But elementary school isn't teaching computers. They are teaching you how to write, make presentations, and maybe some basic usage skills.
You don't teach kids how to make paper before they learn to write.
In elementary school we got taught math and science. How computers work is highly applicable to both fields - and it would add relevance and interest to the students, as computers are a contemporary topic, something that is encountered daily. And why can't they "make presentations" about computers? I did at that age (about programming an Apple II), and my fellow students and the teachers enjoyed it.
So, explain it to me. If the union suddenly vanished, and the bad teachers were fired - where would the good teachers come from? There aren't enough teachers to meet demand, whether the teachers are good or bad. And there would be less incentives for good teachers to sign up, as without the union, their pay would probably be cut, and working conditions worsen.
I think that unions are simply a straw-man to distract from the real issues here. It's easy to get people riled up about unions and use them as scapegoats for everything bad. We see the same thing going on with the debate about the US auto industry and the bailout.
Generally speaking, I would say that most American workers are bad at their jobs. Good workers are in the minority in almost every field. the problem in teaching is that it's not a desirable or highly respected profession. It's a very difficult job, and very thankless. Teachers are besieged on all sides. Not many parents encourage their child to pursue teaching over medicine, or sports or business.
That's the key. Parents need to SMACK these teachers hard. You as a parent go in, scream to high hell at everyone involved. You demand that it be fixed and the teacher APOLOGIZE to the kid.
That's retarded. Teachers deal with spoiled, screaming kids every day. Acting like one won't help convince them or gain you any respect. How about acting like a mature adult and negotiating an actual solution?
Linux costs less, and will save cash strapped schools a lot of money, not only in what they save by using free software but also what they save by being able to reuse old hardware, and buy cheaper lower specced hardware.
Teachers should be all for it, because less money spent on computers and associated tools means more money to spend on other things, like teachers salaries.
Yes, but instead of simply saying that, Starks goes over-the-top ranting about MS being in bed with the Union, and her being brainwashed by them. That's not an effective way to persuade people of the very good points you made above.
I've never quite understood what is so bad about calling the internet "a series of tubes".
Have you ever listened to the full speech that the quote is from? That's the least of the crazy in his rant - it's just the most concise sound-bite. Stevens clearly had no idea what he was talking about, and the speech was a giant dump-truck load of WTF.
You do realize you just compared preference of operating systems to religions and races, right?
I didn't see the GP mention race - just religion and political beliefs. In those cases, no, I don't see a philosophically significant difference between choice of OS and religious or political beliefs. They are all choices.
Primary and secondary schools don't teach people about computers they teach them to use computers.
But that's the problem. It's exactly backwards. If you teach somebody about computers, they can pretty much teach themselves how to use them in practical application. Primary schools should be starting with fundamental concepts, not middle-management or office-drone routines and habits.
It doesn't work backwards, either. Teaching somebody how to use Word doesn't teach them much about the fundamentals of computing.
This attitude is common with the older generation who aren't used to the net.
I imagine it would also be a pretty common belief among young people who have used the web a lot. After all, what's their experience with "free" it's almost definitely not Linux - but rather Bittorrent, pirated software, ad supported websites, spam, and those "scareware" scams currently being discussed in another thread. The difference with the younger generation is that either:
They don't care about copyright infringement (as most of us didn't at their age) and freely partake in pirated Windows rather than Linux
They do buy their software/tunes/movies legitimately, but are afraid of things that are "free" because of the associations above with spam, malware, scammers and "socialized healthcare"
All in all, it's a pretty intractable problem. It's unfortunate that the "free" aspect of Linux puts it in the company of some mostly shady characters.
Now said shopkeeper can spend 10 minutes wandering thru his store with a video camera running, take a gazillion frames of lots of angles of view, and let Photosynth stitch it all together into a fully-formed, fully-illustrated 3D model. Behold: a detailed, realistic 3D walk-thru rendering of the entire store in about an hour, mostly generated automatically.
But why would a shopkeeper want to do that? He'd want his virtual store to be better than his real-world one. His real-world store is limited because of physical constraints. A virtual store is not. So, it comes back to design and plenty of time hand-crafting, designing and coding things. Because if he doesn't make his virtual store super-fabulous and spiffy, his competitors will - and he'll be stuck with a facsimile of his dowdy physical store.
