As the years pass, technology is starting to become a prominent part of society. Technological devices are seen in every aspect of life. Almost everyone has a smartphone, computers are in every school and workplace, and almost everything is now stored in a computer. These devices are being used every day by everyone, but they are not necessarily the cheapest thing to buy. Along with that, devices can break down and stop working, requiring either a hefty price for repairs, or the even larger price of buying a whole new device. Students can also feel neglected if they do not have enough money to pay for their own device. For these reasons, students should not be required to bring a laptop or smart device to school everyday.

This new E-Achieve program sounds nice, but the administration is failing to realize that there are parents that have multiple students. Buying one laptop may not be unbelievably  expensive or difficult to pay for, but when a parent is required to  buy two, three, or even four or more laptops for each student that lives in one household, the prices can pile up quickly and to extreme measures. Not to mention if these devices break down, maintenance of the device drives prices up even higher than before. Also, while lugging these devices back and forth from school and to the home, the laptops are prone to become damaged or broken on the outside to the point that they will need to be repaired or replaced at extremely high prices. These prices will add up to the point where it is almost impossible to pay for.

Along with the price issue, this program will make students feel lesser than other students if they cannot afford a laptop. Sure, the administration says that they will provide a device for every student that does not have one, but that will not stop the humiliation and embarrassment that a student will feel every single time they need to ask their teacher for a device to borrow since their family is not wealthy enough to buy one on their own. Students  will start to feel like money defines them. They will start to feel less of themselves because of something that they cannot control or handle, and that is very unfair.

Since this is also the first year this initiative is being put into place, many unintended consequences may arise. The program may not be popular with all teachers, especially the ones who are less technologically educated. Just because someone teaches a high school class does not mean that they are able to teach a class in the related subject along with teaching new technology that they barely know themselves. Some instructors who are familiar with the new technology will use computers everyday, and others who are not the most tech savvy will never use the devices that the students had to pay for with the money out of their pockets. So, it all goes back to the costs. If the students will only be using their devices for two or three hours, is it really worth it?

There are many things that the administration of Forest Hills Public Schools has overlooked when thinking of this new initiative. For the interest of the administrators and the students, E-Achieve should be  a process that the faculty and students work up towards before implementing an entirely new teaching and learning system. It is in the best interest of the faculty and staff that E-Achieve should be looked into more closely before the administration should expect students to provide their own devices for their education.