Choices of Education in the USA 

With the start of the school year right around the corner, parents are thinking about school choices. If school has already started in your state, you may be analyzing your current school and asking if this is the best fit for your kids or the best fit for you as a teacher. There are a few articles out about home-school, virtual schools and public schools.

Virtual Schools 



In the article "Parents Bust the Top 5 Virtual School Myths"  parents and teachers talk about the pros of virtual schools. Many parents love the flexibility that their students have in an online environment. Parents are also more involved in their students education as their learning coach.

"10 Myths About Online High Schools"  Talk about online courses for high schools. This is a great way for students to catch up on credits they may have not earned, or get a head in other courses. Full time high schools are also an option and are accredited for college.

"Myths About Online Schools" by K-12 and Alaska Virtual Academy. This is not my favorite article because it does feel a little like they are selling their school, however I do believe in what they are saying about why online schools work and are important.


Home Schooling 



Homeschooling has been a hot topic for many years at the state and federal level, and even more attention lately with more and more public schools failing. Another reason families decide to home school is because of religious beliefs. Some families do not have access to private schools or can not afford to send their students to one. The following articles give the other side of home schooling.

"5 Homeschooling Myths Busted" and another article "5 Homeschool Myths Busted" 

"Homeschooling Myths-Busted!" 


The wonderful thing about living in the USA is that you have many choices. Private, parochial, home school, public, online and others begin to bloom. No one knows where the future of education is heading and how much it will change over the next 5-10 years. Just look where we have came from over the past decade.

     

Social Media Everywhere

Just like we keep up with our friends or we check the weather for the day, social media is a major part of our lives. For years, I have posted on LinkedIn as a professional and would even post things to my personal Facebook page now and then, but never started a blog or professional Facebook page, until now.

We live in the 21st century and I teach and create curriculum for 21st century students, so I guess I need to make sure I am keeping everyone current for the 21st century school.

So why read my blog?? We all know there are million of blogs out there about family, food, travel, the likes and dislikes of just about anything and everything and even hundreds of thousands of how to's from professionals and DIYers. My goal for this blog? To keep you up to date with hot topics in the education field. There are so many sides to every story, and we all know, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. This is a mid term election year, which means the promises are laid on even thicker from both sides of the aisle. No matter if you are a parent trying to make an informed decision, a student wanting to make the best decision for yourself (at any age) or an educators, I hope this helps you on your own personal journey.

Ok, so what makes me an expert (well, maybe not an expert but at least extremely knowledgeable) about this topic). Well, I have degrees in Education that range from Associates all the way to a PhD and EdS. I have been in the education field for close to 2 decades and have done every job you can think of in education (Researcher, Teacher, Director, Dean, Assistant Dean, Curriculum Writer, Content Developer, Educator, Acting Principle, Substitute Teacher, Counselor, and more) AND at every level (K-12, Higher Ed, Technical Schools, and yes, even preschool). I have been in beautiful suburban and rural schools and have worked in some of the toughest inner city schools in this great nation of ours (Such as Philly).

I look forward to this journey and look forward to hearing from you along the way. Want to follow me on Facebook? www.facebook.com/Dr.Heather.Thompson