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Originally Posted by ldsoftwaresteve
I like the concept overdog. Now, if students could opt out of High School and choose the online version it would be better than what it is now. the money that would go to the highschool would instead go to the online school. And that money could be used to improve the courseware. If people had a way to create courses and add them to the program, that would even be better. Like an opensource library with specific tools available for adding your own courses to the library.
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Yes...but it's a long and difficult road to get there, if we ever do. Lot's of politics and economic challenges, all the way down to the local level, get in the way. No state or federal agency was willing to fund it. She had to, on her own, convince multiple school districts to help. It isn't a money-maker at this point, is another problem. Of course, it was never intended to be, but in the end, projects like this ultimately have to be self-sustaining, just like anything else. It won the governor's award, but did it get any new funding from the state? No. And the Patent application was turned down. Why? Apparently you can't patent something like this.
It is discouraging how many obstacles there are that must to be overcome to make something innovative like this available to kids.
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And let me guess, her solution is getting attacked because "the schools won't have enough money to stay running if everyone can just stay home and study at their own pace".
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I don't think it would ever be able to do that without
major federal backing.
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I once saw a televised symposium on home schooling where the pros and cons were discussed by professional educators. One lady stood up and asked, "Well, if everyone home schools, what will happen to the teachers?".
Your wife's solution will allow them to become mentors and at least transition to a different career. But I think the lady's question hit one of the problems right on the head: the schools are for the children, not the teachers. Too many people don't understand that.
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Yes, it presents a great opportunity for retireing baby-boomers teachers to become part-time Mentors. Right now it's mainly graduate students and teachers donated by the collaborating school districts that are helping support the program.
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Please pass on my compliments to your wife.
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I will, Thanks.
EDIT:
I forgot to mention, the Online Academy is available to any student in the US. It's not limited to Virginia. I just talked to my wife about our discussion, feel free to contact her if you are interested....
