It’s a shameful truth that the choices parents make concerning their children’s education will be criticized no matter what they do. Public schools? They’re the enemy. Private schools? Way too expensive, and only snobby parents pay for their kids to go there. Homeschooling? Your child is going to be antisocial. It’s no wonder that parents who choose to virtual school their students have just as much trouble as anyone else.
Unfortunately, virtual schooling is new; and like anything else that is new, it takes time for people to adjust to it. They want to pick it apart, and look for reasons why it might fail, and insist that the worst-case scenario is the one most likely to ococur.
When public schools became the norm for everyone, there were those who fought them. When homeschooling became a more common practice, there were those who fought against the idea. Even the creation of schools was argued against in many quarters. Any time a new standard is created, people will gripe about it, complain about it, and decide that it is the worst thing in the world until they adjust.
Then what? When virtual schools have been around longer, will people learn to accept them and treat them as the norm? Eventually, it is inevitable. There comes a point where people will accept it just as much as they do traditional homeschooling, or private schools, or any other educational opportunity. In the meantime, however, people are going to bicker, and complain, and insist that there is nothing “good” about it.
Virtual schooling is not a fad. Too many people have jumped on board, and it is too useful to too many people. Eventually, enrollment numbers will settle down somewhat. People for whom this is a valued educational opportunity will find it, and stick with it. In the meantime, it’s just a matter of patience until new regulations are found.
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