceful application of anything computer or electronic, and we save the $4 Billion.

[Rashputin]

Applicants must be Muslim immigrants who are not yet citizens, right ?

[uglybiker]

[Artie]

The 4 billion is just a subterranean payoff to the teachers’ unions pension plans (Illinois comes to mind) in all the bankrupt states. Zero jus be lootin the treasury.

[central_va]

Just offer paid scholarships to few brave American kids still willing to major in any STEM discipline with a required B average to stay in program. Eliminate H-1B and bingo, problem solved.