Home Schooling - K12 Inc.

[Triton318]

That was weird. I had come back to the portal page after posting something and saw an ad for K12 Inc. I work for K12, so it was a bit odd seeing it. Then it made me wonder if there are any cruisers out there using the K12 curriculum. I guess it would be a little difficult, because you need Internet access almost daily. I wonder how large the potential market would be? In terms of the company modifying curriculum or services to accommodate people with infrequent Internet access.

[svTOTEM]

We've been homeschooling our 3 kids aboard for 2 years. Internet would be an issue. We're in Fiji, working west to Australia and find that it isn't difficult to find internet in the major islands groups along the way. But, bandwidth is often mindnumbingly slow. The cruisers we know that must upload/download schoolwork literally spend days transfering data that would take minutes in the US. Additionally internet time is often expensive out here.

[SaucySailoress]

I'm a primary school teacher, currently doing a Masters in Online Education. I'm hoping that by the time we set off cruising, the internet access will be better on board, and I'll be able to find some sort of employment in e-learning.

Seems a problem though, since I don't have a home base, and the British sites expect you to have been resident in the UK...

[capcook]

Originally Posted by Triton318

I wonder how large the potential market would be? In terms of the company modifying curriculum or services to accommodate people with infrequent Internet access.

Hi, we are still in the planning stages but have been looking into these things... Georgia uses K-12 for it's "Cyber Academy" and so I believe it is free to Georgia residents... would you know if that is the case... I think we will have to spring for a Sat System as having some internet will be a pre-condition for my wife going... I guess I won't ask you if you think K-12 is better than say Culverts.... but if you could explain the main differences that would be great...

Cheers

[pierat]

yes i would like feed back about the 2 schools too and yes i believe you have a market if the price is right k12 is free in a lot of states culverts is much cheaper if you pay
any other school suggestions any one have

[Triton318]

Originally Posted by capcook

Georgia uses K-12 for it's "Cyber Academy" and so I believe it is free to Georgia residents... would you know if that is the case...I guess I won't ask you if you think K-12 is better than say Culverts.... but if you could explain the main differences that would be great...

The company has grown so much in the last 10 years and, since I'm in my own little world of developing history lessons, I really don't know all the details about the virtual charter schools. I believe that if you live in a state that has a K12 virtual charter school/academy, then your child can enroll and everything is supplied to the family. In regards to the main differences, again, I don't really know. I do know that standardized test scores are showing that K12 students are doing as well and, in some cases, better than other students. If you haven't checked it out yet, and want to, the website is: K12: Online Public School, Online High School, Online Private School, Homeschooling, and Online Courses options.

I will say this -- the History courses are great!

[pierat]

i have seen there site and culverts too i was just wondering if any one could tell me pros and cons one verses the other why would i prefer the one over the other i have daughter and will be doing school for her in next year or so and want the best i can get
i have narrowed it down to the 2 and wanna now which one is better

[Rivers2Seas]

We are looking at casting off in August/September and have a 3 year old and a 5 year old. We are hoping to homeschool the 5 yo starting with 1st grade on up and the 3 yo starting with Pre-K. We are leaning heavily toward Calverts but are intrigued by k12, any input by people out there doing it would be really helpful. Pros and cons etc. Thanks!

[Benz]

Why enslave yourself to an expensive and requisite-fraught curriculum at all? My wife is teaching the kids to read and write and cipher, and travelling, swimming, and touring is teaching them geography, history, anthropology, biology, astronomy, navigation. And we don't have to worry about sending stuff in periodically, or scanning or faxing or telephoning, all of which can be expensive and unreliable when available at all. It's a viable option.

