My Life as a Teenage eSchooler

More About Capitol Day

2011-03-16T10:01:00.000-07:00

This is a link to the Ohio eSchool Coalition's website. It has more information and pictures from Capitol Day. :] http://www.ohioeschoolcoalition.org/capday2011

eSchool Blog

2011-03-09T15:10:00.000-08:00

Please check out this Student Blog for the Ohio eSchool Families and Friends Coalition. Some posts that I write will be on there as well as posts from other Ohio eSchoolers. :]

http://www.ohioeschoolcoalition.org/blog/

Capitol Day

2011-03-02T11:51:00.000-08:00

Last week my family and I, along with my friend Courteney, traveled to Columbus to participate in the Ohio Family and Friends eSchool Coalition Capitol Day. Many other eSchool families from across Ohio traveled to Columbus for this event as well.

The main goal of this event was to talk to our Legislators about school choice and how important it is to eSchoolers like us. We spent a lot of time talking with them and answering their questions. We tried to tell our personal "success" stories and how our eSchools have helped us be where we are today.

With Representative Barnes

One of our other goals was to address all the myths about eSchooling. Many of the Legislators asked about socialization, if we spend all our time on the computer, and if we have real teachers. We explained to them that our eSchools are public schools and that we do have time to step away from the computers and see our friends, as well as participate in activities inside and outside the school.

We also did personal presentations for the Legislators. We had our school, courses, and other eSchool components pulled up on laptops so that we could explain how they were used and how they were a part of our school day. We explained what our typical school days were like and we also showed them how our teachers use online "classrooms" (Like Elluminate) to provide live lessons or reviews.

With Representative Beck

By the end of the day we had talked to nearly all of the Legislators that were available to meet with us and answered all of their questions confidently in hopes that they would understand why our eSchools are important to us.

After our nearly 8 hour day spent talking about our eSchools (We even joked that we could recite everything we talked about in our sleep at this point. ;D), we were finally able to relax, hang out, and act like every other teenager out there.

eSchool Newspaper Article #1

2010-11-09T10:03:00.000-08:00

I am working on my eSchool's virtual newspaper The Cardinal Chirp this year so I'm going to post the article I write each month here.

•The OGT Survival Guide•

It’s your first time taking the OGT’s and you’re really stressed out. What do you do? I can advise you right now that eating your test will NOT help.
Most of the other teens who have taken the OGT’s have said that staying calm and not stressing out helped them a lot. There are many things you can do to relieve stress while taking your OGT’s. One of the first things you can do is be prepared for everything you will have to do that week. If this is the first time you are taking the OGT’s, you need to be prepared to take the tests all week. You also need to be prepared for a lot of writing. Another thing you can do to relieve stress when you’re taking your tests is to ask the teacher that is proctoring the test at your site if you can have candy during the test. Many teachers have brought candy with them to give to the students, and others have allowed then students to bring their own. As OGT veteran Ryan said: “Gas: $40. Candy $5. Eating candy while taking your OGT: Priceless.”
Some other things you can do be prepared for the OGT’s is to make sure you attend or watch the recordings of all of the OGT prep sessions that all the teachers will hold for the different subjects on the tests. These are really helpful and a lot of the students who attended these sessions said that they helped a lot and they felt more prepared for the OGT’s.
You will also need to balance your schedule well for OGT week. One of the most important things is to make sure you get enough sleep. Trying to take a test on only 4-5 hours of sleep will make it hard to concentrate and remember things you studied while you’re taking the test. Make sure you make time to eat a good breakfast before you go for each test. Pop-tarts are not a full breakfast, but you don’t want to eat so big of a breakfast that you feel stuffed during the test. You will be testing for a minimum of 1 ½ hours so you should try and eat a decent breakfast that will last you until you are done testing. You will also need to make sure you schedule in your schoolwork still because some teachers may lighten your course-load for that week, but you will still probably have some lessons and assignments to complete. One thing you can do though it let your teachers know that you are taking the OGT’s and they may let you have a little more time to get your schoolwork done.
Also, make sure you dress in layers when you go to take you OGT. The temperature of the room you test in can be either very cold and you will want a sweater or jacket, or the room could be warm enough that you will just want to wear a t-shirt. Dressing in layers will make it easier for you to be comfortable while you test.
There are also many online resources that you can use to study for your OGT’s. http://ogt.success-ode-state-oh-us.info/studentsOGT.htm This website has many practice tests, and resources that will help you prepare for your test.
Finally, as long as you’re prepared and stay calm you should do well on the OGT’s. Remain confident and don’t stress out too much. Ask teachers for help, they are willing to help you prepare and pass your OGT’s. As another OGT Veteran Kaiti said “I wish I would have known not to stress out so much. I was super freaked that they would be so hard, and there was not enough study time in the world! But, asking teachers for help, and other students, seemed to help me calm down some.”
Good luck!

