The education system we have known and grown up with is very different from the kind of education system our children have access to in the present age. Online home schooling is certainly a rising trend and many parents from the baby boom generation may have a hard time understanding what the fuss is all about. It’s true that they believe in the traditional education system they grew up with and are only trying to impart to their children the knowledge they have gained over their learning years and working life. The issue here is that their knowledge and understanding may not hold true for the current generation and that can prove to be a major hurdle in the overall development of their children. While it is true that traditional methods of learning have proven useful, online learning environments are helping academicians take education to the next level.

Accepting standard dogma and carrying on practicing certain tradition just because that’s how it was always done doesn’t seem to make any sense anymore. For those harboring doubts, all they need to consider are the numerous changes that have taken place around us within the last decade due to globalization. It would really prove to be an eye-opener for most when they actually stand back and notice how things have drastically changed and how long a way we’ve come from where things used to be. Parents who believe that earning a high school diploma is sufficient to get a decent, well-paying job may have to face the harsh reality of watching their child struggle to find a job like that simply because those jobs just don’t exist anymore. Most of those jobs have been lost to offshoring and outsourcing and the ones that have stayed onshore are forcing people to work for lesser and lesser pay with no company benefits.

In a world of shrinking opportunities, it is vital that students are provided with avenues to help them develop additional skills and gain access to opportunities that would otherwise be out of their reach. Controlling the environment is beyond the scope of the education system but avenues like online homeschooling and online K-12 courses can certainly help students gain a competitive edge if used wisely. The reason these options need to be considered very carefully is that their flexibility offers parents and students the option to adopt them as standalone measures as well as in combination with traditional learning methods. Depending on each individual’s learning capacity, different students need to adopt different methods, which is what most student counselors help you do. Getting things perfectly right is what helps leverage the power of online homeschooling to help deliver the desired level of education.

The reason online K-12 courses have become so popular is that getting your high school diploma through the traditional education system is no longer proving to be enough. Students are being forced to go back to school and ‘upgrade’ their skills to ensure prolonged employability at their respective firms. Fresh graduates out of college are entering the job market every year with marketable skills that overshadow those of their predecessors. In such an environment, it all boils down to the ‘survival of the fittest’. Those with old school ideas and traditional patterns of thinking don’t really stand a chance. The number of college kids entering the world of entrepreneurship says it all. You no longer have to be a genius to become a millionaire. All you need is creativity and the willingness to think ‘outside the box’. The opportunities are there for the taking if you’re willing to step out and grab them.

Being deep-rooted in tradition may seem like the right thing to do but it is a dangerous path to follow. With social media and seamless networking via the internet, classroom education seems to have outlived its purpose. It can no longer suffice and cater to the needs of our hyper-connected world; something online education and distance learning have managed to do seamlessly. With online learning options becoming even more viable and economical with each passing day, the penetration rates of online K-12 courses have increased exponentially. Students have found new avenues that allow them to enroll for courses they previously couldn’t. They can now take on extra courses for additional credit without really worrying about their current curriculum.

Online education and distance learning have helped millions of working professionals gain access to multiple learning options without hampering their working lives. Saving on travel time and money are just the key advantages, to begin with. There are so many more benefits that come with a online learning platform; benefits that could help transform a child’s life. Can you imagine being able to access all your course material via your computer from the comfort of your own home? You don’t need to worry about them missing the bus, or snow-days, or the million other things that race through your mind each day when you watch them go off to school. Several communities have their own social programs to help their children interact with each other, in addition to the online networking avenues that are currently available.

There is so much more to school than just getting a high school diploma. With the different alternatives to traditional schooling available today, it is hard to imagine students being stuck in old-school environments. Why hold them back when they can explore a whole new world of possibility? That is what makes online education and distance learning great options to consider since they allow you to combine online learning with traditional schooling. It’s like offering you the best of both worlds. For those who have difficulty coping with the set pace of learning in a classroom setting, this can prove to be a huge relief. Being able to study online at your own individual pace provides you with complete freedom to explore your subject matter and motivates a child to actually want to learn new things, and that is just the beginning!