Holy Ignorant Educators, Linuxman!

We live in a very interesting time of change. The Presidential election is really only one symbol of that change, but it's apparent that society is ready to shift the mold. One of the most significant trends showcasing our need for real change is the Linux movement. Linux, in its various forms, has essentially been developed in response to the Microsoft's Windows, providing a free and open source alternative to Microsoft's ubiquitous Operating System. More and more people are signing on to Linux and more and more OEMs are putting systems up for sale with pre-installs of Linux distros, and people are loving the often $200 savings.

Projects like HeliOS have been started to try and get more computers into the hands of underprivileged children, and in order to do that at an affordable cost (and a few other reasons), they have chosen to use Linux on the machines they distribute. The children are then encouraged to distribute the Linux Distro CDs to others that may be interested in the cool "new" OS the kid is playing with on his computer. So it comes as a surprise that when one such child was showing off his new, free, Linux-enhanced laptop in school and handing other kids the distro CD, the student's teacher snatched the CDs claiming that the student had to be doing something illegal because no software could possibly be free. The same teacher then tracked down Ken Starks, the head honcho of HeliOS, and sent him the following letter:

"...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..."

Read that again. Please. Then once more. This is an educator, a person that is dedicated her life to opening the minds of young people to the potential of the world, and this is the kind of ignorance she displays?

Now, it seems to me that she really is just ignorant of the idea and is probably innocent of any form of conspiracy, but this kind of reaction is surprising to say the least. We've talked about tons of free software here at Homotron. Although I don't believe any of us are active Linux users, none of us are opposes by any stretch. In fact, we encourage Linux use as a means of freeing yourself from the absurd costs of Windows and the sky-high premiums of Macs, unless, like us, you prefer those OS's. But to stifle a child's use of an alternative OS because you think that hinders their ability to perform in the workplace later in life? Well, that's just a sad misconception.

Teaching a child to use ANY OS is the key. They aren't all that different in basic functionality, when you start to talk about the productivity software most businesses use, it's the difference between what hot keys to use to open a new spreadsheet, not some vastly different concept of whether or not a Linux OS can even do calculations. Besides, it's highly likely that by the time that child reaches the workforce, the idea of productivity software being locked to an OS will most likely be obsolete, as more things move to the cloud and work across multiple platforms. Furthermore, to accuse the child or Starks of illegal activity without even looking into the matter is beyond reprehensible for a person that is charged with teaching rational thinking and problem solving to our children.

The reality is the Linux distros are more likely to be deployed by corporations in the future. They are more flexible and can be tailored to the specific needs of the organization at the whim of the company. Employing a few talented Linux developers will soon be much more cost efficient that paying for licenses from Microsoft or Apple simply for the priveledge of using their locked-down OS's.

You should read Ken Stark's post on his blog about this. It's amazing, if a bit bitchy. What do you think about this? We in the tech community are pretty well versed in these things, but is this a sign that we have much more work to do with the general population to educate them on free and open-source software, or is this an isolated incident of ignorance?

Linux - Stop Holding Our Kids back [HeliOS Blog]