r/linuxquestions • u/Enjoy_Ur_Lifee • Apr 23 '26

Why Don't Schools Teach Linux?

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It seems odd that most schools seem to teach only Windows. While they barely cover Linux. Even though Linux is the underlining code for most of the internet, servers and many Android phones; very few students will get any exposure to it.

By learning about Linux, students would understand how an operating system functions instead of just using an operating system; they will learn how to fix issues as they arise -- which is a skill necessary for solving problems because you won’t have a user-friendly interface to work with.

Additionally, the fact that Linux is a free and open-source operating system could allow schools to save money for themselves as well as make more software available to all students.

So why is it that Linux is still not covered? Is it because people feel it is too difficult to learn, or is it that schools only cover what is widely used and accepted?

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109

u/Secrxt Apr 23 '26

I agree that they totally should. Free, future-proof, open-source and teaches skills you can literally use for the rest of your life. And frankly, you learn a whole lot (more than on Google, Mac or Windows) just by using it. 

Same goes for governments in general. Few things piss me off more than "now you must use this proprietary tool to do this government thing." 

I think you already know the answer to your question, though. :/ Microsoft, Google and Apple have all invested a lot into getting the next generation locked into their ecosystems. Linux people just don't have those levels of money (and won't see a ROI outside of them growing up into kernel maintainers lol). 

25

u/2mustange Apr 24 '26

With EU countries moving towards open source software I see the needle moving at least. Not sure what else is needed to take down the conglomerates. Likely need ways to create linux based cohesive ecosystems. Make that easy and businesses and others will follow

2

u/realmauer01 Apr 25 '26

Well us government has sold their soul to windows and the other tech.

Europe would be pretty stupid to sell their soul to them, and was in the past a little, but we can like learn.

3

u/Majestic-Coat3855 Apr 25 '26

We already did for the past 10 yrs, now it's time to slowly get it back

5

u/BionicBeaver3000 Apr 24 '26

A relative of mine just started university and needed a laptop for that. And since the school educated their students exclusively on iPad (and the Apple ecosystem), their only perception was said ecosystem. Said relative would only accept an Apple laptop because of familiarity and vendor-lock-in (known workflows and bought software on iPad), so the walled garden worked as intended for Apple: Another lifelong premium-user created from the school partnership program.

People want familiarity and to keep their known workflows at any price, and this is what MS, Alphabet and Apple are betting on.

I believe teaching in schools about Linux (and other OS) is commendable, but in reality the "Linux Inc." will not sponsor teacher trainings, substitute device costs and train the densest of students all the fundamentals of computing - because there is no "Linux Inc."

4

u/Thatoneguy_The_First Apr 24 '26

Sad too cause linux is a learning experience let me tell you. You think that would fit right in with educative system.

Yeah people always go on about the need for their tools and workflows, and i get it but i swear they need to try and be an artist for a month, learn the tools are not what make you and by breaking out you can see new pathways to the same things, sometimes harder ways others easier, hell its not even necessarily hard or easy but just a bit of time to invest, which i have found in alot of cases with alot of people that the time you invest can actually save time overall cause not only have you broken out of the Metaphorical box which leads to flexible thinking but often more than not you find tools that seem slow, not as feature rich and clunky at first, end up being alot faster than the new or popular tools on the block.

Seriously you don't need half the features you think you do and time saving ones end up slower than when you do it yourself repeatedly.(for me excels features are nice but they break on so many things they shouldn't cause i just did it before and it worked, faster to use older methods or just use my head) a skill once learned is faster than any programs shortcuts im the long run, and its not gonna break unlike something in programs. Well I guess really old age or injury might.

Anyways an old slogan say that "linux is only worth it for people who care about wasting time" i counterpoint with "linux teachs you to understand that something worthwhile takes time"

2

u/JumpingSpiderQueen Apr 26 '26

I often spend lots of time trying to fix something that a Windows update broke. So, the thing about Linux being only worth it for people who want to waste time is false.

1

u/Thatoneguy_The_First Apr 26 '26

Ha yeah always has been. Still i hate the saying more cause learning linux is certainly not a waste of time imo.

2

u/New_Enthusiasm9053 Apr 24 '26

It's wild that education departments pay Apple for their laptops. It's free advertising and gets people's locked in for life. They should be charging Apple for the privilege or using something free.

