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Free Online Homeschooling

Have you tried getting your parents to homeschool you, but they insist that they wouldn't know how to be teachers? Then you tried telling them about unschooling, but they thought that was just plain crazy? There is another option, and it's called online homeschooling... although technically it's really more plain online high school, with the possibility of a bit of unschooling or homeschooling mixed in, depending on how you and your parents decide to do it.

How does free online homeschooling work? Well, you need to sign up for online classes at a high school, preferably in the same state or area where you live. If it's a public high school, the online classes won't cost you anything extra at all. Hence, "free online homeschooling". Yes, it's all the same curriculum as the normal high school, but you can do it at your own pace, in your own time, and at home. This should leave you with lots more free time to pursue your other interests, and teach yourself more interesting things.

Different schools have different ways of doing it though. In some cases they might have virtual online classrooms, where you can sit in and watch the lecture with a webcam, and even ask questions and stuff. Other times, the teacher will simply email you instructions and assignments, you complete them and then email them back whenever they're done. You'll probably still have to physically attend exams and things like that though.

As long as you're taking online classes from a regular public high school, you'll get a perfectly normal high school diploma when you graduate. This should ease your parents' fears a bit.

Certain subjects will be a bit more difficult online, for example practical subjects like science and biology. It's a bit hard to dissect something virtually over the internet. On the other hand, if the thought of cutting open animals creeps you out, this may be a convenient way to skip that altogether and just do the textbook stuff. You can then proceed to go outside and check out those same animals in their natural habitat, instead of a glass jar. :)

Other names for online high schools are Virtual Schools and Cyber Schools. These are the same thing, just different names for them. For more info on online high school, check this article: How to finish high school online for free.

What are the requirements for free online homeschooling?

You need to be able to type well, since most of your communication with teachers will be in writing. You'll also need to motivate yourself to get the work and stuff done, since there won't be anyone around to nag you. Though this might actually help you more than hinder you if you find that incessant nagging puts you off instead.

Socialization

If your parents are worried about a 'lack of socialization' in online homeschooling, you might find the arguments on this page useful.

Posted in: Resources on August 21, 2006 @ 7:51 PM

Tags: Alternatives, Homeschooling, Online Schooling, School

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