Dear Bernie,

I will confess that after following much of the inexorable march towards mandatory laptop computers at Lakeside I am left feeling uneasy and slightly anxious. My original question -- what pedagogical question is this approach answering? -- is still unaddressed. Is there some deficit in the learning process at Lakeside that this new program will ameliorate? Will this broad focus on computers help our children learn more or help them learn better? At this point I'm not convinced that the opposite may not be the case: that students' attention may be unnecessarily diverted by the laptops. I also fear that students' understanding of the complex world may become more superficial and less nuanced through overreliance on computers. As an educator (specializing in computer education) I try to stress that computers are tools -- not ends in themselves.

When I've spoken with people from other independent schools in the region they've told me that they believe that the entire laptop idea is a distraction or, worse, a kind of publicity stunt that is designed to bolster Lakeside's reputation as an educational leader, particularly in the technological realm. This is surely an uncharitable view but, in the absence of obvious reasons relevant to education, their comments do give one pause.

The other key to my dissatisfaction is the process through which this decision was made. From the point at which I first heard of this project (over a year ago) I was assured that it was a "done deal" thereby telling me that any and all concerns that teachers, students or parents might have were irrelevant. No sort of "public" deliberation seems to have occurred around this major issue nor was there any indication that reasoned analysis could alter the decision in any way. (And it seems that there may be many possible alternatives based on the pedagogical problems that we're trying to redress. If, for example, there are Lakeside students who don't have access to computers, a program might be set up to provide access. Setting up a schoolwide [or regional?] educational network access center might be a great project for Lakeside as well.)

To set the record straight, I am no garden variety Luddite. I first started programming computers in 1965 and I have a master's degree in computer science and one in software engineering. Although I think that computer literacy (in the fullest sense of the word) is critical to education I feel that this project may be fundamentally misguided.

I appreciate your concerns regarding the technological literacy of our students and your work in promoting exceptional education at Lakeside. I do fear that the mandatory laptop program may not be in the school's best interests. Education is too precious to be casually assailed with a technological "solution" to a "problem" that hasn't been articulated and may, in fact, be illusory.

Thank you very much for considering my concerns.

       Doug Schuler
       206.634.0752
       douglas@scn.org