Teacher, Trainer or Telescope?
Why screen role matters as much as screen time
And in homeschool, you decide both.
It is not a blanket decision of Chromebooks and iPads for every child at any grade.
These were our choices because they fit our family, our path and our purpose. Every family has to make these based on the learner in front of you; and, just as importantly, on what you as a parent need to, want to, and are able to do.
Our kids’ early schooling was tech free.
We were fortunate enough to have begun our kids’ schooling at a Waldorf school that relied on blackboards, pencils and notebooks. That is an early childhood philosophy my husband and I firmly believed in.
In our kids’ early elementary years, technology was solely a teacher’s tool.
It was 100% mom-homeschool and tech helped me be a better educator. We covered a wall with whiteboard wallpaper. We read books. Math was the basics — dice, measuring cups, etc. Online, I found worksheets, reading comprehension questions, recipes, drawing exercises, script-lined paper and more.
It was the early days of screen tech; not long after the first iPhone (2007) and iPad (2010). But we still shielded our young kids from the bright lights, high audio-visual stimulation and what was becoming a frighteningly addictive pull of screens.
Very much like what many of the screen inventors themselves have done for years.
In late elementary, our kids began to use screens as a tool for targeted reinforcement — practicing the concepts they were taught by me or tutors.
In this stage, the notion of mastery came in. Core subjects were full of foundation concepts. There was lots of discussion, writing and sketching — problems, maps, anatomy, flowers, timelines.
And as I tell my kids repeatedly, mastery means being able to work it backwards and forwards — and that takes deliberate, targeted repetition.
Here we brought in Khan Academy, IXL, TPT, etc. These sites could churn out more problems and variations than I could — and the kids needed that now. We limited their online studying to 2 hr/day max.
This is also where Apple Screentime & guardrails entered our home and homeschool.
By middle school, I expanded the role of tech. It was now serving as teacher, trainer and telescope.
The subjects were getting more complex and needed structured practice and research.
We wanted to set the kids up on a structured learning path for each subject, to ease into an accredited high school that would pave the way for college. So we enrolled in online school . . . a few classes at a time.
We balanced doubling screen time — up to 5 hr/day — with maintaining attention span, communication skills, physical activity and online-safety.
More time spent online ≠ Greater learning.
As our own kids grew from nursery to early elementary to middle school, we deliberately moved from being no-tech . . . to minimalists . . . to mindful users.