My Busy Senior Year!

2010-10-22T17:37:00.001-07:00

I have been very busy this year with schoolwork, Student Council, working on my eSchool's newspaper, and college applications.

I haven't had time to blog about everything that has gone on, but I hope to fix that problem. ;]

I'm going to post a lot of things for the next few days to get caught up, but once I do that I'm going to make sure I take the time to post something here at least once a week.

I hope that those of you who read my blog enjoy my posts. :]

Student Council 2010-2011

2010-10-21T17:31:00.000-07:00

One of the things I was looking forward to most during my senior year was Student Council. I'm really active in my eSchool and I was Student Council President last year. I wasn't looking for a very high position this year, but I still wanted to run, so I joined three of my other friends as Treasurer on their ticket.

Student Council had a lot more people trying to get involved this year so we were pretty excited about it. There ended up being 4 other tickets besides ours running for the election. Many of which contained some of our good friends. The campaigning was tough and with all the support everyone was getting, it seemed like it was anyone's race.

Election day came and we were a little nervous, especially since the voting system for our eSchool was different this year and I was directing all my friends from my school to the right place to vote for who they wanted to win.

Voting was only open for a certain amount of time that day, and since my mom and I had a busy day we had to leave around the time voting ended. My phone kept notifying me that I had Facebook notifications and e-mails so I knew I needed to get home as soon as possible.

After I got home I logged back onto my computer to find that our ticket had won! Kaiti is now the President, Sabrina is the Vice President, Reagan is the Secretary, and I am the Treasurer. We were so excited we won and we can't wait to start working on all our ideas for the school as well as work on this year's Spring Dance! (Which will be my Senior Prom.)

We also encouraged all of our friends that ran to try and be one of the Reps in their region for Student Council because they all had really awesome ideas and we still want them to try and make those ideas happen, even if it's one region of Ohio at a time.

My senior year officially became even more awesome! :D

Link to one of the campaign videos I made for this year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8hUN3YeOWU

eSchooling FAQ's #1

2010-07-16T13:30:00.000-07:00

As a highschooler, I go to many different classes, events, and other places and one question I always get when I meet people is, "Where do you go to school?"
My response, "Ohio Virtual Academy. I'm eSchooled."

This response then gets a lot of different questions about eSchooling. So I decided that I was going to get a list of some of the most commonly asked questions that my eSchool friends and I get about the way we school.

Now because the list of questions is growing longer and longer as my friends and I find more of these questions, I also decided that I will address two or three questions at a time so my posts are not extremely long.

So here's this week's eSchooling FAQs.

• Are you on the computer all day?

Actually, most eSchools balance out the offline and online work that their students do. For my school, OHVA, some of the course work is online, but then there will also be offline reading, writing, or hands on things (Like 'lab experiments') that we do. So out of a typical school day, I spend a little more than half of my time doing online course work, and then the rest of the time doing reading and other activities. Plus, eSchooling gives me freedom. I can take my reading assignment for a English or History course and sit outside, in my room, at my desk, or even in the car if we have to go somewhere. So even though I may be 'eSchooled' that doesn't mean everything I do for school is on the computer.

• Does that mean you get to do school in your pj's?

This is always one of the funniest questions I get. Yes, I can do school in my pj's if I want, but I usually choose to get dressed every morning because I feel like I'm getting a better start rather than feeling like I'm lounging around all day. It also makes my mind feel more prepared for the day because I'm not just waking up, walking to my computer, and starting school. Plus, that habit has saved me on several occasions when random, unexpected guests show up at our house, or we have to leave because we need something or there's a family emergency. While that is just my preference, I know that there are other families that like being able to stay in their pj's all day if they don't have anywhere else to go. It's a silly question, but a lot of eSchoolers do have the option to do schoolwork in their pj's.

Christmas in July?

2010-07-13T10:21:00.000-07:00

During the summer my mom checks a lot of the school info and last week she said that we should be getting our school supplies for this coming school year soon.

Now for many people I know that getting school supplies isn't too exciting because that means that school is close to starting. But as for my sister and I we consider it "Christmas in July" because the UPS or FedEx guy brings a bunch of big, heavy boxes every summer. It's something we look forward to every year.

