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rsw@jfet.org
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shackleds' revenge
Some of you might have read about this travesty of education. As a concerned resident of Austin, I did my part to help correct this injustice by writing the following letter to the AISD ombudsman:
From: "Riad S. Wahby"
To: ombudsman@austinisd.org
Subject: Austin teacher versus Free Software
Ms. Reeves,
I'm writing to you today on behalf of "Aaron," the student mentioned in
this article:
http://linuxlock.blogspot.com/2008/12/linux-stop-holding-our-kids-back.html
To summarize: "Karen," Aaron's teacher, found him discussing and
distributing copies of the Linux computer operating system, and
responded by confiscating said copies and making outlandish and
factually incorrect claims concerning computer software in general,
Linux in particular, and the legality of distributing same. I urge you
to familiarize yourself not only with the details of the article above,
but with the facts concerning the Linux operating system and Free
Software in general:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software
Before I continue, I'll inform you of my qualifications and experience
in this matter: I am not at all affiliated with Aaron, Ken Starks, or
HeliOS Solutions; I hold a Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering and
Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; I write
Free Software, both as hobby and at times in the past professionally; I
am an avid Linux user nearly to the exclusion of all Microsoft products,
personally and on behalf of my employer---I am a Senior Integrated
Circuit Designer at Silicon Laboratories here in Austin; and like Aaron
I have experienced oppressive ignorance at the hands of primary-school
"educators."
I shall not bore you by fully deconstructing Karen's claims concerning
computer software. However, please note the following:
- Dissemination of Linux and related software at no cost is
completely legal. There are many organizations whose purpose
is to package Linux in a user-friendly way and distribute it
for free:
http://www.debian.org
http://www.ubuntu.org
http://www.fedoraproject.org
et alia
- Most Linux-related software is distributed at no cost under a
software license called the GNU General Public License, which
requires distribution of human readable source code along with
the software. For students who are learning about computers
and programming, being able to examine and experiment upon the
code underlying a piece of software is of paramount
importance; thus, Linux and Free Software in general are
superlative learning aids.
- The claim that "no software is free" is so incorrect as to
verge on frightening. Linux and related software have become
pervasive to the point where they are used in everything from
cellular telephones and computer networking infrastructure to
video game systems and vending machines---precisely because
the software and source code are available at no cost.
- Karen's claim that she "tried Linux during college" is
dubious; more to the point, it's apparent that if she did so,
she certainly didn't learn anything from the experience! As a
seasoned Linux user, the notion that Linux conveys a
disadvantage is amusingly parochial (especially in light of
the wide variety of applications in which it is being used).
That Karen believes this is the case is evidence that she has
already been surpassed in computer knowledge by her student---
and doubtless this gap will only grow as Aaron continues to
use Linux.
In light of the above, I strongly urge you to intervene on Aaron's
behalf; moreover, if necessary I will happily testify in this matter.
That your teachers are misinformed about matters beyond their ken is
hardly surprising; that they would overstep so far as to discipline a
student, confiscate his property, and engage in calumny as a result is
inexcusable.
Thank you for your time,
-=rsw
Bets on whether I get a response?
[ permalink | 0 comments (add one you lazy bastard!) ]
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