The Online Age: A Positive For Homeschooling

It’s only natural that the rise of online would help education in many different ways, allowing teachers to put lesson plans, rubrics, homework assignments, essay prompts and more on different student portals across the country. Hurray for no more having to embarrassingly ask your professor for another copy of the rubric. Boo to the “dog ate my homework” excuse never really working any more. But, more so than even public schools gaining momentum with its new internet ally, there’s all of the opportunities it provides to homeschooling—the oldest frontier in education. Now parents and homeschool professionals can take advantage of a plethora of resources, like online cooking school, courtesy of their internet connection.

The education can even go far beyond that of the typical math, science and English lesson plans and branch out to include fitness, art, cooking and many more extracurricular activities that can spark passions and make learning something to look forward to. In the wake of a public schooling crisis, homeschooling is growing at an astronomical rate, letting parents who have the ability to take their children’s education into their own hands. According to a recent report in Education News, the number of homeschooled children has increased by a whopping 75% since 1999. And although the percentage of homeschooled children still stands at a small portion of the overall educated population (just 4%), the drastic boom in increase shows that there may be something to this alternative form of schooling.

In the wake of what we all know and felt as a major financial crisis, America is now the phoenix slowly rising up from the ashes that were lost homes, failed mortgages, years of unemployment and tight budgets. For those who homeschool, the cost of educating a child decreases significantly. And with the options for extremely affordable online learning activities like Escoffier Online, homeschool students and teachers are able to take advantage of more now than they ever have before. Due to a number of factors like the one-on-one setting , the ability to dabble in many different subjects and a more relaxed schooling environment, online programs work perfectly with homeschool students and can greatly enhance their educational experience. It also means that they can get more out of it. According to the same Education News report, homeschoolers are noting significantly higher ACT-Composite scores than their public high school counterparts. Homeschoolers are also a major focus for many Ivy League college recruiters, with Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Stanford and Yale having a high number of parent-taught students.

With all of these factors and the increase in online resources, decrease in budgets and a difficult time in the history of the public education system in the U.S., homeschool is increasingly becoming a viable option for many American parents searching for a more affordable and functional way to go about their children’s education. That’s where we come in…and a bunch of other companies like us who are teaching children and adults alike things that can uncover buried passions, feed current ones or just help expand an overall skill set. What is an education, homeschool or not, without time to explore other topics and expand horizons or, in the case of the culinary arts, give children something they can use for the rest of their lives? Few things come in handy quite like knowing how to make a meal or two. Changing a tire and doing laundry are also right up there. And although it’s a nice thought, not all children are meant for a successful career as an attorney. With other classes, they’re able to explore interests they might not have even known they had or have a passion sparked for what they may have never known. That’s where online schooling comes in handy. That’s where Escoffier Online, and other programs like it, can make a huge of difference to children all over the world. Classes like home economics, studio art, music and even gym are quickly being taken out of public school programs and are often the first ones cut with budget restrictions. But with online educators, it doesn’t matter who is doing what. You’re able to just do it, on your own time and not have to worry it will be cancelled or postponed due to lack of attendance.

In the end, even public high school teachers and students are using online components to their learning, whether it’s standard testing tutors, a guitar teacher or an online college course. Whereas we would never knock the impact a public education has on millions of students around the country (myself included) or the importance of the teachers that help form our passions, guide our way and inspire us, everyone can take away a thing or two from Escoffier and other programs, whether they’re homeschooled or not.