aysiu's respons right ?

Story: Linux - Stop holding our kids backTotal Replies: 29
Author Content
henke54

Dec 10, 2008
7:29 PM EDT
aysiu , a 'ubuntu forummer' whom i respect ,has a respons about helios and tux500 ? what is that all about ? :
Quoting:I can tell you right now, having taught in both public and private schools, that teachers do not have the time or energy to write long emails to random people arguing against free software. Even teachers who are Microsoft shills will propagandize only during class time or lunch breaks with colleagues or students. It looks ultra-fake, all the way down to the misspelling of the word conference, just so people can take more jabs at this supposed teacher.

Talk about straw man (or straw teacher, in this case).

At first, I was a big fan of Helios, but after the Tux500 fiasco, I don't really trust much at all of anything he writes.
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1007071&page=7
tuxchick

Dec 10, 2008
7:38 PM EDT
Ya know, all these anti-Ken Starks trolls really need to do one of two things: Put up or shut up. Any random troll can make unsubstantiated allegations. Let's see some proof. I know that would take valuable time away from taking potshots at the people who are trying to accomplish things, but hey, life is rough.
herzeleid

Dec 10, 2008
7:45 PM EDT
Helios may not be perfect, we all have bad days, but I have no doubts about his motives or integrity when it comes to promoting linux or helping kids thereby.
Scott_Ruecker

Dec 10, 2008
8:40 PM EDT
I refuse to believe that Ken would put any, ANY child in anything that could even be construed as "harm's way" just to promote FOSS.

That's absolutely insane. I'm about to have my own TOS violation here in a second..
dinotrac

Dec 10, 2008
8:49 PM EDT
I rather like the poster's reasoning:

A teacher who feels strongly about a subject still will not bother to lift a finger outside of regular school hours.

I'm sorry, but asked to believe that there is a head case teacher out there or to believe that Ken is making this up, I'll go with the head case teacher every time.

The poster may simply be an example of one head case unable to recognize another.
tracyanne

Dec 10, 2008
8:54 PM EDT
Quoting:At first, I was a big fan of Helios, but after the Tux500 fiasco


Fiasco? He actually managed, against all odds, which included being slandered by a certain blogger who's name I won't post, so as not to give him additional exposure, to get a Tux sponsored race car on the track. That feat, alone, was pretty d@mn amazing.
dinotrac

Dec 10, 2008
9:12 PM EDT
tracyanne -

Ditto.

I start to form my own tin foil hat here. If I didn't know better, and if we weren't talking free software types, I might start to think there is an organized campaign to defame Ken.

Allowing for free software types still leaves room for a disorganized campaign.
tuxchick

Dec 10, 2008
9:17 PM EDT
Indeed, the Tux500 was darn near heroic, given the short time frame and obstacles. And he got the penguin on the race car. Fiasco? Not even close.
jdixon

Dec 10, 2008
10:01 PM EDT
> Fiasco? Not even close.

Agreed. I'm fairly happy with the results of my modest contribution to the cause. The fact that others aren't, or (more commonly) are upset even though they didn't bother to contribute, is their problem.
jdixon

Dec 10, 2008
10:03 PM EDT
> A teacher who feels strongly about a subject still will not bother to lift a finger outside of regular school hours.

Having known many teachers over the years, and having had two in my non-immediate family, that's complete and total bull.
dinotrac

Dec 11, 2008
10:20 AM EDT
jdixon -

If you'll note, that is a logical summation of aysiu's reasoning.

I agree that it's total bull, even while I readily accept the presence of head case teachers -- having encountered them.

I absolutely believe that many teachers possess the dedication to go above and beyond for their kids.

If you think about it, the teacher in Ken's piece was more likely misinformed than a head case. Lots of people share that misperception. She was actually showing an admirable, if misguided, dedication.
jdixon

Dec 11, 2008
10:55 AM EDT
> If you'll note, that is a logical summation of aysiu's reasoning.

It appears to be yes. I also understand that the fact that you're summarizing someone else's point doesn't necessarily mean you agree with it. I'm sorry if it came across otherwise.

And I have no reason t doubt Ken's story, having met enough incompetent teachers myself. But aysiu would brand them all with the same iron, which I know from personal experience isn't the case.

In spite of the temptation, I've tried not to make any judgments about this particular teacher, as we can't know all the details of the situation, and we have no idea how things will turn out once the facts are explained to her.
Bob_Robertson

Dec 11, 2008
3:20 PM EDT
Yes, there are good teachers in "the system".

