[K12OSN] Linux cut off

[bimal pandit]

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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