The right of parents to choose an education for their children was declared at the United Nations General Assembly in 1948: “Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.”¹ The child is not the mere creature of the state; those who nurture and direct his or her destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare the child for life. The state may require that all children of proper age attend school, that teachers would be of good moral character and patriotic disposition, that certain studies essential to good citizenship must be taught, and that nothing be taught which is manifestly inimical to the public welfare.²

Homeschooling was one of the solutions for parents for decades since home education provides parents the opportunity to teach moral and religious principles to their children.¹ The first homeschoolers dealt with backlash from numerous groups, family members, educators, politicians, and neighbors who felt they were doing their children an injustice. However, proponents of homeschooling held fast and helped to establish the laws and regulations that recognize that teaching one’s children is a right.² In the 1970s only 10,000 children were homeschooled and by 2010, about 2,000,000 students were part of homeschool options.³

E-learning reflects the reality of how people learn in the 21st century. As more and more parents are choosing e-learning for their children, there is a need to respond to the following questions: (1) What is e-learning? (2) What are the benefits of e-learning? (3) What are the challenges of e-learning? (4) How does my child apply his/her personal strengths to e-learning? (5) What is the future of e-learning?

In the current world of education, teaching and learning are moving from brick-and-mortar schools to the virtual world, from 30 students in a class to serving one student at a time. Especially in the last 10 years, online education is on the rise for homeschooling parents.¹ It provides students the flexibility to learn anywhere, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as long as there is Internet availability. Homeschooled online students can take advantage of unique course offerings such as world languages, Dual Enrollment (taking college courses while in high school), Advanced Placement (AP) courses, Honors courses, Gifted courses, and AIMS intervention. Importantly, homeschooled students enrolled at Enlightium Academy can obtain an accredited diploma recognized by colleges and universities around the world.

Education starts with the interpersonal relation of the Educator and the educated, the Divine and the divine image bearer. When searching for answers concerning any given thing, one must search out its source and cause, as Aquinas notes when considering first principles.[1] For education, one must return to archetypal wisdom[2] - the God after whose image humanity is created.

Do you increasingly get the feeling that public school isn't right for your child? There are many reasons why students may not thrive in public school. Every child has a different learning style, and traditional schooling practices tend to ignore this truth.

Pulling a child out of school to homeschool is a tough decision, but it is one that can bring rich rewards in the quality of both your children's education and your family life. Unfortunately, there are a lot of misconceptions about homeschooling.

When I was 13 years old, a big change took place in my life: my family moved. Suddenly I had to adjust to a new home, a new city, and a new school. It soon became clear that the public school I was enrolled in was not a good fit for me. The classes were not at an appropriate level for my abilities, and I had difficulty making friends. So I came up with a plan: have my parents homeschool me for 8th grade. I devoted months to convincing my parents and it worked. At that time, the only option I considered was traditional homeschooling, as cyber school education was still a new development in education.

If you ask average high school students if they think the quality of their education is important, most of the students will say that education is very important but won’t fully understand why. Similar to how newly-weds have no experiential knowledge about the challenges of caring for a newborn child until they have one, most students do not realize the precise impact that the quality of their education can have on their future. This is just as true of online high school programs.

It is very important to carefully consider your options when it comes to online middle school. There are many middle schools online; some better, some worse. Choosing the right one takes some effort and research. Consider if online middle school learning is good for you. Everybody learns differently. Match your online middle school choice to your personality. If you are more of a hands-on learner, you probably need hands-on to learn Science. There are science kits available for many online middle school curriculums. If your faith is a priority and you want a God-centered education, you should look for an Christian online middle school like Enlightium Academy.

Once you and your parents decide that you will go to online middle school, you may not know what to expect, and you don’t know whether you will like it or not. Here are a few things you should know about online middle school.

Interested in switching to a non-traditional environment to earn your high school diploma online? You’re not alone. In the last ten years, the number of students enrolling to earn their high school diploma online has increased tenfold. Four of the top reasons families are making the switch are:

STEM is a field that groups together the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, with the goal of integrating these areas of study with each other and with other subject areas. For more details on the importance of STEM school work, check out this post on the benefits of STEM education. Enlightium Academy STEM students have the freedom to explore new technologies and methods that enhance their learning and achievement by analyzing real-time data, integrating creativity, mapping solutions, and utilizing critical thinking and collaboration.

There are thousands of American students struggling in high school every day of every school year. According to the Institute of Education Science, approximately 7 percent of students drop out of public and charter schools nationwide. Although the dropout rate has decreased by more than 50 percent since 1970, the total 2014 exodus was greater than 1.2 million students. These startling numbers are proof that the dropout rate remains  a large problem for school systems and for students.

Over 1.2 million students are currently struggling in high school. If your children are too, it may be time to look at other options that make their learning styles, their needs and their future key focal points for the next step of their  education.

When I was 13 years old, a big change took place in my life: my family moved. Suddenly I had to adjust to a new home, a new city, and a new school. It soon became clear that the public school I was enrolled in was not a good fit for me. The classes were not at an appropriate level for my abilities, and I had difficulty making friends. So I came up with a plan and devoted months to convincing my parents. It worked, and my parents agreed to homeschool me for eighth grade. At that time, the only option I considered was traditional homeschooling, as online school education was still a new development in education.

Students taking technical courses online face different challenges in an online learning environment. Parents, teachers and students are familiar with the traditional, ‘brick and mortar’ approaches to education. It’s what we were raised with. In that environment, students are gathered into an assigned space at a specific time where a teacher provides the instruction. The teacher leads in the presentation of the content and then moves to a lab-based activity. This is a linear focused approach that has instructional milestones and sets evaluations (i.e. quizzes or exams) to confirm student understanding and mastery of a set of objectives over a fixed period of time.

What model and approach works for the students today?

Christian Universities Online explains that the history of Christian universities in the United States dates back to 1636, with the opening of Harvard University who had a founding rule stating that all students should know God and Jesus Christ and for Him to lay the foundation for their education. While today, Harvard is more diverse in its acceptance of a student and their religion; many institutions were founded as a Christian university. The history includes universities such as Brown, Yale, and Princeton.

Currently there are 3.4 million students enrolled in private universities. The graduation rate at a private institution is 30% higher than public, but the cost is also more than double.

The homeschooling option¹ has been one of the most popular solutions to parents for decades. It provides parents the opportunity to teach religious principles to their children. However, many parents have questions about how homeschooling would affect their child’s high school years, namely:

• Limitations in socialization
• Access to specialized courses to advance their skills in subjects they love
• Receiving a high school diploma
• Being admitted to a college of their choice

This is where the onset of online Christian homeschooling shines as the best answer to meet varying students' academic needs.