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Does enrolling in an online school really help with accountability?


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My oldest will be entering HS this fall. As much as I hate to admit it I have a hard time getting her to finish her work or showing and drive for working through assignments until they're finished. My husband says she has no motivation. She does understand things fairly quickly and picks up concepts with out a problem, but she drags her feet with school work. Her sister, who is not as quick, seems to have more desire and discipline to finish her work. I have thought at times that the work may be too easy, so I have come up with more challenging material, but that is then met with groans.

I have also asked her if she wants to go to school and she has said she does not want to, so I feel very confused at times.

 

Anyway the reason I'm posting is to get some insight from those who have used online schools or accreditation services. Has this helped your child be more enthusiastic about finishing their work? Did it change their attitude? I have the option of enrolling her, but we really could do much better with keeping he money in our pockets. I wouldn't even really be doing it so much for the accreditation, but more for her to be held accountable by someone other than myself. When I think about it that way I think it's rediculous to spend so much money if those are my reasons.

 

 

So please, I need the advice of those who have been there.

 

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I find it really does center us a bit to at least do a couple of things in a manner other than mom provided. For Dd around late 7th - 8th (the year she is lucky I am a patient woman) and early this year, it was harder to squeeze production out of her. I have yet to talk with another teen mom that doesn't share there is some period around the early to mid teens they face the "apathy-eye rolling-do so little it is tedious to watch phase". Some brilliant scientist is going to render a treatment for it someday (or maybe it was meant in the greater plan to help us part with them easier when the graduate). At least in my experience, it helped to have something in the mix that wasn't purely left to me to tap my toes and listen to the next brilliantly crafted excuse for something being undone. We never went online to find that because there were local options, but I am sure you will get feedback from some who did.

 

Hang in there, I am told they grow past it (or the aliens return and give back the child they took and work resumes).

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Enthusiasm? Nope. Attitude change? Nope. My older two never did get any motivation from online courses. I had been hoping the same thing. It just turned out to be an expensive mistake. One of the girls at that age even signed up for a local face-to-face EMT course and failed it from lack of attendance after she paid for it herself. It's a tough age. I wish I knew a magic formula to share with you to help your dc get through it. I have one seventeen year old now and it's pretty much a daily struggle to keep from murdering him. Hmm......probably shouldn't post that.... :laugh:

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From reading other posters and hearing about other students in online classes - it seems to depend on the student and perhaps family...

 

Both of mine profited enormously from online classes that had other students. Dd would stay up late working on assignments (which she never did for me) and was very interested in what other students would produce. Ds3 would as well.

 

It is not just the online teacher either. There were some students in her online course this year who did below the bare minimum and those who did way above.

 

What made the difference for her? Having older sibs that she was trying to keep up with or do better than? Perhaps....Motivation is complicated to untangle...I've just ordered the book How Children Succeed...

 

Having an umbrella school made little difference...

 

Joan

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Wow, your girls sound just like my two girls! My oldest daughter did 9th grade this year. I tend not to be very organized and the thought of planning high school level classes really scared me. My oldest is "gifted" so school has always been easy for her and I tend not to push for stuff to always get done. So for 9th grade I really wanted her to answer to someone else and to have someone else read her English papers for grading. She does not like to be on the computer much and prefers book learning so I had to look for something that fit for her. We also are very busy so I needed something that she could do at her own pace and not locked into any specific time frame or times when we needed to be home. We ended up using Seton (even though we are not Catholic). She took their 9th grade English, Grammar and Compostion (required by Seton), Biology and Geography through Seton. She did Spanish and Biology lab at a co-op and Algebra 2 as independent study. (Seton uses Saxon which we do not like.) It seemed to be a good mix and we will continue the same route for her next year. The English class was a lot of work and she is still finishing up a few book analysis's but she learned a lot and did well. So for us it was a very good decision even though I still get the frequent eye roll and "this is stupid" or "no one will ever use this stuff" she did step up and get the work done. She also will have an accreditied transcript and I do not have to keep records of hours, etc. Seton also is not aligning with the common core. My younger daughter will be in 8th next year. She is the total opposite of my older daughter and I have no idea what to do with her! We might do a few Seton courses but I'm still on the fence. She is excellent at math but does not like to read or write but I feel I need to do more next year so she will be ready for high school. But overall - enrolling was a good decision for us and will allow us to continue to homeschool through high school.

