Our school district’s offerings for the upcoming school year are less than appealing and she’d like to go a different route. Trouble is, she's just not sure she can hold up an entire homeschool and put in a full day of work.
My answer to her: Don’t rule out distance learning altogether. In fact, distance learning, when done well and by teachers who are equipped to handle the unique obstacles of online education and who have years and years of distance learning experience behind them, can be an exceptional course of action for parents who want to provide a quality education for their kids but who also have to work from home.
My answer to her: Don’t rule out distance learning altogether. In fact, distance learning, when done well and by teachers who are equipped to handle the unique obstacles of online education and who have years and years of distance learning experience behind them, can be an exceptional course of action for parents who want to provide a quality education for their kids but who also have to work from home.
Our distance learning experience for high school science has been so successful that I've chosen to enroll all my boys in the BJU Press Homeschool's math program. My work schedule has increased significantly and their love for our previous math program has decreased at about the same rate. So, Distance Learning seems like the perfect solution, at least for now.
I've already written about our experience with BJU Distance Learning, so I won't bore you with those details. I'll only mention how it is different from the distance learning that most public school kids had to endure this past spring thanks to the worldwide pandemic.
The lessons are designed for learning, not review
Most school districts were operating under a "maintenance" model this past spring. The distance learning they provided did not necessarily teach new concepts. It just reviewed previously learned material. That's not education. That's just regurgitating information. BJU Press Homeschool Distance Learning courses, on the other hand, are all designed with a robust scope-and-sequence of continuous learning.
The teachers are experts in remote learning
It takes a certain level of skill and training to teach a large group of kids with multiple learning styles, struggles, and strengths. But the skills and training required to teach in a traditional classroom fall far short in front of a 2-dimensional screen. Digital classrooms demand additional abilities and aptitudes that the average teacher may or may not possess. The BJU Press Homeschool Distance Learning teachers are experts in remote learning. They not only know how to include students through a screen, but how to engage them.
The videos are professionally developed
Set designers, prop coordinators, graphic designers, scriptwriters, and short-film directors combine their talents to make each and every lesson an interactive experience.
Take a look at the following snippets from three different BJU Press Homeschool Distance Learning classrooms to see what I mean.
Take a look at the following snippets from three different BJU Press Homeschool Distance Learning classrooms to see what I mean.
The learning can happen at your convenience
With BJU Press Homeschool Distance Learning your schedule never has to be hijacked. All the lessons and assignments are pre-recorded and uploaded to a learning portal. They can be accessed for a full year after your purchase and can be viewed at your convenience. You can say "so long" to overlapping Zoom calls, multiple devices bogging down your internet, and rigid meeting schedules that require your kids to check-in at inopportune times. You can decide when your kids view the lessons and when they don't. So whether you are early birds or night owls, 4-day-a-week schoolers or Sabbath schoolers, learning can happen on your time table.
A final word
The distance learning of this past spring was a dumpster fire. Perhaps the public school will be able to pull together a better offering in the coming school year. But then again, maybe not. I guess only time will tell. One thing's for sure: whatever remote or hybrid learning plan the local school district is able to scrape together will still be one built in a few months' time. The experts at BJU Press Homeschool have been fine-tuning their distance learning program for over a decade.
No doubt, distance learning is no one's first choice for school. But when done well, it can be an exceptional alternative for certain kids, for certain subjects, and for such a time as this.
Thank you so much
ReplyDeleteThank you so much. We are Using BJU Press and it's wonderful.
ReplyDeleteGlad you like it!
DeleteI am wondering how you organize the work? In a binder? I have 2 that are taking English and my 8th grader is taking science. Im trying to organize them as much as possible:)
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