My wife and I have been talking about having a child. One thing we disagree about is that once the child is school age, will they go to public school or will we home school? I'm all about homeschooling, I'm not happy with the public school system and I think I can do better.
What is the MPAA doing? #
Yesterday I read an article that once again reinforced my desire to home school. Wired published Downloading Is Mean! Content Industry Drafts Anti-Piracy Curriculum for Elementary Schools and I couldn't believe what I was reading.
I understand why the MPAA is doing this. The current generation that grew up in the post-Napster era doesn't think there is anything wrong with sharing movies and music and the RIAA and MPAA think they would make more money if people didn't share.
If you haven't guessed already, I disagree with this. I also disagree with corporate America creating curriculum for elementary schools in a blatent attempt to influence them at an age where it's easier to do so.
It doesn't say anything about this in the article, but I'm guessing the schools are receiving some sort of compensation to teach this curriculum. Either directly as in the MPAA pays schools money to teach this, or indirectly as in using a pre-made curriculum is cheaper then creating your own. I'm not sure why else a school would voluntarily teach this nonsense.
Instead they should show Copying Is Not Theft and Credit it Due.
What's next? #
What if this succeeds, what's next? Where do we draw the line? What happens if the NSA decides to create curriculum to teach children that being observed all the time and having no privacy is a good thing because it keeps you safe and that people who share the governments secrets are bad?
Instead I'll opt for teaching my child myself and they will learn that anything in life, including file sharing and privacy, are only as good or bad as the sum of their consequences.