As promised, here’s the rest of Charter & Other Free Online Schools as a distance learning option for homeschoolers. As discussed in the Part 1 a “free” school is a public school and therefore will be controlled to varying degrees by government regulations either at the local or state level.

People choose homeschool for many reasons and in my opinion the question to ask is:

Why are you homeschooling or considering homeschool?

• You don’t agree with what was/is being taught in the public school?
• For religious reasons – you want your children to learn from a faith perspective?
• You want to remove your child from the physical environment and influences of the public school?
• For health or some other reason, your child is unable to attend school?
• Frustration with the long hours that traditional public school requires, including the homework?
• To alleviate some of the stress you are observing, particularly in you highschool student’s life because of the demands and expectations place upon them?

Having given thought to why you want to homeschool, let’s take a quick look at the advantages and disadvantages of choosing an online government school or public brick & mortar charter school as a distance learning option.

Advantages:

• With a charter school you have some control over the focus of your child’s education, depending on the school you choose.
• You will have some degree of flexibility as to when the work is done (i.e., mornings, evenings weekends, etc.)
• You can have your child at home in a safe environment.
• You will receive everything you need including texts, computer and internet access.
• Your work as a parent will be less than in traditional homeschooling

Disadvantages:

• The school, not you, will determine what your child is taught.
• You will have little control over assignments and materials.
• In some cases, you may not be allowed to provide “religious” instruction, even on your own time.
• You may find that your child still needs to put in long hours to complete assignments.

There are others, I’m know.

Before you decide to chose one of the variations of public education, may I strongly encourage you to read these two articles published by the Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). The first is Charter Schools: The price is to high and the second, Charter Schools: Look before you leap. While these articles deal specifically with charter schools, the concerns and questions raised apply to any form of government funded public schooling.

If you are still considering the “free” public school distance learning option, you can find a great list of questions to help you evaluate the school here. Additionally, you may want to check out these other resources to help you in this important decision:

Center for Education Reform
Homeschool Online: Educational controversies
Public School Review: What is an online high school?
NEA position on Charter Schools
US Charter Schools FAQ’s

As I wrap this up, let me leave you with these two thoughts regarding free distance learning options:

• Specifically, concerning Charter Schools, it’s important to know that charter schools are controversial from all angles: traditional homeschoolers, those involved with traditional public schooling, and even the NEA!
• A quote From HSLDA:

Government schools are failing in many places. They are not providing students with the moral training necessary in any society, and students continue to fall short of academic standards. Why would home school parents wish to support this system by accepting funding to participate in it?

In spite of the enticements offered by charter schools, parents should realize that charter school programs are simply creating little public schools in our homes. The teaching may take place in a private home, but the government is pulling the strings.

The soul of home schooling has its foundation built on the incredible sacrifices of many parents who risked all in order to win the right to be free from suffocating government control and to be free to teach their children according to God’s ways and in obedience to His commands. God honors those who honor Him and who trust in His sovereign love and power.

We do not need the government’s “free” money. The price is too high.

P.S. Be sure to take time to check out the great links mentioned below in Annette’s comments!!!

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Related posts

• Private Distance Learning Options (0)
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• Intro (0)
• Charter & Other Free Online High Schools – Part 1 (0)
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• When Life Gets in the Way (2)
• Welcome to the Real World, Son (0)

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This entry was posted on Saturday, December 22nd, 2007 at 11:16 am and is filed under Home Education. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.