K to 12 Online Schooling?

I am 16, and my four siblings and I have been homeschooled by my mom since 1st grade (we all skipped kindergarten). We use Seton Home Study School (http://www.setonhome.org/), a Catholic program based in Virginia. We enroll, order books from the catalog, and follow the given lesson plans throughout the school year. I also swim competitively for a highschool and work at a local YMCA.

To answer your cons: 1) in order for the kids to learn to follow rules, you have to rely on strong parenting skills and good examples. 2) While I am not the greatest at keeping up, my older brother was always on time and graduated WKU with a 4.0 and swam all four years. It's possible, you just have to be dedicated. The parent doesn't always have to be there looking over their shoulder, but especially in highschool it's important to sit on us. :D 3) Like I said, I swim for a highschool so I have social interaction there and no, my social skills were not built on TV. When I was little, I was involved with the girl scouts and swam during the summer and for a club. So the solution to social life is groups and teams which serve a dual purpose of providing exercise!! 4) Having four siblings helped with learning to share and working cooperatively (dinner dishes. Yuck.). 5) I think life issues come our way anyways, just a different kind than those you get at a public school. 6) The parents are the authority figures, mostly. Also coaches or leaders (like in Girl scouts or boy scouts). 7) I do miss out on those special relationships you get at school, but I met my best friend in brownies when I was 7.

Benefits? Lots. 1) I am not exposed to drugs. 2) I can work on my own time, like you said, so if I have trouble with math I can slow down and have my mom (teacher) explain it. 3) I can take vacations when I want, and avoid those messy crowds (which we do. All the time. And let me tell you, San Diego in August after school starts is just as nice as July when everyone else is there). 4) I am Catholic, so I get a stronger Catholic education than a public school or even a private school. So religion is an important factor in homeschooling for me. 5) Personally, I don't see the attraction of a highschool, but then I've never been. I'm able to avoid all that gross drama. 7) My parents know what I'm learning. They know the books and they know the teacher (my mom, haha).

With homeschooling, it is important to be able to teach your child. My mom has already taught 3 kids 0-12 so she knows every bit of material like the back of her hand, since we all study basically the same stuff (although we have upgraded versions, etc), and that helps. I also have my older siblings to help teach me. Dedication and discipline are necessary, but you also learn them homeschooling. I think it's better if only because you don't spend 8 hours at school and come home to 5 hours of homework. You learn the lesson and work the problems, basically.

People ask me all the time if I would ever like to go to a public school. Nope. I love homeschooling. It's less stressful (although not easy), and I don't have to deal with annoying teachers or whiny kids. I can do the work on my own time.

The way to learn social interaction is groups, like youth groups, girl scouts, sports teams, whatever. Those are very *very* important.

I hope this helps! I'm a fan of homeschooling, obviously, so I'm only a little bias....haha, Have fun!

First of all, not all online schools are the same, so don't judge off of one. Second of all, my sister and I have been homeschooled since kindergarten. I am now going to be a senior in high school and she's coming into her sophomore year. We both are actively involved with our friends and family. In fact, we just had a quit a championship homeschool basketball team because we are so busy. I am taking dual credits in college, and we are both getting much more involved with our youth group.

Just because we aren't spending all day in a classroom with other people who we really don't like, getting knowledge shoved down us by teachers that we hate, doesn't mean we are "unsocialized."

When I was younger, I would watch my friends come home in the afternoon, dragging a backpack full of homework that had to be done that night. Oftentimes, they wouldn't be done until bedtime. Does that sound socialized?

One of my best friends was a horrible reader after the public school system taught her. My sister and I love reading. By the time I was in third grade, I was reading my mom's books.

As for handling conflict, my sister handled a horrible fued between her two best friends when she was in eighth grade. She never blew up, instead she handled them calmly, without cutting either one off. Sound like not being able to handle conflict?

And not being able to work with authority? Businesses love homeschoolers! I could get a job anywhere I wanted, mainly because I am a homeschooler.

And honestly, most of the pros that you listed aren't true. Homeschoolers do school on snow days, but they often get days off other times.

On the other hand, public schoolers spend time with their friends in a classroom, where they aren't allowed to talk to one another and are supposed to be listening to a boring teacher. That sounds like great grounds for a friendship! I've met more rebellious public schoolers who cuss anyone out who crosses their path than I have unsocialized homeschoolers. In fact, most of my friends are so busy with social activities, they long for a day at home.

So next time you decide to post a question like that, you might want to reconsider. There are a lot of homeschoolers out there that are going to defend their school.

What in the world makes you think these kids don't spend times with others? Homeschoolers have a dizzying array of outside activities, including clubs, scouts, sports, dance, art classes, game clubs, hanging out with friends, community groups, volunteering, weekly homeschool groups, college classes, enrichment classes, theatre, the list is endless. In my area, homeschool kids, including those who use computer based programs, spend MORE time with peers than their schooled friends.

Social skills don't come from spending most of the day with the same age group. They come from spending time with people of all ages and abilities.

All the best.

i went to public school all through 6th grade, and chose to 7th grade with k12. everything you said is true, you only have a teacher teach middle schoolers once a week (so math only once a week, with a teacher, and only like 3 times a week on your own, i think you should do math everyday). AND when you take a test you can take it over and over untill you get the right answers (after the first time they tell you the answers) and it won't coun't against you! you don't get report cards either (this is for middle school, and i live in ohio).

i hated it, i'm going back to my normal middle school for 8th grade this year =)

for all the dumb azs who thumbs down my answer, mine was k12 for ohio middle school. you can call and talk to the teachers.