Argumentative Analysis

Education has developed in many ways. If we stop and think about the alternative education available today, we have several different options for parents and children. Our choices range from charter schools to independent study, to online/virtual schools, to homeschooling. So, with many options available today, how do we know what option is the best for our children? Each offer pro’s and con’s for both the parent and child and we all want what is best for our children. During the last seven weeks, we have discovered that learning can happen anywhere at any time. We also have discovered that traditional education may not be the best for every child, and that is why parents are searching out new ways to help educate their children. Many argue

Children are very different from adults. If a parent takes the option of virtual, online there needs to be monitoring and consistent engagement from the parents at all times. “Policymakers need to know whether a given virtual school meets some minimum standard so as to be acceptable as a choice for parents dissatisfied with their common options. Parents need to have information on which to base decisions about what school is best for their child (Chingos, 2015). Information is an important part to any education chosen. Lastly do children lack social skills when not attending the traditional public schools? “Traditional schools, these critics point out, often teach students essential social skills that are far more critical to the students’ long-term success in the workplace than the content outlined in a teacher’s lesson plan. Some have also voiced their concerns that sitting in front of a computer screen may not be able to offer the same type of mental stimulation that a classroom discussion can provide (Virtual Charter Schools: Pros and Cons of the Growing Trend, n.d.).” While I can say that this could be possible for some children, I do not believe all children will lack social skills due to online schooling. Again if parents are engaging with their child and the child is engaging with online classroom discussions then they are developing social skills. This goes back to how education has changed over the past twenty years. We live in the world where communication is done through social media, Facebook, Instagram, emails, and texting. The world has adapted to this type of communication. We can not argue social skills as a reason to not support virtual online courses. Students choose to communicate through social media even if their friends are sitting right next to them. As a counter example of lacking face to face