Homeschooling High School – Is Online Learning Leading Your Home schooler Astray?

Distance learning implies time on the computer – and teenagers LOVE computers! But what do you do when they love being online too much?

One friend of mine has a 16 year old daughter who is taking distance learning with an online Gifted and Talented organization. She is online a lot. They take advantage of a net nanny program but there are still loads of sites that keep her busy doing anything but school work. I believe this mom is most likely not alone. But what can a parent do to keep their children focused on what they are supposed to be doing?

In our home, we called that behavior “falling into the abyss. ” It’s SO easy to get distracted when you’re online! Plenty of wonderful things to do and check out! Especially with very bright young people, who may very well be bored with school.

When you are not working with an online program, the solutions are a little more simple.

You can eliminate all computer time until after school work is done, and you can set a timer for those intervals when they are allowed to be online, so their computer time is reduced. It’s more difficult to do that when school *is* the computer.

If your child is gifted, they may be distracted because they are bored. Having kids in a gifted program just isn’t good enough. You will need to be sure they are at the RIGHT LEVEL for each class. Try to determine if your student is bored. Spend some time speaking with your student as an adult. Express your battles with limiting your own computer time, and ask their advice concerning how they handle their computer time. Many times when a teenager expresses it themselves, they are more likely to do it. In other words, if you can get them to SAY what you wish them to do, then they are more likely to do it than if you say it to them directly.

You may prefer to ask your student if the on-line curriculum is a good fit. Inquire if they would opt for studying away from the computer. While we sometimes *feel* we have found the perfect choice, sometimes our kids will realize it’s not a good fit before we do. It’s possible that your student really doesn’t prefer learning that way.

You can try having your student do the work on a separate computer, or with paper and pencil, and then getting online only when each assignment is complete. I’m not sure how it would work with an online program, but sometimes you are able to do the work offline, and then cut and paste (or scan and attach) work that is performed when you aren’t on the internet.

Ultimately, the online format may be too great of a temptation. Like a chocoholic in a candy store, it could just be too alluring to be efficient. Nobody can answer that question but you and your student.

This may simply be the problem of any online program. Like many things about parenting, I don’t believe you will find “THE solution. ” Maybe, these recommendations will offer you some options.

So look at the overall experience, and see if it’s a good fit for your family. Fortunately, there are many learning options for homeschoolers in case distance learning isn’t the right choice for you.