I could show people competing alternatives for recommendations on how to restructure their physical operations, like "in scenario one we have your checkout lanes over here, just past the cheeses... contrast that with scenario two, where we have them flanked by bakery counters...".
Uhhh, they already do that in fields like architecture, interior design, industrial design, and yes - shopfitting. But that's "visualization" - it's completely different to what the article is talking about - which is simulated and fabricated virtual worlds. In other words, not using a simulation to design a physical store - but making a simulation that is the store, and replaces the physical one (as well as the conventional online one).
For instance, making a virtual store sounds good and might seem familiar to your hypothetical 65 year-old. However, this person did not grow up using a keyboard and mouse to walk through stores. So, the metaphor breaks down very quickly when you have to start implementing controls for navigation through this world.
Also, the 65-year old grew up with things like typewriters and card catalogs. Both abstractions that are very similar to modern computers and e-commerce sites. They did not grow up with interactive computer games or virtual environments (well, unless they were super-nerdy). Therefore, the standard online shopping site like Amazon is going to be a lot more familiar that some VR simulation.
But how do you know? Mac OS installers are not serialised. They could just be selling the one copy over and over again, and just telling you that you are buying your own copy.
I don't get what the big deal is. One would expect a surgeon to be able to follow instructions from another surgeon. Are people amazed that a medical professional is literate, or something?
Try the enormous gulf just between 1995 and today.
the web
cell phones
death of in-country long distance fees
death of CDs
ipods and music downloads
death of VHS
Netflix
VoD
last and certainly not least: Google
Yes, but not much really changes. Your list is of pretty trivial things. We've still got the same birth, death, love, and war as we've had for millenia.
I think you're looking at things on too small a scale.
Well, for the "ad supported social network" I'm guessing it's the same kind of people who sell Tupperware or Amway products. Or those people who get paid to advertise nightclubs to their friends.
Slashdot Mirror
Except we want cops to catch people with illegal drugs etc..
Why? What difference does it make if someone uses "legal" or "illegal" drugs?
But elementary school isn't teaching computers. They are teaching you how to write, make presentations, and maybe some basic usage skills. You don't teach kids how to make paper before they learn to write.
In elementary school we got taught math and science. How computers work is highly applicable to both fields - and it would add relevance and interest to the students, as computers are a contemporary topic, something that is encountered daily. And why can't they "make presentations" about computers? I did at that age (about programming an Apple II), and my fellow students and the teachers enjoyed it.
So, explain it to me. If the union suddenly vanished, and the bad teachers were fired - where would the good teachers come from? There aren't enough teachers to meet demand, whether the teachers are good or bad. And there would be less incentives for good teachers to sign up, as without the union, their pay would probably be cut, and working conditions worsen.
I think that unions are simply a straw-man to distract from the real issues here. It's easy to get people riled up about unions and use them as scapegoats for everything bad. We see the same thing going on with the debate about the US auto industry and the bailout.
Generally speaking, I would say that most American workers are bad at their jobs. Good workers are in the minority in almost every field. the problem in teaching is that it's not a desirable or highly respected profession. It's a very difficult job, and very thankless. Teachers are besieged on all sides. Not many parents encourage their child to pursue teaching over medicine, or sports or business.
So, bad teachers wouldn't exist if it weren't for the union?
By copying the packaging? It's almost as easy as copying discs.
10's of thousands of dollars
Why didn't you simply write "tens of thousands"? It has the same number of characters as "10's" and has the advantage of being proper use of English.
Lars and the Real Girl. A great film about a guy's relationship with his "Real Doll" partner.
That's the key. Parents need to SMACK these teachers hard. You as a parent go in, scream to high hell at everyone involved. You demand that it be fixed and the teacher APOLOGIZE to the kid.
That's retarded. Teachers deal with spoiled, screaming kids every day. Acting like one won't help convince them or gain you any respect. How about acting like a mature adult and negotiating an actual solution?
Linux costs less, and will save cash strapped schools a lot of money, not only in what they save by using free software but also what they save by being able to reuse old hardware, and buy cheaper lower specced hardware. Teachers should be all for it, because less money spent on computers and associated tools means more money to spend on other things, like teachers salaries.
