One thing to note is that this class is really more like CS101.5--if you have never programmed, you're highly encouraged to take a very introductory class for a semester before this one. Apparently about 90% (or something) of the people taking it have had at least some programming experience.
I also don't think SICP is perfect; however, I think it inherently much better than anything--even itself--done in Python simply because Python basically forces less breadth. I recently read an interesting paper[1] that I think could lead to an even better class; if you're interested in this sort of thing, it's worth checking out.
It's also not really designed for a completely introductory class, but I hope that most of the people coming into Berkeley CS aren't completely unprepared.
On a slightly unrelated note, a completely different approach to an intro class could be cool too: instead of focusing on learning, maybe the first semester should be dedicated to just building something cool on a computer and letting the learning happen naturally. The more formal classes can always come later. For something like that, I could see using Python--although it wouldn't be my first choice by far--but that's a completely different story.
Comments
One thing to note is that this class is really more like CS101.5--if you have never programmed, you're highly encouraged to take a very introductory class for a semester before this one. Apparently about 90% (or something) of the people taking it have had at least some programming experience.
I also don't think SICP is perfect; however, I think it inherently much better than anything--even itself--done in Python simply because Python basically forces less breadth. I recently read an interesting paper[1] that I think could lead to an even better class; if you're interested in this sort of thing, it's worth checking out.
[1]: http://www.sics.se/~seif/Publications/fdp.pdf
It's also not really designed for a completely introductory class, but I hope that most of the people coming into Berkeley CS aren't completely unprepared.
On a slightly unrelated note, a completely different approach to an intro class could be cool too: instead of focusing on learning, maybe the first semester should be dedicated to just building something cool on a computer and letting the learning happen naturally. The more formal classes can always come later. For something like that, I could see using Python--although it wouldn't be my first choice by far--but that's a completely different story.