We have had an exciting journey over the past couple of months as we have received a myriad of different educational products to review for the TOS (The Old Schoolhouse Magazine) Crew. The opportunity to evaluate different types of curriculum is helping us further define our homeschooling goals and methods.
Several of the items that have come our way so far have been computer based programs. I thought it would be a good idea to share some of my personal thoughts regarding computer use in a separate post, rather than in the reviews for individual products.
There are a couple of concerns with online curriculum and computer software programs that I believe parents need to evaluate before they make a decision to use these in their home. I realize that every family will have a unique set of requirements when they are choosing educational materials, but here are some things to consider.
The first is the fact that too much time spent in front of a screen takes away from time that could be spent building relationships, reading great books and having real life learning experiences. Computer time can contribute to physical stresses on their body such as eye strain, and back, neck and wrist pain. We live in an age where computer use is integral to adult lives, but we must be careful to set appropriate limits or we will reap negative consequences. For example, research has demonstrated that the use of computer games affects the chemistry of the brain, may prevent dull the ability to experience pleasure from normal human interaction and can even be addictive.
The second thing that you need to consider when evaluating computer or any type of curriculum is whether the content of the product meets the standards of your family value system. For this reason, Christian homeschooling families may prefer to choose education material that is written from the perspective of a Biblical worldview over those that were written for the public school environment.
Because of these considerations, my family has decided to greatly limit computer use for our children, who are in the elementary grades. At this time we allow occasional use of the computer for creative and productive uses, such as writing and illustrating a story, but do not allow it for entertainment or educational games. Sometimes we help them research a topic on the computer with our supervision, but prefer to use the library and our own book collections for most investigative learning.
For us, the greatest benefits of homeschooling are the ability to tailor our children’s education to equip them for the unique purposes that the Lord has for them and the ability to choose the influences in their lives as they are forming their character and establishing core beliefs.
Where our children will be in the future will be affected by how they spend their time now and the habits they develop in their youth. Real learning is best done within the context of relationship – with the teacher and the material to be learned. We believe that a loving parent is the person best equipped to mentor and disciple their child both spiritually and academically.