Part Two: The Virtual School (The ADD addition)

BUT! I was only concerned until I saw THIS:

“Struggling students such as Kelsey-Anne, who suffers from attention deficit disorder, can take more time to finish courses while those who are gifted can go at a faster speed.”

BAAAAAAAAH! If I could run around like Gonzo (the muppet) with my arms flapping around over my head like a cloth-muppet limbs… I would!!
I grew up with A.D.D. It was hard. It sucked. I couldn’t concentrate. I got things wrong. I struggled. I fought. I cried. I was insecure. I was frustrated. I gave up. Everything.
I didn’t know I had A.D.D when I went to Montessori– I simply understood that I didn’t seem to learn like others. Montessori such a free-form joint (I spent a lot of time eating Gerbil food with classmates, writing stories, & playing Cinderella while doing class chores) that I could move at my own speed. I still had tendancies to do things wrong (or just not “get” math), but again, I went to a Montessori– they have noooo problem letting you find your own way.
7th grade: I transferred to an over-crowded Junior High. Hell hath no fury like an A.D.D tween stressin’ out in a new school.
But here’s the thing– all that struggle, frustration, emotional turmoil… it is what gave me:

a) A sense of hard work

b) Creative problem solving

c) Learning my weaknesses and finding solutions
d) Finding success and realizing I can do anything: The world is my oyster and I shall conquer (LOL– not such a bad thing peeps– I’d make cookie breaks a mandetory daily event)

But I was lucky– I had understanding parents who weren’t overbearing, but were strong and supportive. Not every A.D.D kid has that– and there are kids out there that have learning disabilities MUCH rougher than mine were and LESS parental support!

It’s just that– in this day and age where everyone wants the quick fix: give ‘em ritalin; blame the teacher; send them to virtual school… I just wish people would take some of the responibility onto themselves. Kids with A.D.D need to know that it IS their OWN problem, but the world CAN help if they ask. They need to learn how to handle situations themselves and NOT have to give up easily to take a softer route. Taking kids out of hard situations to put the in easier ones can sometimes teach them to avoid difficulty and real-time problem solving.

When I was teaching I had the coolest kid named Ryan in my classroom. He had A.D.D and he was in third grade. I know it’s wrong– but he was my FAVORITE kid in the class. Favorite. He would make up the BEST funny stories about Spongebob and he had NO shame when it came to making the others laugh with him.

However– tests in math & spelling? Oh dear. Dear dear dear me. I would have him sit in during recess & after school to study. I had him take and retake and REtake tests. I did EVERYTHING I possibly could to help him aside from doing it myself.

The problem? He was defeated before he began. He had the (dun dun dunnn) A.D.D!!! It wasn’t fair, he didn’t understand, he thought he was dumb– every thing to break your heart. His parents tried everything to help - tutors, flashcards, Sylvan learning Center, etc. But Ryan built a wall. He could not succeed because of the ADD– it was as if that was his mantra. “I can’t do it. I have A.D.D”

I remember being that way in 8th grade. I just didn’t get math. I had A.D.D.

As Ryan’s teacher, and someone who understood how he felt, I did the only thing possible. I sat down with Ryan & his parents and explained my own situation as gently as possible (Because, of course, you don’t want to come out and say “Look, kid, it’s your problem. You’ve GOT to figure out how to solve it yourself with OUR help. Don’t depend on us to do the job for you”).

A.D.D isn’t the end of the road… its a ROAD BLOCK. People get around road blocks all the time– it’s just a matter of finding yourself a path. It’s a matter of owning your situation, taking responsibility for it, and figuring out how to conquer it. Once you learn how to conquer– nothing can stop you. And better than the feeling of success? The appreciation for the path, the lessons learned, the abilities enhanced, the stronger you’ve become.

I’m sorry if it seems I’ve jumped on my soap box - preachy trigger happy. That’s not my intent. I understand that people want the best for their children… and if sticking your A.D.D child in a virtual classroom so they can concentrate on their studies is the best option– it’s your (the parents’) decision. But please people. Give the child a chance to succeed in the face of doubt and difficulty - in the long run, the difficult fight is what will make them a better person.

If any of you would like to open up discussions about A.D.D & technology & learning, let me know. I am very interesting in such subjects. Just shout out.

The Virtual School

Virtual schooling growing at K-12 level

By BILL KACZOR, Associated Press Writer

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - As a seventh-grader, Kelsey-Anne Hizer was getting mostly D’s and F’s and felt the teachers at her Ocala middle school were not giving her the help she needed. But after switching to a virtual school for eighth grade, Kelsey-Anne is receiving more individual attention and making A’s and B’s. She’s also enthusiastic about learning, even though she has never been in the same room as her teachers.Kelsey-Anne became part of a growing national trend when she transferred to Orlando-based Florida Virtual School. Students get their lessons online and communicate with their teachers and each other through chat rooms, e-mail, telephone and instant messaging.

