Mythbusting

Okay, so there is a group of people who do not want me to say that I "homeschool" my 1st grader because I am using a public cyber charter. Whatever floats your boat. But I have seen so many untruths out there about how the charter schools work that I thought it might be helpful to hear directly from someone who uses one.

Myth 1: The computer lent to families comes from the school. This is not true. The boxes come directly from K12. When I call for tech support, I call K12. I am not told by the government or the school what I can or can't put on it. In fact, the boys use it for computer games all the time.

Myth 2: The government tells me what I can and can't teach. Not true. In three years of use, I have never once been told I couldn't teach my kids something. I am free to share my own opinions and beliefs. Likewise, if I come across something objectionable in the curriculum, I am free to skip it. I can also add in as much supplementary material and as many field trips as I want.

Myth 3: Once they're in, it's hard to get them out. Also not true. Last year, I decided not to re-enroll my oldest son. I emailed the school and said he wouldn't be returning. That was it. I then had to tell the local school district I'd be homeschooling him this year, the same way every other independently homeschooling parent does every year.

Myth 4: Cyber charters are much more restrictive than homeschooling independently. In my experience, they're just different. I have to keep track of hours instead of days in school. And, for example, a Language Arts lesson counts as one hour, whether it takes me that long or not. Sometimes I get in a crunch at the end of the year, but I always get there. If you are someone who counts a trip to the grocery store as a day in school, then yeah, I could see how it could be called restrictive. I am required to give standardized tests at certain grade levels, and so are homeschoolers, the difference being that the school picks which test. And like I said before, they are not restrictive about the curriculum. Obviously, though, you shouldn't choose this curriculum if you don't like it. You can download an entire scope and sequence from K12, as well as view sample lessons, to determine that ahead of time. Other differences are: the students are evaluated (by phone) every other week in the charter school, as opposed to once a year with homeschooling, and the students turn in a work sample once a month, as opposed to once a year with homeschooling. Personally, I don't find either one more restrictive, just different.

Now, of course, I can only speak to how things work in Pennsylvania. Maybe in other states the cyber charters do put a lot more restrictions on people than homeschooling would. But I have heard these myths from people right here in my community, too.

So if you have any other questions about how the school works and would like answers from someone who actually uses it, feel free to ask.

And by the way, ignoramus means someone who lacks knowledge concerning a particular subject. I, for example, am an ignoramus when it comes to sports. It's not an insult. Now if I were to call you an idiot, that would be an insult.