Some Talking Points Before Choosing a Virtual High School
Choosing a high school seems to be an urgent requirement for people these days. With today’s job market being very competitive, where people get their education seems to be a huge factor on how they eventually lead their lives. It also so happens that the choices for secondary education have been widened by advances in technology.
Whereas even just five years ago, the idea of getting a degree online is unheard of, these days, there have been parents who prefer to enrol their children in a virtual high school. This decision should be exciting for both parents and the child, as it shall determine the latter’s academic career. Of course, when the decision to go to such school is about to happen, it is best for all parties concerned, parents and prospective student, to sit down and discuss what the pros, cons, and challenges enrolling in a online secondary school brings.
For parents and students on the crossroads of deciding whether to attend a virtual school or not, here are some talking points that can facilitate an informed and balanced decision by the folks from Work From Home Jobs Guide that may help you:
- Is the method of learning important to the family?
There are families who do not really regard high school as an important step in one’s academic career. Their mentality usually consists of HS as something that is only a phase before the more important stage of college. To make it to college, one just needs good grades especially in the last two years in secondary school and the best results in the SATs. But then, for some, how learning happens to the student is a very important factor in choosing a school. With a cyber HS, proponents credit it with more education freedom, wider knowledge access, flexibility, electronic communication, and creativity in the student’s learning process.
In a regular brick and mortar school, access to electronic methods of learning may be restricted to a few subjects. This makes cyber school attendees more adept in technology use in real life. Moreover, the pace at which the student learns may be dependent on how fast or slow the rest of the class picks up whatever lessons are taught.
- Does the student want to earn double credits?
With regular high schools, the idea is, if a student wants to earn college-level credits, AP or advanced placement classes are available. This would require students who want to have those credits study more subjects than students in a ‘normal’ track. With virtual schools, a student can take advantage of ‘dual enrolment,’ wherein high school students can earn credits for both high school and college.
This can help in making costs for post-secondary education more affordable. While the same can be said actual high schools, the work load in a virtual high school can be more manageable since the student can control the pace of his or her classes, which means an easy class can be taken as quickly as possible to give time to more difficult subjects that can be used for college credit.