I have been talking to a friend of mine who is working on his PhD in Engineering Education about the following idea. The research shows that as much or more learning can take place in about 3 hours of home schooling (we use K12.com virtual school, which is a great program) as can take place in a full day of public school. If children were able to take care of those basics in about 3 hours, that would leave a lot of hours that could be used for more learning opportunities. For example, my son wants to be an engineer/inventor. We have tried to purchase educational books and kits to give him opportunities to progress toward that goal, but there is just not enough out there. However, if K12.com were to be combined with a project based learning program like Project Lead the Way, the potential would be limitless. Whether the child’s passion is engineering, science, computers, or whatever, I see this as a great opportunity to bring more motivation and fun into education (and the research shows that children learn and retain much more when those factors are brought into play).
As another example, I teach troubled youth who are very intelligent, but many have chosen to use their intelligence to manipulate and get into trouble. The other day, I was thinking about one junior high student in particular who has Asperger's (which Einstein is speculated by some to have had). He loves science and can explain complex scientific theories in detail. I sometimes catch him reading articles from Popular Science or books by Stephen Hawkings when he is supposed to be working on history. I hate to stop him because he is so passionate about studying science. He is also easily distracted by other students. It would be great if he could use a program like K12.com to quickly complete the basics without the distractions of a crowded classroom and then do project-based learning the rest of the school day. How many Edisons or Einsteins out there might reach their potential with such opportunities who otherwise might not do so? Perhaps many gifted students and those who have been diagnosed with Asperger's and other forms of autism, ADD, ADHD, dyslexia, or other learning disabilities would do much better with more multimedia and interactive/hands-on educational approaches.
Romney Wins! – ******* – The Coming Onslaught of Anti-Mormon Snark
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Romney Wins Washington Caucus And not just barely – 13 points over Ron
Paul, 14 over Rick Santorum. You know, it occurs to me the only person not
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4 hours ago
7 comments:
Can you cite that research ? Was it sponsored by k12.com ? :) how likely it is to happen (you use the word can)? which public school ?
On a different note, how old is your son and which kits have you got ? Meccano/Erector ? Lego Technics ? Lego Robots ? Are there not enough or are they too expensive ?
I have seen a number of different sources saying similar things about the amount of hours of homeschooling needed to match or surpass the learning taking place in public schools. This source looked at Pennsylvania middle schoolers. It shows a little more than three hours per day on average. (But doesn't it just make sense that a one-on-one learning environment without all of the wasted time and distractions of public school would lead to greater learning in fewer hours--especially with a multimedia program as effective as K12.com?)
http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000010/200410250.asp
My son is 7 and we have science, energy, electricity, and building kits (like K'nex), and lots of science and other educational books, etc. There are a lot of good things out there and some are expensive, but I don't see any way to match something like Project Lead the Way.
By the way, before you ask about socialization (which everyone does), my son goes to church, plays all the local sports, is going to start scouts soon, and has activities with other kids in the area who participate in K12.com. Besides, the socialization I'm seeing in public schools has not been good. The behavior and respect level of public school kids is getting pretty bad.
Josh, I just accidentally found your website, and glad that I did. No longer have kids in school, but as an American citizen (and of Utah), I am concerned about the education -- lack thereof -- that our children are receiving today.
The defeat of school vouchers here in Utah was very sad, and I'm glad to hear that it was only a battle that was lost and not the war.
Keep up the fight, and the good work on your website. I'll check back often.
Thanks Pam. I totally agree with you. Hopefully more people are now aware of the need for education reform--of some sort, if not vouchers. Thanks for putting a link to my blog on your blog. Really, we just have to spread the word and eventually badly needed reforms will take place.
interesting ideas- I a currently doing dual enrollment w/ my son- he is highly gifted and public school was even in the words of our superintendent not designed to meet his needs- so he goes to school for specials and assemblies, parties, Pe, art, spanish , we do all the acedmics at home. We have a delightful small town new england school but yes it was lacking- I taught early childhood teacher education- before my SAHM mom days- I am big on project based learning- I wish there was more available in that area.
I think dual enrollment is a great idea. There are certain subjects and activities that might be more effective in a more traditional school setting. In addition, that takes care of a lot of the concerns about socialization. If you take a look at my post on the new charter school, we were looking at something similar--sort of a "hybrid" approach.
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