“Steve Jobs insulted California’s teachers. They want him to apologize,” Jack D. Miller writes for Mac360. “He won’t, and the whole brouhaha may cost Apple millions in Mac sales to school systems and harm students. What should he do? Hold that thought while I back up.”
Miller writes, “Unless you were out of the country, and haven’t checked the news recently, Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs, insulted, lambasted, poked, prodded, and bullied teacher unions. How? How about this? Jobs said, ‘I believe that what is wrong with our schools in this nation is that they have become unionized in the worst possible way.’ That’s for starters.”
“Hours afterwards, American Federation of Teachers President Edward J. McElroy called for Jobs head on a platter… [but] was Jobs wrong? Many teachers and nearly everyone else agreed with Jobs’ poke at the unions in schools,” Miller writes.
“How does blasting teachers and their union help the Apple cause? True, a little truth hurts,” Miller writes. “What Jobs spoke, by many measures was truth, and I’m married to a teacher. Carol agreed with Steve and echoed similar frustrations as she deals with incompetent teachers every day.”
Miller writes, “It isn’t that I don’t agree with Steve’s sentiments regarding teacher unions, but I have to ask, ‘is it necessary to voice such an opinion?’ Who wins? Teachers and educators are upset at Apple and that could cause them to revolt and purchase fewer Macs. In turn, fewer Macs in the classroom mean more students would be required to learn and use Windows PCs.”
Full article here.
Jack, you lost us. Didn’t you just get through telling us that your wife the teacher and “many teachers and nearly everyone else agreed with Jobs?”
Don’t confuse union bosses with teachers. Let’s be clear: Jobs didn’t insult California’s teachers (Jobs made his statements in Texas, by the way) or “teachers” as whole. Jobs insulted bad teachers and teacher unions. The teachers with whom we’ve corresponded agree with Jobs roughly 6-1. Of course the unions themselves are upset as they’re being called out publicly and loudly, but union leaders don’t often pick the kinds of computers schools use.
Jack asked above, “Who wins?” Jobs was trying to start the ball rolling so that the students would end up winning (for a change).
And, hey, you never know, people might just prefer to buy product from someone who’s unafraid to speak their mind (even if it could potentially hurt sales) vs. some meek little asskisser who sits quietly with his hands folded in his lap praying that people will mindlessly continue buying his cut-rate garbage. Right, Mr. Dell?
Related articles:
Teachers union demands apology from Apple CEO Steve Jobs – February 23, 2007
A clearer picture of Steve Jobs’ thoughts on public education and teacher unions – February 21, 2007
Steve Jobs & Rush Limbaugh agree: U.S. public schools are ‘unionized in the worst possible way’ – February 20, 2007
Apple CEO blasts teacher unions, says US schools are ‘unionized in the worst possible way’ – February 16, 2007