Working parents usually have a lot on their shoulders. They often put in long hours at their chosen profession. While they’re working, they want to know that their kids are busy at school, learning the skills they need to succeed in the world.
A modern school of thought, though, says that kids should be able to learn at their own pace. What exactly does that involve? We will discuss the concept in the following article.
Charter Schools
When discussing kids and having them learn at their own pace, that invariably brings up the notion of charter schools. If you’re looking for great charter schools, Utah is a state where you will definitely find some. Many other states have more charter schools with each passing year as well.
Charter schools are educational institutions that operate as so-called “schools of choice”. They are publicly-funded schools, but they are committed to obtaining a particular educational objective. Each one devises their own charter, hence the name.
Charter Schools Can Provide Kids with More Freedom
Some parents that do research on charter schools feel that certain ones are more in line with the educational goals that those parents want to prioritize. They might look at different charter schools until they find one where they think their child will fit in with the proposed curriculum.
Some of these charter schools don’t even use conventional letter grades anymore. Instead, they operate according to a simple pass-or-fail system for each child.
This is often conducive to letting children learn at a pace that matches their aptitude and skill level. Some parents like this because they feel it does not put so much academic pressure on their kids. Instead, their children can concentrate on learning without fretting about midterms, tests, and quizzes all the time.
This Idea is Spreading Rapidly
At one point, charter schools were the most likely educational facilities for parents to place their kids in if they wanted the established pass-or-fail system instead of letter grades. Times are changing, though, and more schools, both public and private, are experimenting with this notion.
Parents seem divided about the idea of the pass-or-fail system. Some feel that it is the best method for individual learning, and fewer kids will be left behind academically this way. The counterargument is that kids will be coddled by their teachers. They will not learn the necessary core educational tenets that will enable them to get along in the world as adults.
It is hard to say which group of parents is in the right because some kids do well with the pass-or-fail system and seem to function perfectly well in society once they finish school and join the working world. Others that finish with a school where they have not received traditional letter grades seem to struggle with basic skills like reading, writing, math, etc.
Each parent must carefully choose which kind of school they want for their kids. Do your research, and then make the determination based on each child’s aptitude.
