[K12OSN] Schools and the OPM Addiction

[James P. Kinney III]

If this were not such a wonderfully scathing, to the point critic of
what is wrong in education technology management funding mentality, I
would be laughing.

Brilliant use of metaphor and pun!

OPM causes bad teeth and thus the need for FLOSS...

BWAHAHA!

On Sat, 2007-12-01 at 12:07 -1000, R. Scott Belford wrote:
> I fear that far too often good-willed and well-intending education 
> advocates fail to fully understand the extent of OPM addiction in the 
> American education system.  More successful advocates have learned to 
> enable the use of OPM within the schools.  They fund this addiction with 
> enticing technology trinkets and strong-armed contractual agreements.
> 
> OPM, Other People's Money, is a delight to use.  It feels so good, and 
> it spends so well.  It is not to be confused with what most of us are 
> left with, Money.  It is hard to come by, painful to spend, and there 
> never seems to be enough of it.  When using OPM you'll take two of 
> whatever, and make it a deluxe.  When using M, you clip coupons.
> 
> If you would like to succeed in helping most schools and education 
> systems, experience shows that they need you to facilitate their OPM 
> use.  You must appreciate their appetite is voracious, and that if they 
> do not use their entire hoard of OPM each year, they don't get more next 
> year, as promised.  Successful vendors succeed by supplying schools with 
> OPM on a consistent and reliable basis.
> 
> This is where the conspiracy lies, so take it for what it is worth. 
> Some vendors offer luscious, enticing hardware that everyone wants. 
> Though they use some fruit as their name, they still succeed in getting 
> schools to eagerly adorn themselves in their regal iJewelry. 
> Understanding how important it is for the children to see their schools 
> wearing only the best, the public eagerly supplies sufficient OPM 
> without question.  Some is sold off to Vendors who in turn build more 
> eye iJewlery.  It could be, and it does get, worse.
> 
> Sometimes the OPM trade is a bit more ugly.  For those with squeamish 
> stomachs, please put down your bialy.  Some Vendors have managed to 
> enslave our schools in barbed chains of sophisticated contractual 
> agreements.  In order to get the DEHLENIB hardware necessary to adorn 
> themselves, they must commit to consecutive years wearing the same 
> undergarments.  In the past they could at least change these 
> undergarments or add new hardware trinkets.  Now they are contractually 
> forbidden to make such hygiene changes.  This becomes smelly.
> 
> It is true that there are some schools that are trying to Free 
> themselves from this OPM addiction.  All the OPM abuse has given them 
> very bad teeth, and now they need FLOSS.  They are looking for the 
> kind-hearted souls out there willing to help them stay OPM Free and well 
> FLOSSed. This is where many of the more benevolent among us have 
> invested our passions.  However, we must appreciate that these 
> recovering schools are usually the least capable of stopping the abuse 
> of OPM in their districts, regardless of how noble and economical their 
> story.
> 
> So to you I say learn to use OPM, but find a way to ween our blinded and 
> addicted schools.  Forgive them for they know not what they do. 
> Instead, show them how FLOSSing can actually help them to spend their 
> OPM on other things, like more counselors and educators.  While they too 
> may be OPM users, perhaps they won't be.  If properly educated, our 
> youth don't have to be OPM users.
> 
> By reaching out to our youth and our college students in non-academic 
> environments(1), they can see the benefits of FLOSSing instead of using 
> OPM.  They will eventually be hired by those schools you have taken to 
> lunch, intoxicated with OPM, and adorned with your own FLOSS filled 
> Trinkets.  You never know when they may want to open them up for a 
> little cleaning.
> 
> --scott
> 
> (1)http://www.youtube.com/sctinc
> 
> -- 
> R. Scott Belford
> Founder/Executive Director
> The Hawaii Open Source Education Foundation
> P.O. Box 2644
> Ewa Beach, HI 96706
> 808.689.6518 phone/fax
> scott at hosef.org
> 
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> 
-- 
James P. Kinney III          
CEO & Director of Engineering 
Local Net Solutions,LLC        
770-493-8244                    
http://www.localnetsolutions.com

GPG ID: 829C6CA7 James P. Kinney III (M.S. Physics)
<jkinney at localnetsolutions.com>
Fingerprint = 3C9E 6366 54FC A3FE BA4D 0659 6190 ADC3 829C 6CA7
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