In a traditional classroom setting, a skilled teacher must deploy various types of teaching styles into his or her lesson planning so that all students can be engaged in the learning experience. There are a myriad of different teaching styles which will, respectively, appeal to a myriad of different types of learners. Even when a teacher is superb at engaging all different types of learners- kinesthetic, auditory, visual- there is still a chance that at least one of the students in the classroom will struggle with grasping the content being taught, making him or her a candidate for extra assistance.
In this scenario, one option for the struggling child is to get extra help, as most teachers are always happy to stay after class to further explain difficult material. However, an online home schooling program is another route one might want to consider taking for one’s child. Online home schooling offers an immeasurable amount of benefits to any student, whether struggling or excelling academically.
With an online home-schooling program, students have a unique opportunity to learn all of the given material in their preferred style of learning, making it more likely that they will surpass the academic success of their peers in traditional public schooling. For example, if a child learns best visually, he can watch more educational videos than would be viewed in a typical classroom setting. If a child is an auditory learner, she might benefit from listening to music containing lyrics that express the details of a specific historical event, or from having material read aloud to her rather than being required to read it silently to herself.
In addition to this, with online home schooling, a child can learn material at a pace that is most comfortable for him or her. Some children grasp information almost instantaneously, while others need new topics to be introduced to them very gradually, with focus placed on understanding of the basics before moving on to the more difficult areas of any given topic. With this program, students and their mentors have the option of rewinding or fast-forwarding videos, thus making online education a beneficial learning experience for any type of student.
The one-on-one atmosphere of home schooling is especially great for those children who learn at a slower pace than others; it provides them with a stress-free environment where they don’t have to be nervous or anxious about learning at the same pace as their peers. Simultaneously, home schooling is equally great for advanced students because it prevents them from growing bored with a topic they already understand as the teacher continues to explain it to the rest of the class. With home schooling, the child is allowed and encouraged to progress to more challenging areas of study. The individual attention that online home schooling provides would be ideal for any child because it would enable him or her to gain a much deeper and irreplaceable knowledge and understanding of important academic material.
Another reason why an online home schooling program might be something you would like to consider for your student is that it offers great convenience to you and your child. Some children experience great difficulty with trying to focus on academics early in the morning or late in the afternoon. With an online education program, you and your child can decide which time of day or night feels like the best to sit down and learn. Online home schooling also allows a child the freedom to pursue other goals and dreams, such as sports, singing, acting, or other activities that have a very regimented schedule and require serious commitment in order for success to be possible.
With any online home schooling program, it is ensured that you and your child will receive a unique one-on-one, individualized learning experience without having to sacrifice the social learning interactions that a traditional school provides.
Adam Wagner is an education writer that works for a San Diego Charter School.