CMP Review 2024-11-12

November 12, 2024

In most schools today, technology is king. All students are given tablets and everyone learns to code. We are told that this approach gives kids an advantage. It prepares them for a future that is becoming more and more digital every day.

Other schools reach back to a nearly forgotten past. A time when science meant painting a flower, not tapping a screen. Many homeschool parents yearn for the latter, and they turn to Charlotte Mason to show them the way. But is that the end of the story for the Charlotte Mason method?

As a professional programmer for many years, I have interacted with technology for decades. As a homeschooling father, I have taught my children to code. But as a Charlotte Mason educator, I have also been awakened to the wonder of books and things. I have worked hard to incorporate more of these elements in my family’s lifestyle.

Technology too has changed over the years. The digital landscape our children experience is not like anything I grew up with. Given all of these considerations, I would propose that place of technology in a Charlotte Mason homeschool is not one-dimensional. There is good, there is bad, and there is ugly.

Recently I spoke with a group of Charlotte Mason educators in Southeast Asia on this very topic. I candidly and openly portrayed the good, bad, and ugly aspects of technology for the family. The presentation was recorded live, and now I’d like to share it with you. Find it here.

@artmiddlekauff