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I think it really does depend on the student. My ds took three online classes this year (AP Chem, A Comp Science, and Latin III) and also a local debate class. He took two online classes the year before (Latin II and Computer Science). He feels like the online classes help him to stay on track and he does enjoy the online teaching component (He loves Mrs. Barr at Lukeion). We did math, history, and English at home. He has been putting off writing assignments (except the 6 required for Latin III), so I have him on the waiting list at Laural Tree Tutorials for writing next year. Also, I can tell a big difference in his attitude compared to last year. He has always been a pleasant kid, but last year he had a little more of an attitude. I think part of it is the age. This year has been much easier. If you are concerned about finances (I know I am!), I would start with the subject or subjects that your dd consistently ignores, or the one you feel like you are the least likely to make sure she finishes. I think starting with two may be a good plan. That way you are not out a ton of money if it doesn't work out, and your dd doesn't feel overloaded.

 

I should add that last year my ds and I sat down probably five times and discussed his goals and the work that will be required to meet those goals. This gave him time to vent, and I tried to adjust the work load to meet his needs. I thnk he is finally seeing the fruits of his labors and is willing to put forth more effort.

 

Blessings,

Michelle

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Online classes sure helped my kids with accountability *and* organization/time management. They have done a variety of classes (live, not live, in a 'class' setting, and an 'on your own' type of thing) and they all helped in various ways. I think reporting to someone other than "mom" is what helped.

 

Enthusiasm just wasn't there for really any of the classes. I admit my kids just aren't enthusiastic learners and would rather not have to study/do work. :tongue_smilie:

 

Attitude? As in having a bad attitude about school? Online classes won't help that. I just told my kids that I didn't want to hear it and mentioned military boarding schools as an alternative if attitudes didn't change. :coolgleamA: They could *think* anything they wanted, but I didn't want to see or hear about it.

 

Every kid is different, though, so YMMV.

 

Editing to add: One thing that popped into my mind was that my kids were sluggish about much of their work, too, until we started some online courses. I think the courses were more interesting than what we were doing here at home. I am not creative enough to think of neat projects/exercises, etc, plus the kids enjoyed having feedback from someone other than me.

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Online classes sure helped my kids with accountability *and* organization/time management. They have done a variety of classes (live, not live, in a 'class' setting, and an 'on your own' type of thing) and they all helped in various ways. I think reporting to someone other than "mom" is what helped.

 

I agree with the above. My kids have taken a variety of on-line and in-person outside classes. The "other" teacher definitely helped both of them complete a good amount of work on schedule. One son, who is motivated by competition, really enjoyed the live on-line classes with participation. He consistently worked hard to be at/near the top. My other son, who is not so motivated by competition, also was able to do a good amount of work on a schedule not made by me.

 

The in-person classes (CC & local hs support center) have been more popular with both of them. They enjoyed the social aspect and the classroom dynamic. By picking and choosing what I wanted to outsource, I was able to provide them with really strong courses in certain areas and some social interaction without it taking over their every waking moment. This mix was better for us than enrolling them full time in a school setting.

 

OP -- I would agree with the person who suggested starting your dd with just a few classes that are outsourced. This will give her the time to adjust to the new format without being overwhelmed. If they don't work out, you're not out as much money either. If you have specific on-line courses in mind, it's a good idea to look for reviews from other folks on this board. We've had some great on-line courses and some that were pretty bad, so you'd want to optimize your chances to get a good course or two.

 

Best wishes,

Brenda

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My dd had a partner for a project for her online class and her partner put off the project until the very last minute....She was emailing and emailing asking to discuss, etc...So some kids don't feel guilty even with direct peer pressure...

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This pretty much sums up our experience.

 

Online classes sure helped my kids with accountability *and* organization/time management. They have done a variety of classes (live, not live, in a 'class' setting, and an 'on your own' type of thing) and they all helped in various ways. I think reporting to someone other than "mom" is what helped.

