How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the iPad

We don't do a lot of "technology" around here.  So far as I can tell, it's a partially a combination of ignorance, technological incompetence, and cost.  But it's mostly a preference for reading books, family game nights, playing chase outside, puzzles and Legos inside, and a fear of glassy-eyed zombie kids who whine when the screen goes dark (I'm speaking from experience on that last one.) 

Like many families, screen time for our children is very limited and is carefully monitored.  If they're watching something on the computer (our TV is usually packed away... it comes out for football season and the occasional golf tournament...) it's usually something educational (or it's Shaun the Sheep, which is about animals so it falls into the realm of bio... ok forget it.  It's just entertainment.)  The most advanced "video game" they've ever played is Math bowling on Starfall and in terms of handheld devices... well, we do have an electronic Yahtzee that gets passed around a lot (in fact, Clare once rolled a Yahtzee just by randomly chewing on the buttons) but I think even that is about  to die on us...

I'm just wary of kids and screens.  (It's how I was raised - nearly screen free - a little Square One on PBS here and there and "Pepper's Adventures in Time" on our 1980's computer!)  I don't even have to explain why we limit it because I'm fairly certain you've heard it all before.  It's not as if they don't like screen time... my children ask for "movie nights" as much as the next kid, but I love that when we say "no" they have an easy time finding something else enjoyable to do.  They have some serious imaginations working over time - forced to fabricate their own fun because they're certainly not getting it from a screen.  We hardly even use the computer for school - we have books, maps, books, colored pencils, books, a few cd's, and more books.  And that's the way I like it.  

You can imagine I had a little crisis when we were gifted three refurbished iPads for educational purposes.  (Thank you, Mom and Dad!  We love you!)  Ummmmm... the crisis was short-lived.  Very short-lived.  I was super excited to check out the possibilities and to explore apps that would fit into our lessons.  And I wondered if I was caving in to the electronic side of education (the near equivalent of the Dark Side, in my mind), turning my back on my philosophy of education through reading and real-world exposure and experience.  After taking a week to explore the wonder that is the App Store before even telling the kids that we owned iPads, I'd laid my worries to rest.  Wow!  There's some fabulous stuff out there (and I'm quickly learning how to avoid the garbage!)

my very intelligent and lovely mother helping me set up the iPads and assuring me that they won't ruin my children!
She's the greatest!  (I love you, Mom!)

In a way, having an iPad perfectly compliments one of my personal methods of education: use a variety of materials and types of resources to fill in and round out a topic.  We have a tendency to dive into a topic and hunt down related books, puzzles, movies, cd's, events, activities, etc... to add to the educational experience.  Our iPads won't take over our lessons, they will augment them, and their addition will be in keeping with my methods.  

Here's how I imagine (and plan) that we'll use the iPad for homeschool:

* First and foremost, it's my intention that it will be an additional resource to "fill out" much of what we already do.  It allows us to have a variety of resources right at our fingertips.  For example, we've been studying the human body and have been able to use an interactive body program to learn more and drill the names/locations of different organs and bones.  Or - I'm planning on working with the kids on learning some U.S. and world geography this summer and have found apps that we'll use (along with songs, wall maps, books, etc...) to start memorizing the names and locations of states and countries.  Or - We already regularly use our field guides to try to identify birds we see, but with the iPad, we can bring it with us and identify bird calls! 

* We will also use it to reinforce things we've already learned - mostly through math drills and phonics/spelling practice disguised as games.  

* We will use it to help the kids learn poetry and other memorization items.  We'll also use it to keep a record of those things.  For example, I used a voice notes program to record the poems that the kids were responsible for memorizing for our recent poetry night.  When I wasn't immediately available to review the poems with them, they listened to them (using headphones) and were able to recite along with my recording.  As they learn new poems, or speeches, or lists, or whatever, they will be permitted to record themselves so that each child will have an audio collection of the memorization work he/she did throughout the year.  

* We also plan to use the camera feature to help us gather our nature photos into one easy-to-study place.  We currently use the family camera to photograph our nature finds and the pix often get lumped into a file called something like Summer 2012, and then when it's time to find the picture of the praying mantis we found it takes forever to sift through and find it.  I'm hoping that whatever we photograph close to home will be on the iPad so that we immediately put it into a "nature" folder and find it quickly when we're ready to examine it further.  I'm still not sure if we'll take the iPad with us on nature walks... or just stick with the camera...

* This isn't super educational, but I am also going to allow the kids to use the camera feature to take pictures of the stuff that they create - block cities they construct, marble tracks, Lego trucks, paintings and drawings, sandcastles, 3-D models of Native American villages, industrial shredders made out of old oatmeal canisters, etc...  Then, we all won't feel too badly when it's time for them to be disassembled or to "leave the home" with the Thursday trash.  I think it will be really special for each child to have his/her own folder of photos of things that they built or created - especially to show out-of-town relatives when they come to visit! 

