Where the USA treads the UK often follows. But this is one trend I’m not convinced by.
The USA has seen a 30% increase in online schooling for children. Last year 250,000 children were fully taught online. Some states have reduced education budgets so much classes above 30 have become common and parents are choosing online schooling to avoid this.
But what are children missing. A generation not socialised. Without Physical Education. Counter intuitively the better of are making this choice. Not so rich for private education but sufficient family income to have some one at home supervising the online learning.
And their was me thinking ‘free’ schools were challenging!
Firstly, I’m pleased to see the US online schooling trend getting noticed in the UK. I’ve raised it previously online and at conferences and most people seem to think it is a geographic phenomenon unique to large countries such as the US and Australia, so I’m please you see it instead within the social and financial situation.
However, I would question the assumption that it would necessarily be bad for UK children. ‘Socialised’ no longer means what it once did, many of today’s school children will communicate globally in their future careers so why not start early?
Physical education meanwhile can take many forms and many adults would acknowledge school sports (often team based) fail them yet, in adulthood, they find jogging, the gym and other activities enjoyable.
Obviously a spread of this form of schooling would be a challenge but there would undoubtedly be some benefits – we are the ‘most socially segregated’ after all (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-19548597).