As my older son, Vincent, wound his way up the grades of Japanese elementary school, my wife and I faced a conundrum.
On the one hand, junior high school¡¯s military-style uniforms, the harshness of sports coaches and other restrictive practices did not agree with Vincent¡¯s personality, which seemed better suited to an American school environment. On the other hand, he wasn¡¯t suffering from any serious problems, such as bullying, and was performing reasonably well. Since we didn¡¯t live close to any private schools, the local junior high seemed like our only option.
Then I stumbled upon Oak Meadow, a virtual school for grades kindergarten through 12. Students can either utilize its home-schooling program independently or submit schoolwork and eventually graduate. We chose the latter program, which means Vincent shares his work with a teacher via Google Docs and receives feedback. Parents are encouraged not to check assignments beforehand so the teacher can see the child¡¯s original work. Despite its hippie roots, Oak Meadow is an accredited school. Its ¡°progressive, compassionate and child-centered¡± curriculum, was exactly the approach we¡¯d been seeking.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.