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Accredited Online High School
I recently completed the enrollment for my step daughter in a fully accredited online high school. Out of frustration, she was preparing to drop out of her public high school. This was not acceptable to me, so we began seeking alternatives. Her dilemma was much like many kids today.
My step daughter is Vietnamese, and was failed two times in her earlier grades. In high school, she was doing much better. She was doing so well, in fact that she made the honor roll. I was quite proud of her. What happened next, however, was a real set back. Only a matter of days after making the honor roll, she flunked the state exams.
She now faced being held back a third time. The data indicated that being held back twice causes over a 90% chance of dropping out of high school. Somehow, I had hoped that she would defy the odds. It didn't happen.
When someone says that they support standardized testing, I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Where are those "standardized children? With today's schools reduced to test prep centers, where is the opportunity for creativity?
These students are so, so different. Shall we put them in a food processor and until it spits out homogeneous pulp? Creativity is what sets America apart from other countries where rote memorization is the norm in school. Why quash that creativity? Our kids need air to breath, and room to be themselves.
I am a strong supporter of self paced learning. Traditional public schools are the antithesis of self paced learning. In an ideal learning environment, each child works at his own pace, and advances only when he has mastered the lesson he is working on.
This gives a logical, step by step progression to learning. Public schools present material to a large group of students at a time. Some will grasp the lesson, some will be bored by a pace too show, and some will get lost, and fall behind. The problem is that in a class, materials are just "broadcast" to some fictitious average student.
It seems to me that online schools are perfect for self pacing. As a matter of fact, with the clear stresses and unfairness of "No Child Left Behind", online education will become more and more popular. Virtual schools have the exact solution.
The other strong point in favor of online schooling is that they can more easily offer a wide variety of courses that can appeal to broad and differing interests. I'm talking about doing this in high school, not college. I want to see all kinds of wild courses is far out subjects. Make them available, in addition to the core classes. Why bore high school students with ever narrowing, test-centered, lessons?
For me and my step daughter, we chose an online school that offers over 100 courses, has good accreditation, and a challenging curriculum. It took me days of shopping, and sorting before deciding on one. I had to reject the high priced schools. We also rejected the schools tied to the public school system, and the testing. Take care in deciding for yourself.
About the Author Ed Desmond is home schooling his daughter thesimple way with an online high school. If you would like a medium priced alternative now offering full $1000 off tuition please follow this link to National High School.
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