Student Blog: Relearning How to Learn

In my junior year of high school, I switched to full-time cyber school. With my theater and performance schedule becoming so demanding, I decided it was best for my physical and mental health to take the asynchronous cyber school option my school district offers. I have always been a student who cares a lot about school and truly enjoys learning. So with my switch to cyber school, I wanted to make sure I was still gaining skills and knowledge from my classwork and maintaining academic integrity. I quickly learned that I would only be able to achieve that if I kept a healthy balance between school, performing, and rest.

With cyber school, it is appealing to try and take full advantage of the total flexibility. It suddenly feels like you have all of the time in the world once you’re not sitting in class six hours a day. There was a time in my junior year when I was in rehearsals for three different productions all at once on top of my weekly commitments. I was constantly exhausted which led me to not be able to focus as much on my school work. I would still be completing assignments but then discover that I didn’t truly comprehend anything that I just “learned.” Out of necessity, I would need to constantly Google things and play catch-up mentally. 

I realized that I wasn’t getting what I wanted to get out of my schooling. To fix this, I had to listen to my body and rest when I was tired (which was one of the reasons I started cyber school in the first place) and also advocate for myself. I have a fantastic distance-learning coordinator through my school who will always help adjust my pacing and activities so I can prioritize my health. It was very difficult for me to ask for help at first since I saw it as a way of admitting to failure. However, it shouldn’t be seen that way at all. Asking for help is a sign of strength and knowledge. If you are self-aware enough to know you need assistance, that is something to be proud of. I have found strength in asking for help and knowing when I need to advocate for myself. 

I have seen so much more success and satisfaction in my schoolwork once I began communicating with my school and took the time to take care of my health. I would recommend to any student struggling with getting through school due to a busy schedule or just because to advocate for themselves. Academic integrity and true learning are much more valuable than the speed with which you complete your schoolwork. If you need assistance of any kind, any good teacher will be ready to help. There is never any shame in asking for help.