Connections Academy

• Population: N/A
• Location: 33 states
• Type: Cyber School
• Grades: K-12th
• Number of Teachers: 90
• School-day duration: flexible schedule
• Interesting fact: promote tailoring curriculum to meet each individual student's need

Connections Academy seemed like the perfect place to avoid everything I hated about Lamberton. Home had become a safe heaven, so it only made sense that I would just stay at home and learn by myself. It had always been my dream to learn at my own pace. What would be so hard about it? I understood some English, so I would not be completely clueless. Right?

…. No, I could have never been more mistaken in my life.

I was excited when the box with all the textbooks and resources arrived. To this day I remember completing my first lesson and thinking that it was not hard, I would have the same feeling until I would be tested on a subject. Until late into the game, I realized that I was not following all the instructions given by the lesson. The instructions provided guidance as to what chapter to read and then the lesson would just complement the readings. Needless to say, I did poorly. I knew I was struggling, but I did not know how to admit it to my mom, my aunt or anyone in my family. While I was failing miserably, my cousin was thriving.

My teachers got in touch with my aunt to inform her of how badly I was doing. I knew a long conversation with the family was coming, but I hid in my room a cried. The next day a letter from truancy arrived, so we were all more focus on how to deal with that situation. Together we decided that y best option was returning to Lamberton and completely forgetting that Connections Academy happened.

Even though I barely attended the school and any record of me attending is completely gone, it taught me a lot. The main thing I leaned from the school was to read absolutely all instructions and to make sure I understand what is being asked of me, which has been beneficial in my development as a student. It also helped me realized how isolating the lack of contact can be. The grades for the school were solely based on the scores received on the various tests. My motivation, effort and the fact that I struggled with the language was not taken into account when deciding the grades. I

Through this experience, I had been able to reflect to when asked what the purpose of education. What I learned is not about learning but about support and flexibility and the role a teacher plays in the learning process. Teachers provide extra support and ideally are understanding od the reasons why a student may not had done as well as expected. From connections Academy, I learned to appreciate the constant presence of a teacher providing much needed support in the education process.