Are Homeschooling/Online Classes Legit?

[Ashleyxoxo]

I'm wondering how everyone feels about homeschooling and/or online classes, especially since the virus is forcing us to take the latter route. I feel like homeschooling deprives children of much needed social skills. Where will you make friends, if not in school? On your block? Also, I know that online classes were seen as not totally legit or viable to show to employers, but things may have changed, and it would make sense for online schooling to be the future of education.

[Stelio Kontos]

Anything's better than American public schools.

[Lynarii]

I'm wondering how everyone feels about homeschooling and/or online classes, especially since the virus is forcing us to take the latter route. I feel like homeschooling deprives children of much needed social skills. Where will you make friends, if not in school? On your block? Also, I know that online classes were seen as not totally legit or viable to show to employers, but things may have changed, and it would make sense for online schooling to be the future of education.

It's all in how they're done. You can be home schooled and take online classes and get a great education. Or you can get a shit one. The problem with such things isn't that they are inherently any worse than other options, it's that it's a lot harder to quality control them. An employer, for example, has no way of knowing if you got a good home school education or a bad one. With the public education system, they at least have a minimum bar they can expect.

[Jonnusthegreat]

If you aren't a dumbass you can learn anything via the internet. It all comes down to how much you care.

[shadowmouse]

Also, I know that online classes were seen as not totally legit or viable to show to employers, but things may have changed, and it would make sense for online schooling to be the future of education.

The part I've bold faced is the catch. Employers often use your formal education as shorthand for a basket of skills you should be bringing to the company, and that's why it is often the first hoop you have to jump through with HR.

Now, let's say the hot degree of the moment is a BS in Pandademic Panic Purchasing. You just happen to have one, and that might get you through the key word scan of your resume, but you're probably still one of many.

Next step is that whoever is lowest on the totem pole is going to sort through those who made it to the next step and evaluate that degree. One of the first things they'll check is where your degree is from, and a key factor is accreditation -- who says that Payola University's 3P BS should be taken seriously? Let's say the top authority is the Group of Official Designates (GOD), with other regional groups a distant second. Lucky you, you got your diploma from PU. On to the next step!

If HR is determined to dig into your BS, they'll look at details. PU's top 3P expert is Dr. Jacques Strappe, who wrote TP or not TP. That carry's weight, but this is where details might become important. Some people may look at whether Dr. Strappe has much direct involvement in his classes, or does he farm out most of the work to his TA. Does he teach in large lecture format, with a thousand people trying to follow along on CCTV, or were the classes smaller and more likely to let you interact?

Online classes throw a further wrench into that analysis -- it's the Internet, how does anyone know that the person sitting at your computer was really you, and if it was you, then how much of the time were you watching Pornhub while tanking LFR?

Given the desire to learn, you can pick up knowledge however/wherever it can be found. Formal education gives you something you can show to help you get through the maze of screening procedures to a point where you can actually show someone you know what you're doing. That's still the weak point for online classes, they offer a weak chain of evidence. For a physical class, you might well have been relying on somebody's notes to get you through, while either staying home to nurse a hangover or just dazing out with your phone during classes; however, at least for major exams there was a chance to make sure that you were really the person sitting the examination. Even so, people try to cheat the system -- look at the insanity of national college entrance examinations for some countries -- but online classes are even harder to control.

[Sunseeker]

Homeschooling=/=online classes. In fact in most cases it doesn't equal an education at all.

[smityx]

It depends if home schooling is actually based on real stuff a kid needs to learn/know yes. If it's just religious brainwashing mainly definitely not.

[Rogue Karl]

It depends if home schooling is actually based on real stuff a kid needs to learn/know yes. If it's just religious brainwashing mainly definitely not.

You can argue public schools suffer the same issue. I don't know why I learned about the holocaust for eight years of high school English courses. I wish they taught me proper formatting instead.

I have seen homeschooling students excell in university settings the two big hurdles I see are the following.

You NEED to peruse secondary education to be able to demonstrate your mastery.

You also get wildly different qualities of education as it comes down to the guardians or mentors ability to teach and format lessons.

