For those of you who know me or work with me, you know that I home school my two younger kids ages 8 and 6. Just as I work my Virtual Assistant business from my home, (this is my job), I have given my younger children the opportunity to work their “job” from home, which is learning. Needless to say, we both love our jobs.
One of the reasons I let my children choose to home school (and it is their choice) is because no one should be forced into something via social pressure. I live in a state that allows me to home school my kids with very little government involvement. They don’t tell me what to do or how to do it. Just as long as the kids pass the three standardized tests over the course of their 13 year state required education, we are fine.
I look at college the same way, as a job that my kids will choose on their own. I have older kids. One has already graduated from a four-year university, one who is completing his second BA at a very prestigious college in California, and one who is attending a local community college. My other two grown-up kids chose not to go to college, but to get their education in their chosen fields by taking online courses specific to their careers.
I have never “sent” my kids to college or to their online courses. They have made their own choices and funded their own education. I have always felt that if my kids pay their own way into the higher education of their own choosing, then they will be all the better for it. You may tend to take education more serious if the funds are coming out of your own pocket.
I love online education. I attended a four-year university that allowed me to take more than half of my classes online. This really helped me because I was a forty-ish aged student at the time trying to make a living, and raise kids while going to school. So, I would recommend an online university to my kids if they felt it would be a good fit for them and their lifestyles. I sometimes feel that you learn more from an online college because you alone have the responsibility to see that your assignments get done and that you learn the material presented to you. It helps a person learn accountability.
Depending on what they wanted to study, I would recommend an online college because I think you educate your own self better (that is why we home school in the first place) and I think from an expense point of view, it is cheaper. You get the same education without having to go in debt to student loans for the next 30 years.
In a nutshell, I would leave the choice to attend college up to my children. They alone are the only ones who know whether or not higher education is for them and which form of education fits their needs, whether it be online or a campus-type university.
Disclaimer: I am participating in the Home school and Online College Campaign organized by American Muslim Mom. I received compensation to facilitate this post. However, the views and opinions are my own.
First, may God bless you for instilling the great benefit of individualized, personalized education and the sense of financial responsibility to further their education towards reaching their degrees. Amazing advice, given your unique experience of taking online classes as well. You write fluidly, and would encourage you to share more homeschooling tips alongside your home business as a VA, as it shares such a beautiful perspective of your core values while how hard-working you are as a successful VA.
Thank you Ponn. I think we all have unique reasons why we home school and each is as valid as the next. The same goes for college choices. It is quite the challenge to work and home school all in the same room, but we give each other support and that makes it all worth while. Thanks so much for commenting.