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from the telecommuting-isn't-just-for-adults-anymore dept.
For several years, public school students in Virginia who do not have particular courses (e.g. Advanced Placement or Honors courses) offered in their brick-and-mortar classrooms have had online courses available to them.
The Virginia Department of Education announces
The [...] Virtual Virginia program will pilot a full-time, online high school for the 2015-2016 school year. The pilot--available to as many as 100 students on a first-come, first-served basis--will offer all required core academic courses and electives necessary to earn a Standard or Advanced Studies diploma.
"We are excited to offer this opportunity to high school students, especially those with the potential for thriving in a non-traditional instructional setting", Superintendent of Public Instruction Steven R. Staples said. "This expansion of the nationally recognized Virtual Virginia program provides more choice and flexibility to students seeking a high school diploma."
Students in the full-time pilot will be enrolled in their local public school but will receive instruction through Virtual Virginia. As with all Virtual Virginia courses, instruction will be provided by teachers with Virginia certification. Local schools will ensure that students in the pilot have access to technology, textbooks, special services and other necessary materials at no cost.
[...] Courses are delivered through Virtual Virginia's secure, web-based environment, and, like traditional classroom instruction, will include readings, discussion forums, written assignments, media, student presentations and projects, case studies, simulations, lab assignments, models, and opportunities for student collaboration.
The coverage by the Center for American Progress notes
Twenty-six states offer virtual or distance schooling on some level but few--Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming--have full-time programs statewide, according to a 2014 report(PDF) from the Evergreen Education Group.
Original Submission
(Score: 3, Insightful) by VLM on Wednesday June 17 2015, @02:00PM
Prepare you for an institutional life driven by bells on timers like an assembly line at an old time industrial plant, strictly class based and hyper hierarchical, armed guards patrolling hallways lined with locked doors, all that isn't mandatory is illegal and all that isn't illegal is mandatory, conformity is the second highest virtue after blind obedience to authority, sometimes even require uniforms kinda like prison...
What public schools prepare you for, is probably not something you want.
Arguably doing something superficially stupid is sometimes worthwhile if it toughens you up ("I can outlast this bullshit!"), but even that analysis is pretty weak.
(Score: 2) by Zz9zZ on Wednesday June 17 2015, @06:00PM
While I have many issues with the education sector, you are painting with a very broad brush. Conditions vary drastically from school to school, and while some may fall into the extreme conditions you list that is not the norm. The bells and timers are the only way to organize hundreds of individuals with varying levels of maturity, in college students are trusted to have time awareness. Armed guards and locked doors are definitely NOT the norm and are the result of gang violence, a legitimate worry for students and teachers. The only conformity that is enforced on a large scale are the federal education standards like STAR testing, which is definitely detrimental to education overall by promoting rote learning. We tend to forget how bad things used to be, it's been less than an average human lifespan since schools were desegregated in the US.
All that said, there is definitely a large streak of nanny-state mentality that goes into education which brings about the prison themes you refer to. Being able to get a diploma online is a great step towards giving kids freedom and allowing them to develop their own time management skills. Time will tell if it works well. Personally I have hope that the future will bring humanity more freedom to pursue life on our own terms, though we are in a time where it is hard to hold on to that hope.
~Tilting at windmills~
(Score: 2) by Anal Pumpernickel on Wednesday June 17 2015, @06:31PM
Armed guards and locked doors are definitely NOT the norm and are the result of gang violence, a legitimate worry for students and teachers.
A legitimate worry where? There are armed guards and locked doors in schools that exist in areas where it is highly improbable that any such bad events will take place. It's just that people are irrational and desire the illusion of safety, even if it the methods don't work and the threat is almost nonexistent.
There are locations where it is a legitimate worry, but then the question becomes whether these things are effective or worth it.
(Score: 2) by Zz9zZ on Wednesday June 17 2015, @06:50PM
I agree, I should have qualified my statement better. Hopefully we move past the cultural wars in the coming decades and can solve real problems, not the stupid problems of people just hating / fearing other people. It would be good if the media would stop being an echo chamber for violence just to achieve ratings... We are safer than ever yet more afraid.
~Tilting at windmills~
(Score: 2) by The Archon V2.0 on Wednesday June 17 2015, @06:15PM
> Prepare you for an institutional life driven by bells on timers like an assembly line at an old time industrial plant, strictly class based and hyper hierarchical
So, a call center?
> armed guards patrolling hallways lined with locked doors, all that isn't mandatory is illegal and all that isn't illegal is mandatory,
A call center.
> conformity is the second highest virtue after blind obedience to authority, sometimes even require uniforms kinda like prison...
I'm still guessing call center.
(Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday June 17 2015, @07:01PM
There are call centers in prisons, you know. They fit right in.