[TriLUG] Re: Linux @ Wake-Tech

[Tanner Lovelace]

Phillip Rhodes said the following on 3/26/04 2:34 PM:

> 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.

Unfortunately, the way the state budget is, this isn't too
surprising.  And, the way it's going, they'll probably end
up having more of the same because community colleges never
seem to get any respect from the budget people.  You'd think
they'd realize that when tough economic times happen, more
people go back to school, and that by investing in the schools
they just might turn out people who could help the economic
climate somehow (at least that's the way it seems to me, but
I'm not an economist and I don't play one on TV).

Oh, and Phil, one nitpick.  Just because someone has a Masters
in a subject doesn't make them a good teacher.  They can know
the material up and down and still not be a good teacher.  I'm
not suggesting this guy is a bad teacher, but I think it's independent
of what degree he has.

Cheers,
Tanner
-- 
Tanner Lovelace       | Don't move! Or I'll fill ya full of... little
lovelace at wayfarer.org | yellow bolts of light! - Commander John Crichton