* For now, I've made the decision to not use the iPAd for books. Maybe I over-think things, but I think there's something important about a physical book - seeing a complete work in front of you, being able to page through it, and to visually track your progress as you read through it.  I'm hoping, for now at least, to avoid interactive stories and animated books because I feel so strongly about maintaining the appreciation we've begun to foster for good literature - which has merits that don't hinge on graphics or multiple choice outcomes for the reader.  Good books are good, in part, because they have the power to change us for the better, or to instill values in us, or to challenge our minds to a deeper discernment of life.  Animated books, in my opinion, detract from that power, making the reader think, "well, what else can this book do?" even after having absorbed the text.  Interactive stories, or stories where kids choose the outcomes, minimize the power of a work of literature and emphasize the whims of children... which might not always tend toward the good, true, and beautiful!  Animation and "choosing" which direction to take a story in are appropriate for games, but the purpose of games and the purpose of books are very different, and I'd like to not confuse the two at this point.  I suppose my opinions on this may change (thought I sort of doubt it) but for now, we'll leave books off the iPad and leave the animation and interaction to the games.  

************

We've been using the iPads for a few weeks now... the kids have had access to them about three times each week - so I'm still doing my controlling and limiting.  I've been extremely particular about the apps I've downloaded - just because something is educational doesn't mean I'm going to abandon all my old standards and suddenly start to be ok with stuff that's obnoxious, inappropriate, or unattractive.  I've stayed away from pop-culture, cartoony, ultra-animated-with-annoying-sounds stuff.  Obviously, there's a lot of animation in apps out there, so I've tried to stick with things are "lovely" or "artsy" or at the very least "unobjectionable."  And, as with everything else (!), I have an opinion!!!  Some apps I've previewed have been immediately deleted and I'm gearing up to write my first reviews in the App Store.  As far as the App Store itself... couldn't they PLEASE give some indication of the age-appropriateness of an app.  Please?  And also, I wish that they had a feature where you could "tag" (?) an App to buy later - there have been some that I've seen that will be great for future use - multiplication tables or learning ancient cultures, etc... but I don't need them yet, and I haven't figured out a way to mark them so that I don't forget about them (Pinterest, I guess?)  

So, as you can see... I've stopped worrying and we've embraced the iPad here in our home and school.  As far as school is concerned, we primarily take a Classical + a little Charlotte Mason approach around here, but I think it's safe to say that now we're Classical Charlotte Mason-ers with a little iSchool thrown in :)  

Posts Coming Soon: 

A Crazed Mom Who Controls and Limits What her Children Consume Via Screen Lays Out the Family iPad Rules

-and-

Our Best-Find Homeschool Apps So Far (in Case You're Wondering What We're Using and Loving)

... or maybe I'll just combine the two because who really wants to read a list of rules (ugh.)  Actually, I would... but that's just me :) 

"Education in the Hands of Amateurs"

We are nearing the end of our first year of official-reportable-to-the-city homeschooling. When we first decided not to send our oldest to pre-school, and then not Kindergarten, and then eventually not First Grade, I had a lot of questions - what will our days look like?  what materials will we use?  what method will we follow?  will we ever leave the house again?  should I buy a laminator???  But I never questioned whether or not I was "qualified" to teach him.  

I only started thinking about it recently while reading Children and Parents, by Rev. Fulton Sheen. The book is not about education in the academic sense, but one particular phrase directed at dads and moms caught my attention: "put... education in the hands of amateurs - you."  I've been mulling it over in light of homeschooling.

While discussing homeschooling with those who are unfamiliar with what it is or what it's like, the concerns I've heard about repeatedly (besides the S word, which I cannot even bring myself to say because the issue is so ridiculous.  Ok, fine.  It's socialization, for those who don't know.) are those of patience and qualifications.  Here's what I mean...

Me: We home school.
Other Person: Wow.  You must have a lot of patience.
Me: (jaw hanging open in total silence, wondering if I should tell them I am probably the least patient mom I know.  Also wondering if the piteous amount of patience I do posses could possibly be more than that of your average Kindergarten teacher.  Mmmm.... no way.  It's definitely not an abundance of patience that qualifies me to homeschool.  Perhaps more on that another time.)

or this...

Me: We home school.
Other Person: Wow.  Were you a teacher before?
Me: Yes, I taught junior high for a couple years. 
Other Person: Oh, well, you have some credentials then.
Me: I didn't hold a certification or teaching degree, if that's what you mean.
Other Person: But you know how to do it.
Me: (jaw hanging open in total silence, wondering "know how to do what?"  Write on a chalkboard?  Make a lesson plan?  Input report card data?  Host parent teaching conferences?  Engage and hold the attention of young people in order to convey something I have a passion for, form the foundation of lifelong learning and application of knowledge, instruct on how to learn, foster a love of Lady Wisdom for Her own sake, encourage individual exploration and discovery in a student's free time - all done within 45 minute segments - all while not straying too far from the text and administering tests with standardized expectations and measurable results???????  Is that what you meant?)  

or this...

