The introduction of online schooling has done some of us dirty. It’s a lot harder- and a lot more stressful- to do unsynchronized learning if you’ve never done it before.
So, what do you do if you run into this issue? When it feels like you’ve fallen under the tidal waves of assignments, and something’s happened to make you unable to keep up?
Talking is Hard
Of course, the obvious first is communication. For a lot of professors as well, these are trying times for this introduction of new technology; once again, your professors are human. They do understand if something goes wrong, or how hard it can be on a person to balance work, school, kids, and Lord knows what else.
Personally, there’s no shame in admitting things get hard. These are, in the words of every single corporation who has emailed us in the past eight months, uncertain times. There’s no telling what could happen at any moment, and compassion is vital in these situations- as well as a level head.
I’m Still Underwater, Though!
Cool. So you’ve hopefully tried to talk it out with your Professor and hopefully convinced them you need time. Your grades are still chock full of incomplete assignments, though, and they just keep coming. Now what?
Of course, balancing the new ones first versus what’s due is important. Keeping up is the most important thing right now. The ones missing shouldn’t be your priority. If possible, it’s wisest to keep up with the newest assignments first. If you still have the mental ability, it’s time to start chipping at those long-due assignments- and there’s a very good way to get about this.
This, That, and The Other
The easiest- and probably most logical way to go about chipping off old assignments- is by grade order. I can’t exactly figure out a better shorthand for that, but the gist is to do assignments that add up the most first. That may mean a bit of math.
Let’s say this main assignment is worth 50 points, but counts as 20% of the grade- versus 5 assignments worth 10 points, counting as 40% of the grade. It seems as though it would be a smarter idea to do the 50-points at first, but even if it’s a little more, doing those 5 smaller ones adds up higher to the final count.
That’s how I went about doing it, anyway- I have plenty of experience in my ADHD-fueled reign of forgetfulness, so I am not-so-proudly the King of Being Swamped.
Getting Closure
Honestly, my advice is to not beat yourself up about it too much, if you can help it. If you’re seeking higher education, be it immediately after high school or many years on down the line, that’s amazing enough. It’s natural, especially being on online-only classes with no face to face exposure with the material, to fall a little behind. And sometimes, all you can do is take a break, recuperate with the time you have, and face the world again with a fresh outlook to tackle the days ahead.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
E.MCALISTER
Student Author - Fall 2020
I’m just a small-town student.
