VTVLC Student Blog
Freedom, Control, and Virtual School
Controlling your life is important for a multitude of reasons. It can help you maintain mental health, minimize stress, and maximize productivity. The flexibility of online schooling allows you to control your daily schedule to fit your lifestyle best. This allows you to wake up at a time that’s best for you, exercise throughout the day, and have plenty of free time that you can use to develop interests in new topics, hobbies and activities.
Personally, I hate waking up super early in the morning. I also find that I am more productive later in the day. Online learning enables me to adjust my daily schedule so that it is efficient for me. This means I am able to wake up later, around 9 am, and work on school in the afternoon. Being able to wake up at a time of my choosing allows me to make sure that I am getting enough sleep which is an issue that many students have in regular school. This was a big issue that I ran into when I went to a regular high school in California. Almost every day, I was lacking sleep and as a result of that, demotivated when it came to my schoolwork and social interactions with peers and teachers. In fact, many reputable sources have done studies on the negative effects that come with early start times. For example, according to the CDC, “Not getting enough sleep is common among high school students and is associated with several health risks including being overweight, drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco, and using drugs, as well as poor academic performance.” I have found that utilizing the flexible schedule in virtual school has made me much more motivated, productive and energized.
Another virtue of online school is the ability to exercise throughout the day. With this ability, I am able to get up and exercise whenever I see fit. This is much more flexible than a traditional classroom, in which you can feel confined to a classroom for hours at a time. This freedom allows me to fit in a good exercise routine into my morning, which helps me wake up and get ready for the day. It also allows me to use physical activity as a tool to calm down when my thoughts are racing and I can’t focus on schoolwork. Most importantly, perhaps, it allows me to participate in my favorite sports: rock climbing and ice climbing. Climbing is one of my favorite sports, but in a traditional school setting, I may only be able to participate in these activities during weekend days. I am able to do it at a much higher frequency with the flexible schedule that online classes afford students.
I have found that utilizing the flexible schedule in virtual school has made me much more motivated, productive and energized.
Climbing, in particular, is very important to me because it is a way for me to push myself to improve and get stronger, instilling a mentality that I find intrinsic to a successful education and perhaps just as important as the skills I’d be learning in a classroom. In an online learning setting, I dictate when I spend free time, and when I focus on schoolwork, in whatever arrangement is best for me. There is no set time period that I have to work every day. The added free time in my schedule gives me more time to engage with hobbies and other activities like spending time with family and friends, spending time outside, and playing video games.
There are many virtues of online learning’s flexibility. Having a flexible schedule and being able to move at my own pace are some of the most important for me. With these, I am able to be efficient in my work and create extra free time. I am also able to interact with friends and family, and be physically active throughout the day which conforms with the lifestyle I want to live. Without online learning, I would be unable to live my preferred lifestyle.