The pandemic saw a seismic shift in secondary and postsecondary education — especially in how kids, teens and adults now receive, and prefer to receive, their instruction. A sizeable portion of students found that learning from home benefitted them socially, academically, or both. After experiencing the advantages of remote learning, some students are even struggling to assimilate back into traditional in-person classrooms.
In Ontario, for example, 2.5% of kids between the ages of five and 18 were homeschooled before the pandemic; this percentage has now increased to 3.8%. And globally, the number of users opting for online learning is anticipated to increase to 57 million by 2027.
If your child is struggling with the confines of brick-and-mortar schooling, you may be considering teaching them at home. As with most things in life, every pro has a con. Read on to hear about the positives and negatives of homeschooling your child and how an accredited virtual high school can fill in the gaps.
A Homeschool and Virtual High School Combination
If you’ve got zero teaching experience, knowing where to begin may seem daunting. It’s worth considering signing your child up for their desired subjects with an online high school to cover your lack of knowledge in various subjects.
You can still be involved with your child’s education — you’ll receive emails, grade updates, access to curriculum, and you’ll have contact with teachers — but it’s not exclusively in your hands.
A Con to Exclusively Homeschooling: Missing Out on Credits
Using Ontario again as an example, Ministry of Education regulations make it challenging for exclusively homeschooled students to earn official credits that contribute towards their diploma. Fortunately, virtual learning in Ontario through an accredited virtual high school can solve this problem.
Pro to Learning from Home: Focused Learning
Most pupils excel with one-on-one teaching. Taking subjects at home and online means that teens can work through lessons at their own pace, scrolling backwards or forwards, breezing through areas they understand and taking more time on the topics or subjects they don’t.
The ability to self-pace and spend more time on areas of confusion can greatly improve teens’ grasp and understanding. In a traditional school, students are instead forced to move at the group’s pace.
Con to Learning from Home: Missing out on Socializing with Peers
This won’t be as much of a concern for some kids — such as those who experience social anxiety or those with sensory issues, for example. However, other teens might soar academically while learning from home but unfortunately experience bouts of social isolation.
Fortunately, this can be overcome. eLearning at a virtual high school generally requires interaction with peers as an element of course completion, and extracurriculars at the end of the school day are always on the table.
Pro to Virtual Learning: Brick-and-Mortar Schooling Isn’t for Everyone
Some teens are bullied, experience mental health challenges like stress and anxiety, or struggle to fit in. Others may be academically gifted, and the relatively slow pace of traditional school will cause them to grow bored and become disillusioned.
All of these issues compromise a student’s ability to focus and learn. With a virtual school, the security of home will alleviate social stressors, and the self-directed cadence of coursework can help gifted students move at a faster pace.
The Bottom Line
Everyday schools have been around for centuries, with the core foundation remaining the same — classes of multiple students with one teacher. A one-size-fits-all approach won’t work for everyone. If you’ve considered homeschooling your teen, we hope this gave you some insights. If it seems appealing, why not connect with a virtual high school today and explore the idea further?
