How to balance online school work with family demands - Essay Example

These days, it is quite popular (Hinkle, 2009). The advantage of distance learning is that it seeks to maintain a balance between family and education. In addition, individuals are free to pursue the fields that they feel are more suited to their interests. It also allows the students to study freely and at their own pace. It has the further benefit of costing less (Zimmerman, pp. 39-41). However, there are always problems associated with time management. Most of the individuals who are studying online are mature adults who have the responsibility of the household and various family demands.

Therefore, there is an inherent challenge associated with managing both things at the same time. A study done in United Kingdom showed that adults have faced problems trying to balance online education with the demands of family and household chores (Wheeler, pp.32). Pursuing education is an amazing experience; however, it requires a lot of time and patience. It can be quite exhausting doing all the cooking, cleaning, looking after children, and studying as well. On a personal level, I have faced numerous difficulties because my family demands came in the way of my studies.

One such example was when I had to submit a paper, and suddenly one of my children fell ill. Now child requires my constant attention, and mostly I put him to sleep while I am studying. However, the paper was extremely lengthy and my child was constantly crying. A crying child in hands while typing away on the laptop is an extremely excruciating experience. A person has to think of the child first, while there is a constant nagging at the back of the mind that there is a lot of work to be done, which may include laundry, ironing, cooking, and obviously studying.

Another worrisome thought is also to protect the electronic gadget from the child’s hands. The child demanded constant attention, and even when I took him to the doctor, I had to wait quite a lot. Buying medicines, rushing home, forcing the medicine down the child’s throat, and finally putting him to sleep took away all my energy. Quite obviously, I submitted my paper late and I had to deal with many issues. My other child is an avid sportsperson. He participates in softball and basketball.

I have to manage driving him around to his games and sitting to cheer him on during these games. He expects me to be there with him for all the games and he ends up getting hurt if I even talk about missing one game. Caught up in work and extended family issues, I could not prepare properly for an exam that was coming up. The final match of my son’s basketball team had to be one day before the exam. Well, that is my fate, I guess. Sitting with books, with my other child on the next seat constantly tugging my hand for drinks and popcorn, and trying to cheer my child was an extremely agonizing experience.

The question was to study or not to study. Although I managed to secure good marks in the exams, but it did require a night of staying up to study, already exhausted from the day. Therefore, the point of sharing my personal experiences was that although distance learning has made me return to education, it is still not as convenient as people might think it is. However, quite a lot of time has passed since I have been pursuing online education, and I love almost every minute of it. On weekends usually, I cook quite a lot of food and deep freeze it.

In addition, I do the laundry and