A few weeks ago, I sat in a town hall where a small group of parents voiced their concerns for our current one-to-one Chromebook model. The same sentiment was later shared through the PTA to all school parents.

I wrote the following response, but never published it. In light of the new policy approved by our school board this week, I wanted to share.

Dear Parents,
I want to offer a different perspective on the Chromebook conversation - not to dismiss anyone's concerns, but to provide a point/counterpoint - as I think there's a really encouraging side worth telling, too.
3 quick points:
First - Our school is amazing. Exceptional. Blue Ribbon Award. Level Five. Admired across the county and the state. All while being under-funded, over-capacity, and in an aging facility. That didn't happen by accident. It’s the result of talented, dedicated educators and community partners (many of which are also Panther parents) making thoughtful decisions for our kids every day.
Our teachers are asked to accomplish a nearly impossible task with very limited resources. And they do it with excellence and grace. Their track record has earned my trust when it comes to how they integrate and leverage technology into learning. Are they perfect? No. But I hope their voice is the loudest in this discussion.
Second - Every generation has wrestled with new technology: the printing press, the Industrial Revolution, radio, cable TV, violent video games (on the Game Boy I definitely spent too many hours on as a kid), the internet, AI. The fears are always real, and the concerns always worth voicing. But, when approached responsibly, nothing is ever as bad as we fear.
(I suspect most of us would agree that monitoring the volume of usage to make more informed decisions is a reasonable ask - as would allowing that data and research to set responsible ceilings for usage.)
But I’m a nerd. I live my life and make my living on the internet. So when I say I'm not dismissing the concerns - I mean it. But here's what I'd hate to lose sight of:
Third - These kids are doing remarkable things. My fourth grader comes home with Google Slides presentations that would hold their own in a corporate setting. She discovered a passion for graphic design through her exposure to Canva at school. She recorded and edited a video to sell Girl Scout cookies. She is asking for an online store to sell friendship bracelets. As a fourth grader, she learned foundational subjects (like geometry) that I didn’t learn until middle school - and technological skills I didn’t learn until college.
Technology isn't replacing her education. In many ways, it's accelerating it. And I am so encouraged to know she is being equipped for the world we live in.
Let’s not burn the house down to kill the spider.
Let's keep discussing, asking good questions, and engaging. Our kids (and teachers) deserve our support.

In the time since, I have asked many of the town hall parents how much screen time is too much. For many, we're talking about the difference of 30-60 minutes per day.

Some might say - the difference of one episode. 👀

So how much is too much?

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (updated in 2025):

It can be tempting to want a set number of hours on screens that is “safe” or healthy to guide your family’s technology use. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough evidence demonstrating a benefit from specific screen time limitation guidelines. For this reason, the American Academy of Pediatrics updated their media use recommendations in 2016. These evidence-based guidelines do not give a set screen time limit that applies to all children and teens.  
Because children and adolescents use screen media for a variety of activities, including school, work, connecting with friends and family members, playing games, browsing social media, watching entertaining videos, learning new hobbies, reading the news, and more, rather than setting a guideline for specific time limits on digital media use, we recommend considering the quality of interactions with digital media and not just the quantity, or amount of time.

I'm saddened that Hamilton County didn't take a measured approach - that the party of small government and personal freedom decided to place limitations on something we aren't measuring - to hopefully achieve an outcome that hasn't been defined.

As the efficiencies of technology are reduced in the classroom, I fear there is no plan to provide the additional funding needed to equip teachers with assistants and aids to grade the papers, sit with students for one-on-one teaching, and adapt curriculum to the level of the student - all things being provided today through technology.

I worry we will leave our educators all the more hamstrung, while expecting better outcomes. After all, that's all we've done for the last decade.