debate about Free software for the ACT Government

Jeremy jepri at webone.com.au
Thu Apr 25 11:02:13 EST 2002


On 2002.04.25 05:32 Ben Elliston wrote:

> 
> You have just pushed my button on this topic. ;-)

If you get a button push, so do I. :)

> I don't understand why these schools think that it is so crucial to
> survival that 7 year olds learn Microsoft Word.  When I did woodwork

Schools sell their curriculum to the parents, not to the children.  If 
they actually cared what children wanted there would be courses in 
gameplaying :)  Parents demand things like Microsoft Word because 1) 
They use it at work and 2) they don't understand MS Word.  Having seen 
people badly misuse Word, that training might not be entirely misplaced.




> My point is that it is sad that schools (and I can't blame them
> entirely for their lack of clue) believe that it is essential to teach
> a 7 year old to use a tool that professionals use to churn out
> hundreds of pages of documentation per week.  KWord would do just fine
> for typing up text, bolding, underlining and printing something off at
> the end.

Children learn fast.  I think they should be trained in tools that 
professionals use, like Latex.

> 
> If I had a son or daughter, I would be heavily lobbying the school

Why wait?  It's not like there's a law that says only parents are 
allowed to comment on childrens education.






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