A few days ago, we covered a story about Jobs sparing no words in criticizing teachers and teacher unions. This has caused the California Federation of Teachers to invite Jobs to either attend an annual teacher's convention next month or to offer a public apology for his "insulting comments" to California's teachers.

Jobs, with rival CEO Michael Dell, shares a vision of delivering technology to schools and having "textbook-free" classrooms, but according to him, no amount of technology would ever improve schools until public school principals could fire bad teachers.  The CFT says they will create a new award specifically for Jobs, the "Rotten Apple" award, for the individual who best personifies the need to think differently about public education and teacher unions.

Educators reiterate by pointing out that Apple refused to recognize the Silicon Valley janitorial workforce in the 1990s until Justice for Janitors union sufficiently embarrassed the company and brought it around. CFT President Mary Bergan also cited Albert Einstein's support for the American Federation of Teachers, saying that the genius encouraged intellectuals to work together to be an influential political force. According to Bergan, the real problem in the education system is lack of funding.

Steve Jobs may be a pop-culture icon, but it's interesting to know if this former hippie has been too radical this time.

There's that saying that goes: He who laughs last, laughs best. A friend of mine, Apple Head Honcho Steve Jobs, is quite familiar with that little saying.

According to The New York Times, Steve recently circulated an e-mail through the offices of Apple after the company posted some impressive numbers on Wall Street. The e-mail pokes some light-hearted fun at an earlier comment made by Dell founder Michael Dell some years ago.

In the article: In 1997, shortly after Mr. Jobs returned to Apple, the company he helped start in 1976, Dell's founder and chairman, Michael S. Dell, was asked at a technology conference what might be done to fix Apple, then deeply troubled financially. "What would I do?" Mr. Dell said to an audience of several thousand information technology managers. "I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders."

The e-mail Jobs sent his employees recently read: "Team, it turned out that Michael Dell wasn't perfect at predicting the future. Based on today's stock market close, Apple is worth more than Dell. Stocks go up and down, and things may be different tomorrow, but I thought it was worth a moment of reflection today. Steve."

Eat it, Dell. That'll show you.

[Via, The New York Times]