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Re: Microsoft Sucks up to Massachusetts with Free MS Office

Skeets wrote:
> Roy Schestowitz wrote:
> > One wonders how the ODF debate fits into all of this...
> >
> > Microsoft offers schools in Mass. free software
> >
> > ,----[ Quote ]
> > | Corporate donations to school systems are not unusual, as companies often
> > | try to gain name recognition by placing their brands with younger
> > | consumers. State and school officials, though cognizant of companies'
> > | attempts to use students for branding, said the donation is a boon
> > | for financially strapped schools trying to update their technology.
> > |
> > | Microsoft's software includes normal applications, such as word
> > | processing and spreadsheets, as well as more advanced programs.
> > `----

...

> no wonder education in the US sucks...  the educators can't think
> straight.

Being a product of the American school system (recently graduated high
school), I can say that a one-sided view of the system, or any issue,
for that matter, is incomplete.

I can agree that our schools are more lax than those in other
countries, but there is a significant advantage hidden in that: the
students who are strongly motivated have a lot of free time to develop
their own skills and their own career path. Even after choosing a
number of Honors and AP courses, I found my work relatively easy, with
the exception of physics; I'm just horrible with the physical sciences.

However, I taught myself how to program Perl in all that spare time,
and I am now the lead developer for the next generation of the VASM
system administration package in Vector Linux. Before entering college
this year, I will develop my pitiful knowledge of mathematics
independently, in addition to studying Hindi.

Say whatever else you want, but the US education system does wonders
for an autodidact. There are certainly crappy teachers, but what
*really* needs to change is the attitude of the *students*. Teachers
are only a medium; education comes from /within/.

(Disclaimer: I don't have strongly defined political opinions anymore;
I actually try not to, so no bias there. I want to make service and
knowledge the primary goals of my life as an author of free software,
and that service can't respect any nationality in particular. But if
you must know, I will probably become an expat.)


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