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An Introduction to Virtual Schooling |
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Written by Michelle Powell-Smith
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Saturday, 23 June 2007 |
More and more states are offering virtual school options for families. How these are managed varies from state to state. In some cases, families enroll in a charter and are classed as public schoolers, even though schooling occurs primarily in the home. In other states, state sponsored virtual academies are available to homeschoolers without changing their status.
What does signing up for a virtual academy mean to your family? There are clear benefits and drawbacks to virtual schools, and they may not be right for every family. Some homeschoolers, and the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) have voiced concerns about virtual academies.
Typically, the virtual school provides all your curriculum, supplies and manipulatives. Some states may even provide a computer and internet subsidy. It is hard not to be tempted by an offer like that. Moreover, the virtual academy provides lesson plans, teachers for grading and advice, and often opportunities for social interaction. Busy homeschooling parents may be tempted by this convenient out of the box homeschooling solution.
Nothing comes without costs, and that is certainly true of virtual schools. Unschoolers and those committed to child led learning will likely find a virtual school overly restrictive. A virtual academy will require you to keep to a more stringent schedule than you may prefer, and work will have to proceed in the fashion dictated by your virtual school. Religious homeschoolers may find the inability to teach from a faith-based perspective a problem.
Who should consider virtual schools or academies? Parents who accept and are comfortable with public school curriculum but prefer to teach their children at home may be happy with a virtual academy. Busy parents, those teaching multiple children, or parents working at home or juggling work out of the home and homeschooling may find the reduced workload of a virtual academy especially helpful. Like all things, it is not a free ride, and you will accept some amount of supervision, testing requirements, and the lack of freedom that comes with state supported schooling.
For some families, virtual schools are a fine choice, and for others, they are better off planning their own curricula, hours and schooling patterns.
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