Somewhat surprisingly, my daughter has approached me about the idea of taking all of her high school classes online. I'm surprised at this, because she had seemed to favor in person, in class, direct and face to face teacher and student instruction versus the more self-directed and self-reliant learning that constitutes the bulk of a completely online program. I really wasn't confident that a completely online program is right for her. It has taken her a little while to convince me that she's up for it, but it looks like she's finally getting me there. Today she and I spent several hours discussing how distance learning programs work -- both when they're poorly designed and implemented and also when they are really well implemented and work. So far, she's only experienced the relatively disorganized online classes she's taken through her local school district.

One problem that she faces in being a traditional classroom student is that, like me, she's not a morning person at all. Getting out of bed at 5:30 AM every single day to get ready for school takes a huge toll on her -- and I completely understand and empathize with her. I know that this particular part of her makeup is something that has a very real and very negative impact on her chances for success in a traditional program.

While she's been working on me, I've been working on a plan. I've spoken to her high school teachers, her counselor, and the administrators responsible for her school district's non-classroom programs. As it turns out, while she would have the opportunity to earn a good amount of her high school credit online, she probably couldn't do it all without some time in the classroom. That means it's not an all-or-nothing proposition.

So we have to think about possible alternatives.

One alternative is home schooling, but I simply don't think we can actually handle that. There are too many demands on our time, as a family, to be able to squeeze that in to our schedules. On top of that, her sister will still be attending traditional high school, so to have one daughter home schooled and the other going to regular school doesn't make a lot of sense.

So I think I've come up with something, and I'll tell you about that tomorrow.