This hasn’t been the easiest summer my family has ever faced. I’ll spare you the details, but things are about to settle down and return to some sense of normalcy. I’m thankful for that. For the first quarter of this school year, we–and by we, I really me I, because my wife has been finishing up her job in another city–have been engaged in one of the most difficult tasks I’ve ever faced: homeschooling. Officially, our kids are students at the South Carolina Virtual Charter School. We use their curriculum, which is provided by K12.com.
I have been told by homeschooling parents, “Oh, it’s a public charter school. You’re just doing it at home? Well, you’re not really ‘homeschooling.’” We’ve been doing school. We’ve been doing school at home. We’ve been homeschooling. We may not have used the Bob Jones or Abeka curricula many homeschool families use, but we’ve been homeschooling. And it’s been the most difficult job I’ve ever had. Harder than I ever expected it to be.
But now that we’re just a few days from enrolling the children in a brick and mortar school, I have some reflections on the virtual school process.
Excellent Curriculum
As an educator, I have been thoroughly impressed with the curriculum K12.com has provided for us. In fact, it’s superior to any curriculum our kids have ever used in any brick and mortar school they’ve attended. It’s challenging and well-rounded.
Excellent Teacher Support
You might think that, since we’re not in front of certified teachers everyday, there’s little accountability. Not so. Teacher support has been excellent. And in the online classes I’ve watched with my children, the teachers are highly qualified. Now, that’s actually an official term–”highly qualified.” All teachers with the SCVCS are “highly qualified,” meaning they’ve passed additional certification parameters above and beyond regular certification. But, from what I’ve seen, it’s true.
It’s Not All Online
Contrary to my earlier understanding, lessons for SCVCS involve a computer only about 25% of the time. The rest of the time is one-on-one learning with the parent/learning coach. So you’re not sticking your kid in front of a computer and coming back at the end of the day. Adding more students into the mix–we have three–adds to the “spinning plate” phenomena. It’s difficult, but doable.
Give It Due Consideration
I believe educational choices should be child-based. If a student is best served by homeschooling, homeschool that child. If a student is best served in a more traditional setting, then public or private school it is. The parent has to be the judge of that. And it could be that one sibling is homeschooled and another attends a brick and mortar school.
If you decide that homeschooling is something you want to look into, give the South Carolina Virtual Charter School a look. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Don’t be under the mistaken idea that it’ll be a cakewalk because it won’t be. But, I think the rewards will speak for themselves.
P.S.
Q: If SCVCS is so good, why are we sending our children back to brick and mortar schools? A: We both will be working full-time jobs soon.