There were good Germans in "the Reich" too.
jdixon

Dec 11, 2008
9:30 PM EDT
> There were good Germans in "the Reich" too.

The fact that I know of and appreciate some good teachers doesn't blind me to the faults of the system, Bob. You're preaching to the choir. My wife and I haven't had any children, but one of the ground rules we both agreed to before we got married was "no public schools".
tuxchick

Dec 11, 2008
11:55 PM EDT
Quoting: we have no idea how things will turn out once the facts are explained to her.


It would have been nice to give her that chance before siccing the entire Internet on her.
jdixon

Dec 12, 2008
1:04 AM EDT
> It would have been nice to give her that chance before siccing the entire Internet on her.

a) Ken's blog is not normally that widely read, and the matter is of interest, especially to the families to which he gives computers. If receiving such a computer may cause problems with school teachers for the children, the families deserve to know about it.

b) The letter was rude, insulting, and threatened legal action. An over-reaction is understandable. In fact, given the threat of legal action, I'm not even convinced it was an over-reaction. I'm willing to Ken the benefit of a doubt in this matter too.
Bob_Robertson

Dec 12, 2008
10:12 AM EDT
> one of the ground rules we both agreed to before we got married was "no public schools".

Private schools aren't any better, unless you're ready to pay for the kinds of schools featured in _Scent of a Woman_ and _The Emperor's Club_.

Don't let anyone tell you homeschooling doesn't work. It does take effort and self-discipline to do something _every_day_, but the rewards are fantastic. My daughter is 5, reading real books for pleasure and is doing simple multiplication and division (albeit slowly, practice practice).

I've shown her how algebra and long division work, so she understands that even big problems can be done with lots of little, easy steps. This has given her quite a bit of confidence "facing the future" as it were.

Her favorite game right now is _Battle for Wesnoth_. She has done much more research within the game than I, she knew how to find what the upper level characters looked like, and their strengths and weaknesses. Echoes of me and D&D such a long, long time ago.
dinotrac

Dec 12, 2008
12:04 PM EDT
Bob -

Home schooling can be a fantastic option for many. Our first two daughters were home-schooled for at least part of their education.

Good for kids, good for parents.
techiem2

Dec 12, 2008
12:10 PM EDT
I was fortunate to attend all small private schools attached to the churches we were at, with dad in some position in the church or school. I even had my mom as a teacher in junior high (she taught junior high Math and English for a while - *shudder*). I was fortunate enough to have great teachers. My high school science and math teacher was working on his doctorate while I was there.
tracyanne

Dec 12, 2008
3:44 PM EDT
I was basically self home schooled. I found high school so unbelievably boring, that I just read up on stuff for myself. I never did the home work they set us, and only marginally involved myself in class, gaining myself a reputation as a trouble maker, but I passed all my end of year exams every year.
jezuch

Dec 12, 2008
4:54 PM EDT
Bob, you know what's the usual opposition to home-schooling, right? This will make your kids socially impaired! No contact with peers! No socialising with bullies and envious jerks! [OK, I made the last one up. Sorry.]

Actually, one of my [female] friends is quite certain that I'm a shy, introverted geek because I didn't go to kindergarten.

Yeah, right.
ColonelPanik

Dec 12, 2008
6:10 PM EDT
Home school is great. We did it with all three kids. Now we have a lawyer, a nurse and a game playing slacker! One out of three is good, eh?
techiem2

Dec 12, 2008
6:27 PM EDT
Quoting: One out of three is good, eh?


The game playing slacker?

:P
ColonelPanik

Dec 12, 2008
11:25 PM EDT
Oh yeah! Gotta game. w00t

Friends, please be aware that the first ColonelPanik post in this thread was sarcasm. At least I think it was.

jdixon

Dec 13, 2008
1:05 AM EDT
> Private schools aren't any better,

We planned on home schooling.

> Now we have a lawyer, a nurse and a game playing slacker!

If you capitalize slacker, then it has some good points. :)
ColonelPanik

Dec 13, 2008
9:12 PM EDT
Thats what we want to do, capitalize on the slacker. So far, not to good.
Bob_Robertson

Dec 14, 2008
9:28 PM EDT
There's always hope the slacker will get an interest in game programming....
jdixon

Dec 15, 2008
12:46 AM EDT
Colonel:

Slacker = Slackware user. :)
ColonelPanik

Dec 15, 2008
2:43 PM EDT
Slackware user? In the Panik family? Maybe... after TC gets a Mac and TA starts running Ubuntu?
tracyanne

Dec 15, 2008
4:14 PM EDT
O dear, should I tell him..........just kidding.

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