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[school-discuss] Answering Rasjid



Rasjid,

This was the situation.  I put Linux on a teacher friend's school
computer last year.  Our campus technology specialist knew about it and
said . . . "ok, but remember, you have to support it for her."  

I got into trouble a year later when some tech dude passing through
discovered it, and when the tech director found out about it, the campus
tech specialist wasn't around to stick up for me.  Other people have
told me, "don't worry about . . . the tech director is feeling powerful
these days and chewing out everybody."

This is sort of Jerry Springer stuff, but in reality, much of the
resisitance to Linux/Open Source in education comes from power stuggles,
professional jealousy and other ridiculous motivators.  Common sense,
cost, efficiency . . . what is good for the students . . . these things
are not factors.


Marilyn

>>> rasjidw@openminddev.net 12/05/03 8:31 AM >>>
On Wednesday 03 December 2003 01:50, Marilyn Hagle wrote:
> In my own school district (large = about 35 campuses) I have a "gag
> order" on me.  I am really not supposed to try to convert anyone to
> Linux - and absolutely not to install it anywhere outside my own lab. 
I
> put it on a friend's computer (Windows was hosed) and received a
severe
> verbal lashing by the district's Tech Director.  Having an outlet to
> share - like speaking at this convention - is really great.

This has been bugging me for days, so I'm going to ask:

How does something (anything) you do to a friend's computer have
anything to 
do with the district Tech Director, or the school system in general for
that 
matter?  I assume that your friend's computer was owned by them, and not
by 
the school system??  Therefore it should have nothing to do with anyone
else 
except you and them.  You were presumably acting as a private citizen,
and 
not in any kind of 'official' capacity.  I just don't get this at all. 
Am I 
missing something here?

Cheers,

Rasjid.

-- 
Rasjid Wilcox
Canberra, Australia (UTC +10 hrs)
http://www.openminddev.net