More and more parents are opting to online homeschool their kids today, but what do the kids themselves think about it? It’s important to know this just to know if it’s working and if they like it, or if maybe ordinary schooling would be better for them.
When a group of online homeschooled kids were asked what they thought about it, this is what they had to say. Of course, being kids (aged 8-14 years, both boys and girls) they were asked if they thought it was fun. They all said it was. When pressed further and asked if they didn’t think it would be fun to go out to a real school and meet and learn with other kids, the real reasons why they like their online homeschool so much began to emerge:
- They liked the one on one attention that they got through their online curriculums. The kids were not picked from any particular curriculum and were a mixed group, but the acknowledged that they felt that they stayed long enough on a subject to be able to understand it. Some gave an interesting opposite; that they were able to move on quickly if they understood something fast, but that if they were in a class, they would have to wait for everyone else to get it before the teacher moved on.
- They all said that they liked the fact that they could focus on their academic strengths. If they were strong in a certain area, they could spend more time on it, while if the didn’t have interest in another they could drop it. Educators know that this helps a child to specialize early and become very strong in whatever discipline they choose. Online homeschool exposes kids to al kinds of disciplines and skills so that they can be able to choose more easily.
- They also liked the flexibility, and the parents were able to testify that despite having to monitor themselves a lot of the times, they were disciplined. They would take breaks when they needed them but wouldn’t waste time. They would stop when they were tired. It’s an interesting contrast to forced breaks in regular schooling. The fact that its online home school also meant that they could stop and come back and not have missed anything at all.
- The children appreciate the varied environment they get with online homeschool. They say that they learn much more because they have a lot more resources available to them at home than they do in school. They can go in the kitchen or garage and do an experiment immediately they learnt about it; they could go out and observe something that they had learnt and they said that it reinforced a lot of their lessons.
- They had an interesting perspective on peer pressure. The seemed to think it came from other kids at school so they felt that they were free of it and that they could make decisions without worrying what the other kids would think. They also said that they felt that you built a stronger character if you studied at home because you didn’t have outside influences in your way.
- They appreciated the internet as an online resource. All of them are guided through their online homeschool lessons, but they have been taught how to find relevant information to what they are studying. They seemed to understand concepts in different ways from kids who went to ordinary schools and learnt from a single source – the teacher.
What do these kids ever do for fun? What all other kids do. When online homeschool time is up, they go out and meet their friends, they play, they go to the mall, and they are just as well integrated as any other child. As we get to rely more and more on the internet for learning and information, it seems that this is an excellent option for a single parent or otherwise, if you want your kids to be widely skilled and well schooled, and to have character as well.
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