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Moron teacher is confused by Linux

ChurchedAtheist

Your resident psycho hobo
Blog of helios: Linux - Stop holding our kids back

"...observed one of my students with a group of other children gathered around his laptop. Upon looking at his computer, I saw he was giving a demonstration of some sort. The student was showing the ability of the laptop and handing out Linux disks. After confiscating the disks I called a confrence with the student and that is how I came to discover you and your organization. Mr. Starks, I am sure you strongly believe in what you are doing but I cannot either support your efforts or allow them to happen in my classroom. At this point, I am not sure what you are doing is legal. No software is free and spreading that misconception is harmful. These children look up to adults for guidance and discipline. I will research this as time allows and I want to assure you, if you are doing anything illegal, I will pursue charges as the law allows. Mr. Starks, I along with many others tried Linux during college and I assure you, the claims you make are grossly over-stated and hinge on falsehoods. I admire your attempts in getting computers in the hands of disadvantaged people but putting linux on these machines is holding our kids back.

This is a world where Windows runs on virtually every computer and putting on a carnival show for an operating system is not helping these children at all. I am sure if you contacted Microsoft, they would be more than happy to supply you with copies of an older verison of Windows and that way, your computers would actually be of service to those receiving them..."

that is the stupid teachers letter. read it all, and take note of the bold spots.

his response is:

I suppose I should, before anything else, thank you. You have given me the opportunity to show others just what a battle we face in what we do. "We" being those who advocate, support and use Free Open Source Software and Linux in particular.

If you find my following words terse or less than cordial, take a breath and prepare yourself...what I have to say to you are soft strokes to your hair in comparison to what you are about to experience.

First off, if there was even the slightest chance that I was doing something illegal, it would not have been done. To think that I would involve my kids in my "illegal" activities is an insult far beyond outrage. You should be ashamed of yourself for putting into print such none sense.

And please...investigate to your heart's content. You are about to have your eyes opened, that is if you actually investigate anything at all. Linux is a free as-in-cost and free as-in-license operating system. It was designed specifically for those purposes. Linux is used to free people from Microsoft. The fact that you seem to believe that Microsoft is the end all and be-all is actually funny in a sad sort of way. Then again, being a good NEA member, you would spout the Union line. Microsoft has pumped tens of millions of dollars into your union. Of course you are going to "recommend" Microsoft Windows". To do otherwise would probably get you reprimanded at the least and fired at the worst. You are only doing what you've been instructed to do.

You've been trained well.

I don't know when you attended college Karen but the Linux of even two years ago pales in feature and ability to what there is available now...and that in turn will pale in a year's time. linux is superior to MS windows in so many ways, they are too numerous to mention here...I am weary of enumerating them. Unlike Microsoft who meters their "improvements" and then shovels them to you every five years or so for purchase; Linux releases their improvements upon their completion. We receive the newest and the best of the system when it is tested to be usable and stable. Karen, you have no idea the slavery you work under...but you don't know any better. The shame of it is, you are trapped with millions of other teachers in obeying the NEA and preaching the goodness of Windows and Microsoft. A superior, free and absolutely entertaining method of operating your computer is within reach and you are unable to grasp it.

The most disturbing part of this resides in the fact that the AISD purchases millions of dollars of Microsoft Software in a year's time when that money could be better spent on educating our children. A dedicated School Teacher would recognize that fact and lobby for the change to Free Open Source Software and let the money formally spent on MS bindware be used on our kids.

A teacher who cared about her students would do that.

That is sad past my ability to express it to you. Don't shackle your students in your prison Karen.

Now. You give that boy his disks back. Aaron is a brilliant kid and he's learned more using Linux than he ever did using Windows. Those disks and their distribution are perfectly legal and even if he was "disruptive", you cannot keep his property. I have placed a call to the AISD Superintendent and cc'd him a complete copy of your email. It looks like we will get to meet in his office when School starts again after the holiday. I am anxious to meet a person who is this uninformed and still holds a position of authority and learnedness over our children.

Ken Starks
HeliOS Solutions

All-Righty Then


the teacher amazes me with her stupidity.
 

