I am a positive person. However, I am also someone who has observed how students can often sabotage their own educations. Just as it is possible to find a road map to success, it is also to see where people can fail (and work to avoid those failures.
I never guarantee success for students, but if you read these five below and do the exact opposite, this will help you make the right choices.
1. Don’t do your homework. Yes, it does sound simplistic, but there it is. Homework is the backbone of any high school program, but it is particularly so for online high schools. Remember, with online high schools comes greatly increased independence, but also comes greatly increased responsibility.
2. Choose the wrong school for you. If you need a lot of structure in order to do well, do not choose a school where independence is king. Likewise, if your preference is for people to leave you alone and let you work, choosing something with a lot of structure can be a problem.
3. Choose a school that doesn’t provide support (or choose one that does). Some online high schools provide great support in your learning efforts and some provide none. Some people do not want support and others desperately need it. You need to understand best what you need. Yes, there can be a corollary between cost and support. Many of the more expensive programs often provide a great deal of support. If you need that much support in order to succeed, then it is most definitely worth it.
4. Choose a program that doesn’t meet your learning style. Some programs offer fantastic computer graphics, simulations, audiovideo files, and more. Others are little more than print correspondence courses that have been put up on a website. Choosing the wrong one for you can spell disaster.
5. Don’t choose an interactive program. The most common way that I see students fail is that the program doesn’t provide enough interaction between student and teacher or between student and student. While some people purposefully don’t want that much interaction (and that is certainly acceptable), often people discover that they need it. To thine own self be true. Understand what you are like. If you are a people person and you choose a textbook-based program, this could spell disaster for you.
You can succeed. But in order to succeed, you also need to know what failing at the online high school game can look like and avoid it. Make sure that you investigate the schools before making your choice.
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