Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

When looking into distance learning for high school students, parents will find many different options available. Today on Home School Heartbeat, Mike Farris talks about what to look for in a distance learning program.

Mike:


Choosing a distance learning program or an online college course can be a weighty decision. Joining us again today we have Dean Paul Bonicelli of Patrick Henry College. Paul, what factors should parents and high school students consider when choosing a distance learning program?


Paul:


Well, Mike, I feel really strongly and I'm sure most of our listeners do that the college chosen for a distance learning program should be one that reflects the values of the home. A college should not be a place where those values are attacked, and so any distance learning program certainly finances are a factor and academic excellence, but above all the values that are taught. At Patrick Henry College a biblical worldview is taught, and any student who's been taught that way at home is going to have that reinforced in our distance learning program.


Mike:


You also mentioned academic excellence. One of the things at our college that we try to do is enforce and reinforce excellence through the discussion method. How can a distance learning course involve discussion?


Paul:


That's vital to our online program and so all courses taught by the distance learning method at Patrick Henry College include discussion groups that take place over the Internet, chat rooms, message boards, emails. These are ways that students interact with each other as well as with professors.