Make the Switch to Online School; You Will Not Regret It!
By Eunice Bate, Stride Student Advisor
To be honest, I was not initially enthusiastic about attending an online school. I was opposed to the idea of learning from home. I wanted to spend time with my friends. I liked the idea of leaving the house. Even when the pandemic struck, I refused to budge. I guess I just had to learn the hard way.
I noticed that I was not learning anything when I started doing brick-and-mortar school from home. My school decided to bring students back to school in person, rather than continuing to use Zoom. They would simply send packets to students who stayed at home. It was as if you were being told that if you stayed at home, your education would suffer. At that point, I realized that this is not just about me. I have three siblings, one of whom was in kindergarten, at the time of the pandemic. I did not want her education to suffer, especially since she had only recently begun the journey.
Enrollment Is Open!
At the start of the second semester of that particular school year, I decided to transfer to an online school. I was still uncomfortable with the change at first. I felt like a new student. I would do my work at the last minute, and I did not really take part in the live sessions. But, everything changed when I found out about Stride Career Prep. I was finally in charge of my own career pathway, inside of my educational journey. I was able to take classes related to my desired career path. My previous school never offered courses related to anything targeted towards my future career.
The more involved I became in Stride Career Prep, the more I enjoyed online school. I realized I had a lot more time on my hands, too! Because my schedule is now flexible, I enjoy sleeping in… and my overall health directly benefits. I do not have to worry about waking up at 5 a.m. to get my siblings ready, prepare lunch for them, and then make it to the bus stop by 6 a.m.
Stride Career Prep has provided me with many opportunities. I have the privilege of doing concurrent enrollment, which means that by the time I graduate, I will be one step closer to becoming a nurse. Along the way, I have made some wonderful friends. My teachers are fantastic. And, I now prefer to stay after class and converse with my teachers and classmates. I can see that my siblings are also learning a lot.
The idea of having a school counselor is also terrific. Until I transferred to a Stride K12-powered school, I had never had a school counselor. My counselor has been extremely helpful with my graduation plan. Now I will be able to graduate earlier than expected. I also appreciate Stride's Success Coaches. My own Success Coach has been extremely beneficial to me. She has aided me in developing my nursing career goals. Now I want to work specifically as a labor and delivery nurse. My Success Coach has also helped me in developing my resume, and in obtaining my first job outside of the family business. I am now honored to be a member of the Student Advisory Council, as well. And, I have gained way more than I’ve lost from being in an online school.
There is a quote that says, “It is not possible for you to know whether or not you will enjoy something, until you try it for the first time.” Basically, you’ll never know unless you try. I want to end off this blog post by saying that if you have the choice of switching schools move, to an online school, preferably a Stride k12-powered school… then you should absolutely give it a try!
To read more about attending an online school, be sure to check out What I Learned From Doing Online School For 10 Years.
Stride also has an article to help students new to online high school, so make sure you read 5 Tips For New Online High School Students, too!
And, be sure to check out the 2022 Graduates Speak About Their Online Education podcast.
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