My school used Windows for everything. I remember when in year 7 (6th grade) I was complaining about the computers to my IT teacher, as many do. His response was "there is another way!".

A few days later, he found me and gave me a Linux live CD with Knoppix on it. I remember it claimed to have 2GB of software, compressed into the 700MB a CD could hold. I could put it in my family computer at home, and without installing anything, changing settings, messing up the computer my parents used in any way, I could use an entirely different OS, it was amazing!

This was the point at which I realised how software and hardware were truly separated. A computer was no longer an 'appliance'. The "start button" wasn't part of the computer, it was just some software that I could replace.

I believe, and have told many people in the years since, that this was the turning point in my computer education, that has lead to me studying computer science, and becoming a software developer.

Linux should be a part of school education, because teaching kids that computers aren't appliances, that hardware and software have a split, and you can change both, is crucial to developing a real understanding of how they work.