[ale] teaching opportunity

[Geoffrey]

George Carless wrote:
> Linux, and upset by the Linux community. There might well be good
> reasons for running the course on a Windows platform - say, because
> the training centre wasn't currently geared up for running Linux, or
> because some element of what they have in place for training
> currently requires Linux software.

There are acceptable solutions for teaching something on a windows box, 
say perl programming for example.  When it is stated that the class is 
LAMP, which predefines the environment, and further part of the stated 
goal was installation, windows is not an acceptable solution.

> Either way, it can be useful to
> move people towards free software - PHP, MySQL, etc. - on a gradual
> basis, and it's not necessarily essential or even advisable to
> introduce people to these things on a platform that is alien to them.

I would agree, in individual cases, not when the course specifies 
installation for a LAMP environment.

>  And I would suggest that the individual was likely looking for an
> instructor to set at least part of the curriculum, so while the
> description of the course may have been ambitious and perhaps
> inaccurate, this was hardly a reason for an all-out offensive.

If this was the case, she should have stated so up front.  I tried to 
give her a couple opportunities to suggest such a possibility.

> In short, I think that some of you have simply succeeded in coming
> across as rather immature elitists who would prefer an argument to a
> constructive effort to actually move people over to using free
> software.  Ms. Bell repeatedly indicated that further discussion
> could take place off-list with any interested parties, and I honestly
>  cannot blame her if she didn't want to get embroiled in a flamewar
> on some frankly rather pedantic points.

I've seen my fill of 'training' companies that hook folks for big bucks 
and then don't give them anything.  My concern wasn't so much that it 
was not being taught on a Linux box as much as the fact that she did not 
seem to have very much knowledge abou the class to start with.  Further, 
there's no way in the world anyone could cover the material she outlined 
in two days.  This borders on the edge of a scam.  Anyone paying this 
company for this course would not get what they expected.

-- 
Until later, Geoffrey       Registered Linux User #108567
                             AT&T Certified UNIX System Programmer - 1995