Student-to-Student AP Computer Science Advice

Hélène Martin asked her outgoing AP CS class to give advice to the next class, and they came up with a terrific list.  Here’s only the first one, my favorite — especially the interaction between “tenets” #1 and #5.

The Five Tenets of Programming1. If you feel like you’re falling behind, ask for help, if not from Ms. Martin, then from other students.  You’ll save yourself hours of frustration.2. Don’t be afraid to try your own thing if you get the chance, even if you think it’s beyond your level.  You’ll learn faster if you’re interested in the project.3. Temp variables are awesome.  So are ArrayLists.4. Don’t let the sometimes snooty programming club people argue with you — by the end of the year, you’ll probably know more.5. And NEVER tell yourself you’re bad at coding.  EVER.  This just leads to failure.  See tenant 1.

via AP Computer Science Advice | Hélène Martin.