Just because a class is online doesn’t mean it is easier than “real” school. I have learnt that lesson the hard way. Since the star tof the year I have been doing 2 online classes at BerkleeMusic. This is all part of the grander scheme of bettering myself. This year’s project (or at least one of them) was to improve my music skills. So I enrolled in “Music Theory 101″ and “Writing Music with Finale”.

It was going well for the first half of the semester, but then I started falling behind. didn’t think much of it so I kept putting it off. Figured I would catch up, no problem, right. Well then I got sick for 2 weeks and got no work done. Scream!! So now the semester has closed and I haven’t finished either class!! I have one last assignment for one and about 4 for the other. I stayed home tonight to try catch up and got nothing done. Mainly because the exercises and assignments are so hard!!

I realize now I was taking the classes for granted a bit because of the online nature, and not putting in enough time previously. They do actually tell you how much time a week you will need to spend reading the material and doing the exercises. I know I spent nowhere near that kind of time. And the problem is that because it’s online, it’s not like you can just pop in on the teacher any time for help. So I am now struggling a bit with my late assignments.

Amazingly, I have another class starting this week that I am already a bit behind on. Not a good sign. I am definitely going to try harder this time around. School is school. It’s supposed to be one of the things I do well, so I need to push myself since I don’t have the classroom pressure. Online classes take a lot more discipline than classroom learning. They can be convenient but they’re not easy. So wish me luck!!