Scratch is a big deal
Observations:<p>- among many thoughtful comments, a search for "fun" yields mostly comments about functions and expressivity; I think this is a key aspect that isn't as apparent to many experienced people here. The fond recollections of ZX80/81's captures some of that idea, though.<p>- Scratch is blessedly non-commercial and immensely approachable. It's educational mission is not top-down, but bottom-up.<p>- The mix of 3GL expressivity with enough constraint to get a person started is great. Kind of reminds me of the generativity I see in kids playing Minecraft.<p>- The pure old-schoolness of it all keeps you from being mugged in a dark semantic alley by a gang of monad-botherers.