This year, the school sent my little sister 3 big boxes full of all kinds of neat things for her math, science, english, history, music, and art courses. I think her favorite things are all the blocks, shapes, and cubes that the school sends for her math supplies.

I only received one box this year and it had two big books in it. They are for my English and Composition course. Because it is my senior year, I already have all my required High School credits except for one more year of English. So all of my other courses are electives. The one that I am the most excited for is Journalism.

I can't wait to start my senior year! :]

Being A Successful eSchooler

2010-03-02T10:28:00.000-08:00

Being successful in an eSchool can affect many things in your future; where you go to college, what type of career you have, or even how successful you are in the future. Getting good grades can help someone go to a good college so that they can be successful in the career they want to pursue. There are many things that you can do to be successful including staying organized, having a set schedule, and staying in contact with your teachers.
One thing you can do to be successful is to keep all your supplies, schoolwork, and your workspace organized. You need to keep all of your supplies organized so you know where all of your things are. Supplies such as pencils, erasers, a calculator, notebooks, and folders should be easy to access while doing your schoolwork. You should also keep any schoolwork that you print out or take notes on in certain folders or drawers so that you can easily find it. Then you can go back to this material and review it for tests and assignments which can help you get a better grade on the test. Keeping your workspace organized will create more room for when you are working on schoolwork.
Another thing you can do to be successful is to make sure that you can access all of your courses and you know how to contact all of your teachers. You should make sure that all parts of your course work so that you can complete your daily schoolwork. If things are not working correctly and you do not address this problem you can get behind and this would hinder your success. You should also make sure that you know how to contact your teachers in situations like this. If something is wrong or you cannot open a part of your schoolwork then you should contact the teacher that you have for that subject so that they might fix it, or so they at least know you are having problems. Then the teacher can give you extra time to get assignments and work in. You should also know all the different ways that you can contact your teachers in case one method of communication does not work.
One of the most important things you can do to be successful is to have a set schedule for all of your schoolwork, tests, and assignments. If you have a schedule set for everything then you can make sure that you complete all of your assignments and work on time. This will then help you stay on course with your work so you don’t get behind. Using a schedule, you can also plan out larger assignments so that you have enough time to complete each part of the project. You can also keep track of when there are big tests, small tests, or even quizzes so you do not forget to take them. A schedule can also be used to keep track of any live sessions or other things your teacher for that course is having. Knowing when these sessions are and being able to attend them is also very helpful in being successful. A schedule will also help reduce stress because you won’t have to rush to complete things last minute or worry about cramming for tests.
It is pretty simple to be successful in an eSchool if you follow a few simple steps. These steps are not hard to do, but have big effects. They will help you in the long run and will make it easy for you to create a successful future. Being successful in an online high school will give you a good foundation to build the rest of your life on.

(Based on my Expository Essay for my British and World Literature Course. An expository essay is an essay that explains something. It can explain how to do something, or explain why something is the way it is.)

My YouTube Channels and Twitter

2010-01-25T11:20:00.000-08:00

These are the links for all of my sites:

www.youtube.com/TheTeenagEschooler

I use this channel to post videos of things that my family and other eSchool friends do for school or in our spare time :] A lot of which are our crazy eSchool antics!

www.youtube.com/OHVAStudentCouncil

This is the channel that I use to post videos related to my eSchool's Student Council. :] I can post videos on here to update the other students on what is going on in our eSchool. Or I can just post pictures of different outings.

www.twitter.com/TeenagEschooler

This is my twitter that I post to several times a day. :] Whether it is totally random thing my family or friends did or if it is a quote I heard in my lessons that day.

Second Semester

2010-01-12T09:27:00.000-08:00

Today was the first day of the Second Semester in my eSchool.

I woke up this morning, logged into my school, and started opening my new courses for this semester. I went through all the announcements from teachers, many saying "Welcome Back! :)", and started setting up my schedule for the week. I wrote down dates for assignments, and I posted a schedule of all the live online elluminate sessions that I will have in each class. I also wrote down all the information for my teachers so that I can contact them if I have a question.
Then I went though the courses again and looked to see if there were any lessons or assignments I had to do today and completed them. By the time I finished most of the course introduction work, I had to log into my first elluminate for the day. The elluminates that are being held this week are for new students. Through this they can learn how to use the courses and submit assignments. My teacher, realizing I was a returning student, asked me to log into my courses and show the new students how to submit an assignment so that the teacher can view and grade it. As the day went on I went to more elluminate sessions and tried to help the teachers explain things for the new students if asked.
I also noticed that there were many students that were struggling with different things, especially on elluminates, so I had talked to the rest of the girls from Student Council and we decided that we should try and get more information out so that the new students can be a little more used to our eSchool.
I believe that as long as I stay organized this semester I will be able to get all of my things done, get good grades, and enjoy my last semester before becoming a Senior :].

