It's a fairly complicated and political issue...
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| helios Mar 20, 2007 7:22 PM EDT |
MS has donated/contributed tens of millions to the NEA and other smaller teachers unions. I bounced off that wall two years ago when I approached the AISD (Austin Independent School district or as I am fond of calling them the Austin InMyPocket Screwel Destruct). Miicrosoft fought long and hard to get Apple out of the Schools and now that the millions of donated Macs are ancient, MS is worming their way back in again. Too few PTSA groups are hammering the districts for fiscal responsibility. Every time I get the opportunity to listen to a teacher/educator snivel about the poor pay, I tell them point-blank: "If you stopped paying Bill Gates and used FOSS/Linux, you might have some money in the budget for cost of living allowances or raises. Spend your money on teaching Kids, not buying software." The only raise I get from them is a blank stare. That about figures. h |
| jimf Mar 20, 2007 7:54 PM EDT |
MS will bribe anyone and everyone to insure control of the schools. Remember that the kiddies of today are the next generation of MS patsies. |
| dcparris Mar 20, 2007 10:26 PM EDT |
I recently heard that MS has a serious stronghold in Charlotte. I don't know if that will last or not, but we'll see. |
| Bob_Robertson Mar 21, 2007 4:52 AM EDT |
I always wondered how MS had broken the near unanimous use of Apple hardware in schools. That teacher's union is a nasty mofu. |
| jimf Mar 21, 2007 5:10 AM EDT |
> I don't know if that will last or not, but we'll see. I wouldn't hold my breath. Apple was the first one to, almost from their inception, jump on the educational bandwagon. When MS realized how successful the ploy was they immediately jumped in with both feet. Their are few schools in America that aren't pretty much MS controlled by now. The whole issue of selling our children is nothing new. My memory is a bit fuzzy on this but I remember reading (in the late 90's) that Corporate Amerika had decided that the kiddies were the last great 'consumer market', and, were taking steps to lock it in. Soon after we saw things like 'news' clips, complete with commercials, supplied by Corporations, 'as a public service', to schools. I remember talking to parents about the implications of this practice and getting blank looks and shrugs. Apparently no one gave a damn. Because of the deceptions and ulterior profit driven motives, I think that it's 'morally repugnant' to have Corporate Business even set foot inside the doors of our public schools, much less bribe their way in and brainwash our children. It would be nice if more parents, teachers, and school boards saw it that way... |
| Bob_Robertson Mar 21, 2007 5:22 AM EDT |
"Because of the deceptions and ulterior profit driven motives, I think that it's 'morally repugnant' to have Corporate Business even set foot inside the doors of our public schools, much less bribe their way in and brainwash our children." I would gladly assert the same about government. Government being even sooner to realize the importance of getting young minds away from the subversive influences of parents and into the subtle, careful environment where "government is the answer to everything". http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/ |
| jimf Mar 21, 2007 5:37 AM EDT |
> I would gladly assert the same about government. Perhaps, but that one's a whole other bag of worms and unlikely to ever be resolved. |
| theboomboomcars Mar 21, 2007 6:33 AM EDT |
I find this a very interesting subject, as I am studying to become a teacher. In one of my classes I had to interview a principle about using technology in his school. One of his biggest concerns was the cost of keeping up with software updates. Because each time the software gets updated, they have to buy new hardware to run it.
He would be interested in using opensource software in his school, but the district policy doesn't allow for anything but what they want. Fortunately the district is not a 100% MS district, and his school is 100% Mac. But he can't try linux because it's against district policy. But hopefully we can get some change going and save the district some good money with linux migrations. |
| jimf Mar 21, 2007 6:42 AM EDT |
> his school is 100% Mac Just another Corporate profiteer... Apple is a lot more subtle in it's approach, but close to as greedy. |
| Bob_Robertson Mar 21, 2007 7:00 AM EDT |
"Perhaps, but that one's a whole other bag of worms and unlikely to ever be resolved." Why? I can agree that the grasping control freaks, be they Microsoft or Apple or Congress, will always apply pressure to ensure their dominance, but does that mean the "problem" cannot be resolved? What would you consider a resolution in terms of software? The decision of the school itself? I certainly would consider that a perfectly good resolution. It doesn't mean that my choice would be applied to others, but that is not my goal. Same with government in school, exactly the same as people complain about Microsoft having some level of "coercion" concerning their OEMs. Eliminate the coercion. :^) But left to make their own decisions, Microsoft and Apple might decide to sponsor schools themselves. The "Bill and Melinda Gates Elementary School" where the kids do nothing but use Windows computers for their classwork, homework and study time. I certainly wouldn't send _my_ son there, but who am I to say that someone else may not? |
| dcparris Mar 21, 2007 7:51 AM EDT |
Here in Charlotte, a couple schools were built in the same complex as IBM and other major corps. One or two other major business parks lie in that vicinity. IBM was a big corporate sponsor of the schools until the system shifted too many 'underprivileged' kids over there. Sad. |
| jimf Mar 21, 2007 7:59 AM EDT |
> Same with government in school I think that Open Source should indeed be mandated in Government. Again, it isn't ethical to let a proprietary business control the workings of the people's Governing. The imediate problem is that who, if not the Government, has the ability to support schools on a more or less consistent and equal basis? While I might agree that we've let our government run out of control, that's a problem that the Citizen needs to resolve with his government, as are the issues with schools. In the near term, it may be expediant for people to deal with the school problem on a local level. |
| Bob_Robertson Mar 21, 2007 8:00 AM EDT |
"IBM was a big corporate sponsor of the schools until the system shifted too many 'underprivileged' kids over there. Sad." IBM, although I'm sure they were trying to be the Nice Guy by sponsoring a "public" school, aught to have made it a private school where their employees get first dibs. If there are slots open, of course, others may apply. I would also consider it fair that once a student is in the school, they cannot be kicked out for any but student-caused reasons, rather than their parent losing their employment at IBM. But then, I'm hardly a "realist". |
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