More and more adults no longer climb into their cars each morning, ready to battle traffic for the commute to work. Instead, they head to their desk, kitchen table or wherever they prefer to work with their computer remotely. Telecommuting is the wave of the future, and so is online education. While the majority of kids still trudge off to the bus stop each weekday morning, more and more students are learning remotely without leaving the house. In many cases, these students are receiving a quality of education that they could have never received in a traditional setting.
Self-Managed Schedules
Students familiar with self-managed schedules via online education have a huge advantage in the workplace of tomorrow. Early on, they learn to work independently and with minimal supervision. Those are qualities many people don’t learn until they near adulthood if their education has always been classroom-centered. Increasingly, employers want to hire workers who can get the job done well without a great deal of oversight. That’s the type of employee your child naturally becomes from an online learning environment.
Learn at Your Own Pace
Online learning allows your child to learn at his or her own pace. You know the material is truly mastered, rather than skipped over if a conventional class must move on to other subjects. It also means your child can take advanced classes in areas that spark interest. Bright children often become bored in classrooms, as teachers must concentrate on students who require additional help.
No Time Boundaries
Your child can take an online class at any time, rather than face the restrictions of a school schedule. High-school age students, for example, often don’t do well in early morning classes, but have no choice in standard high school settings. Starting classes at 9:30 a.m. rather than 7:30 a.m. allows your child to get a good night’s sleep rather than struggle to eat, wash, dress and get out the door before 7 a.m. to catch a school bus.
Up-to-Date Curriculum
In some school districts, budget cuts or other financial priorities mean children are learning from older textbooks – perhaps dating to the 20th century – and the curriculum in crucial areas hasn’t been updated recently. That’s not the case with online education, which is always current. If you’re not satisfied with the quality of your local public school, consider online learning for your child.
Parental Involvement
In traditional school, there’s a limit to parental involvement. Teachers want parents to become involved in their child’s education, but there are limits. If a teacher has 25 children in her class, your child is only going to get about 1/25 of her attention. When your child learns online, you stay involved with all aspects of your offspring’s intellectual development, and no one other than siblings competes for the student’s attention.
Other Benefits
While most students do well with an online education, there are some for whom remote learning is particularly beneficial – even necessary. These include children with health issues that prevent them from attending school, home-schooled students, student athletes or artists focusing on that aspect of their lives, and kids with families who move or travel frequently. For the latter, online learning gives them an educational continuum they could not find in conventional schools.