[TriLUG] Re: Linux @ Wake-Tech

[Phillip Rhodes]

Phillip Rhodes wrote:


> As a rule, from what I've seen, none of the instructors teaching
> Linux at Wake Tech are especially knowledgeable about *running* Linux. 


Interestingly enough, after posting this I ecountered
one of Wake Tech's Linux instructors (Herb Henderson)
in the hallway between classes, that same night.  I asked
him which class he was on his way too and he said
"Linux Security." He then pointed out how weird it was
that they had him pegged to teach that class, and acknowledged
that he has little experience with Linux..  after that encounter
I started to wonder if it was Herb who's teaching the class
the original poster referred to.. which led me to realize
I should clarify something about what *I* said.

By no means did I intend to imply that the Linux
instructors are Wake Tech are bad instructors, or
dumb, or unqualified in a *general* sense.  Taking
Herb as an example.. I've taken his Introduction
to High Performance Computing Architecture class,
(which is basically an Operating Systems theory class)
and can save without reservation that Herb is a very
smart guy... IIRC he has a Masters degree in
Computer Engineering as well, so he's hardly an
incompetent teacher.

And the instructor of my NET-155 class does not
lack intelligence or enthusiasm either, she just
doesn't have a lot of "real world" experience
specifically with Linux.

So it's not that Wake Tech has "bad instructors"... it's just
that some of them have been miscast, by the administration,
to teach courses where they do not necessarily have
a lot of background or expertise.  Herb H. is, as I understand
it, a real wizard with AIX.  But, knowing AIX means
essentially nothing when it comes to configuring something
like IPTables.

Anyway, I just wanted to clarify that. In general, I'm
pretty happy with the HPC program at Wake Tech so far...
and would still encourage others to look into it.  I'm
taking their Parallel Programming course this summer,
which is something I have high hopes for, in terms of
being a very interesting and rewarding class... If I
remember, I'll post my assesment of it after the semester
ends.

TTYL,

Phil

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