HELP!!!! What Should I Do if I’m Struggling With Online School????

February 9, 2021 Nadya Corscadden

When you’re learning at home, it’s common to feel pretty alone. You are, after all, SORT OF alone - there’s nobody else in the same room taking the course with you. This feeling of loneliness can sometimes feed the desperation to understand everything right away.

Are you totally screwed if you don’t understand everything when it’s first given to you? If you DO need help, how are you going to get it? You can’t necessarily get on the phone and ask a teacher to read the whole lesson to you and explain it.

This simple process will help you find comfort in the learning process and figure out when to get help.

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In a classroom, you can just ask questions in the moment, and solve any little confusions before they become big misunderstandings. When you’re learning from home, however, those quick little hand raises are less easy to come by, and getting off track is certainly more possible.

Be patient - learning takes time, and it doesn’t take the same amount of time for everyone.

When you’re learning from home, it feels way more scary and alone when the thing in front of you doesn’t make sense. It’s only natural to feel defeated when you don’t understand everything right away…but it’s really not a sign of anything more than “this section is challenging”. You tackle challenges in a group setting, too, it’s just more convenient to ask questions there, and you have a visible team around you for support…so it SEEMS less daunting in that setting (if that’s what you’re used to).

When you’re learning from home, however, you get the opportunity to sit in that misunderstanding. While that in itself may seem like a negative, it is also of great benefit. You’re given the chance to work your way out of that hole - a process which will massively strengthen that knowledge in the first place. Confusion therefore doesn’t have to be a negative. Confusion is merely an obstacle that will add to your sense of accomplishment and understanding when things finally make sense!

Welcome to The Confusion Spiral

I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. It’s that spiral of never-ending questions because you took a turn and now nothing means anything anymore, and you can’t even remember that part that you knew yesterday, and how are you even supposed to understand everything because IT JUST DOESN’T MAKE SENSE!!!!

If you’ve never been there, good for you…but I’m sure it’s a familiar feeling to most students out there - at least to some extent. Though your body is in crisis mode, it is a totally natural state, and you might need to re-train your brain to accept it as part of the learning process. You’re smarter than your think you are, and knowledge takes TIME. Not understanding something at a first glance doesn’t mean you won’t understand it ever, nor does it mean that it’s “too difficult” for you to figure it out on your own.

In a classroom setting, you usually get through this state by asking a million questions in the moment and then complaining about it to your friends…but this isn’t as convenient of an option when you’re working alone in your room. While you’d think this might put you at a disadvantage, the easy access to answers is training you to believe that you’re not capable of getting there eventually. Some of those confusions WOULD be sorted out with a second or third attempt at the material…and you’ll understand them more deeply if you let your brain attempt to figure it out first.

By asking for help right away, it trains you to believe that you wouldn’t have figured it out on your own…even though you often would’ve.

The more you get used to independently tackling concepts on the periphery of your understanding, the more “in shape” those brain muscles will get, and the better you’ll be able to tackle those challenges in the future…in ALL aspects of your life - not just school.

SO.

When you reach that confusion spiral and you’re learning from home, the most important first step is to put the books DOWN

If you’re only a little muddled, a 10 minute break might be all you need. If you’re genuinely totally lost, take at least day away if you can. When you get into a total confusion state, your body is most likely in panic mode, and you WILL find it difficult to get through things…so don’t push it. As much as you want to figure things out asap, you also don’t want to engrain those associated “frustrated feelings” into your brain. You’ll be be much more successful in conquering a challenge if you come back refreshed, calm, and positive.

Even if you have no clue what’s going on right now, the panicked level of confusion is often just a side effect of working too much. Take a break and come back to it later - another day if possible. Sometimes when you sleep on things, they’ll end up mysteriously crystal clear in the morning…or at least one phase of it might make slightly more sense.

Ok, but I think I actually need help - where do I go?

The first step will always be to determine IF you actually need help. The next step will be to narrow down exactly WHAT you need help WITH. Are you having trouble comprehending the material, or are you having trouble focusing on it? Are you having trouble with the way it’s presented, or is there something fundamental that you think is missing?

There are many ways to try and understand the material other than re-reading/re-watching things, and it’s useful to work through some of these processes before moving forward.

Try different learning methods

If something isn’t making sense, don’t just keep trying to do the same thing over and over again. If you’ve read it through a few times, and it still doesn’t make sense, change things up.

Read it out loud.
Get up and walk around while you read/listen to it.
Draw out diagrams.
Move locations.
Re-write it.
Pause the video and repeat each sentence back.
Wiggle your fingers while you read.
Re-write it in a simpler form: break up big sentences into smaller sentences, and define any big words/find synonyms to make the language simpler.
Chew gum.

There are so many ways you can alter the way the material is presented, and sometimes it’s just a matter of finding the right trick that works for you.

Dedicate a “Power Study” Time

If things are overwhelming and simply hard to pay attention to, dedicate 20 minutes of your day as a power study time. Sometimes all you need to do is sit down and focus, and it’s hard because…it’s hard. 20 minutes is the perfect length of time because it isn’t super overwhelming, but it’s long enough to get things done.

To set yourself up for a power study time:

Set an alarm so you’re not checking the time every few minutes.
Turn off everything that beeps, blips or notifies.
Have a notebook handy to jot down anything random/distracting that pops into your head.
Pick a fun little reward that you’ll get at the end.
Pay attention like a crazy person until the timer goes off.

