High School(Questions on Homeschooling and Education)

[Microcosm]

My high school is so terrible. I came out of middle school expecting to be treated a little better and not have bitchy teachers watching me like a hawk all the time, but no. Instead, it's probably even worse than middle school. My parents think homeschooling is a terrible idea and it will turn me into an antisocial "weirdo"(which it won't) and won't even respect the idea of homeschooling. I don't know what to do. I really don't want to attend this shitty, boring school for the next four years, so there are a few things I want to ask.

1. Does anyone know of online homeschooling services in Alabama? If so, that would be extremely helpful.
2. What is your high school like? Are you treated as an individual and not just another student?
3. If you are homeschooled, how long have you been homeschooling and what are your personal experiences with it?

[Luminous]

There are three private online high schools I know of. K12 International Academy (http://www.icademy.com/), the George Washington University (http://www.gwuohs.com/), and International Connections Academy (http://www.internationalconnectionsacademy.com/private-school/our-school/home.aspx).

K12 International Academy and George Washington University are run by a curriculum called K12. International Connections Academy is run by a curriculum called Connections Academy. What I mean by curriculum is, for example, K12 has schools in many different states, and they all have the same work, just different teachers, run by different people, etc. Same for CA. Neither K12 or CA have public or private schools in Alabama that I could find, but they both have international academies. I believe GWU is more of a college prep school, but I'm not positive. Since they are all private schools there is a tuition, but they are much lower than regular private schools.

Last year for 8th grade I did a public K12 school for my state, this year I'm switching to a CA school, for unrelated reasons, unless you plan on going to school in MA :p

This is a fairly good description of how online school works on the GWU website:
How Online School Works

Learn more about how students go to school in a dynamic, robust online environment.

Students at GWUOHS go to school online using our robust learning management system that hosts online courses and course management tools for students, teachers, and parents. Students use the learning management system to:

Access their courses
Take assessments
Review grades
Manage their course schedule
Interact with peers in online community

This platform provides them with a single place to access any information related to their academic life at GWUOHS.

How Class Sessions Work

All GWUOHS classes are conducted using a combination of asynchronous and synchronous (or "real time") components—the combinations may vary based on the course.

Courses contain asynchronous reading, activities, assessments, and videos, as well as synchronous “live” sessions conducted by the teacher at predefined times. Many of these sessions are recorded so that students can “attend” if they miss a session, or review all or part again, if needed.

Central to these synchronous sessions is the online classroom software our teachers use, which includes a whiteboard for live online instruction, multi-student discussion and collaboration, and space for instructional slides, as well as file and video sharing. This technology enables teachers and students to conduct a live virtual discussion as if they were in a physical classroom.

Our faculty members also use this online classroom for office hours, tutorials, one-on-one sessions, as well as for parent-teacher conferences.


There is plenty of online homeschooling, but I've never done it so there's not much I can tell you. The main reason I switched to online public school was so that I didn't have to deal with putting together high school credits. It's doable, my brother did it and he went to college at 16, then grad school. He's now 24, lives on his own, and has a good job. But my brother and I are on very different paths and I felt like online school was the best choice for me.

Before last year, I had been homeschooled for all of my life. I feel like maybe my mom didn't enforce us doing our work often enough and our city is one of the very few that doesn't require progress reports, so I was pretty behind for a long time. But if you're motivated enough, it could work for you. It doesn't for everyone. I believe some public schools have options to homeschool through them - so you're still technically enrolled, and using their curriculum, just in a different setting. You might be interested in looking into that as well.

If your parents don't respect the idea of homeschooling, you need to be able to take it into your own hands and be responsible for your own education. You don't need to be sitting, doing work for 6-8 hours a day (think of what would happen if you took out all breaks in between classes, other people's questions, and skipping through lessons if you knew the answers? School would definitely not be 6-8 hours long), but you do need to make sure you actually do work.

I hope this helped in some way, 'cause I spent a while researching and typing all this up :rolleyes:

[Microcosm]

I hope this helped in some way, 'cause I spent a while researching and typing all this up :rolleyes:

That was actually really helpful. Above and beyond what I expected. Thanks a ton. I'll definitely look into some of those.

[Blood]

There are three private online high schools I know of. K12 International Academy (http://www.icademy.com/), the George Washington University (http://www.gwuohs.com/), and International Connections Academy (http://www.internationalconnectionsacademy.com/private-school/our-school/home.aspx).

K12 International Academy and George Washington University are run by a curriculum called K12. International Connections Academy is run by a curriculum called Connections Academy. What I mean by curriculum is, for example, K12 has schools in many different states, and they all have the same work, just different teachers, run by different people, etc. Same for CA. Neither K12 or CA have public or private schools in Alabama that I could find, but they both have international academies. I believe GWU is more of a college prep school, but I'm not positive. Since they are all private schools there is a tuition, but they are much lower than regular private schools.

Last year for 8th grade I did a public K12 school for my state, this year I'm switching to a CA school, for unrelated reasons, unless you plan on going to school in MA :p

This is a fairly good description of how online school works on the GWU website:


There is plenty of online homeschooling, but I've never done it so there's not much I can tell you. The main reason I switched to online public school was so that I didn't have to deal with putting together high school credits. It's doable, my brother did it and he went to college at 16, then grad school. He's now 24, lives on his own, and has a good job. But my brother and I are on very different paths and I felt like online school was the best choice for me.

Before last year, I had been homeschooled for all of my life. I feel like maybe my mom didn't enforce us doing our work often enough and our city is one of the very few that doesn't require progress reports, so I was pretty behind for a long time. But if you're motivated enough, it could work for you. It doesn't for everyone. I believe some public schools have options to homeschool through them - so you're still technically enrolled, and using their curriculum, just in a different setting. You might be interested in looking into that as well.

If your parents don't respect the idea of homeschooling, you need to be able to take it into your own hands and be responsible for your own education. You don't need to be sitting, doing work for 6-8 hours a day (think of what would happen if you took out all breaks in between classes, other people's questions, and skipping through lessons if you knew the answers? School would definitely not be 6-8 hours long), but you do need to make sure you actually do work.

I hope this helped in some way, 'cause I spent a while researching and typing all this up :rolleyes:

Just wanted to say that this is a very accurate, informational post. I've been doing online schooling for the majority of my school life (I went to a school when I was a toddler, a sort of Pre-K to first grade thing) and everything said here is on point.

[peyton2000]

I wish I could go to public school

[Luminous]

That was actually really helpful. Above and beyond what I expected. Thanks a ton. I'll definitely look into some of those.
Aw, I'm glad I could help! If you have any questions just let me know!
Just wanted to say that this is a very accurate, informational post. I've been doing online schooling for the majority of my school life (I went to a school when I was a toddler, a sort of Pre-K to first grade thing) and everything said here is on point.
Oh, thank you, that's kind of you to say. :)