<< trim >> > 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 _______________________________________________ Edu-sig mailing list Edu-sig@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