[Tziva]

It depends on the quality of the schooling and the receptiveness of the student to that medium. There's nothing magical about imparting information face to face verses via the internet or by a book or whatever. Classroom schooling isn't more valid, just more traditional. A lot of homeschooling is garbage, a lot of online classes are lazy, but there's plenty of super shitty typical school curriculums too. It's also possible for all three to be stellar.

Unless you're talking about something like accreditation, but that's specific to the school not the way the information is relayed.

[Flarelaine]

Anything's better than American public schools.

Not when the alternative is a homeschooling curriculum carefully designed to keep children from any information or discovery more recent than the 18th century.

[Stelio Kontos]

Not when the alternative is a homeschooling curriculum carefully designed to keep children from any information or discovery more recent than the 18th century.

I worked in a tutoring center in college, and the handful of college students we had who were home-schooled were generally a good deal ahead of the victims of the public schools here. I mean, I don't doubt there might be some out there like you describe, but aside from a couple being a little socially awkward, they were pretty bright students.

[Flarelaine]

I worked in a tutoring center in college, and the handful of college students we had who were home-schooled were generally a good deal ahead of the victims of the public schools here. I mean, I don't doubt there might be some out there like you describe, but aside from a couple being a little socially awkward, they were pretty bright students.

Yeah, I did not mean all homeschooling was indoctrination... but it's there.

[callipygoustp]

Took a couple database/SQL courses from MIT back... about 15 years ago. They were fantastic. And, they were free.

[PACOX]

Quite of few of my college classes were online or mostly online. Had one or two teachers who just read the slides that were online, so basically an online class that was dictated to you.

Public schools where I grew up had a supplementary online system for summer school or so people could take an extra class for a number of reasons. The program has been around for ~20+ years.

I'm surprised there's still a stigma surrounding online courses. Yes people can cheat. People can cheat in traditional courses as well. A well-designed course will detect or dissuade most cheating. "Open book" assessments still involve learning if the student is able to Google answers (unless there's a key out there with just the answers like A, B, D, D, etc. But that would be an example of a poorly designed course).

One of the most important courses I've taken was a 100% online class where we all in groups. We had to solve collaboration problems that come up in real life such as coming up with efficient ways to communicate with colleagues and share work.

[zenkai]

It's all in how they're done. You can be home schooled and take online classes and get a great education. Or you can get a shit one. The problem with such things isn't that they are inherently any worse than other options, it's that it's a lot harder to quality control them. An employer, for example, has no way of knowing if you got a good home school education or a bad one. With the public education system, they at least have a minimum bar they can expect.

Home school students and private school students still have to pass state qualifying test.

[kamuimac]

I'm wondering how everyone feels about homeschooling and/or online classes, especially since the virus is forcing us to take the latter route. I feel like homeschooling deprives children of much needed social skills. Where will you make friends, if not in school? On your block? Also, I know that online classes were seen as not totally legit or viable to show to employers, but things may have changed, and it would make sense for online schooling to be the future of education.

a little history lesson

homeschooling was a thing from very begging. it was always supperior form of eductation for monarchy, rich and elite.

then they realised that they need slaves educated to certain degree to be able to efficiently work for them - and established publick schooling systems.

do you know why you have bells in schools ? for simple reason to train younglings that this sound symbolises break in factory in which they were supposed to work after finishing education.

world moved on and for some reason people belive that public schools give them entry to the society when in reality they are supposed to still teach them only basic skills

yes certain percentage will use it as means to "jump up" in social standing. but majotity will end up as prekariat. modern slaves.

[Teleros]

I'm wondering how everyone feels about homeschooling and/or online classes, especially since the virus is forcing us to take the latter route. I feel like homeschooling deprives children of much needed social skills.

Only if your idea of homeschooling is literally just replacing a regular classroom with one in your home. Zero reason homeschooling can't include all the social interaction stuff... it just won't be happening in the classroom. Frankly, that's probably not a bad thing - you're in the classroom to learn a particular subject, not to doss with your mates.

Where will you make friends, if not in school? On your block?

