Virtual School at My Own Pace
By: Jon
It is now a Florida State law that every student must complete at least one course online to graduate. I’ve been doing a good amount school work recently, even though its summer. This summer is the second year that I have ever done courses for school online to get ahead so it’s not that big of a change. I’ve been working from about 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM to 3:00. Despite the fact that I had only been working for three hours per day I had already finished two courses, English 1 and Spanish 2. I’m starting to wonder what I’ve been doing all along in school for 8 hours per day. Hard work pays off so I’m looking forward to not having to do those two classes next year.
I suppose that the time that I am finishing my work is so much faster than in traditional school is because I can work on certain subjects for two hour plus blocks of time. That lets me complete assignments for one single subject without putting it off for another day then going back to it and having to backtrack on where I had left off. Also there aren’t other students, teachers, fire alarms and random announcements that can be distractions. In addition, in one whole school day we spend about 30 minutes getting from class to class. I feel that I am much more productive in getting my work done at home.
Even though I am seeing results from virtual school, I don’t think that it’s for everyone. It takes a lot of effort and self discipline to work at your own pace. Some days I might do 7 assignments and other days none. There aren’t really tough deadlines like in public schools, but if you aren’t on pace you can be kicked out of the class with a F. If you need someone to push you to do work you will probably fail.
The only thing that slows me down is trying to call my teachers. It is an FLVS rule that you must call your teacher for a welcome call, monthly call and for certain assignments that require discussion based assessments. I always try to call my teachers who apparently take calls from 8am to 8pm. Most of the teachers have about 150 students, so I don’t blame them for not being able to pick my calls up, but still it’s annoying to call and wait for them to respond before you can continue with your assignments.
What are your thoughts about doing school online? Leave your comment below:
