Courses

MeWannaiPhone. Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock..... Online video clip. YouTube. N.p., 19 Nov. 2008. Web. 10 Nov. 2016.

The course work that public high school kids have to do is structured and laid out with expected timelines and due dates for assignments and exams. Many people believe that home learners have unstructured courses and are free to learn in an informal manner.

Misconception:

My day in school begins with the Lord’s Prayer followed by about an hour or two of religion study. Then, I get to choose which subjects I would like to do for the day by a game of Rock, Paper Scissors with my mom. If she’s lucky, I will even write her a metaphor-filled poem because who doesn’t love a good sonnet on a Monday morning. After all, she’s the one who marks all my work! Perhaps if I clean my room and my bathroom, she will give me an “A” on my Chemistry test. What kind of mom would she be otherwise if she didn’t give me straight A’s?

Truth:

Wow! I only wish school was this easy! Religion is not a requirement for home learners. Our school does not offer courses in religion; they only offer courses acceptable by the Ministry of Education. Although, I could use some divine intervention in completing some of my more challenging courses at times! All of the courses that a distributed learning school offers are structured and have deadlines for assignments and exams. However, there is more flexibility surrounding the deadlines depending on the pace of individual home learners. My mom also doesn’t mark my work nor does she comment on my metaphor-filled poetry; she only guides my learning. We have BC Certified teachers marking our work and exams according to provincial guidelines. We also have to take courses we don’t necessarily like such as Physics or Biology in order to graduate or to pursue post-secondary education. The only thing that changes is that we have the option of staying home (especially on those rain-soaked days) and completing our courses online. Oh, and I can go to the beach when it is really hot outside and do my work there too if I really want to. Who am I kidding? Who does school work at the beach anyways?

For more information on distributed learning courses, please visit:
http://www.scides.ca/contact-us/blog/entry/distributed-learning-vs-home-schooling