MONTREAL - If you thought your back-to-school bills were steep, just compare them to parents of Westwood Jr. High School students.
The parents of grade seven students in the enriched program have to fork out $1,500 per student so the kids can crack open their Apple laptops.
The kids are loving it though.
"We were so excited when we got them, it's like Christmas morning," said student Erica Macinnis.
Now the ball is in the teachers' court as they hope to put the technology to the best-possible use.
"The big challenge will be how to use this as a tool and how to integrate it in the classroom," said teacher Gail Stanworth.
And the experience already has the teachers eating a bit of humble pie.
"We noticed that yesterday that kids were quickly figuring things out that we didn't know, and we've had them for a few months," said teacher Jack Fraser.
But the profs see it as a collaborative thing.
"We'll be able to help each other and that's going to take some of the burden off my shoulders, they'll be really good at the technology and help each other," said Gail Stanworth, teacher.
The program also aspires to reignite the love affair between young men and their alma maters, a relationship that has become an increasingly strained over the years as yo0ung male students lose interest in the educational experience.
"The education system doesn't do an adequate job with boys, if you look at the graduation rates you'll find that the girls graduate higher than boys, we haven't tapped into the things boys are interested in," said Principal Hans Bulow.
