> Dijkstra assumes that students will already have been exposed to imperative languages before joining university
For those entering CS, this is probably true. But it's also probably true that that's because of the students' own initiative to investigate a topic that interests them.
I think high schools have gone the opposite direction. In the 80s, most high schools had some sort of computer class (often taught on TRS-80s or C-64s). These were introductions to programming taught in Basic.
Nowadays, most high schools still have a computer class. But now its Word, Powerpoint, Excel, and build a (static) web page. (There are, of course, some high schools with much better programs.)
Addendum: High schools also used to teach typing (on typewriters). Now that keyboards are ubiquitous, typing classes have inexplicably been dropped. Go figure.
For those entering CS, this is probably true. But it's also probably true that that's because of the students' own initiative to investigate a topic that interests them.
I think high schools have gone the opposite direction. In the 80s, most high schools had some sort of computer class (often taught on TRS-80s or C-64s). These were introductions to programming taught in Basic.
Nowadays, most high schools still have a computer class. But now its Word, Powerpoint, Excel, and build a (static) web page. (There are, of course, some high schools with much better programs.)