Online schools aren't the answer for education

Trade Florida for Michigan, the same thing is happening here. -cpg

From the Times Herald.com

by Phillp Terrie

Why are Republicans in the Michigan Legislature, including state Sen. Phil Pavlov, promoting a massive increase in the number of online or "cyber" classes offered to our children? In online classes, students do all their work on a computer, communicating through the Internet with instructors who could be anywhere in the world. Papers could be graded by poorly paid workers in India.

Handing our kids' education to distant companies, over which local school boards have little or no control, is not the answer for struggling schools.

This is a dangerous experiment, and our children are the guinea pigs. There is no evidence cyber classes are superior to or even as good as traditional classroom instruction. A study at Western Michigan University found that only a third of cyber schools achieved adequate yearly progress. There is no evidence, moreover, that school districts actually save money.

One reason Republicans are so eager to take this gamble is the cyber-school market is dominated by a few for-profit companies that are generous contributors to Republican campaigns. The largest of them, K12 Inc. in Herndon, Va., produced $500 million in revenue last year.

One of its chief investors is disgraced Wall Street broker -- and convicted felon -- Michael Milken. According to the National Institute on Money in State Politics, K12 Inc. has spent nearly $500,000 in campaign contributions at the state level since 2004.

Is this the way we want to build a future for education in Michigan?

http://www.thetimesherald.com/article/20120118/OPINION03/201180319/Online-schools-aren-t-answer-education