Yes, but instead of simply saying that, Starks goes over-the-top ranting about MS being in bed with the Union, and her being brainwashed by them. That's not an effective way to persuade people of the very good points you made above.
Because bad teaching is all because of the Teacher's Union? Yeah, right.
I've never quite understood what is so bad about calling the internet "a series of tubes".
Have you ever listened to the full speech that the quote is from? That's the least of the crazy in his rant - it's just the most concise sound-bite. Stevens clearly had no idea what he was talking about, and the speech was a giant dump-truck load of WTF.
You do realize you just compared preference of operating systems to religions and races, right?
I didn't see the GP mention race - just religion and political beliefs. In those cases, no, I don't see a philosophically significant difference between choice of OS and religious or political beliefs. They are all choices.
Won't somebody please think of the (religiously brainwashed) children?!?!
Primary and secondary schools don't teach people about computers they teach them to use computers.
But that's the problem. It's exactly backwards. If you teach somebody about computers, they can pretty much teach themselves how to use them in practical application. Primary schools should be starting with fundamental concepts, not middle-management or office-drone routines and habits.
It doesn't work backwards, either. Teaching somebody how to use Word doesn't teach them much about the fundamentals of computing.
This attitude is common with the older generation who aren't used to the net.
I imagine it would also be a pretty common belief among young people who have used the web a lot. After all, what's their experience with "free" it's almost definitely not Linux - but rather Bittorrent, pirated software, ad supported websites, spam, and those "scareware" scams currently being discussed in another thread. The difference with the younger generation is that either:
All in all, it's a pretty intractable problem. It's unfortunate that the "free" aspect of Linux puts it in the company of some mostly shady characters.
Now said shopkeeper can spend 10 minutes wandering thru his store with a video camera running, take a gazillion frames of lots of angles of view, and let Photosynth stitch it all together into a fully-formed, fully-illustrated 3D model. Behold: a detailed, realistic 3D walk-thru rendering of the entire store in about an hour, mostly generated automatically.
But why would a shopkeeper want to do that? He'd want his virtual store to be better than his real-world one. His real-world store is limited because of physical constraints. A virtual store is not. So, it comes back to design and plenty of time hand-crafting, designing and coding things. Because if he doesn't make his virtual store super-fabulous and spiffy, his competitors will - and he'll be stuck with a facsimile of his dowdy physical store.
I could show people competing alternatives for recommendations on how to restructure their physical operations, like "in scenario one we have your checkout lanes over here, just past the cheeses... contrast that with scenario two, where we have them flanked by bakery counters...".
Uhhh, they already do that in fields like architecture, interior design, industrial design, and yes - shopfitting. But that's "visualization" - it's completely different to what the article is talking about - which is simulated and fabricated virtual worlds. In other words, not using a simulation to design a physical store - but making a simulation that is the store, and replaces the physical one (as well as the conventional online one).
For instance, making a virtual store sounds good and might seem familiar to your hypothetical 65 year-old. However, this person did not grow up using a keyboard and mouse to walk through stores. So, the metaphor breaks down very quickly when you have to start implementing controls for navigation through this world.
Also, the 65-year old grew up with things like typewriters and card catalogs. Both abstractions that are very similar to modern computers and e-commerce sites. They did not grow up with interactive computer games or virtual environments (well, unless they were super-nerdy). Therefore, the standard online shopping site like Amazon is going to be a lot more familiar that some VR simulation.
On ice.
Bobo.
But how do you know? Mac OS installers are not serialised. They could just be selling the one copy over and over again, and just telling you that you are buying your own copy.
I don't get what the big deal is. One would expect a surgeon to be able to follow instructions from another surgeon. Are people amazed that a medical professional is literate, or something?
Try the enormous gulf just between 1995 and today. the web cell phones death of in-country long distance fees death of CDs ipods and music downloads death of VHS Netflix VoD last and certainly not least: Google
Yes, but not much really changes. Your list is of pretty trivial things. We've still got the same birth, death, love, and war as we've had for millenia.
I think you're looking at things on too small a scale.
Well, for the "ad supported social network" I'm guessing it's the same kind of people who sell Tupperware or Amway products. Or those people who get paid to advertise nightclubs to their friends.
On the other hand, I have yet to hear a business model you can dance to.
Then you haven't really looked hard enough, Have you?