Scratch...ALICE...it is all junk. You want to teach Comp Sci to kids...show them the power of themselves versus drag and drop crap that teaches sloppy, buggy code that has the efficiency of O(n^2)....better yet...teach them what Big O means...that is computer science...what they are teaching here is a skill so you can one day be a coder for someone with a Comp Sci degree.

You need to stick to restaurant reports even though you suck at those too. When you said "create their own programs starting from scratch", did you not understand that the programing language used to create programs is itself called Scratch? It was developed so kids would not have to learn how to program from scratch using the cryptic codes and complicated commands you mention in your first paragraph. It got its name from the method of mixing sounds DJs use by scratching records on turntables. You really are an ace investigative reporter. I hope the kids using this new programing language will grow up to be a lot smarter than you.