Unironically this. All you have to do as a parent is time your homeschooling to end around the time regular school ends, and you can get your kids out to do all the social stuff. Alternatively, if you're in an area with lots of other homeschooling types, co-ordinate when you wrap things up etc. Maybe in your area you have Wednesdays as a day when the kids go off & do their own thing all day (preferably in a park or forest or somewhere nice & green) - means you get to break up the "school week" (2 days school, 1 day break, 2 days school) without interfering with the weekend. Definitely harder in cities, especially as parks aren't as safe as they once were, but if anyone's got a decent garden you can all congregate at, use that instead. Heck, maybe there are local schools willing to help out with sports / social interaction etc.

Also, I know that online classes were seen as not totally legit or viable to show to employers, but things may have changed, and it would make sense for online schooling to be the future of education.

Depends entirely on the course. You won't see online schooling replace regular schools or home-schooling though, because you can't teach everything through a computer, and as you noted earlier, it lacks the social element. I wouldn't go near online courses for, say, cooking or technical skills, but for pure academic stuff? Sure.

= = =

I don't know why I learned about the holocaust for eight years of high school English courses. I wish they taught me proper formatting instead.

The US system was based on the old pre-WW1 German model of making good little soldiers & good little factory workers. The objectives have kind of changed since then, sure, but isn't it interesting how every changes according to a (factory) bell?

Also, as far as being taught 8 years of holocaust stuff goes... yeah as you say, it depends upon who is in charge of the education. In that sense, what's the functional difference between your highly religious parents deciding to skip on evolution, the far-left ideologues controlling your school from pumping it full of gender studies, or their far-right opponents doing the old "teach the controversy" thing?

I have seen homeschooling students excell in university settings the two big hurdles I see are the following.

That probably has more to do with their innate ability than whatever they were taught TBH. If you make the average rock look like an upper quintile intelligent fellow, no amount of knowledge is going to help.

You also get wildly different qualities of education as it comes down to the guardians or mentors ability to teach and format lessons.

Same in schools TBH, though with homeschooling you can generally count on the teachers being more motivated given that they're also your parents. If a teacher's more motivated than your parents to educate you properly... well frankly that's both pretty unusual and a sign of bad parenting.

= = =

Final thought: compare the ideals of both homeschooling & state schools. In the latter you have to teach everyone more or less the same thing & more or less the same way for practical purposes: one teacher, possibly a couple of dozen pupils, you do the maths. In the former, you can tailor everything much more closely to the individual.

[zenkai]

a little history lesson

homeschooling was a thing from very begging. it was always supperior form of eductation for monarchy, rich and elite.

then they realised that they need slaves educated to certain degree to be able to efficiently work for them - and established publick schooling systems.

do you know why you have bells in schools ? for simple reason to train younglings that this sound symbolises break in factory in which they were supposed to work after finishing education.

world moved on and for some reason people belive that public schools give them entry to the society when in reality they are supposed to still teach them only basic skills

yes certain percentage will use it as means to "jump up" in social standing. but majotity will end up as prekariat. modern slaves.

To add to your point

[Acidbaron]

I'm wondering how everyone feels about homeschooling and/or online classes, especially since the virus is forcing us to take the latter route. I feel like homeschooling deprives children of much needed social skills. Where will you make friends, if not in school? On your block? Also, I know that online classes were seen as not totally legit or viable to show to employers, but things may have changed, and it would make sense for online schooling to be the future of education.

I agree that beyond the level of education from pops and moms that consider themselves specialists of everything, the lack of social skills will really set you back in life.
Since making a career is mostly about networking, and if you can't work with other people since you never learn how to deal with people outside of your protected bubble you need to be rather lucky to get anything going.


Online education can be a great supplementation to standard education but i wonder how many can actually make their kid focus on just that behind a PC, the biggest source of all distraction. I find the interaction between teacher and student important a good teacher can add a lot of value, especially more technical classes where experience in the private sector taken over to public schools aid you a lot. Knowing how to do something and actually doing something is a world of difference, when you're working with electricity, metal, wood, etc.

I doubt many people have welding equipment laying around for example. Practical knowledge is key for certain trades but also languages you need to speak it to learn it.

So i rather see online education and homeschooling as something that can contribute to a person education in addition to the standard education of being in a school or proper learning environment.

[zenkai]

Unless you live out in the sticks where there isn't any other kids around, you don't need to go to school to learn social skills. Even then, going to public school doesn't mean you will get social skills. There are a lot of people online that I view socially inept and highly doubt they were home schooled.