 

Enthusiasm just wasn't there for really any of the classes. I admit my kids just aren't enthusiastic learners and would rather not have to study/do work. :tongue_smilie:

 

Attitude? As in having a bad attitude about school? Online classes won't help that. I just told my kids that I didn't want to hear it and mentioned military boarding schools as an alternative if attitudes didn't change. :coolgleamA: They could *think* anything they wanted, but I didn't want to see or hear about it.

 

Every kid is different, though, so YMMV.

 

Editing to add: One thing that popped into my mind was that my kids were sluggish about much of their work, too, until we started some online courses. I think the courses were more interesting than what we were doing here at home. I am not creative enough to think of neat projects/exercises, etc, plus the kids enjoyed having feedback from someone other than me.

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As others have said, it just depends on the kid. I have one child who absolutely despised online classes. She was self-disciplined and motivated though, so she didn't need the accountability. She spent leisure time on the computer (digital art, programming, etc.), and felt that doing school online in addition to the other stuff was just too much.

 

On the other hand, my younger daughter is thriving in an online school setting and will continue with it next year. She really benefits from the accountability and independence. She's my athlete, and is hardly ever on the computer unless she's doing school.

 

So my computer kid hated online classes while my non-computer kid loves them. Not what I would have expected at all! :D

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Thanks so much for the responses thus far. I really do appreciate the input. I think taking a couple of classes might be a good idea just to try it out. What I wouldn't want happening though is for her to be on top of the outside classes and then leave what we do at home to the side.

 

In the end I guess it really does depend on the student and how they will handle it. Back to square one :glare: but with a little more clarity.

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We couldn't afford the private school online classes, but we had reached the point where something had to change. My dd had figured out how to work her way around me on so many levels and I have been so overwhelmed with dealing with the details of daily life that I was letting things slip. I knew that the education she was receiving was not up to my standard for her, so I swallowed my pride and signed her up for one of the online public schools.

 

The learning curve between a fairly lenient traditional homeschool program and the online program we chose was huge. I was truly shocked at how much she was expected to accomplish in one day. I guess that just showed how far I had slipped off the path, but we had been doing much less work and I was struggling to get her to complete that.

 

She absolutely loved some of the classes and worked pretty hard for those teachers. Other teachers and subjects were not her favorites and she struggled quite a bit in those areas. We did end up having to get a private math tutor. (A lovely black belt kid from our martial arts class who wouldn't accept any payment, went out of his way to accommodate our rapidly approaching deadline, and whose virtues I will extoll for a very long time!)

 

I didn't have to put in as much time as I did when we were doing traditional homeschooling and it was nice not to have to worry about selecting curriculum. Although I didn't love the materials the online school selected, they were well reinforced with the many supplemental videos and websites. I did have to be very much on top of my dd's work output this first semester. I hope that her experience and a bit more maturity will make next school year go more smoothly. We started at the beginning of the second semester, when I realized that this year would NOT be different. In retrospect, that was a bad time to start. I wish we had started at the beginning of the school year. She missed out on a lot of introductory information that it was assumed the students knew by the start of 2nd semester.

 

In addition to once again achieving our academic goals for our dd, we are also viewing the online school as a halfway step for her toward the local PSEO/cc option that she will do for her Jr. and Sr. years. I wanted her to experience being accountable to someone other than me, for her to get a sense of a more intense pace, and to learn how to accept a certain amount of busywork without allowing that to spoil her attitude. I believe we have accomplished those goals.

 

It was very hard for me to give up on the concept of teaching for total mastery. With the online school, she often had to study merely for the purpose of passing the test at hand. I do feel there was a sizeable portion of the material she did not completely master. However, I do believe she got more from the online school than she would have if we had continued with our homeschool.

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What I wouldn't want happening though is for her to be on top of the outside classes and then leave what we do at home to the side.

 

For at least the first year I would not stress if she does this to some degree (esp if it's a serious AP class where the grade could be permanent - if you want it to be)..it's quite normal and IMHO good to get a good work ethic for the class. Then as she grows in ability to handle stressful assignments and scheduling...you can add other deadlines...

 

I don't mean to totally drop 'homeschool' work...just to have some flex as she's adjusting to external deadlines...

 

Joan

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