For anyone who doesn’t know about “iRock,” it is an initiative in the Rock Hill school district to put an Apple iPad computer in the possession and care of every teacher and student in the district. I attended Monday’s meeting and was impressed with the questions that our elected school board members asked of the various committee heads who are putting this initiative together.

They asked some of the questions that were on my mind, such as:

1) How will the teachers be trained to implement this initiative and how will they use the iPads to help our students achieve more success in the classroom?

2) What about teachers who are not computer savvy? How much additional instruction and help will they receive to make this strategy work for the success of our students and themselves?

3) Who will train the students? What about the computer literate students versus the not so literate? Will this cause disruption/boredom in the classrooms for the faster learners?

4) How will the $85-per-student fee be paid for, especially for families that are struggling?

5) What about the iPads being lost, stolen or broken? How will this be paid for? The idea currently is that the students will be able to take them home. Is this a good idea?

6)A technical person in each school – how will this be paid for?

These were great questions that will need detailed answers before this project can proceed. I have confidence in the school board members that I observed. They indicated that they will do their homework before they give the OK to implement this huge initiative.

Swain Sheppard

Rock Hill