Homeschooling: Our Journey with K12 iCademy, Week 2

It is always scary to jump in something with both feet without enough prior knowledge of what you're getting yourself into. I felt that way when we signed up for K12 International Academy. Even after the initial sales pitch with a real person at the other end of the web link somewhere on this planet earth, the idea of a virtual school still seemed a bit suspicious to me. Nevertheless, with September approaching, and most of the local kids already back in school, we had to make a decision.

I have to admit I had a panic attack the week before school started. We were starting to get some emails telling us how to get started, but they were informal and impersonal. And when I did not hear from anyone for a few days, I thought we had gotten ourselves into a fine mess, with a computer for a school at the other end, with no real person to answer our questions.

However, when school finally started last week, things did improve dramatically. First, we got a phone call from Calvin's English teacher (just to say hi). She's located on the East Coast--a twelve-hour time difference. Then emails started pouring in from all Calvin's teachers introducing themselves with videos and slides. It really helped a great deal to know his teachers are real people living real lives, even if they are in Georgia, Florida, or Colorado. They all seem friendly and eager to help. And here's the thing I like about American schools: the teachers don't mind letting you know something about who they are outside the school environment. Calvin has already had email exchanges with his teachers about photography, music, travels, etc.

We are beginning the second week. Calvin spent the first two days of school just learning the ropes: how to navigate the "school" site, how to turn in homework, how to participate in asynchronous class discussions. Then each day a new course is added so he did not get overwhelmed. Today will be the first full day when he will have to attend to assignments for all the courses.

Some problems: You are out of luck when you're given the wrong "room" (basically a url link) for a conference. We went into a "room" at the designated time, and nothing happened. A few of us waited around for a long time without being able to talk to anyone. No "moderator" showed up to tell us what's going on. Hopefully, this kind of glitches won't happen too often. Another problem is that all his French classroom connect sessions are held in the middle of the night, making it impossible for Calvin to attend.

Other than that, so far so good.