Software Engineers of Tomorrow

Lately making the rounds is a DoD journal article on deficiencies in today's software engineering programs. I've often noted the influences of Lisp and Ada in my own education, and while I don't feel I've been sufficiently exposed to recent college grads or paid enough attention to current programs to make any judgments of my own, I do strongly concur with the authors with regard to the elements of software engineering programs identified as important*.

Computer Science Education: Where Are the Software Engineers of Tomorrow?

"It is our view that Computer Science (CS) education is neglecting basic skills, in particular in the areas of programming and formal methods. We consider that the general adoption of Java as a first programming language is in part responsible for this decline. We examine briefly the set of programming skills that should be part of every software professional’s repertoire."

link

Joel Spolsky chimes in on the subject again: link

*The only point I'd argue with the authors over is the efficacy of the encapsulation facilities in C++.