no idea that her advisor had registered
her for classes this term. In fact, she
thought the term didn’t even start for
another week. She will beg and plead for
extensions on missing work, but she will
invariably fail to meet those new deadlines as well. If Olivia can get her act together before the start of the next term,
she will be fine, but she’s going to need
to develop a better system for managing
her time and take responsibility for her
own learning.
Catastrophe Carl
Some students do have legitimate, serious issues that occur over the course of a
term, but Carl seems to have catastrophes
constantly. Almost every week, he misses
another deadline, but he always has some
tug-at-the-heartstrings excuse. Carl may
get the benefit of the doubt for a little
while, but eventually he will no longer
be able to blame other people or circumstances for his poor performance. Like
Olivia, serious changes will be required
in order for him to succeed.
The Ideal Online College Student:
Homeschool Holly
(or so we all hope!)
Holly is comfortable using technology to learn. In fact, she took many of
her high school classes online, so she’s
familiar with the overall process and
knows what will be expected of her. She
has always spent time around people of
different ages, so she’s as comfortable
talking with Eager Edna as she is with
E-Lizabeth. She is well-read and articulate, so her Discussion Board responses
are both thoughtful and thought-pro-voking. Holly is used to working on her
own, so she is able to schedule her work
carefully and accomplishes each week’s
assignments in a timely manner. She is
academically prepared for college-level
work. She knows how to ask for help and
how to access the many resources that
are available to her. If she doesn’t perform well on an assignment, Holly takes
full responsibility for studying more
diligently from that point forward. If
an unforeseen circumstance does arise,
she will notify her instructor as soon as
possible and do whatever is necessary to
make up the work quickly.
So why do some students thrive online
while others flounder and fail? There are
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com
many reasons for this, of course, but in
most cases the difference comes down to
two issues: expectations and preparation.
Students must have reasonable expecta-
tions of what is required of an online stu-
dent and also be adequately prepared to
meet the rigors of online learning. Suc-
cess in a virtual classroom is certainly
possible, and the benefits are numerous.
With realistic expectations and proper
preparation, online learning can be a
wonderful solution for students in all
walks of life.
Laura Baggett is a college math professor
who is learning to teach kindergarten and
preschool at home with her two favorite
students. Since marrying David thirteen
years ago, she has moved twelve times.
Wherever she goes, and whatever she
does, she’s striving to bloom where she’s
planted! She writes about her adventures
at
bloomingbaggetts.blogspot.com.