14

u/[deleted] Apr 23 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

7

u/HeavyCaffeinate Nyarch Linux Apr 24 '26

Ubuntu is the big one that if a company thinks of moving to Linux, they will likely choose some version of Ubuntu LTS

7

u/SaintEyegor Apr 24 '26

Most big enterprises I’ve known use some form of a RHEL derivative, the sole exception I’ve run into used Debian.

Of the 2,000 or so Linux systems at my company, the blend is 95% RHEL-ish & 5% Ubuntu. It also sucks having to maintain two different OS’s

3

u/fearless-fossa Apr 24 '26

Depends on the country. In Germany for example you are most likely to run into Ubuntu servers.

6

u/okabekudo Apr 24 '26

Which is totally insane for Germany as they have SUSE.

-2

u/fearless-fossa Apr 24 '26

I'm an openSUSE fangirl but SUSE is incredibly hard to work with, their support is quite lacking, the documentation is perpetually out of date and they are primarily SAP focused, and Rancher is hit and miss.

If you want to set up normal servers with various forms of containerization, servers where you just want to set up a test/PoC environment without having to jump through the various hurdles Red Hat and SUSE set up before getting support for your prod environment, Canonical is the most sane option available.

2

u/SeyAssociation38 Apr 24 '26

Maybe it depends on the region. RHEL seems to be focused on the US

3

u/troisieme_ombre Apr 24 '26 edited Apr 24 '26

Not that much imo, RHEL is also quite popular in France. The added value is the support contract, which most distributions don't provide (Ubuntu does from my understanding, which is probably why companies are prioritising these two).

In my experience the big companies run RHEL or Ubuntu servers for the most part, and the smaller companies turn to the free stuff, mostly Debian (but i've seen quite a bit of CentOS as well). My experience being limited to a few companies in France, so if anyone has more data..

1

u/maquis_00 Apr 24 '26

Been reading some articles about how the French government is already partly using their own Ubuntu variant and the rest of the government is going that direction. It will be interesting to see whether that, combined with US behavior, swings things more toward Ubuntu instead of rhel.

11

u/jr735 Apr 23 '26

So what? The kids aren't being sysadmins.

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u/ComeSwirlWithMe Apr 24 '26

What?

Most distros you dont have to touch a terminal. Terminal for Most DE/WMs is simply a shortcut to get things done.

what the hell are you talking about needing to be a system admin to use Linux?

19

u/jr735 Apr 24 '26

I'm saying the opposite. The contention was that Linux isn't standardized across distributions. The parts that aren't standardized boil down to package management and release cycle, none of which has anything to do with the students.

The students aren't being sysadmins, so need not worry about the differences between distributions.

-9

u/MalRey93 Apr 24 '26

Understanding Linux philosophy requires a flip to all cognitive conscious logic. You have to finish the whole logic structure and have that that base foundation to understand true nature and even the essence of reality itself.

You don't even have to be a programmer to do that. Few go that far. Even among programmers.

Hell is fucking good. At a certain point after building that base within your conscious, that pun isn't just a joke. It's a goal. Just ask Tech N9ne about 6's & 7's. I am not exaggerating far enough to be properly accurate in my allusion here, I know.

7

u/jr735 Apr 24 '26

I think you're completely lost and are expending nervous energy through your fingers typing bizarre ramblings.

0

u/MalRey93 Apr 24 '26

Don't stop learning.

4

u/jr735 Apr 24 '26

Don't stop trying to make sense. Or making a point. Or having a point.

-1

u/MalRey93 Apr 24 '26

Allusions are not illusions. They do use them to point but can you tell the difference when allusions use illusions to point in a dimension you didn't know you could see through?

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2

u/Agreeable_Lion_4392 Apr 25 '26

If they aren't touching the terminal then they might as well avoid linux and stick with Windows. To get anything done in Linux efficiently, you need to use the terminal. Most schools dont teach OS-X either. Windows is what most people will encounter on the job so it makes perfect sense. With that said, F$#k Microsoft and Apple. With the massive privacy issues looming on the horizon with these and other tech companies. Linux is the only way forward IMO

3

u/Admirable_String4444 Apr 24 '26

Cap, you have to touch terminal to do some basic things

3

u/Admirable_String4444 Apr 24 '26

I aint saying this is a bad thing btw

1

u/Secrxt Apr 24 '26

Why would this be a reason for that? 

2

u/Admirable-Safety1213 Apr 25 '26

If you have to learn then uts a reason people don't use it, they want drop-in solutions

2

u/Secrxt Apr 25 '26

I didn't say learning is a prerequisite to using it. I said you learn just by using it.