Hey there, I've also taught lots of students online!

In my JS courses, I actually don't touch upon async things until I get to rather advanced/intermediate courses. Universally, I think the fundamentals of programming languages can be taught without too many drawbacks and agnostic of language choice unless the language is super verbose.

For example, all the things with closures, this, and asynchronous programming probably aren't relevant until a student runs into them/their gotchas while making web applications. By that point, I think framing it as event driven programming makes a lot of sense and gives context without being forced to deal with the details.

I think doing anything cool in other languages is also almost similar. A while loop/game loop in Python or other languages is pretty similar to the event loop which where the asynchronous nature of JS comes from. This becomes really apparent when working with games like Roblox/Lua and Minecraft/Minecraft plugins+mods.

Yes, yes, it is similar, and I maybe didn't get that across as well as I could have. JS is the default (for good reasons!), but IME if we're talking about game engines aimed at beginners that are suitable for getting programming concepts across, I feel a [synchronous] game loop is often easier to get across conceptually, to build on. And then yes, definitely framing it in the same way works really well because when they get stuck, you can point them at that and say "well you've already done something really similar here, here's the comparison, {unpack how the async stuff is working by framing it in the same way}, you should be able to now link these concepts together"

(Apologies to other commenters as well! I got a little bit salty when people mentioned async in relation to beginner programmers because it's not a simple thing. It's abstract and doesn't really make a bunch of sense until the beginner has built a floor of very basic programming to stand on)

Recently, I have a friend group who all graduated from Stanford, with relatively upper middle class(but not suburb/NY upper middle class) roots, and you might even describe as "woke" who belonged to a fb messenger group called "Anti Asian Asian Group".

I felt like I had to call them out on it. Though they made the group as a play on "anti social social club" and to counter conservative sentiments their upper class counterparts might've had, I too thought it might've just been punching down on working/middle class Asians who had traditional values and almost can't help but have those values.

I guess that's the real class war; when people punch down on those who almost don't have the opportunity to decide who to become. Not that people completely lack agency in this country but I think a lot of people forget how much your environment can shape individuals and their values.

What a bizarre world these people live in where identity is both arbitrary and inescapable.

> those who almost don't have the opportunity to decide who to become

That's an interesting phrase. Can you say what you mean by it?

It’s a reference to the sociological concept of marked versus unmarked identities. If you think of an American you probably think first of a white man of Christian heritage. If you think of a Chinese person you picture someone of Han ethnicity, not Miao or Manchu. If you think of a nurse you picture a woman. All of the people who fit that identity but are different from the unmarked version are marked by their difference from the unmarked version that springs to mind unbidden when the concept is named.

I have an associate's in CS and think this might be the best route for me since transferring for a BS/BA might be too much time commitment. You think this is possible without a bachelor's in hand? Any recommendations?

GA Tech will not entertain applications for their OMSCS if you do not have a BS. They don't require that it be in CS, but they are quite clear that you have to have a BS to get in.

You may find other programs that have other requirements, but I'm not aware of any.

Is the OMSCS reputable? I’m actually local to GA Tech but the competition is pretty fierce for the in person programs. The online program is tempting but so is an MBA.

You can always do both. That’s what I’m doing, and it has served me well so far (just graduated from MBA with solid job placement and I have a few courses to go for OMSCS).

Definitely.

#5 in the world I think? And quite rigorous. It's a subset of the in person program -- they don't offer all the on campus classes or programs, and they don't offer the thesis option online.

Are you looking to get into a graduate program in CS? Or just move into a different field?

It's pretty interesting how the author attempts to tie gentrification, caused by real life constraints like supply+demand, to a corporate-backed internet mono culture.

It's kind of a stretch since one of the causes of real-life gentrification is protections for existing stakeholders, the lack of change/adaptation(Friendster -> myspace -> FB for example), and an inherent lack of supply(whereas on the internet there's a near infinite).

