[TriLUG] How young is too young for linux-ish training?

[Joseph Mack NA3T]

On Tue, 30 Aug 2011, Paul G. Szabady wrote:

> I would love to begin teaching him some basic html or 
> maybe even some basic programming, but I'm stumped.  How 
> and where to begin?  Has anyone ever run into this type of 
> issue before?

just about all of us on this list must have been like this 
when we were kids. None of our parents had any idea about 
what we were interested in.

> And/Or does anyone have any suggestions on where to begin?

anywhere, it doesn't matter where. blunder away. Be prepared 
to not now know what you're doing. How many fathers who 
become soccer coaches for young kids know anything about 
soccer? The kid will figure out what works and what doesn't 
and will be glad of the bits that work. Go learn html 
yourself, if you don't know it. Then teach him python. 
Anyone on this list is capable of learning python to a level 
that will keep a young kid entertained. By the time he wants 
to learn more, you will have learned django, or he will have 
figured out how to learn it himself.

> I don't want to push him into something that would cause 
> resentment.

banging on Dad for a year to show him how to make a webpage 
doesn't sound like pushing to me.

> If there's a way to "learn" together, I would love to have 
> special papa/grandson time if there are any classes that 
> we could attend.

Your job is to provide resources, whether it be a book or a 
person to talk to. You can teach him, but that's not 
neccessarily your job. You might serve better by getting out 
of the way and pointing him in the right direction. I 
learned electronics and ham radio when I was a kid from an 
engineer at the local TV station. who my mother found 
through her tennis club.

Joe

-- 
Joseph Mack NA3T EME(B,D), FM05lw North Carolina
jmack (at) wm7d (dot) net - azimuthal equidistant map
generator at http://www.wm7d.net/azproj.shtml
Homepage http://www.austintek.com/ It's GNU/Linux!