Me: We home school.
Other Person: Wow.  Aren't you afraid that you don't know everything you need to teach your children?
Me: Well, I definitely don't know everything.  But I'm not fearful about it.  I acutally have fun learning new stuff along side my kids.
Other Person: Yeah, but what about Physics?  Quantum Physics?  And don't teachers need to have some basic qualifications in fairness to the students. 
Me: (jaw hanging open in total silence, wondering "what is Quantum Physics?????")

I should probably work on the open mouth/no response reaction.  It probably isn't the best public advertisement for the homeschooling cause.  

I am not qualified to teach my children because I have a lot of patience.  I'm not qualified to teach them because I've had a brief stint as a school teacher (at a private school where no certification was required).  I'm not afraid of advanced math and science and I am not concerned about my lack of teaching credits or state-granted certificates.  A teacher who is responsible for a large classroom of students with varying degrees of intellectual and emotional ability, diverse language and cultural backgrounds, and a large spectrum of learning styles, may in fact need specialized training and certifications.  I do not.  

I am qualified to teach my own children because I am the individual on Earth most attuned to them, most directed toward their good (Obviously, my husband, Russ, is in on all this too, but I'm speaking of what stems from the intimate mother-child bond: developed during pregnancy, nursing, care and nurturing, and being around them all. day. long.)  I am the individual on Earth most likely to sacrifice for their benefit (I say "benefit" and not necessarily "success" or "achievement").  I am the Earthly individual whose heart yearns most intensely for their eternal salvation and who can most whole-heartedly (and humbly) strive to form their character and orient their moral compass. I am the individual on Earth who will experience the most pleasure at witnessing their enjoyment, excitement, creativity, curiosity, and learning.  I am qualified to teach them because I appreciate the joy of learning and the importance of wisdom, and for whom do I desire those more than for my own children?  I am qualified to teach them because I know them and I love them.  

Those things guide our home education.  Because of all that, I am able, and happy, to expend time, effort, resources, and patience for the privilege of personally educating my children.  Because of all that, you may be more qualified to teach your children than you thought.  Indeed, most parents are.  

In my mind, it has little to do with degrees or accreditations.  Love and common sense are probably the two greatest qualifiers.  Just as you probably didn't hire a nutritionist to teach your baby how to eat solids, and you've taken it upon yourself to teach balanced, nutritious eating to your children without passing them off to a dietitian, so to, you have the ability to instruct them in the academic realm without passing them off to "experts."  Don't minimize your ability to instruct your children - you've been doing it since they were born - Did you send your toddlers to etiquette classes to learn proper dinner table behavior and decent manners?  I'm guessing not.  You probably took it upon yourself to "teach" and model propper bahavior.  You taught your child how to ride a bike, say her prayers, fold her clothes, tie her shoes, buckle her seat belt, introduce herself, and make friends.  These are necessary for a respectable and fulfilling life.  Your child has been learning and it's you who's been giving the lessons.  Don't be scared that education "book learnin' ".  It is instruction, modeling, discovery - things you have been doing with your child from the very beginning.  It is about seeking wisdom that is ordered toward the good, knowledge for the glory of God and the good of man, it is about a respectable and fulfilling life.  If you believe that your role as The Parent of Your Child gives you the responsibility, and affords you the delight, of helping prepare him or her for a respectable, fulfilling life, you are probably qualified to homeschool. 

So, education in the hands of amateurs - can it work?  (Regarding this sensitive subject matter, please don't tell my children I'm just an amateur - and a homeschool rookie, to boot - because they actually think I know what I'm doing.)  Admittedly, I cannot teach my children everything.  But that's not even expected to happen in a traditional school, so the argument is irrelevant.  What's more important in my mind is that I can teach them how to learn.  To me, that is the crux of education - developing the skill of learning (Ok, add love of, appreciation of, and enjoyment in learning too.  Those things are important as well.) I have had some experience with "learning"  in my life (not just talking about 19+ years of school)... I feel confident that I know how to learn and that I can inspire, and instruct, my children likewise.  If that's the goal of home-based education, amateurs can handle it. 

I really enjoyed teaching during the time when I was a "professional" school teacher.  But it is nothing like instructing my own children.  I never expected how immensely rewarding it would be to be the the teacher, guide, companion, encourager, and fellow investigatory adventurer to the people I care for most dearly in the world.  It is rewarding beyond measure.  (And I think my kids like it too!)

Conclusion:

Me: We home school.
Other Person: Wow.  Are you qualified?
Me: Well, did you just read this?????
Other Person: (jaw hanging open in total silence)
Me: Given the above, do you not think I will give my intellectual and emotional utmost to provide my children the best education of which I am capable? 
Other Person: (still total silence)
Me: You're still worried about Physics, aren't you?  Let me tell you a secret... I never took Physics and I turned out ok.  
Other Person: But what about...
Me: Why we do it, and How?  Maybe I'll write about it some other time.  For now it's sufficient that I've laid my qualifications before you.  I am adequately... no, actually I am enormously qualified to homeschool.  

Are you?