4 Things You Should Know About Online Middle School Before You Get Started

Middle school is a tricky time in the lives of many children. Teachers universally agree that seventh grade, in particular, is one of the hardest years to teach. When you consider online middle school for your child, you're accepting that many of those difficulties are going to land squarely on you instead of being dealt with by a teacher for seven or eight hours out of the day. Are you ready to try out online middle school for your student? Before you get started, there are a few things you should know.

The work is harder than you remember. The things that you were learning in high school are now showing up in middle school curriculum. Your middle schooler might find themselves struggling with material that you have no idea how to teach them. You'll need to have a support network set up to help your child when this happens: the teachers who need to be contacted in order to work through the material, friends and family members who understand that particular subject and know how to teach it, and in some cases even tutors who are willing to work with your child to ensure they're getting the help they need. Set this network up early and rely on it often to help ensure your child's success.

Your child is going to have days when they don't want to work. There will be days when they want nothing more than to slam their computer shut and ignore the list of tasks that they're supposed to be completing. Your middle school student doesn't have the self-regulatory skills to ensure that they don't ever do this, which means that you'll need to be vigilant. Some students will "skip school" only rarely, making it no different from an off day in a brick and mortar classroom. Others will find themselves slacking off with increasing regularity until their progress begins to suffer and they find themselves so far behind that they're unable to catch up without significant help. As the parent, when you commit to online middle school, you're committing to keep your child on task. That means monitoring schoolwork carefully to ensure that it's being completed regularly.

There are going to be days when you don't want your child to have to work. It's a gorgeous day outside, and you want nothing more than to put up the schoolwork and get out for a while. There's an event in town that you really want to go to, even though it falls in the middle of the day--and you want to take your middle schooler with you. Perhaps you're trying desperately to get the house clean for company or dealing with an epic mess made by other members of your family, and you're becoming increasingly more frustrated with the fact that your child is stuck behind a computer screen instead of being able to help you. When this happens, it's important to take a deep breath and remember your priorities. When you chose online middle school for your student, you were committing to working through the good days and the bad days. You can't just pick up and ignore school for a day whenever you feel like it. No, one day won't hurt your child's educational progress forever, and there are things that you can do to fix it--working on Saturday, finishing the work later in the day, working in the car on the way to an event--but online middle school is just as much a commitment as brick and mortar school. If you wouldn't keep your child home from a brick and mortar school, you shouldn't stop them from working in their online school for the day, either.

Online middle school might be the best gift you've ever given your child. There are very few people in the world who don't have at least some bad memories of middle school. If brick and mortar middle school isn't working for your child because of bullying, trouble staying on task, or difficulty getting the help they need to complete school assignments, online middle school is an incredible gift that will help make your child's middle school years bearable. Through all the highs and lows, all the struggles, it will be worth it, because you're giving your child the help they need to be truly successful.

Online middle school might be a challenge, but it's a challenge that will allow your child to grow and thrive. It's a commitment that you make together. Your child's education should and will still be a priority in your lives. You're just going about it a different way than most--and your child will never forget the opportunity they've been given.