Home school High School - Is Online Learning Leading Your Student Astray?

One friend of mine has a sixteen year old daughter who is taking distance learning with an online Gifted and Talented organization. She is online a great deal. They make use of a net nanny program however there are still an abundance of websites that keep her occupied doing anything except school work. I believe this mom is most likely not alone. Yet what can a parent do to keep their kids centered on what they are supposed to be working on?

In our home, we referred to that behavior "falling into the abyss. " It is SO easy to get sidetracked when you are online! Countless fantastic things to do and find! Particularly with really smart teenagers, who could be uninterested in school.

When you aren't making use of an online program, the remedies are a bit more easy. You can get rid of all computer time until after school work is accomplished, and you can set a timer for those periods when they are permitted to be online, so their computer time is restricted. It is harder to do that when school *is* the computer.

If your child is gifted, they could be distracted because they are bored. Having children in a gifted program is not sufficient. You have to make certain they are at the CORRECT LEVEL for every class. Attempt to determine if your student is bored. Devote some time speaking with your student as an adult. Explain your challenges with limiting your own computer time, and request their help and advice regarding how they manage their computer time. Often when a teen communicates it themselves, they are more inclined to do it. In other words, if you can cause them to become SAY what you would like them to do, then they are more inclined to do it than if you say it to them specifically.

You may wish to ask your student if the on-line curriculum is a good match. Inquire further if they would like learning off the computer. Even though we often *believe* we have discovered the ideal solution, often our children will realize it is not a great match before we do. Perhaps your student really does not enjoy learning that way.

You can try having your student do the work on a separate computer, or with paper and pencil, after which getting online only once each assignment is finished. I am unclear exactly how it would work with an online program, but occasionally you can perform the work offline, then cut and paste (or scan and attach) work that is finished when you are not on the internet.

At some point, the online structure might be too great of a temptation. Like a chocoholic in a candy shop, it might simply be overly attractive to be effective. No one can answer that question but you and your student.

This may just be the drawback of any online program. Like many things about parenting, I do not feel you will discover "THE solution. " I hope, these recommendations will provide you some choices.

So take a look at the overall experience, and then determine if it is a beneficial match for your family. Thankfully, there are numerous learning alternatives for home schoolers in case distance learning is not the correct option for you.