Student Council President!

2009-10-30T14:43:00.000-07:00

I am very excited because this year I was elected Student Council President for my eSchool! :D
I really wanted to have a say in my school and I wanted to help it grow. Luckily I found three other girls in my school who had the same ideas and enthusiasm as I did and all four of us campaigned together for Student Council. I ran for President, and the other girls ran for Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.
The first few weeks the four of us got to know each other better and started coming up with ideas that we would present to the rest of the highschoolers in our campaign. We then spent time making powerpoints and elluminate recordings of our campaign that the other students would look at and listen to so they could learn more about us and our ideas.
Soon enough it was time for elections and our ticket was running against two others. I had gotten many of my other eSchool friends tell me that they were going to vote for me so I was pretty excited! The highschoolers in my school had all day to vote, so throughout the day my ticket and I were talking about how nervous we were. All four of us were very excited though because we would find out who won the next morning. That night I went to bed very anxious, nervous, and excited as to what the morning would bring me.
The next morning I woke up and started my schoolwork and checked my e-mail to see if the results had come through yet. I didn't have any new e-mail so I went back to my schoolwork. After a few hours my mom came up to me and said "Hey Madame President!". I looked at her with a confused look on my face, but then I realized what she said and checked my e-mail again and found that I had one new e-mail! I opened it and pretty much screamed when I read "Congratulations! Your ticket has won for Student Council!". I was so happy and excited! The rest of the girls on my ticket and I were going crazy!
After everything settled down, we got down to business and started working on more ideas for the first Student Council meeting we would have. We decided that we wanted to make more outings for out eSchool so that the highschoolers would have more social opportunities, we wanted to get more students to talk on the microphone during the live elluminate sessions and ask questions, and we all were very excited about being able to plan the Spring Dance.
So this school year is great so far! I have amazing eSchool friends running on student council positions beside me and I believe that we can really change our school and also help other people understand what an eSchool is like and how totally cool it can be! :D

The First Days of School

2009-08-18T13:40:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. First I would like to say that I hope you all had a great summer because I know I did! :D I got to hang out with my good friends, read a lot more books, and I got to go to Kennywood with my family. :-)

Now that all the summer fun is over it's time for school again. My first day of 11th grade was the 17th of August this year. I had spent the week before getting all of my supplies and materials ready for the new school year so that on the 17th I was ready to get up at 7am and start my schoolwork. This year my eSchool has a schedule for the first few days of school and my peers and I have to be in live Elluminate sessions from 9am to around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. These Elluminate sessions are like live online classrooms. The teacher can talk to us through a microphone and we can respond by using our microphones or typing in a little chat box. There is also a white board area where the teacher can show a PowerPoint, pictures, screenshots of our schoolwork, and many other things a brick and mortar public school teacher would be able to put on a regular white board or chalk board. Us students can raise our hands by clicking on a button and then our name gets put at the top of the list of attendants in the Elluminate session right under the teachers name until we are called on and given whiteboard privileges.

So through these Elluminate sessions, my peers and I are able to get to know our teachers and each other while having a live online lesson in a virtual classroom. It's really cool :-). It's also a totally new way of learning online. (I also say that Elluminate is "A whole new world! A dazzling place I never knew!" As my homeroom teacher had me sing last year during a Elluminate session lol.) After we finish doing these Elluminate sessions we are able to start working on our first lessons of the year.

One of the coolest courses I always look forward to is Spanish. My eSchool uses a program called Power Glide for all of its foreign language courses. It has all these cool activities that help you memorize vocabulary words for the week and it also has great methods to help you with grammar in the language you are taking. One of the best things about Power Glide is that you get an avatar! An avatar is like a little cartoon version of you that you can dress and add backgrounds and cool things to. You can get "money" for your avatar by getting high scores on quizzes and tests in your foreign language course. This is my Spanish III avatar as of today:

So those are some of the general ways that us eSchoolers learn online during our first days of school. :-)

