In December we had applied to Arkansas Virtual School, we were originally not in the "lucky few" accepted into the program but some people dropped out and now we've been accepted. At first I was all for it but now I'm starting to wonder if I should do it. I have to make a decision quick and not sure what I should do. Any thoughts on the virtual schools offered by public schools? They use the K12 curriculum. What do you think?
Before anyone yells at me, this is MY OPINION ONLY!!! So please treat it as such, and let's not get into another big fight over it!!! I believe that Virtual Schools are simply a way for Government Schools to regain control over "homeschool" children. Once again, THEY are the ones dictating the curriculum (at least to some extent...it varies from program to program) and here in Ohio you are required to take the Proficiency Test, which HS"ers are not required to take. The GOVERNMENT considers these children public school children being educated at home, as does HSLDA. Yes, it CAN be a valid choice for some, but it depends on WHY you homeschool in the first place. We homeschool mostly for religious reasons, and don't want ANY government interference in what we do, so it would not be acceptable FOR US. Yet I did suggest it as a possibility to a friend who had a high school daughter that was beginning to get into trouble. She threatened to pull her out and HS her, and asked my advice. While they are a Christian family, this wasn't the "driving force" of the decision so it would not compromise their beliefs by going to a Virtual School. I feel the biggest "threat" from Virtual Schools comes from people seeing it and equating it with HS'ing. Yes, these people have many of the same issues as we do. I'm sure there are some here on this board, and they should be very welcome. But the more people who do it, the cloudier the line between the two become. I get frustrated when I talk with folks and they think that we get government support for our books, etc. And I worry that eventually the government will try to force all HS'ers into a Virtual School. I've also "heard" tales about money given, but being VERY limited in how you spend it, or them changing the rules mid-way through, or monies promised never materializing. Also about the increase in record keeping, being forced to follow "their" schedule, and just a general lack of parental control over what's happening. Oh, and again from a Christian perspective, I've heard that any time you mention God in a lesson, you need to be "off the clock", so to speak, as far as recording number of minutes being taught. So you CAN teach a Biblical worldview, but any time spent doing that doesn't count toward "school time". Again, anyone who is considering Virtual Schools needs to sit down and redefine WHY they are HS'ing in the first place. If you are capable of enrolling your child in one without compromising those reasons, fine. If not, you're better off staying clear.
I personally don't want anything to do with the school district at all. South Carolina school district doesn't even know Vicki's name. I think the associations have to turn the number of students who are being homeschooled into the state. They don't gave any more information than that. I want to able to teach the way the Lord lays it on my heart to teach. I want to choose my own curriculum. I do use Abeka. It is a Christain curriculum but that is my choice. That is my thoughts on this.
That would not be the way of schooling for me and my children. One of the many reasons I hs is to build a bond and closer relationship with my adopted children - which I have done - by way of hsing. If they were to sit in front of a computer most of their day, I wouldnt have accomplished that. I am also, along with most of my children a hands on learner. Our school day does not just consist of reading and writing. We visit places - get our hands dirty. We also use a Christian curriculum. Another reason I hs is to teach my children what I want them to learn, what I think they need to learn and teach it to each of them the way I think they will learn it best. With all that said I do have a very dear friend that uses the K-12 program. It works well for her. She does not have a high school diploma and this is the only way she can hs. She was raised amish and they "graduate" at the end of 8th grade. It is not a diploma the state recognizes so therefore without a program such as this she couldnt hs. Just a note to those of you that would suggest her getting her GED. I have many times and even offered to help her. It is a scary thing for some. :wink:
I had a chance with my old hs support group to "test and review" some of the K12 materials. I participated in the math and record keeping workshop. At the time, three years ago, I felt too much time would be spent going on-line and there were lots of bugs. I understand now there are better connections and many of the bugs have been worked out. The program was pretty intense and very structured. In my opinion it didn't leave much flexability for the hs parent teacher. hth Tammy
You are right Tammy. There isnt much flexability. I am always invititing my girlfriend that uses K-12 on field trips and she cant come due to falling behind in her childrens studies. She has come on one in the past, but her girls had extra computer time the next day and didnt seem to be worth it.
Tried and hated it!!!!!! My daughters tried it this summer for summer school. It was really horrible. You could not understand what they wanted the kids to do. Granted they are both in public highschool, but even when I read, reread, and called, it got us nowhere. I felt it was very poorly run but I am sure they were funded by the government for my daughters even though we quit midway through. I homeschool my son who is 6 and my 3 year old daughter. I was thinking about doing the online virtual school for him, but our requirements are 6 hours a day, attendence log I have to submit via online, and follow their curriculum. I think this is the school district's way of getting tax dollars for homeschoolers. My nephew did online school last year for one semester. The books he had were ancient. I look at it this way. If you homeschool, why allow the school district to dictate to you. I feel they are doing these online schools and providing curriculum so they can get money. When the enrollment is up, they get more money. If more kids are homeschooled, they lose money. This is their way of "helping".
Thanks for your great input ladies. Shortly after I posted that my husband came home for lunch and I told him what I was feeling and we agreed that its just not for us. We would be going from no restrictions on what we do to alot of restrictions and I don't want my kids learning that way. If we went with the vs we would be loosing out on opportunities like a day investigating a stream or learning math by cooking. Granted yes we do do alot of paper type assignments but when you can teach in another way then why not. There were other reasons I decided not to but that was the big one. Thanks for your opinions.
A local paper ran a story on this type of schooling, and the mom in the story couldn't gush about it enough. The story was pretty one sided, but this lady wouldn't have it any other way for her kids.
