This article on online schooling is really interesting - I had no idea it was so popular. As an elementary teacher, I wonder about taking elementary school online because I think one of the most important parts of elementary school is the socialisation.

But I wonder, if online school becomes more popular, maybe we'll see a rise in education or teaching "consultants" who come into people's homes and lead their children through online education. I wonder if that's one solution to underpaid teachers - allow parents to pay individuals as much as they think their children's education is worth. Ideally, the more qualified and the best teachers will be paid more.

However, having just watched The Nanny Diaries, I wonder about the actual effectiveness of a system like that. Given the portrayal of the treatment of New York nannies, I hesitate to suggest subjecting already overworked and undervalued teachers to such a system! I think M's observation in an earlier post is quite correct - the parents who pay for or monitor their child's education are not the ones directly benefiting from the teaching.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/01/education/01virtual.html?ref=education