Virtual School? Really? The Learning Coach Chronicles

Theyk12_logo_online_pub_schools say our kids teach us things. Well, these days I am learning about how to sit my ego down and meet my kid where he is. So, I have placed him in K12 Online School. I made this move in January–because honestly, he can’t stand school and was having a terrible time.  Subsequently, I was having a terrible time, too.

In my Adolescent Development class we often discussed alternative forms of schooling and how much trouble we adults have with relinquishing control and trusting that the kids WILL learn what they need even if we are not controlling every aspect of the learning process. I would also end the discussion by challenging them to think outside of the box of traditional education and open their minds to something different. Well, now I am putting my money where my mouth is–and I’m nervous.

All the online schools have pretty much the same attributes, but  I chose the K12 “brand” of online public schooling because they use mastery grading. Also, they seem to have a lot of support for Learning Coaches (the parents/adults who will guide the student and monitor progress). I read a lot about online schooling, much of which wasn’t too favorable. I relied on my own experiences as an educator to make the decision to do this because one thing that I did NOT have to rely during my search for an  on was a wealth of published research about the experiences of parents/learning coaches involved in K12 online schooling.  I suppose I have found an area that is ripe for research. So far, this is an engaged as a parent can be without actually home-schooling. It is a huge responsibility.

We are about almost two months into this and it’s been interesting and challenging–definitely not without its problems. However, my son is actually doing a bit better than in traditional school. We will see how this turns out. In the meantime, I’m going to become very involved and learn as much as I can. This may be a study in the making.