Heeding the Call
I was reading Craig Boyd's Visual FoxPro Community Action and decided to heed to his call. I'm now preparing some materials on Microsoft Visual FoxPro that I would like to discuss with computer students in my high school Alma Mater, Don Bosco Technical Institute in Victorias City, Philippines. I will be having my annual vacation late December 2005 (before the Christmas) until mid-January 2006. This will give me some time to visit my high school Alma Mater. You see Don Bosco Technical Institute has a rather unique high school curriculum where-in students in the 3rd and 4th year high school are grouped (it's called a section) into three. One section is taking up basic electronics subjects, then the other is computer and mechanics. It is in this school where I got hold of my first computer, the TRS-80. The computer section curriculum is usually basic computer concepts, computer programming using Microsoft Visual FoxPro and some introduction to computer aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAMM). My plan is to be able to have an informal talk to these students about computer programming in general and specifically Microsoft Visual FoxPro as one of the best tools in data-centric desktop applications development and hopefully instill in these young minds to be interested in using Microsoft Visual FoxPro when they reach college and if they decide to be computer programmers, use Microsoft Visual FoxPro as their main computer language of choice in developing data-centric applications.
I expect difficulties and challenges in completing this endeavor. Some of these are :
- coming up with a comprehensive set of materials that is brief and easily digested by high school students
- gaining the support of the school administration and the faculty
- hardware and software requirements
- availability of books and other types of resources on Microsoft Visual FoxPro
Hopefully I can overcome these challenges in due time.
This is just a very small step, but it can be a start of something big that will benefit not only these high school students but all Microsoft Visual FoxPro developers in general. The xbase language and eventually Microsoft Visual FoxPro as well as the Microsoft Visual FoxPro community, especially here at www.foxite.com have been very good to me. I guess this is my way of saying "THANK YOU". It is my fervent wish that this small step will ripple throughout the Microsoft Visual FoxPro community and eventually turn into a "giant wave" that will improve the state of Microsoft Visual FoxPro and elevate it into even greater heights.