Virtual Public and/or Virtual Charter Schools.
For many years parents, teachers and the government have searched for different techniques to improve education. One contemporary method is the virtual classroom, which has actually been used as a supplement to the home-school method for a number of years. The virtual classroom attracts parents who are not content with public schools, it is a way of upgrading the home-schooling method. It benefits children who have failed a class and need to make up the credit, who want to take a class that their school does not offer, and those who wants to earn extra credit and graduate early. It also benefits parents who either cannot afford to buy home education materials, or does not feel confident in their ability to home educate without help. The program includes children who are either homebound because of illness or are unable to attend a school because of behavior, attendance problems, or simply parents who want to home-school their children. Some programs, such as the Western Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, offers two certified professionals for every 50 students, and offers a computer and printer for at-home use. Virtual schools provides an innovative choice for those seeking an alternative to the traditional school setting (cheohome.org). This position paper will address the conflict theory and the distribution of power and privilege by both the parents, government and school districts. It will also approach conflicts and the value of a parents educational choice.
As I have explained, many students benefit from distance education, from parents who want a safe, secure, drug free environment for their children to the severely disabled child. Not to mention students who need flexible schedules because they can complete their work at times convenient for them. Phyllis Lents says "It's a different world out there, students take their courses with them to Spain, on international tennis tours and New York for soap opera shoots.