On line School - The Wave of the Future?

The count down begins for my eldest to start home school... I am not sure if we could really call it "home school"... I'm not teaching her - there's no way I could... I have a hard time wrapping my mind around the concepts she is learning now... What I mean by home school is that she will be taking her classes on line through an on line high school that is accredited with all the UC and State colleges.

Tomorrow - her and I will participate in the Master's agreement on line seminar.. This will explain how everything works... I have checked out the site and it's pretty cool.. It's paperless, very detailed, and organized... The organized part is exactly what my "day dreamer" needs... At the end of the month she will participate in a 3 day seminar and then the following Monday - school is in session....

Most of the tests are on line via a web cam... The software is state of the art in technology.. no way for cheating... which is a good thing... Because she will be on the UC/CS track - her finals will need to be at their headquarters.. all other tests will be on line.

Today - I started getting everything ready... Optimized one of the desk tops and added a web cam and mic.. Geek squad will be by soon to connect her desktop with the printers in my office. She will also have the capability to do her classes on her laptop... but for the time being though - she'll do it at a proper desk in the office....

What I like about this opportunity for my kid is that - she can study and learn mostly at her own pace. She is a brilliant girl and can succeed in anything she chooses to do.. The online school makes it possible for her do more... in a less stressful environment... If she wants to do a class in the evening - she can do that too... The stress of getting to school on time will no longer be a problem.. The wasted time between classes... the teacher taking attendance or helping other kids - will no longer exist... All her time in class will be "productive" time... and this is a good thing.

The school is like any other school... It has a newspaper... a yearbook.... community service groups... This is a very exciting for my creative one... She was on yearbook in junior high and loved it... Her talent for the written word is incredible.... Another cool thing is that she can now play more tennis with her coach... She can also take a few cooking classes for fun... Volunteer in the church sports program... take belly dancing classes... The possibilities are endless... In case you were getting concerned... No, not all opportunities will occur in the same time frame... My point is that she will have more time to enjoy herself as a kid... Get the education she needs for her future college dreams.. AND socialize in the right situations...

I have done my research and I believe that on line school is the wave of the future... With our state's deficits and less monies going to public education - it makes sense for on line school.. The overhead is so much lower.... The expense of books is gone - buildings to buy/rent - utilities to pay for.. The teachers work out of their homes... the classes are paperless (good for the environment). I also believe that this will be a good thing for the students.. Smaller class rooms and more individual attention....

I will let you know how it goes...

What are Your thoughts On Home/online school?

A Big Decision - Home School

I am in the middle of making a very unpopular decision (with some). This decision did NOT come lightly... It came from watching my daughter fail when I know she can succeed... It came from talking to countless "experts" in the field of education... It came from the countless times I have had to take privileges away.... It came from wanting more for my kid than what she wants for herself today... It's from getting emails and phone calls from concerned teachers that my kid isn't focused... she is not organized... she is daydreaming... She is all over the place mentally except in the classroom where she should be...

I know there will be a few people in my life that I love who may believe they have the right to give me their opinion of how wrong our decision is... They will believe that they know how it works.. They will have very good intentions... I need the strength... the grace... the "God, please cover my mouth" patience.... I need to accept the fact that I don't have to explain or defend our decisions...... I know my kid.... My husband knows our kid.... And we know - this is the right thing to do for her... and She knows it's the right thing for her.... We are not blindsiding her... It never came down as an ultimatum... or a punishment - it came down to she knows she can't focus with too many distractions and she is tired of getting bad grades when she has always maintained great grades...

Public high school is tough... especially when there are in 39 kids in a class with an overworked teacher who does not have enough time or patience to help kids individually.... It's tough when a child who has a very hard time focusing has other kids that are not on task.. or there's a cute boy that she so happens to have a crush on that is sitting behind her... It's tough when she has to move fast between classes or risk an hour of detention for having a 3rd tardy.. It's hard when there's a biology teacher that gives notes and study details but chooses to make the test so difficult that over 70% of the class fails the test...

A decision is in the making - home school has improved so much in the last few years - there are many more opportunities... home school kids can have advantages that many other kids do not... After much research - prayer - back and forth - We found an on-line program that can have her stay in honors... it can keep her on track - it can go as fast or as slow as she needs... The California UC system gives it outstanding marks... We think this may be the chance to have her shine... The chance to keep her future happiness on track.... her current happiness and self esteem in the here and now where it should be....

As a parent who knows her kid.... I know - she knows this is the best move for her... I am not looking forward to the grief I know I will get... or the judgment... I know the proof will be in the pudding as they say... I have no doubt she will have a great future..... and I know one day she will look back and be thankful that she had parents that cared when she didn't.....

Private Or Public - That Is The Question

I am in the middle of the one of the hardest decision I have had to make.... There are so many factors that affect my decision.. and I am completely torn... Do I keep my kids in the private Christian school they are in and allow them to go through to their senior year or do I pull them out and have them start high school and middle school in the public school system this fall?

Pros For Staying in Private

Excellent education
Uniforms
All their friends are there
High Christian and Moral values
Convenient

Cons For Staying Private
Expensive

Pros For Going Public
Great Tennis team (both girls play)
Prom and dances
Good education
Free

Cons For Going Public
No friends
The "real" world
Christian values are not a priority
20 miles round trip a day - to/ from and to/from...

Another thing that I have to do - for whatever reason our neighborhood tract goes to a different city school district - and it is awful..... So in order for my kids to go to the school they should be going to - they have to take Japanese - yep, you read that right!!!! I'm trying to figure out if that is a pro or con for public....

What would you do?


Public



Private

Perfect Is No Longer Good Enough

When I was in school the highest GPA you could achieve was a 4.0. Today, the perfect grade is no longer perfect - there other factors involved - college credit courses for higher grades - extra academic requirements to achieve a higher score... Honors classes - I'm not sure what the highest GPA is now - I think it may be 4.3? Maybe 5.0 in some schools - do you know?

When I was in elementary and junior high school - I don't remember that much homework - I really don't remember any in elementary except for the occasional book report or class project.... Today - kindergartners are getting in upwards of 1-2 hours of homework - seriously... this is crazy. Not only is there a ton of homework - the studies in my opinion are much more in depth... much more difficult.. and expectations are much more higher....

My kids have been in the private school arena and next year they will be going to public schools. My main concern is that the lack of funding in the public schools may hinder my kids.... other kids from achieving their goals... Granted I am not knowledgeable about the public school system except for what I hear in the news.. I hope that my kids will continue to prosper...

The other concern I have is the competition to get into a good college... Because of the budget cuts in California - and I am guessing everywhere - there are less students being admitted - tuition costs are higher and the competition is fierce - a 4.0 student with high SAT scores may not get into the university of their choice - there are students that have gone beyond the "perfect" score and graduated high school with a 4.3 and received high SAT scores..

The time for being a kid in school and enjoying yourself is long gone.... Not only does the child have to have excellent grades, they have to have an incredible amount of community hours, and other extra curricular activities... My oldest starts high school this fall and is already starting to stress out - her dream is to go to a University in a different state to experience the whole "college life" and I support that - but she is going to have to go beyond the norm..... and reach for beyond perfect..... it's tough being a kid today...