[Edu-sig] Low Enrollments.

[Kirby Urner]

> Where do I sign up?  I'd seriously like to hear more about this.  My
> wife is doing her Ph.D. in Education right now, and keeps asking
> herself (and me), "why am I doing this?"  We're looking for more
> signs of progressive change.
> 

My hope is a lot of people will be looking where to sign up for this
lifestyle, which would suit many just fine.  

However, it'll be up to each company doing a fleet to screen applicants
using inhouse criteria.  

The government may also choose to field fleets (you know how the Pentagon
tends to be gung ho on recruiting).  [KU: Some schools in Portland have been
barring recruiters from campus because of their homophobia, but that's
another story].

There won't be one centralized sign up sheet, trust me on this.

My role of late is in brainstorming the suite of artifacts that go into a
bizmo (business mobile) and that includes curriculum software.  For some
overview on the whole idea, check this blog entry:

http://mybizmo.blogspot.com/2005/09/rethinking-cyberbookmobile-concept.html

> I also want to start teaching Python in the community, but am having
> trouble starting (both figuring out a good starting point, and
> freeing time from other commitments). I'd like to hear more about
> your progress, maybe I can get inspired to join you.
> 
> --Dethe
> 

I just met with my counterpart in Portland Public Schools.  My gig will be
on a volunteer basis, but for me that's OK.  I'm field testing, getting
feedback.  It'll look good on my resume, that I've had all this real world
experience.  He wants a GIS slant, which is good, cuz I've trained ESRI
people in Python and know something about that knowledge domain.

> Choosing software is not a neutral act. It must be done consciously;
> the debate over free and proprietary software can't be limited to the
> differences in the applications' features and ergonomics. To choose
> an operating system, or software, or network architecture is to
> choose a kind of society. --Lemaire and Decroocq (trans. by Tim Bray)
> 

I'm OK with this philosophy.  On the other hand, schools of thought are not
fixed in stone.  Microsoft could someday turn around and start doing a Linux
distro, complete with all kinds of proprietary goodies on top of Linux.  A
lot of other stuff'd be totally open (BSD type).  Same deal with IBM:  it
loves Linux and contributes openly to the kernel, *and* it loves running
proprietary stuff on top of Linux, and earns profits doing so.

So, given this imaginary scenario, I expect you'd have the following two
camps (among others):  "OK, Microsoft is good now, I'll use its stuff and
promote it among friends" vs. "Microsoft hasn't paid a high enough price for
its previously bad behavior, this distro is totally lame, like Windows was."

Since I'm already using Microsoft stuff today (not even under protest), I'm
more likely heading towards that first camp, unless I discover something
really heinous I don't already know about in the lore and history.

I drive a Subaru these days, but in Europe we had Fords (Cortina, Taunus).
In the Philippines we had a Chevy Nova.  Bhutan was a Gypsy (Suzuki-based),
Lesotho a Kia (these are all parent-owned vehicles).  I've owned Honda and
Toyota as well, no complaints.  

I do have some moral qualms about Subarus sharing a dealership with Hummers
@ Dick Hannah (but not enough to keep me from going there).  I don't think
of hummers as ethical vehicles, given who used them in wartime (no, I'm not
talking about the soldiers ordered to drive them -- many of whom were/are
blameless, ethical, kind).

Kirby