Archive for the ‘Traditional Schooling’ Category

Entering a traditional classroom, I am often taken aback. I can’t help but wonder: How is this going to prepare our kids to live and work in today’s technology-focused world?

Sitting at their little desks, listening to lectures, memorizing facts in preparation for tests, are we giving them the skills needed to compete in today’s world? Will they feel comfortable using technology? Will they be able to think for themselves, solve problems, innovate? Will they lead, or will they always follow?

There are, of course, natural leaders among us – those who will think for themselves and lead no matter what. But what about the students who need a little push in the right direction in order to reach their full potential? Aren’t we robbing them of vitally important skills when we stick with traditional teaching methods that worked 50 years ago, but may not be the best methods today?

To be ready for today’s world, our children need to feel 100% comfortable using technology. Technology can’t be something they experience once a week in a special computer class. It must be an integral part of the curriculum. Furthermore, students need to learn to be creative, to think independently, to ask questions and to solve them.

Memorizing skills are simply not needed in today’s world. With free, easy access to information, the skills that are needed are not memorizing information but rather knowing where to find it, how to access it, and how to best process it, applying it to solve problems.

Frustrated with the huge disconnect between the traditional classroom and today’s reality, many of our parents have chosen online homeschooling as a way to ensure their child is ready for the future. We encourage you to do the same.

What should you do when you feel that traditional schooling is not the best way to educate your child? What should you do when you watch your child come home from school day after day, burdened with so much homework that she doesn’t have any time left to follow her passions and do the things she loves doing (even if they’re not part of the school’s curriculum)?

Parents who find our school often tell us, “I was fed up with the traditional schooling system.” Being a product of the same system, you don’t want to watch your child going through twelve years without really getting a chance to create, to be active in his learning. You don’t want your child to go through twelve years of passive learning, of memorizing facts, of so little technology exposure and training that when it’s time to go out into the world and find work, he’s simply not ready.

We believe that “schooling” is not the same as “learning” and in fact, often schooling – in the traditional sense – results in very little learning, certainly in very little high order thinking and learning. Back in 1956, Benjamin Bloom found that over 95% of the test questions students encounter require them to think only at the lowest possible level – the recall of information. The highest, most abstract order of thinking, which is creating, was almost completely ignored. Sadly, this is still the case today.

The good news for parents who worry about the way their child is being schooled: there ARE viable alternatives to traditional schooling. Homeschooling, online homeschooling, immersive education – today there are so many tools and options available to parents who want to see their child learning, not just going through the process of schooling. Start exploring your options today. You owe it to yourself, and to your child.