Google it

While I’m not supporting using a generic internet search to perfectly outline your courses, sometimes reading Wikipedia’s baseline explanation will help you understand the fundamentals of whatever your course is talking about. Certainly be wary that the internet’s description might be different than what’s in your course materials (and sorry, but the course is pretty much always “right”…), but sometimes that different perspective will help clarify things. There are likely also resources available through your school-sanctioned library if the topics are more advanced…but the internet is there as a quick first search, so don’t be afraid to use it!!

Discuss it with your peers

While you might not have friends studying exactly the same thing as you, it doesn’t mean you can’t discuss things. Sometimes by simply trying to explain something to someone else, the pieces will click. Teaching is the absolute best way to learn something well.

Of course, if you’re in a class with other students who are working at a similar pace (which is the case for some courses), you will have other students to share notes with. Sometimes two brains are better than one, and you’ll find you might have have complementary gaps to help each other out. Don’t fully take someone else’s notes without doing your own work as well, though, no matter how “smart” those people seem. Check out my other post: Note-Taking; Everything You Need to Know.

If you know someone who’s an expert in whatever you’re studying, it may seem like a no-brainer to ask them for help. Proceed with caution, though. Just because someone knows something well doesn’t mean they can teach it….using knowledge all the time is much different than being able to break down and explain the fundamentals of it. While they might be able to answer advanced questions no problem, the basics may be so second nature to them that they’re difficult to explain. Also, once you create any sort of a student/teacher line, it can be difficult to let that go in the future. Do you want to chat about this class every time you see this human?

Ask your teacher

If you have an easily contactable teacher, they are certainly there to be approached. They’ll know different ways to explain things, and there might even be some holes in the material that would be genuinely difficult to bridge without them. BUT while you certainly don’t have to wait until the last possible second to ask them things, it’s within your best interest to go through some of the more independent routes first. Why? Wouldn’t it be faster to just ask them and get the right answer back?

Yes, and no….you’ll get a quick baseline answer, but until you figure out the root of your confusion, they can’t necessarily help you understand it. If you genuinely try to figure things out on your own, you’ll have a much better understanding of where exactly your confusion lies, and you’ll be able to ask a much more useful question in the first place. The better questions you can ask, the more information you’ll be able to glean from them.

So, yes, ask questions…but don’t ask them right away. Asking your teacher shouldn’t be your first line of defence. Spend enough time to really grasp what you don’t understand so you can have the most useful conversation possible.

If you haven’t at least tried, you’ll ask a very basic question, and you’ll get a very basic response…which could just be a regurgitation of what’s written in the course. The teacher can’t help you if you haven’t put an effort in first.

Get a tutor

While a teacher can answer some things, they can’t necessarily guide you all the way through a program if it’s constructed in a way that you inherently struggle with, or if it’s moving too quickly for your brain. We all have different brains, and not every course is going to be perfectly constructed for everyone. If your confusion goes beyond asking a few questions here and there, it may be time to get a tutor.

Beyond helping you understand your given material, a tutor can also help you develop studying strategies and new habits that will help you need them less in the future. You never know - maybe you’ll discover a new way of studying that takes way less time and effort!

Remember: You’re Smarter Than You Think You Are

Whenever you don’t understand something or you’re having trouble remembering stuff, it’s not because anything’s too hard for you. It just means that you’re probably either going about learning that material in the wrong way, or that it’s going to take you a little extra time…and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with either of those.

The more you get used to working independently, the more you’ll get used to finding and using the tools that work best for you. For me, I know I’m a kinetic learner and a visual learner…and I’m a very awful auditory learner. This means I suck at learning by sitting and listening to a lecture. BUT, if I walk around as I’m listening, I’ll learn much more (adds a kinetic element), and if I take notes, I’ll learn even MORE (adds a kinetic AND a visual element…not to mention having the notes to use later). While this is what works best for me, you might be the totally opposite! It’s certainly worth experimenting and discovering what works, and learning from home is the perfect place to do it.

The other important thing to remember is that perfection shouldn’t be the goal. School and numbers seem to go hand in hand, and we tend to value getting as high a number as possible…but that number isn’t any sort of perfect indication of your knowledge or of your effort…so what does it really mean? While it’s a nice vanity metric in the moment, that number means basically nothing outside of the school system.

What’s way more important is that you understand and can utilize any information to the best of your ability. You will also want to develop the tools to learn anything else you may need to know for any job in the future. Learning how to learn independently is one of the most useful skills any education system can give you…so take this opportunity and use it to your advantage.

Not everyone can sit down and work on something challenging without any sort of structure…but once you can do that, you can do pretty much anything!

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Want More Study Tips?

If you’re still looking for tips to get you through homeschooling, check out the A+ Academics at Home book linked below. I was once a new home learner myself, and I TOTALLY get the struggles that come along with it. It was one of the best learning experiences of my life, though, and it completely changed the way I view education. I want to help you on this journey to discover the excitement that comes with learning something on your own!

A+ Academics at Home - Finding Success Through Distance Learning

If you want to keep reading, here are some other articles you might find interesting:

Who is Nadya Corscadden?

Nadya holds an MA in Musical Theatre and is no stranger to the home learning scene. Having spent a good chunk of her younger years in distance education (and opting for some correspondence electives at university), she has accumulated many tricks to help maintain focus and inspiration. She has a passion for independent learning and wants to help anyone and everyone find their stride in this atmosphere whether it’s homeschooling or simply studying for that next big test!

She is also a triple threat singer, dancer and actress….and can’t wait until stages are alive again!