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This spring over 500 students are taking VHS courses. What do the parents think about the online courses their sons and daughters are taking? What are the special challenges for parents of online students?
Ruthanne Adams is in a unique position to keep track of her daughter Caitlin's participation in VHS. Adams is a VHS teacher herself, in Massachusetts. "I appreciate the ability to have access to the assignments and day-to-day teaching that goes on," explains Adams. She regularly logs into the VHS site and views Caitlin's contributions and assignments. "I can attest to the fact that my daughter has worked more and harder on this English class than any she had previously taken."
Nancy Vachani, in California, agrees that her niece is more self-motivated in her VHS class than in other classes, and Vachani appreciates the diversity of classes available because of VHS, but, she says, "I do not feel quite as connected to the classroom work." She finds it harder to gauge the amount of homework in the class and the instructor's teaching style when there is no back-to-school night in which they can meet and talk. She would like to see more direct communication from the school or teacher about her niece's progress in her VHS class, much like what she receives from her regular classes.
Both Adams and Vachani are periodically frustrated with the technology, which sometimes seems to thwart their best efforts to log into a class. But they agree that, in Vachani's words, "in general the pluses outweigh the minuses." They are committed to working out new ways of communication that can bring kids, as well as their parents, into the online classroom.
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