What is online schooling?
Online schooling is when a student attends a school in a virtual classroom instead of a traditional school setting for the educational careers.
Why online schooling?
Well, that is a great question. Online schooling can be many things, and it is important to find a program that works within your goals and beliefs. There are both public and private school options. Songbird attended one the past two years that was more of a self study program. This year we have switched schools to one that is very hands on and quite literally like a "brick and mortar" school in our home.
*Both programs were fully accredited and received both state and federal funding. They provided all supplies at no cost, including, with income qualifications, a computer system. There is actually more interaction between the parent and teacher in our current program, through regular emails and bi-weekly phone calls, than the typical interaction we had with our children's teachers while they were in traditional settings.
*Many of the online programs are national, so children can move even across states and not be behind.
*Students can work at their own pace. If they are having problems and need a break, or to spend a little more time on certain material, they are able to do so without causing embarrassment or holding back the rest of the class. (Remember all the boos and under the breath hisses, along with hot- cheeked-red-in-the-face feelings when you had to raise your hand and ask a question everyone else seemed to know the answer to? Yeah, none of that in online school). The same is true if they really grasp a subject and want to work ahead. Teachers are able to adjust the curricula to the student and their level.
*If you have a child that is...challenging, online school provides a homeschooling option that takes the focus off the parent being the "bad guy." You aren't asking too many questions, not being fair, or grading to heavy. The teacher through the online school is. The school has the requirements that need to be met, not you. Many students will do work they otherwise balk at because of this exterior factor.
*Security. I loved public schools, and many people still feel that a home based education may not allow students to receive all the education that they need to be "out in the real world." Online schools follow the same curricula used in the public school classroom, thusly allowing people to feel secure in their choice.
*Socialization - there are clubs that are both local and national. Field trips happen every few weeks, and there are also message boards within the school setting for both parents and students.
Socialization is a big elephant out there with the fight between homeschooling and not homeschooling. Our children need to be socialized. I used to hands down agree, but in the past few years have changed my answer from "absolutely" to "why?" Not really why as in why at all, but more of a why as in why the public school setting verses other options.
Children learn from their peers as well as their parents. In our house we have declared all out war against the behavior popularized by many Disney and Nickelodeon shows aimed at girls ages 6 and up. When other girls do it at school though, it is hard not to follow suite. Snarky cruelty and mean girls seem to have become more of the standard of acceptability, not an exception. In urban schools there is more sex, drugs, and violence than ever. I know from experience - I have been there as a teacher, and every day I sat in my car and cried for the children that we were loosing. Even in the small, isolated, and "safe" community that my family lives in now children learn bad things from school and bring them home. They may not come home singing the latest Eminem song, but they do come home with prejudice, bigotry and a surprising herd like mentality. I would rather they sing Eminem personally.
"These ideas are nightmares to white parents
Whose worst fear is a child with dyed hair and who likes earrings
Like whatever they say has no bearing, it's so scary in a house that allows
no swearing
To see him walking around with his headphones blaring"
Whose worst fear is a child with dyed hair and who likes earrings
Like whatever they say has no bearing, it's so scary in a house that allows
no swearing
To see him walking around with his headphones blaring"
- Eminem "Sing for the Moment"
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