“It’s more one-on-one than regular school,” Kelsey-Anne said. “It’s more they’re there; they’re listening.”

Virtual learning is becoming ubiquitous at colleges and universities but remains in its infancy at the elementary and secondary level, where skeptics have questioned its cost and effect on children’s
socialization.

However, virtual schools are growing fast — at an annual rate of about 25 percent. There are 25 statewide or state-led programs and more than 170 virtual charter schools across the nation, according to the North American Council for Online Learning.

Estimates of elementary and secondary students taking virtual classes range from 500,000 to 1 million nationally compared to total public school enrollment of about 50 million.

Online learning is used as an alternative for summer school and for students who need remedial help, are disabled, being home schooled or suspended for behavioral problems. It also can help avoid overcrowding in traditional classrooms and provide courses that local schools, often rural or inner-city, do not offer.

Advocates say those niche functions are fine, but that virtual learning has almost unlimited potential. Many envision a blending of virtual and traditional learning.

“We hope that it becomes just another piece of our public schools’ day rather than still this thing over here that we’re all trying to figure out,” said Julie Young, Florida Virtual’s president and CEO.

Florida Virtual is one of the nation’s oldest and largest online schools, with more than 55,000 students in Florida and around the world, most of them part-time. Its motto is “Any Time, Any Place, Any Path, Any Pace.”

Struggling students such as Kelsey-Anne, who suffers from attention deficit disorder, can take more time to finish courses while those who are gifted can go at a faster speed.

Casey Hutcheson, 17, finished English and geometry online in the time it would have taken to complete just one of those courses at his regular high school in Tallahassee.

“I like working by myself because of no distractions, and I can go at my own pace rather than going at the teacher’s pace,” he said.

For all its potential, virtual schooling has its critics and skeptics.

“There is something to be said for having kids in a social situation learning how to interact in society,” said state Rep. Shelley Vana. “I don’t think you get that if you’re at home.”

But virtual students get a different kind of social experience that is just as valuable, said Susan Patrick, president and CEO of the North American Council for Online Learning in Vienna, Va.

“We should socialize them for the world that they live in,” she said, suggesting that people spend much of their time interacting via computer these days.

Many policymakers approach virtual learning with dollar signs in their eyes, expecting big savings from schools that do not need buildings, buses and other traditional infrastructure.

“We should not, as stewards of public money, be automatically paying the same or even close to the same amount of money for a virtual school day as we pay for a conventional school day,” said Florida
Senate Education Committee Chairman Don Gaetz.

Florida Virtual this year is slated to get $6,682 for every full-time equivalent student, just slightly less than the average of $7,306 for all of the state’s public schools. Young said her school has expenses that traditional schools do not.

“Our data infrastructure is our building,” she said.

Teacher unions have opposed spending public dollars on some virtual schools, mainly those that are privately operated or function as charter schools.

Indiana lawmakers this year refused to fund virtual charter schools. Opponents argued they are unproven and would have siphoned millions of dollars from traditional public schools.

Florida Virtual’s Young said she plans to recommend that her state follow the example of Michigan, which passed a requirement that students complete some type of online experience to earn a high school diploma.

If “we do not give them an opportunity to take an online course, we’re doing them a tremendous disservice,” she said. “It’s become the way of the world.”

Virtual schooling growing at K-12 level - Yahoo! News

Wow.

1/3 of me says: Sweet! Kids in improvished areas who can’t get the kind of education they require… what an interesting alternative!! ESPECIALLY kids who have physical limitations.

1/3 of me says: Here’s another opportunity for Virtual Worlds to grounded themselves into reality. MacArthur Foundation, with help from Second Life (and the coolest guy around, Henry Jenkins), has been trying various techniques to use virtual elements (and gaming) to enhance the scholastic experience.

And… 1/3 of me isn’t so positive.

My only criticism initially was the social aspect. There are certain lessons a child learns in a social format– IRL social format. Personal appearance is affected, emotional understanding, levels at which kids learn to balance socialization & education, problem solving in THE moment, behaving respectfully IN person (instead of pretending from behind a computer screen), etc.

I have several home-schooled kids in the community and they VERY often display behaviors that would lead me to believe they don’t know how to handle certain social situations– sarcasm, acceptence, pop culture-aspects, etc. I know– all kids have difficulty handling those from time to time (pesky tweenism BREEDS insecurities and silliness). These home schooled kids watch TV and read books and have play dates– but they’re not babbling at the lunch table or yammering on and on at recess. From what I’ve encountered– there’s a difference of social approaches online. Would be a VERY interesting study for someone to do: The Online Social Conventions and Approaches of Tweens: Home Schooled vs Public/Private Schooled.

AND THEN THERE IS THIS…

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