At Gates' Alma Mater, Some Give Lantops an "F" - Technology Information

Industry Standard, The, April 16, 2001

Flash, Cynthia

Just because Bill Gates and Paul Allen graduated from Seattle's Lakeside School doesn't mean all its seventh- to ninth-graders must have their own laptop computers next fall, says a group of parents at the tony private school.

The parents accuse the administration of issuing the mandatory laptop decree just so the school can be technologically hip. They claim Lakeside hasn't done the research to prove that laptops help students learn. They're also not happy plunking down $1,900 for the computers on top of the $15,000 annual tuition. "This is the ultimate in blunt instruments: Bring a van full of laptops and cross your fingers that it's going to transform education," says Doug Schuler, a Lakeside parent and professor of computers and society at nearby Evergreen State College. Some parents also question whether the school, with Gates' sister Libby Gates Armintrout on the board of trustees, was unduly influenced by its high-profile, high-tech alumni, a charge that Lakeside spokeswoman Marianne Picha denies. "This has been based on what we think is good for our students. Students are living in a tech world, and part of their obligation is being able to function within that."

Given the tech shakeout, perhaps Lakeside would better serve students by making them buy hammers and nails.