I'm not sure whether you can call this gentrification or rather the internet being less of a niche sub culture + more mainstream or just attribute it to a human tendency to self-segregate/put ourselves in our own bubbles.

Tbh, internet n/yimbyism doesn't really have too many effects besides sanitization of content. Other message boards have names for it like noob or a popular one where the word start with "old" or "new' after all.

I'm grateful, as an American, that we have access to so many different cultures and cuisines. It's the one thing I missed sorely when I was travelling across Europe.

You're right on the label though, Italian American =/= Italian in the same vein that Chipotle/Taco Bell isn't Mexican. However, there are plenty of institutions in the states that do nail a more purist experience of Mexican or Italian or what have you.

Italian-American cuisine, including places like Buca di Beppo, are absolutely not in the same vein as Taco Bell or Chipotle. Italian-American cuisine is a unique part of a culture that arose organically from millions of Italian immigrants and their children in the United States. Taco Bell and Chipotle are culture-less money-making ventures with superficial ties to a foreign cuisine.

Tex Mex or Cajun cuisine would be a more apt comparisons.

Is there really such a thing as culture-less food? The fact that Taco Bell, for instance, has struggled so much in some international markets suggests there might be a stronger cultural element to it than you’re giving it credit for. Yes, it’s a business that exists to make money. But the fact that it does make money is because the food connects with millions of people in the US.

There’s something very unique about the US, which is that we’re taught from a young age that “culture” is something that other places have and the US is just a melting pot. But you can’t mix things together for 200+ years and still seriously claim you haven’t created something just as unique as the ingredients that went into it.

Taco Bell is junk food Tex Mex and Chipotle is just mass-market Mexicali burritos. You can find Tex Mex and Mexicali analogs to Buca di Beppo.

Hey Jerry, Interested in the position but where should I DM you?

A lot of people teach for different reasons in different environments.

I'm not sure if it's just about the whiners but also when the whiners permeate the entire institution you're working in.

The "lazy" teacher trope is a thing because the floor for teaching is so low and the ceiling can be so high while pay stays the same.

I guess I'm privileged enough(or type A enough) to want more. Sometimes I wish I could just do my job. That way, I'd be happy with being a bus driver or a cop or something(they both have really good pensions).

Haha, I just finished quitting my job teaching high school computer science today.

I went from private tutoring CS to teaching in an afterschool program to this because I really enjoyed helping students break through conceptual blocks and mental ones.

The work is emotionally exhausting but satisfying. Only recently have I wondered whether or not this was the right thing to do instead of going to industry(maybe it's because a lot of my interviewers have been asking me that exact question) but it seems blatant now that my friends are senior engineers who have almost infinite job opportunities.

The real crux of it is that teachers get put into this triangle of pressures between students, administration, and their parents which almost takes away all agency from the job. I got so tired of getting put into difficult situations that were almost always juggling acts.

At the end of the day, if you want to fix anything as a teacher it's almost like going against an institution. You risk your pension, your 401k, or maybe just your potential future in industry for what?

I wasn't in it for the money and I would imagine most teachers aren't either... but what happens when your hands are too tied to actually teach?

sigh maybe I could've done everyone justice if I had some tech money to fall back on.

Even worse is the whole 'no child left behind' structure where schools lose funding if they don't meet certain numbers. The administrators live in fear so the kids spend half the semester taking practice tests so the school district doesn't lose funding. It is such a shame and there seems to be no appetite to expend political capital on these issues.

"The real crux of it is that teachers get put into this triangle of pressures between students, administration, and their parents which almost takes away all agency from the job. I got so tired of getting put into difficult situations that were almost always juggling acts."

I think that is also happening today with medical doctors and it is an absolute travesty; the opposite of progress.

How do you risk your 401k? Unlike a pension, they can’t take it away from you.

Unvested employer contributions can be taken back.

Only for the year.

anecdotal counterpoint: Amazon takes back all employer 401k contributions for employees who do not work there for at least 3 years