ChurchedAtheist

Your resident psycho hobo
found this on the digg page for the article:
"HAHA the AISD website runs on Apache. There is no such thing as free software. Someone should tell their IT department."

brilliant!
 

Seth

MD Party Room
First off we do have a linux forum lol..

they would be more than happy to supply you with copies of an older verison of Windows and that way, your computers would actually be of service to those receiving them..."
I find that really funny cus..

Dell raises cost of Windows XP downgrade option to $150 - Engadget

I used to run linux as school all the time....The teacher knew I knew alot more then her so she let me run it.Just as long as I still did my work....It was really nice not haveing any data saved on the computer.Haveing a nice gui.... But I wouldent dare even tell the other kids what it other wise they might do something stupid... I wish one of my teachers whould have told me about linux I chould have been so much better...

I wish they said what disrto he was useing but I can take a bet and say it ubuntu...Also he should tell billy to redownload liunux and install it himself that way he whould really learn about linux..
 

BlackBurd

Original Gangstuh
Linux is the best.

I used it on school computers to get onto myspace withought a unblocker.
live cd's in general are the best and i always keep 6-8 distros on me at all times.
Incase theres net nanny to work around :p
 

Seth

MD Party Room
Live USB>Live CD...
 
These two make me laugh the most:

Moronic Teacher said:
No software is free, and spreading that misconception is harmful

Moronic Teacher said:
This is a world where Windows runs on virtually every computer and putting on a carnival show for an operating system is not helping these children at all

EDIT:
Vanden said:
Linux USB > Linux LiveCD
You don't understand how tempted I am to plug one in, and reboot a terminal at my school library. Then walk away for a couple of seconds and watch...
 

ChurchedAtheist

Your resident psycho hobo
Live USB>Live CD...

I'd totally use it if there was a decent guide on how to set up a persistent install of 8.10


the key is a persistent install. I want to be able to update it, and keep my preferences, or it is no better than a cd
 

Whisper

Logic :(
lol Linux is really misunderstood. I've been told it was illegal to have Linux on my PS3 by a teacher overhearing my conversation.
 

Pokemanz master

Lowering your IQ
lol linux is always being called illegal, plus its sad the teacher even didn't upon to ask if it was illegal tried to use law on this student at all cost, and the teacher think MS OS should be only operating system for learning uses.
I have use Apple Macs for learning more then once, its no difference google is still google.
 

mohaas05

New Member
Even the computer techie teachers at my school are fucktards. Once I was running photoshop and it said "not enough free space on C:". The teacher comes over and says, "what the hell does that mean?".

Naturally, I'd fix it myself but they have everyone locked onto a super-limited account.

My school is basically Windows-land with a few Macs for graphics.
 

Adiuvo

Active Member
My school is completely Windows land, though the teachers aren't nearly as bad as this case. My computer apps teacher was pretty good. She even did a lesson on Linux, ending with that if you really don't want to pay for anything, distros like Ubuntu were great.

Strangely, she never mentioned freeware applications on Windows =/
 

Hardrive

Contributor
I dunno, I don't think that the response to the teacher was right. With that attitude, it makes us (Linux users) look like elitist pricks. Which may be the case for some, but I don't think his response reflects the open source community very well.
 

ChurchedAtheist

Your resident psycho hobo
yeh. his response wasn't great. he's one of the odd extreme ones. the teacher pissed me off tho.
 

JaX3RiR

New Member
My school is all WinXP-land. Macs never got popular in Finland. Oh, and there's one Ubuntu computer in the other class which keeps saying

Code:
The application 'apt-get' is currently not installed.
apt-get install apt
apt-get: command not found

...and it keeps looping that.

My old IT teacher was really good, he was like 65 years old but knew really much about everything computer-related. Then he retired and the new teacher is not that computer-savvy...

He doesn't know the difference between a MAC-address and an IP-address, and I heard that when he was assembling a computer in the class, he was trying to stuck the power source into the bay where you put the HDD. >.>

I don't know his stance on Linux though, I'm gonna ask him next monday ;D
 
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