LinuxSA Mailing list archives

  From: Alan Kennington <akenning@topology.org>
  To  : LinuxSA <linuxsa@linuxsa.org.au>
  Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2001 15:22:57 +0930

Re: PCs for kids (Geelong)

Education versus training.

I'd just like to make a general point on the issue
of whether kids should be given linux to learn on.
If you think my statment is obviously right or
obviously wrong, please ignore it.

I think that the distinction between "education"
and "training" is important here.
If your objective is to train someone who is in the
last year of education so that they can get into
a job straight off, then you would want them to learn
on an MS machine. That's training.
If your objective is to teach someone over several years
about computers and computing, and programming, and
word processing etc. etc., then linux is probably better.

I don't think that I was harmed [some might disagree!] by
learning computing on an HP-25, a CDC-6400 mainframe,
a microvax, Atari ST, etc. etc. etc.
If you're talking about long-term education, then it's
best to have a rich range of experience.

The arguments being put in this thread seem to me to 
be easier to reconcile if put in the perspective of
education versus training.
If you have 3 hours a week to teach a high school student
computers in one year, then I wouldn't like to be that
student trying to get a job with a linux-only background.
If they're going on to Uni, then I wouldn't want them to
spend much time on MS software.

To put it another way, if the student is likely to go on to
a technically/scientifically oriented future, then linux
is probably best. If they're going to have a rather
less technological employement (e.g. lawyer, bartender,
truck-driver), then why burden them with the need to
retrain when they get into a job?

Just trying to be helpful...

Cheers,
Alan Kennington.


PS. Of course, we all know that in México, the whole
school system is being converted to linux or something.
I forget the details. But that will lead to the conversion
of the whole country, and no one will be disadvantged.

-- 
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