This memo is about the mandatory laptop program now being implemented by the Lakeside administration. Please let me know (douglas@scn.org) if you would like to be added to the e-mail list.
"At the end of its first phase of work, in December 1997, a majority of the task force voted in favor of the following position: "I have some reservations about the sufficiency of the educational merit of a student laptop program, but not to the degree that I would want the task force to abandon its work. Proceed to Phase II, the study of the implementation issue."- From "A Timeline for Laptop Decision Making" (March 5, 2001 "Laptops at Lakeside" memo)
In other words, we should proceed at full throttle although we may be driving in the wrong directionI
Yesterday (March 12, 2001) Richard Wilson, a parent who has similar concerns with the laptop program, and I met with Bernie Noe, head of the Lakeside School. Bernie went through an abbreviated version of what he plans to say at the event tonight. (Richard's letter to Bernie and the board of trustees is now up on the web site: http://www.scn.org/commnet/laptops/wilson-letter.html. ) (I also have been receiving quite a few notes from people who are acquainted with laptop programs elsewhere: The reality simply does not live up to the hype. I'm hoping to post some of these letters on the web site. )
This note is a somewhat scattered account of the issues that Bernie brought up and the objections that I have. I still believe that an immediate moratorium on the implementation of this plan is the best course for everybody concerned. I entertain some hope that Bernie and the board of trustees will realize that a moratorium is the best way to go at this time.
The main question that we asked was, again, what educational objectives are met through this program. As before the answer to this (in my opinion) was nebulous. Bernie placed most of his faith on the rightness of this project by stating that within five years all Lakeside students will be using wireless devices on a routine, everyday basis. But forecasting the future can be misleading, particularly in the area of computer technology in the classrooms where the revolution that has been promised for years has not occurred.
Bernie stated that the "hard data" that supports the project comes from the report by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. While this may be true the report has not been made widely available and the latest (March 5) memo mentions the report merely in passing. On the other hand, a report from 25 year veteran Lakeside teacher Judith Lightfoot's report was dismissed (you can see Judy's report on the web [ http://www.scn.org/commnet/laptops/lightfoot-report.html]) out of hand. I am in communication with the people at NREL about access to the report. They say that they need permission from Lakeside before it can be released. I think we all need to see this report upon which so much is supposedly based. On the other hand I also suggest that we need to know a bit more about NREL before accepting any "recommendations." (I am not a suspicious person by nature but I will admit that I am unwilling to accept unreleased reports from organizations I know nothing about as the last word in this situation.)
Bernie also acknowledged that the first year is likely to be more difficult. This is little comfort to a parent of a student who will be a senior or junior next year. Some schools have implemented this on a class by class basis and I believe that this would work at Lakeside (although Bernie disagrees). I support a moratorium for ALL grades but if, say, the lower school community believes that carrying forth with this project the upper school community would not necessarily have to be bound to this.
When I mentioned to Bernie that I thought the students at Lakeside were highly computer literate ("among the best in the world" is closer to my exact words) I was taken aback by his strong assertion that they "weren't even close." I have deep suspicions about his conclusions: did they not know computer applications -- spreadsheet and word processing, for example, how to write computer programs, create web pages, research using the web, what?? Feedback from parents indicate that their students use computer technology more or less when it makes sense to them; buying a laptop will not solve the problem -- if indeed there is one. Also if the feedback to me is any indication of the level of sophistication I don't see a deficit. (Again -- if some students needs special assistance or if some classes should be started, etc. fine -- let's do *that*.) Since Lakeside is receiving record numbers of admission applications according to Bernie and is also sending its graduates to top schools throughout the nation there seems to be little reason to accept on the face of it that Lakeside students are falling behind technologically.
I thought I'd also mention one claim that is compelling on the surface but I feel is without foundation. Bernie mentioned that the percentage of women majoring in computer science in universities is declining. While this is fact is probably true and there are probably very interesting conclusions we could draw about American society it is far from clear just what this means for Lakeside where 100% of students have access to computers. If, and this if has not been established as far as I know, female students at Lakeside are falling behind, perhaps a program for addressing this should be established. Although I am sympathetic to parents who are concerned that their daughter (or son) may not be learning enough about computers and their uses I cannot understand why forcing hundreds of students to purchase laptops would address a gender gap (if, indeed, it even exists at Lakeside).
Bernie acknowledged that most Lakeside teachers oppose this program. If I understood correctly he also acknowledged that most (or at least many) students also oppose mandatory laptops. Since many parents also oppose the program -- or at least harbor major concerns -- it is far from clear why it is so imperative that we adopt this program now. Although Lakeside is not a democracy and decisions are made everyday without input from parents and others the magnitude of both the suggested change and the lack of support is so strong that to continue to push this through seems almost seems tenuous. I am frankly surprised with the lack of give and take on this.
Coupled with the tuition hike the new expenses will add up to, say, 1% to the gross income of a fairly wealthy family (or family with substantial financial help) all the way to, say 5% of the gross income of a middle class family. The additional expenses alone equal about $20 per day of class.
I have heard repeatedly in my discussions with Lakeside teachers: parents have considerable clout with the administration. (Incidentally, I've been assured by Lakeside teachers, there is no danger of negative implications for our children as a consequence of our actions as concerned parents.) At the same time all of us want to have trust and do have trust in the teachers and the administration to "do the right thing." That is of course part of the peace of mind that we get when we send our kids to Lakeside. We are now caught in the unfortunate dilemma of questioning those whom we fundamentally trust. I believe that in this case, however, it is imperative that we speak out. I believe that this decision has major negative implications for the Lakeside community that extend beyond the Laptop issue.
Thank you for all who made it through all this verbiage. As you can see, I (and many others) are more than casually concerned about this looming action. I do not think this is a decision on a par with choosing the books for a course or whether to have a teacher teach a certain course. This is a commitment based on techno-utopian rhetoric that is at least somewhat based on fantasy. How mandatory laptops will help provide a substantially better education is, in my opinion, still an unanswered question.
If you have any doubts about this project please let the head of school and the board of trustees know of them.
Thanks for thinking about these issues!
Doug Schuler
206.634.0752
douglas@scn.org