The Governor's Latest Funding Cut

2009-06-24T12:50:00.002-07:00

As you all know, here in Ohio Governor Strickland has a new budget plan which cuts funding for many things. The 74% funding cut to charter schools and eSchool was going to effect thousands of people throughout the state.
But just recently I came across another funding cut that will effect many people, and myself personally, is that he plans on cutting funds for Ohio's libraries by 50%! As much as the Governor wants to help, being a teenager I do not understand how this cut would help kids my age. I myself go to the library at least twice a week and I know that there are many people that go to these libraries every day. Many of my friends volunteer at our local libraries and I just turned in my application to get a job at the one in my neighborhood.
Only a few months ago my library started having an afternoon homework station where kids between the grades of 1-6 could come and work on their homework independently or with the help of a librarian. If funding is cut how would my library be able to continue this helpful and effective program?
This is what worries me. All of these libraries in Ohio have great programs, activities, and not to mention beautiful and creative facilities. With only half of the funding they receive right now how will they be able to maintain their books, facilities, and programs?
I came to realize that when there is something exciting going on at my local library many people show up. Sometimes when they have movie days where they project a popular movie onto a screen, or when my library manages to get a famous author to come and sign their books many people show up.
This year the summer reading game that my library does must be a big hit because when I went to sign up for it they had to give me a smaller game board to fill out because they had run out of the larger ones due to the large number of people participating.
I believe this none of this would be possible if the current funding cut to libraries stays in the Governor's new budget plan.
Although I am just one teenager, I believe that if I apply myself I can have a strong voice. But I also know that I have many friends and family behind me. I believe that we can help prevent this funding cut if we keep e-mailing the legislators asking them to consider the consequences that would result from this cut and ask them to remove this cut from the budget plan.

The School Without Cliques?

2009-05-04T17:23:00.000-07:00

This Saturday is my eSchool's Spring Dance and I am totally excited!!!! :D I know a lot of people from my school that are going so I can't wait to see many of my good friends and I can't wait to make new ones that live in other parts of Ohio.
You see, many of us live very far apart so we don't really ever actually get to "see" each other, although we "see" each other in live online classroom sessions where we can im and talk to each other and our teachers. Many of us become fast friends this way because we can usually find a couple of interests that we each have in common. I think that this is cool because it almost prevents cliques from forming in my school because people can't be judged by the way they look, act, or talk. Those are physical appearances that don't matter to us because all we usually get to see is someone's personality. Then when some of us do actually meet is doesn't matter how we look because we know enough about each other that we are already good friends and find it hard to judge each other in that way.
I think that the only way that me might be separated into different social groups might be popularity. Now I'm not saying that my school has these stuck-up snobs who everyone knows like most people stereotype popular teens as, but in my school all "popular" means if you are outgoing and talk to many people therefore they know you. I'm am a little more shy then some of the people in my eSchool so not everyone in my school knows me, but there are a lot of people who when they sign into a classroom session everyone says hi to them because they know them.
See this is why I can't wait for the school dance. I'll get to see my many of my friends for the first time and we will be able to talk and have a good time no matter what we look like, how we act, or how we talk just because we were able to see each others true personalities to judge on.
And come on, if you find people who love reading, dance, music, or the Jonas Brothers just like you, would you judge them just because they aren't wearing the prettiest clothes, they aren't as outgoing as you, or because they don't have the same accent as you?

My Sweet Sixteen!

2009-04-30T11:16:00.000-07:00

With today being April 30th, I have now been 16 for one week!! YAY! :D

I had a very good week. A bunch of my family came over one night and then my friends came over the next day. It was fun getting to hang out with my family and friends because they are the funniest, craziest, nicest people that I know and I wouldn't trade them for ANYTHING! :-)

My grandma came over early Friday last week so that I could help her make dumplings and my yummy banana b-day cake! When the rest of my family came over we all just talked and my little sister and little cousin played dress up with all my old dance costumes (haha good times, good times lol). Then we ate, had cake and ice cream, and then I opened my presents. I got some very nice things from my family including a really cool pink sign that I can put on my door that says "Rock Star" :D. After that we all just hung out for a little bit longer and listened to some music that my other grandma brought. One of the cds that we played had songs from the 50s including "Sixteen Candles" by The Crests, which made my grandma cry. All I can say is that my b-day party with my family was very fun.

