Why Virtual Schooling?

 Students in the Tennessee Virtual Academy must score 80 percent or higher on their assessments in order to proceed to the next level.  A “D” or “F” is not a possibility, because students have no choice but to go back and work on the subject again if they don’t pass.  79 or below is considered “not mastered,” and students do not proceed until they have mastered the content.  In a traditional school setting, if a student fails an assignment or test, they’re too busy moving on to the next one to figure out what went wrong in the first place. There are opportunities available for virtual students to work with their teachers any time they need to.  Less time is spent on classroom management—and therefore less time is lost.  No student is overlooked just because they happen to be making god grades, either, because monthly conferences ensure that teachers are tracking student progress throughout the year. This is, of course, indescribably valuable for some of the students mentioned above:  students who are either far ahead or far behind their classmates, academically speaking.  It is equally valuable for average students.  In a typical brick and mortar classroom, assignments are given based not on the capability of an individual student, but on the capability of the class as a whole.  If two or three students grasp a concept immediately, but the rest of the classroom is struggling, the class will remain on that topic until the class as a whole is caught up.  On the flip side, if two or three students are struggling with a particular concept, there may not be special assignments available to them.At some point in their academic career, this is going to apply to every student.  There’s no avoiding that.  Some children learn some things faster than others, and others slower—that’s just the way it works.  In a virtual classroom, children have the ability to work at their own pace regardless of what their classmates are doing.  If they need extra time for something, they take it.  If they already understand a concept before they even get started on it, they can breeze through the lessons or even skip them altogether.  There is no need for any student to be bored, and there is no need for any student to be lost.  The lessons have already been covered.View the list »
 Some students are morning people—though that becomes comparatively rarer as they get older.  Others are night owls.  There are virtual students who complete all of their lessons, even listening to their class connect recordings, during the hours when many of their peers are asleep. It’s not that they are deliberately antisocial; it’s that their minds are wired to work best during a certain time of day.  A virtual education ensures that they are able to work during the hours that are most appropriate for them, not the hours that were chosen ahead of time by the school system.This is also a particular advantage for students who participate in sports outside of school, or who are engaged in other activities during school hours.  If they are busy, they can come back and work on their schoolwork later.  If they have an appointment, they can schedule it at the time when the doctor’s office is able to fit them in, rather than dodging classes, and tests, and other necessities of public schooling.In a virtual schooling environment, vacations are also at the discretion of the parents.  They can choose to take their children out of school for a vacation when it is convenient for them, rather than waiting on school to let out—along with the schools of every other child in the country, rendering many popular vacation destinations crowded and difficult to maneuver through.

Homeschooling newsletter

There have been many discussions about why a virtual education might be desirable for a particular student—and there are as many reasons as there are students enrolled in a virtual school. Those reasons range from ease of accessibility, to a child who is more or less advanced than the rest of his or her grade level, to a student who, for whatever reason, doesn’t quite “fit” into the virtual school environment.

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But what are the true benefits of a virtual school—not just for a child who is seeking out a different way of completing their educational goals, but for any child?

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  •  Some students are morning people—though that becomes comparatively rarer as they get older.  Others are night owls.  There are virtual students who complete all of their lessons, even listening to their class connect recordings, during the hours when many of their peers are asleep. It’s not that they are deliberately antisocial; it’s that their minds are wired to work best during a certain time of day.  A virtual education ensures that they are able to work during the hours that are most appropriate for them, not the hours that were chosen ahead of time by the school system.This is also a particular advantage for students who participate in sports outside of school, or who are engaged in other activities during school hours.  If they are busy, they can come back and work on their schoolwork later.  If they have an appointment, they can schedule it at the time when the doctor’s office is able to fit them in, rather than dodging classes, and tests, and other necessities of public schooling.In a virtual schooling environment, vacations are also at the discretion of the parents.  They can choose to take their children out of school for a vacation when it is convenient for them, rather than waiting on school to let out—along with the schools of every other child in the country, rendering many popular vacation destinations crowded and difficult to maneuver through.
  •  This is, of course, indescribably valuable for some of the students mentioned above:  students who are either far ahead or far behind their classmates, academically speaking.  It is equally valuable for average students.  In a typical brick and mortar classroom, assignments are given based not on the capability of an individual student, but on the capability of the class as a whole.  If two or three students grasp a concept immediately, but the rest of the classroom is struggling, the class will remain on that topic until the class as a whole is caught up.  On the flip side, if two or three students are struggling with a particular concept, there may not be special assignments available to them.At some point in their academic career, this is going to apply to every student.  There’s no avoiding that.  Some children learn some things faster than others, and others slower—that’s just the way it works.  In a virtual classroom, children have the ability to work at their own pace regardless of what their classmates are doing.  If they need extra time for something, they take it.  If they already understand a concept before they even get started on it, they can breeze through the lessons or even skip them altogether.  There is no need for any student to be bored, and there is no need for any student to be lost.  The lessons have already been covered.
  •  There are opportunities available for virtual students to work with their teachers any time they need to.  Less time is spent on classroom management—and therefore less time is lost.  No student is overlooked just because they happen to be making god grades, either, because monthly conferences ensure that teachers are tracking student progress throughout the year.
  •  Students in the Tennessee Virtual Academy must score 80 percent or higher on their assessments in order to proceed to the next level.  A “D” or “F” is not a possibility, because students have no choice but to go back and work on the subject again if they don’t pass.  79 or below is considered “not mastered,” and students do not proceed until they have mastered the content.  In a traditional school setting, if a student fails an assignment or test, they’re too busy moving on to the next one to figure out what went wrong in the first place.
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, Knoxville Homeschooling Examiner

My older two kids have been virtual schooled since January of 2012. My eldest will be going back to a traditional public school for middle school; my middle son intends to wait until high school. We do a mixture of the Virtual Academy curriculum and our own supplemental material.

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