[K12OSN] Linux cut off
bimal pandit
bimalp at indoasian.com
Fri Nov 19 14:28:46 UTC 2004
Excellent Terrell,
great a marvelous thought/view and an open debate -- no one could deny
or disagree.
my complete support to cause.
regards,
bimal
On Fri, 2004-11-19 at 19:08, "Terrell Prudé, Jr." wrote:
> Hello KJ,
>
> You're right to duck like that. The reason is that we are educators of
> *concepts* in K12 schools. Having come from corporate myself, I don't
> see any justification for turning fourth-graders into "Good Little
> Employees" ready to be trained monkeys on specific applications.
> Children don't learn how to write on just Avery-brand paper. They learn
> how to write. Period. Same with math--we don't teach them how to add,
> subtract, multiply, and divide only on HP calculators. Rather, we teach
> them how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide, period. Same with
> cars. The auto shop in every high school I've ever seen that has one
> teaches the kids how to work on cars, not just Fords, not just Chevys,
> not just Toyotas, etc. They teach *automobiles*.
>
> What we should be focusing on is the *concept* of word processing. Same
> with using a spreadsheet--any spreadsheet, or any presentation
> software. I don't want kids only being able to use Microsoft products;
> they're no good to me in my shop, and I won't--and can't--hire them.
> Several educators have found that, when children are exposed to multiple
> implementations of the same concept, they get that concept a whole lot
> better. I have found that to be true of myself even to this day.
>
> Schools do not have the same goals as corporations. Corporations care
> strictly and only about the bottom line for shareholders. The mission
> of schools, by contrast, is to get a young mind to develop and open up
> to new ideas. K12 schools are not Voc-Tech institutes like ITT.
> They're centers of general mental development, teaching children of all
> ages how to learn. Am I opposed to children learning about Microsoft
> Windows and Office? Not really. Am I opposed to children learning
> about *ONLY* Microsoft Windows and Office? Yes!
>
> If you think I'm wrong here, then, one corporate person to another, I'd
> like to know your thoughts.
>
> --TP
>
> KJ wrote:
>
> > I hate to say this, but the business teachers are right <duck>.
> > <slowly lifts head back up> Now before anyone kicks me off the list,
> > let me explain and give a quick anecdote. I spend 98% of my working
> > time consulting with companies in the manufacturing sector, mostly $50
> > million/year and smaller (US dollars). M$ is the defacto standard.
> > However, I have found some very good and interesting uses for OSS
> > (mostly Linux) in the backoffice. One of my clients has saved his
> > small company somewhere between $150,000 and $200,000 (US) in
> > licensing fees by installing Linux/Samba/Winbind servers to handle
> > file storage. I think this is a fantastic idea AND it shows
> > management that IT really does care and wants to help save where they
> > can, AND that OSS is stable and ready for the "big time". I realize
> > that I'm probably speaking to the proverbial choir, but I had to toss
> > in my coins.
> > best to all,
> > KJ
> >
> > Jason wrote:
> >
> >> The business teachers seemed convinced that M$ is the status-quo when
> >> I think they should be exploring other operating systems.
> >
> >
> >
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> >
>
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