Prompt:
"1. What do you think are the pros and cons of k12 online education/virtual schools?
2. How do you think virtual schooling will transform our education system?
3. Would you be open to teaching in this venue? Would you have wanted to go to school in this model? Do you know anyone who attends or teaches at a cyber charter? Would you send your kids? Explain and discuss.
4. Here are a couple of pics of our kids and family! Guess what...they are very social...socialization (an often over used and under documented argument) takes place in life...not just a classroom. Humanity has been social long before the americanized school systems. Remember this class is to stretch you to think outside of the box about our education system. The highest enrollment in cyber charter schools occurs between grades 6-9 due to bullying and other issues a student may be having. Is all socialization that occurs in school good? Do you think the good generally outweighs the bad? Why other reasons do you think students may enroll in this type of school choice?"
Here's my response to the prompt:
I think the pros of online education are the options that the students can explore. When I was in eighth grade I had a friend switch to homeschool. With her homeschooling curriculum she could take different classes than what our high school could offer. She took German and I could remember being so impressed that she could take that course. This was because my high school only offered Spanish and French. Another pro is that they could structure their day in a comfortable day opposed to other schooling methods.
Some of the cons of online education is the socialization part of it. School is the most influential part of our lives. It is where most of our learning about life has taken place. I know that children that are educated online are still social but the physical aspect is not the same. Another con is that online schooling offers a broader spectrum for students to be cyberbullied.
I don’t think I would want to teach online. I am more of a hands on/in person kind of professional. I know of people who have went to cyber school because of a variety of reasons. I would send my children to a public school. I defiantly would not let them be cyber schooled. I just think that they will lose out on experiences if they spend too much time on computers instead of going out and exploring the world differently.
Socialization is both good and bad. Bullying is certainly unavoidable. It happens whether you go to a public school or an online school. I believe that the good generally outweighs the bad because although all of the problems seem so bleak in high school, it really does prepare us for the world in a way. Some reasons students may enroll in cyber schools are because their friends might have switched, they might like the computer aspect of it more than the physical, and they might feel as if they fit in better when taking classes online opposed to in person. I think it really depends on our personalities and tendencies if we enjoy the cyber schooling systems.
I think that cyber schooling has made huge progress and that more and more students are going to cyber school. Honestly cyber schooling even existing has made such an impact on education. I forgot that teachers have to teach students online too. So cyber schooling has made more jobs for teachers.
Credit for the prompt due to Theresa Henderson. Credit for image: Google.
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