[Edu-sig] thought re graphing calculators ...

[kirby urner]

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> Well, the curricula have been customized to fit what the calculator
> can do, with encouragement towards the more upscale models that do
> some graphing and CAS (fractor equations, solve integrals...).  A lot
> of what passes for "math" in this day and age is just a glorified
> calculator, your tax dollars at work to promulgate a niche market of
> private sector interests -- think defense contracting, same diff.
>

Meant to say glorified "calculator manual" -- a lot of textbooks
actually sell themselves into the private sector by inserting many
pages on how to operate this or that name brand model, a form of
prostitution given this isn't free software and the school district
could just as well supply no-name hand-me-down computers from other
government bureaucracies (what Winterhaven PPS did before getting a
$10K grant for all that Apple equipment).

Winterhaven: http://www.4dsolutions.net/ocn/winterhaven/  (golden age)

The Free Geek classes I let ran on Debian.  No one was getting rich
behind the scenes, hijacking young minds for nefarious purposes.  I
think students appreciate the integrity of that setup, consider most
high schools little more than feeders to Burger King and those places
(both for the off-campus meal, and for future employment).

Kirby