Most parents are familiar with the morning checklist as their kids get ready to go off to school.
They aren't yet as ubiquitous as gel pens and steno pads, but laptop computers are starting to be required accouterments for kids as early as middle school. But even public schools are striking deals with Compaq, Apple Computer, and other manufacturers in a rush to get this icon of the 21st century into the backpacks of as many students as possible. Here, a raucous debate has erupted between administrators and parents over the prep school's recent decision that all high school students should have their own laptops. These capabilities have nothing to do with a piece of machinery. Laptops are a distraction, a PR exercise.