# [In the file](../index.html)

* first draft of this little writing 

## Preamble Note
Before I go into any detail at all I should mention that in fact this whole post is somewhat of a rant on a pet peeve of mine.
At the same time I want to discuss why this mostly exists as a problem I have with the """_absolute state_""" of computer science education.

## I'm in the file what now?

I've lost track of how many times this has been thrown my by students learning about the commandline in a \*nix environment. 
It's not that I loathe this phrasing but, I completely loathe it.
Something about it feels as though many don't realize that they're not actually saying anything with this phrase.
It's like going to change your oil and saying, "_alright im in the engine_".

For those trying to learn "the _commandline/terminal_" I have on piece of advice: a directory is a folder.
To be honest I know this stems from students being taught """_the commandline_""" with literally 0 context given.
I use a terminal for everything, hell this whole website was built in the termianl but, even I don't know what people mean when they say, "I know the commandline".
All I know is that they refer to Linux _stuff_ but even then I'm not completely sure what that is supposed to mean.

## The part where I blame academia

How many times has academia managed to fist its way into every crevice of the world with no complaints I'll never know, but I do know it sucks for everyone.
I say this because for learning theory academia has always been great, structuring that which needed it most.
For _everything_ outside of that realm, eh.

It seems like at least in CSU Monterey Bay the staff have a hard-on for Unix but have little idea of how to teach it.

### Another section for my prosed solution so its easy find

Stop directly teaching how to use the commandline. 
Instead setup students in a situation where commandline utilities would be the easiest to setup or the best choice to use.

> B-b-but if we do that they might not do it pro-

_Stop_, they're going to fuck things up regardless, at least this way they'll learn the dumb meme you're targeting but in a practical manner.
Trust me whatever they end up learning, they _will not_ forget.
Details sure; everyone forgets details, but at least most students(apart from the stupid ones) will know at least some basic tricks to help them later in (CS) life.

## Pet Peeve

Nearly everytime I help another student with command line _stuff_ I hold back cringe upon hearing the phrase, "_I'm in the file what do i do now????_".
If anyone can decipher the meaning of this phrase I would love to know but as of right now I'm stumped.
It reminds of when a mechanic friend of mine told me of how he can't stand hering customers say, "_yea the engine is on the fritz_".

## Filesystems are vry hrd

Recently at my university more and more of the curriculum has been focused on teaching student of the Unix command line environment.
This entails a few things: 

1. Teach students some basic utility in case they find themselves needing to do some remote work
2. Exposure to new tools(_more on this point in another section_)

Though the prospect may be enticing its the execution which ruins the whole thing.
Primarily the problem with teaching unix to students is the lack of context.
Tools like _Git_, _Bash_, or even an editor like _Nano_ end up being confusing to students for some new arbitrary reason.
When I say that these things are confusing I mean I've literally had a student ask me, "_What's the point of Git even? I don't get why we're learning this_".