K12.com will ruin America
While editing I usually watch TV and I’ve been seeing a very disturbing commercial lately. K12.com positions themselves as a way for kids to get a more personalized education through online schooling. ARE YOU SERIOUS??!!
My father once told me that going to school isn’t about the education, it’s about the experience. If you ask me what I remember learning during school or college my answer would probably be nothing since I don’t really remember. I wasn’t a very good student to say the least. I barely graduated high school and college….well that’s a whole other blog that I don’t want to get into.
What I DO remember about school is that I got my butt whipped all the way through high school. No only that but I was made fun of because I looked like a dork, my grades sucked, I wasn’t very good at socializing and I didn’t dress very well. Then in college I encountered people from all different parts of the country and world. What did I learn? I learned to INTERACT with people. Something you don’t get through home schooling. I learned to defend myself physical and verbally. I learned to overcome obstacles. I met people that taught me about cultures I had never encountered.
So K12.com claims that they offer more personalized education for people that may not learn well in a large classroom environment. Ok….well what about learning to interact with people. What happens when that online education is complete and these kids have to go out into the real world? They’re going to suffer culture shock.
If this trend continues, children of today will be the hermits of tomorrow. Maybe we need to work on the structure of our public education system. Speaking of which. I moved to the states in 7th grade. My parents and I agreed that private school was probably a good way of easing into American culture. Smaller classrooms, better teachers and a better overall education. The interesting thing was that our 8th grade books were the same ones I used my senior year in high school. Private school is four years ahead of public schools?? How do we allow a gap that big in our educational system?
The bottom line is that we need to leave online education for college at a minimum. Kids today need to interact and learn that life isn’t just about learning….it’s about the experience.
Sherif Hedayat
www.sherifhedayat.com
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This was really good. I had problems in school as well. My main problem was school phobia. I believe that stemmed from my social anxiety disorder. School didn’t get better for me until I started high school and got into plays.
Your way of dealing with your school problems is very admirable, I think it’s because your parents gave you such good self esteem. I didn’t have that, unfortunately.
Anyway, I really enjoyed this article, Sherif!!!