[svTOTEM]

After 3 years cruising the Pacific with 3 kids, we've seen about every homeschooling variation possible. Different kids / parents / locations suit different styles. What works best is figuring out what your style is. We have friends that like Calvert and other structured programs, but here are 2 things to consider 1) it is a relatively big investment without knowing if it suits your style 2) Box programs don’t have curriculum commonality between ages – meaning that kids of different ages must learn cover completely different topics. We’ve found with 3 kids that outside of fundamentals, we can share one topic between them, say famous explorers, and just vary the complexity relevant to the child. The other benefit of this is that older kids can help teach younger –which we’ve found so great as a teaching tool all the kids

Like Benz, aboard Totem we've pieced together our own material it works great for us. We’ve found the “Singapore Math” great for math.

[Tellie]

Agree with svTOTEM.
When homeschooling adjusting to your childs learning stlye is far more important than any store bought structured curriculum. Forget the structure aimed at the masses. The fact that parents take their children cruising and are willing to homeschool them, show their willingness to not follow the masses. Get involved with your childs education and find out how they learn individually and what works best for them. It will be tough at first but it will be one of the most rewarding tasks you'll ever take on and a source of immense pride for the rest of your life. The world will thank you for giving it another great citizen.

[capcook]

Originally Posted by Benz

Why enslave yourself to an expensive and requisite-fraught curriculum at all? .

Hmm, College comes to mind... With Calverts and K12 you end up with a well respected diploma... with Capcook School for Boaters.. not so much...

Perhaps the Ks would make their way into a College anyway, but competition is very tough for the good schools... I would think not having a well respected High School diploma is a step in the wrong direction...

cheers

[JJB]

We're from Australia, we use "The Brisbane School of Distance Education" which still requires Internet access at times, but it's not a daily requirement.
We do have to send work for to Australia either by mail or Internet E-mail..

The course material they provide is quite simply great, it's also very flexible, while some things have to be done in line with the Australian education system, they do not mind if you modify it a little, you can also add plenty of other material if you so choose, you can even swap and change material from a grade or two up, without having to repeat it in two years time. There is also no pace that has to be kept, at times you can let school flag for a few weeks if you have other things to do, then catch back up at a later date.

Any time they send us new "hard" coursework, by mail we make an arrangement for it to be sent by mail to a pre-arranged hotel or marina.

[Tellie]

Originally Posted by capcook

Hmm, College comes to mind... With Calverts and K12 you end up with a well respected diploma... with Capcook School for Boaters.. not so much...

Perhaps the Ks would make their way into a College anyway, but competition is very tough for the good schools... I would think not having a well respected High School diploma is a step in the wrong direction...

cheers

Then you don't have much experience in home schooling and need a little guidance. There are several schools that give excellent evaluations for home schooled children and help to specifically direct each childs educational needs. Assuming because a parent sends a kid to a good school or paying big dollars for a private school is the end all answer to their child's educational needs and easy acceptance into a collage of their choice, you'll find many of the big universities are disagreeing. Most local community collages are full of these kids wondering what happened the past twelve years. In fact many schools including Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and many international universities are specifically courting home schooled children. Though Calvert is a good system it is by no means the only answer. The best educated teachers are in the public school systems. Yet the biggest drop out rate and failures are found there. A large percentage of private school teachers don't even have a teaching certificate. Yet private schools turn out a larger percentage of college bound kids than public. The vast majority of cruisers who take their kids with them are above average intelligence and are quite capable of understanding their child's educational needs better than a teacher that teaches to a few hundred kids a day trying to give them a few fleeting moments of their time. Does this mean all home schooled kids will go to Harvard? Nope. Some will be hard working blue collar workers their whole lives. That is nothing to be ashamed of. But the ever increasing home school movement and success rates from it are far more impressive than what the public school and private school systems are producing. I've watched the homeschooling phenomenon for the past twelve years. We have many friends who have their kids in public schools, in private schools and friends who home school. The differences are obvious. Just because, dad gets to brag here, my kid was easily accepted into one of the best European universities doesn't mean homeschooling is for everyone. But never assume that home schooled kids are getting less than any other kid. I assure you in most cases the opposite is true.

[SaucySailoress]

Tellie - I am fascinated by your stance on home schooling - all of which I agree with wholeheartedly - and wonder... what is your background in education? Do tell!