Knowing that I'm taking my classes online and that my oldest daughter is now enrolled in an online high school program, a thoughtful co-worker sent me a link to this very interesting and somewhat disturbing story that is developing in Wisconsin:

Virtual Schools Could Get Logged Off
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/16/tech/main3720761.shtml

In a nutshell, the article says that critics of online charter schools -- and those critics apparently include the National Education Association (which is the nation's largest teacher's union) -- say such programs amount to little more than home schooling at taxpayers' expense. They complain that these programs, which I personally view as innovative and worthwhile, take away money from traditional public schools and make money for the companies who operate them.

I say: so what? Why is choice in education a BAD thing?

In December, a Wisconsin appeals court ordered the state to stop funding their largest virtual school, the Wisconsin Virtual Academy, which has 800 students actively enrolled.

Marcy Thompson, a 12-year-old who is enrolled in the WVA program, cried when she heard about the ruling. Knowing how well my daughter is doing in her online high school and how much she has taken to the format, I can bet she'd be just as upset if all of the sudden her option was pulled. Fortunately for her, I'm paying for her classes and not the state of Florida, so they would have no say-so whatsoever in where my daughter earns her diploma.

Stories like this make me upset. It seems like the public school system should focus on change and innovation, rather than fight so hard against it. It makes them come across as closed-minded and greedy. And let's face it: the change is coming, no matter how they fight against it, so they can either embrace it and make it work for them, or one day they may just wake up and find out that they're no longer relevant or necessary.