[ubuntu-uk] Help get Windows out of schools

[Sean Miller]

On Tue, Feb 10, 2009 at 12:18 AM, David King <linuxman at avoura.com> wrote:
> It is far better to teach the children the fundamentals of computing,
> and how to use any computer system regardless of which interface is
> used, so that in the future, when it is all different, they will still
> be able to use a computer.

I think that's the key.... they should be teaching the fundamentals of
computing, not any particular package or operating system.

And that's why I think this petition is flawed, because it won't
succeed whilst it's worded as it is.  This thread has the wrong
name... it's not a case of getting Windows out of schools, it's a case
of getting a mixture of computer architectures into schools and
ensuring that education isn't based on any particular platform.

"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Make the primary
operating system used in state schools free and open source"

Why??  Why is that not JUST as bad as Windows?

That's why I will not be signing this petition - because it's missing
the point.   It would be wrong to stop children experiencing Windows
because, like it or not, at the moment that is most likely to be the
OS that they will encounter when they start work.    But that should
not be the ONLY thing they experience.  And, as I've said above, they
should not be told "to write a document you open Word and click on..."
but rather "word processors are used to write documents, and come in
many forms" and then given principles not specifics.

My school, when I was doing my 'a' levels, used those funny Amstrad PC
things with their 3" disks etc. - that didn't stop me using word
processors or spreadsheets on other platforms.  Not sure what
operating system they ran but it definitely wasn't Windows or CP-M
(which the CPC word processor things ran, from memory).

Sean