About the Episode:

In this episode of Common Knowledge, hosts Brett Harkey and Chris Reynolds sit down with computer science instructor Jim McCormick to explore an unexpected but compelling question: Can programming be part of a classical education? Drawing on Jim’s background in engineering, industry, and classical schooling, the conversation examines programming through the lens of the Seven Liberal Arts, intellectual rigor, and the formation of the mind.

Together, they discuss whether programming languages function as a kind of modern Latin, how coding cultivates habits of logic and precision, and why the rigor of programming can be both demanding and deeply joyful. The episode challenges the assumption that classical education and modern technology are at odds—and instead suggests that programming may be one of the most classically formative disciplines available to students today.

Jim graduated with a Masters Degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. After 24 years of computer chip design at HP and Intel in Fort Collins, he became a computer science instructor at LCHS in the fall of 2022.

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