How To Finish High School Online

So you're really tired of going to class every day, but your parents aren't open to the idea of homeschooling? That's unfortunate, but luckily there is another option that may be easier to talk to them about: online high school.

What's that, you ask? It's basically the same as normal high school. Same curriculum, same textbooks, same kinds of assignments, etc. The difference is that you can do it all at home, over the internet.

How does online schooling work?

Well, it depends. Different schools may have different ways of going about it, and in some cases you might still have to go to class every now and then. But generally, it all works via email or IM programs. You may even be able to attend classes online through some kind of online video chat program, if you like. But generally that sort of thing should be optional, and you can choose to work through the textbooks and material on your own, at your own pace, and then take the tests whenever you're ready for them. In this way, you can actually finish high school a lot sooner than you normally would, and then either take some time off or go to college sooner than everyone else your age. That idea is sure to sound good to your parents. :)

The "Socialization" Argument

The only thing that might not sound so good to your parents, is the idea of you being home alone a lot, and not "socializing" with other people your age in school. I put "socializing" in quotes because it really depends on your situation. If you don't really have many friends at school anyway, and are basically just barely able to tolerate the rest of the people there, that doesn't really have a lot of "socialization" benefits for you. In fact, it's probably more harmful to your people skills than anything else. Proper social skills develop when you're spending time with people you can actually get along with, not when you're around people who annoy you or stress you out. The argument of "you need to learn to deal with annoying people" doesn't really work. You can only deal with annoying people properly if your self-esteem and general sanity is stable. It doesn't become stable by being around obnoxious idiots all the time. They're more likely to drive you insane. Besides, just tell your parents to spend some time walking around your school, and ask them to name 10 good role models that they can find there that they think you should emulate. If your school is relatively normal, odds are they probably won't be able to find any.

So, how do you "socialize" if you're doing online schooling, then? Well, you can complete your course work at your own pace, right? So basically you have the entire world at your fingertips for socializing with people. You're not bound by the same time of day and weekend issues that your other classmates have, so you can do things that they can't. It's really up to you. Just be creative, you'll come up with something.

Accreditation

Another thing to be careful of with online schooling, is to be sure that the school you're taking classes with is accredited. Basically this just means that you'll get a normal high school diploma, and not some fake thing that nobody else will recognize as valid. If you're taking classes from a public high school, you'll get a the same diploma all the normal students get, so that's not an issue at all. Online schooling with public schools is also generally free, so that's probably the best option for most people.

For some subjects though, you'll probably still have to attend classes. Practical subjects like art and science and other things that require a more "hands-on" approach will work better if you're physically there. Depending on your school, you might be able to either join normal classes for those subjects, or do evening classes or some other schedule that fits you. You can also skip those subjects entirely and replace them with others that you can get over with quickly, and then teach yourself all the art and science that you want, in your own free time, which you should have plenty of. :)