Online Schooling--thinking out loud

[momacacia]

I'm just thinking out loud here. Not making judgment calls or even really developing an opinion (not that I'm not opinionated, lol).

 

As I consider the future of our school into middle and probably particularly high school, I'm seeing myself add a lot of online possibilities into our S&S. At least what my perfect homschool world for dd#1 might look like. (Humor me. ;)) Lukeon for latin, maybe AOPS for math (I know I won't be teaching algebra), any other foreign language will be delegated somewhere, even science if there's a great online program. Maybe that's it, but I start to see that my students could be spending a lot of time in online classes.

 

How does this differ much from sending them to a private school down the street (although I suspect the teaching is arguably better and more tailored online that the school we'd consider/afford :-/)? I'm just thinking here, connecting some dots and realizing there will be some kind of future shift in our school. Thanks for listening. ;)

[EKS]

One huge difference is that when you send them to a b&m school, you lose control of your time.  They are in school all day and then there are the commute, any after school activities, and homework on top of that.  My son had a half hour commute to school each way and 1-2 hours of homework (middle school), so he ended up spending about 45 or 50 hours each week on school related activities.  This year we are homeschooling again and he is working maybe 25 hours per week.

 

Online classes generally aren't as efficient as straight homeschooling, but they also (generally) allow a bit more flexibility in terms of scheduling.

[OneStepAtATime]

Honestly, I think this entirely depends on the school, the student and the online choices.  I have found that some on-line choices have ended up being more work then what we got out of it.  And being tied to someone else's time table can be frustrating (moves too slow or too fast for my kiddo).  Others have been excellent.  

 

Obviously, private and even public schools can also be poor or excellent or everything in between, depending on the school, the teachers, the administration, etc..  Have you talked to other parents of kids at the private school down the road?  Are there some excellent teachers there?  Could you sit in on a few classes to get a feel for things?  Or at least interview the teachers and ask some specific questions?

 

My kids attended a summer program two years ago, right before we started homeschooling, and the math teacher was phenomenal.  I mean hands down the best math teacher I have ever met and I would have loved to enroll my DD in a school with that woman as her math teacher.  The science and language arts teachers were also quite exceptional.  Far better than the teachers the kids had had in the school they normally attended.  Unfortunately, we don't live anywhere near there (we were only there for the summer) so enrollment was not an option for the regular school year.

 

EKS is right, though.  Brick and mortar choices usually eat up a TON more time than straight homeschooling or homeschooling coupled with on-line options.

[Arcadia]

We were looking at private schools four years ago. What we find is we prefer a la carte to a fixed menu. My kids take outside classes for music, German, math and science. They take art classes in summer. If a class or teacher is not a good fit we can easily request for a change of teacher if a few teachers teach the same course. If the class/course is not a good fit, we can look for other course providers.

We did K12 VA for three years. It was good for my asynchronous kids as they allow subject acceleration so taking algebra 1 or middle school science early wasn't a big deal. My kids do better for outside teachers.

[RootAnn]

How does this differ much from sending them to a private school down the street (although I suspect the teaching is arguably better and more tailored online that the school we'd consider/afford :-/)? I'm just thinking here, connecting some dots and realizing there will be some kind of future shift in our school. Thanks for listening. ;)

 

Well, for me, the difference is going 100% to one provider (either online or private/public school) vs. being able to pick & choose what is best for my kid. I've always been "eclectic" in my homeschooling & my online choices will probably continue to be eclectic. I don't see myself enrolling my kid 100% in any one provider (for us, that might be Kolbe, for instance). I can choose what I need/want outside help with (e.g., foreign language, writing for eldest) and keep everything else in home.

 

The ability to have a great teacher, discussions in a foreign language twice (or more) per week, or someone to teach the main part of a course so I have time for my other kids is one of the great things about homeschooling in the current age.

 

As my kids get older, I find that in some classes, I move to more of a monitor and helper vs. main teacher anyway. In history, for example, I no longer "teach" my eldest directly. She reads a variety of things and we discuss occasionally. She writes on some topics, does her own mapwork & timeline, and reads extra material. Next year, she'll be watching The Great Courses (history) lectures both for content & to learn to take notes from a lecture.

 

I have a similar amount, although a different type of interaction for her online Spanish class. We discuss some of the topics that have come up in her text & class and I am frequently involved in quizzing her on her vocab or being her in person partner when she's learning a new "conversation" for class.

 

I still teach some of her classes directly, but much less (number of topics) than in the past. So, for us, the difference is being able to pick and choose which teacher and which class for whatever I want to outsource. I've realized that my school shifts how we do things every year based on my kids' needs, wants, and abilities anyway. This is just one of many shifts. (Next year, I add another kid to the lineup. That usually means I need another one or two to get more independent to make time for teaching reading to the next one down the line.)

[fourisenough]

As you can see in my sig, we chose to send our oldest two girls to PS for high school. For them, it is mostly working out beautifully. They are finding academic challenge and some truly brilliant teaching, along with motivating peer interaction. Of course, there are also down-sides: no control over the schedule, way too much homework/studying required to get the results they want, a few lame teachers, and some really messed up kids. In a perfect world, I'd do some sort of blended situation.

 

For my DD3 - age 10, I'm thinking of adding a couple of online classes for next year. I'm waffling back and forth between outsourcing writing and math or teaching those core subjects at home and instead, taking science and history classes online. I could do either at this point, but there will come a time when math gets outsourced for sure! I love that I have full control over the choice of subjects to take, providers, and schedules. We are more efficient at home. We can take online classes, outside enrichment classes, participate in CC, and belong to a very demanding club sport all without feeling overwhelmed. I guess that's it: it comes down to choice.

[SeaConquest]

Besides what others have written, the difference for us would be upwards of 25k/year for private school vs. around 5k/year outsourcing classes.

[kiwik]

If you could get an affordable school with the subjects you wanted taught by the teachers you wanted that would be nice but you would have to deal with the dreadful science teacher or awful maths book to get the great lit programmer and wonderful history program me etc.

[MomatHWTK]

I am using a computer based program that lets me pick and choose courses for middle/high school prep right now.  For high school I have the option to use an accredited online school that would allow me to select specific classes, so I may avail myself of that option. Students can enroll at any time so I'll probably being with just one class and see how it goes.  As mentioned upstream, the cost is significantly less than a b&m private school.  I can get 10 accredited credit hours for $2000. 

[Lanny]

DD has been in 2 brick and mortar private schools. The first for K4, K5 and First grade. $$$$$  A school that she loved and that we loved. Possibly, if we were to win the lottery, she might go back there. That is the only school we would consider changing to, if we could afford it. Because of the socialization, sports, after school  activities, etc.  A wonderful school.

 

The 2nd school, for 2nd thru 4th grades ($$ started off well but steadily deteriorated.  DD was very  bored there.

 

There are some wonderful teachers in many brick and mortar schools and some of them  really do a great job of teaching, but in general, I believe few students, if any, in schools using the same textbooks DD uses, cover the entire textbook, during one school year.  There just isn't time.

 

The quality of courses and teachers can vary wildly.

 

The courses DD takes are Asynchronous.  I believe that it takes a student who is truly motivated, and can learn the Time Management and Self Discipline that are required, to be successful with this type of courses,.  DD started with 2 sixth grade courses, during October 2012, and at that time she was incredibly weak, writing in English and with English grammar. It was brutal for her at that time.

 

My belief is that many Freshmen students in U.S. universities would not be successful with Asynchronous courses, because of a lack of Time Management and Self Discipline.

 

GL with whatever you decide to go with!