Maria Greeley and daughter

Online courses provide a good option for some students, especially when a class requirement or elective cannot be met by the district.  However, mandating online courses for all students regardless of their learning style, language proficiency, educational needs and motivation level is irresponsible.

Last summer my husband and I had our two oldest boys take an online class to allow more opportunity in their schedules.  It was a tremendous challenge to just keep my boys seated at the computer with all of the distractions our home environment provides.  It gave me a much greater appreciation for a classroom and hall passes. I had not anticipated the additional money we would spend beyond the cost of the course.  We had to upgrade our computer due to the large amount of material that needed to be downloaded.  We paid to add stronger parental controls due to the amount of time they needed to spend on the computer and their propensity to distract themselves with game sites.  We found it necessary to hire a tutor for the son where coursework online did not meet his learning style. In the end, we made a difficult decision.  After spending their summer doing the online class, both boys withdrew and took their course in the classroom.

There’s a right way to bring technology into the classroom, and there’s a wrong way. The laws authored by Superintendent Luna and approved by the legislature are the wrong way to go.  Proposition 3 imposes a one-size-fits-all mandate on our schools that hurts our students and diminishes the quality of education.

- Maria Greeley, Mother of 4 and Treasurer of “Vote NO on Propositions 1,2,3″ campaign committee, Boise