Editorial: A virtual lesson

Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2007 | 7:03 a.m.

For parents who are frustrated by having their children bullied or dealing with crowded classrooms in their public schools, online charter schools may appear to be the answer. The programs offer the structure of a school curriculum with the benefit of staying at home.

As Emily Richmond reported in Monday's Las Vegas Sun, two for-profit companies have recently come to Nevada pitching virtual charter schools to parents. This is an interesting twist on the concept of distance education because most of those programs focus on a niche group, such as at-risk students. These virtual charter schools seem to be targeted at home-school parents and those who don't want their children to deal with real life in the public school system.

Because the schools are new, it is unclear whether they will be popular or effective. Charter schools, like any other school, are held to the same state and federal standards for student performance. "The proof will be in the outcomes," said Kathy Christie, vice president of nonpartisan policy organization for the Education Commission of the States.

However, one thing standardized tests can't show is how a child interacts with others, and that is one major component of education at brick-and-mortar schools. That fact should not go overlooked.

Cindy Reid, a member of the state Board of Education and chairwoman of the charter schools subcommittee, said she is concerned about students suffering from a lack of social interaction and said students would not have teachers to monitor their emotional development.

There is no doubt that distance education alone can have value, particularly in the case of older students pursuing continuing education or college degrees. But a child will miss out on the real-world lessons, from making friends to dealing with bullies, that are learned on the schoolyard.

It is certainly understandable that parents want to protect their children from the negatives of crowded schools. However, using virtual solutions to try to solve real-world problems is not a good lesson to teach children.