I got this from one of our customers in the education field - it's an interesting take:
I am an associate professor of computer science at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA. I am writing because I am interested in getting some "real world" experience using Smalltalk.
I came to Bucknell and started teaching software engineering in 1988. For years I taught my course using C++ and I was always frustrated by my inability to teach software design effectively. C++ was too much of a barrier. When Java came on the scene, I gave it a try. I found it better than C++, but not nearly good enough. Finally, I came across Smalltalk.
I started using Squeak in 1999 and I had an epiphany! I started teaching my software engineering course with Smalltalk in 2000, and I was amazed at how much the students responded to it. I needed to spend a week (or less) at the beginning of the semester explaining the language, and there were no more language issues for the remainder of the semester. Amazing!
The last time I taught my course I used VisualWorks. The students still appreciated Smalltalk, but I realized that I could be even more effective if I had experience using Smalltalk in an industrial setting. I think it would be even better if I had an opportunity to work with a group such as yours which is developing applications in Smalltalk. This would allow me to bring work experiences into the classroom.
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