Middle and high school days can be tough. From the minute kids wake up, they're faced with packed schedules, with class, homework and after school events. For some students, traditional schooling just isn't their thing. That's why now, more than ever, cyber schooling is on the rise.
"Sometimes there are instances where, because of anxiety or depression, a student wants to complete course work at home," says pediatric psychologist Dr. Michael Jansen from Holland Hospital.
Pediatric psychologist Michael Jansen
That's why a growing number of parents are turning to cyber schooling, hoping to make the classroom more accommodating for their kids.
"We refer to it as schooling at home rather than homeschooling," said Great Lakes Cyber Academy principal Heather Ballien. "Because the teachers aren't having to supervise classrooms of students, they’re able to really individualize for small groups or individual students. They’re able to work with more students at a time."
GLCA principal Heather Ballien
"From bullying to 'My teacher doesn’t challenge me enough,' or 'My teacher doesn’t support me enough because I’m behind the rest of the class,' the whole continuum theme is 'I’m not getting what I need out of that traditional schooling environment,'" Ballien said.
And, she said, online schooling is great for students on the go.
"We have a couple of Olympic snowboard trainers up north, and we have students studying to be musicians," she said.
Imagine never having to walk into a school again. Sounds ideal right? Dr. Jansen says, not so fast.
Although cyber schooling is great for some, Jansen says it's causing other students to fall behind. "The whole social skills realm of developing an ability to interact with all types of different people -- authority figures, principals, teachers, as well as peers -- to a certain degree you lose that when you resort to online schooling," Dr. Jansen said.
There are some good reasons to do it and not so good reasons to do it. Jansen says online school is good for those who live in rural settings who don't have close access to public education or students who have physical or medical disabilities.
"I see online schooling sometimes creating a situation that allows a child to be more isolative or withdrawn," he said. "Going to school teaches you very valuable life lessons, the first one simply being everyday it’s kind of your job to get up and show up some place. That child or student isn’t put in situations where they have to learn how to overcome their anxiety or social anxiety and use healthy effective coping mechanisms."
Principal Ballien says that while students' socialization skills look a bit different, GLCA students are still getting a break offline. "Just because we're an online school doesn’t mean we don’t provide opportunities to meet in person, work with teachers in person, and engage with each other," Ballien said. "We do provide those opportunities in field trips and socialization events."
Jansen says if you choose the online schooling route, it's important to keep kids involved in extra curricular activities like sports, clubs and camps. Also, make sure your kid sticks to a daily routine.
There are several online schools across Michigan, but Ballien says Great Lakes Cyber Academy is the only online school in Michigan that provides three different pacing options: standard, extended and accelerated years.
GLCA is starting their school year August 29 with close to 800 students ranging from sixth to 12 grade.