The next day I had to start getting ready for the party I was having with my friends later that night. Later in the afternoon my friends started arriving and when one of my friends came in I noticed that she had something in her hands. When I asked her what is was she responded: "You're going to be 16! You need a crown and scepter!". Now, my friends and I talk a LOT so when they all arrived we all talked for about an hour I think before we ate pizza. We then walked to our favorite local ice cream shop (Gotta love Superman ice cream YUM!!). I got a lot of nice things from my friends including a new shirt, a tote bag, a Camp Rock calendar, a Jonas Brothers poster, a book that I have already finished reading (haha I'm such a bookworm that my mom said she has several librarians recruited to give her recommendations on books for me to read because she cannot screen and read every novel that I read in a week lol), and a ring. So my friends and I had a lot of fun being our goofy selves that night.

So, it may not have been some HUGE party with TONS of people (Stadium filled to capacity..$150,000), expensive presents($5,000), lavish foods ($18,000), and a gourmet cake($20,000). But I can say that I wouldn't have wanted to spend my "Super Sweet 16!" birthday any other way. To me: priceless!

Random News

2009-04-16T17:59:00.000-07:00

• Random News #1: Earth Day!!!!!
Well as we all know earth day is coming up, and personally that is one of my favorite days of the year. :D I really get into earth day, seeing as I even have a special outfit planed out that includes blue, green, and brown accessories, and a shirt I got at the zoo that is made out of recycled fabrics. Its pretty neat. Also, I really want to go and see Disney's "Earth" that comes out on earth day (go figure lol :D). It looks like it would be an amazing movie to see.

• Random News #2: My Sweet Sixteen!
I am very excited because it is exactly 1 week until my 16th b-day! WOO HOO!!! I'll be one step closer to being an adult...and a major step closer to driving. This is also the time of my life where I really have to start thinking about what I am going to do in my future. I am definitely going to college, but I still don't know exactly what I'm going to go for, but I did narrow it down to either: law (maybe a lawyer or something like that), library science (which could actually help with law...), dance (I've taken classes for about 7 years and I don't think I will ever stop dancing again lol), or fashion (haha I make some pretty crazy outfits some days). But hey, I still have 2 more years to decide which of those I want to pursue in college. Although, I could always do all four, just 2 at a time.

• Random News #3: JONAS
Now...here's where my teenage side comes out of my personality. I am a HUGE Jonas Brothers fan (I have been for several years now) and I cannot wait for their TV show "JONAS" to premiere on Disney Channel. :D It looks hysterical and my best friend and I have been trying to catch any previews and commercials for it because there is always something new to laugh about ("How do you get stuck on a fire pole?!?!?" "Let me guess her name rhymes with Fffflennyyy!" "They took my socks without taking off my shoes.....How do they do that?" "I thought this would look cooler in pretend slow motion."). So May 2nd at 8pm is totally going to be an exciting time for my BFF and I.
ps. haha we both LOVE these videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLDhLQrgQHM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aIHEmUroVg

~Well, that's my random news for the day. :-)

Introduction - What is an eSchooler?

2009-04-14T16:40:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, and welcome to my blog! :D
As you can see from my blog's title, I am an eSchooler, and I have been with my eSchool for 7 years now.
What is an eSchooler you ask?
Well, I am a cross between a public school student and a homeschool student. ♪ I've got the best of both worlds!!♪ (lol Hannah Montana) I do my schoolwork at home on my computer, or wherever else my life takes me, just like many other k-12th grade students do all across the state. I take full responsibility for my academic career and have to make sure that I keep in contact with all of my teachers and turn in all my assignments on time. So as an eSchooler I am fully in control of my schoolwork.
Now I do realize that another question that is going to come up is "Well, what about socialization?"
I would like to say that despite the fact that I can be at home on the computer 6-8 hours somedays, I also get plenty of socialization. As I said, I am also like a public schooler because I can participate in live sessions on the computer with my teachers and classmates and interact with them that way, and my school also has a wide variety of outings we can attend. Such as bowling leagues, museum tours, park days, skating, science fairs, spelling bees, zoo trips, book stores, libraries, hotels, testing sites, and little meetings at different resturants and fast-food places. Plus, I can hang out with all of my public school friends, eSchool friends, and homeschool friends. All three circles of friends! ... I wonder if they have a plan for that??? Along with the different activities offered by my school all throughout the state, I also take dance classes twice a week, teach a 5th grade PSR class every Sunday morning, go to an Awana youth group every Sunday evening, I am on a youth advisory board at my local library, I volunteer for many activities at my chruch, and get to hang out with many of my good close friends at least once a week. And if that isn't socialization, then I don't know what socialization is.
So basically, what I am trying to say is that eSchoolers are normal teenagers who place value on their education.
And I'm just a normal American tree-hugging, book-loving, Jonas Brothers obsessed, dancing, teenage girl who happens to be an eSchooler.