The Best Online Course I Never Wanted to Take

(and a New Set of Wheels)

What’s the best online course you’ve ever taken?
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It’s funny that I get this prompt today asking about the best online class I’ve ever had.

Today, I got a letter in the mail from the city. When I had my car accident recently, I didn’t get a ticket at the scene, but I paid the fine almost immediately once it arrived. Little did I realize that I also received two points on my driver’s license. However, the city’s letter explained that if I take an approved traffic safety course and pass it, they will wipe those two points completely off my record and won’t even notify my insurance company.

As a teacher—and something of a lifelong learner—I’ve taken a few online courses over the years. Honestly, most of them haven’t been all that memorable. So at this point, I hate to say it, but this online traffic safety course I’ll be taking in the next few weeks might very well end up being the best online course I’ve ever taken. It’s not about high philosophy; it’s about practical absolution!

I’m not worried about the material being difficult. I might have to pay attention to a few specific rules of the road, but the presentation shouldn’t be hard to absorb. I did see that the course costs about a hundred bucks to enroll in, but saving my driving record and insurance rates makes it worth every penny.

Thinking about it more, though, if I had to pick a legitimate academic answer, my mind goes back to around 2002 or 2003 when I was working on my teaching certificate at Wayne State. These were the early, wild-west days of online classes. Back then, institutions tried to make the digital environment feel as much like a traditional lecture hall as possible.

We had scheduled class meetings where everyone logged into a live chat room at the exact same time to discuss the weekly readings. The instructor posed questions, and we were expected to type out answers, follow up on classmates’ responses, and actively participate in real time.

To top it off, we actually had a few face-to-face meetings on campus during the semester. That first in-person meeting was fascinating. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a classroom where everyone’s eyes were darting around the room so intensely, trying to put names to faces and figure out who was who. You’d look around and think, “Ah, so you’re the guy who had an answer for everything in the chat!“

Modern online coursework has shifted completely to a self-paced model—instructors unlock modules, assign readings, set deadlines, and grade submitted work. It’s functional, but it’s solitary. The student-to-student interaction that made that early Wayne State class so human is mostly gone. Knowing what I know now, I’m well aware my upcoming grad school classes will look a lot more like the solitary model than those early chatroom days.

Of course, taking that traffic class isn’t the only consequence of my recent accident—it also meant finding a new set of wheels.

The silver lining in all this hassle is that last night, I bought a “new to me” car: the 2022 Chevy Equinox I mentioned in yesterday’s post, Solo Flight. I didn’t expect myself to be this excited about purchasing a vehicle, but here I am.

I drove it home from the dealership, making a quick pit stop at Kroger to pick up a few groceries before settling in for the night. I’m really looking forward to getting behind the wheel this weekend. I had a video chat with Sierra this evening, too. She’s excited about the car, but mostly I think she was just happy to see the excitement on my face.

Now that the car matters are more or less wrapped up, I can finally turn my full attention toward grad school.

Rebuilding a life takes grit, consistency, and a lot of ‘Option C’ thinking. Having crossed the 1,000-day milestone, I’m now charting the territory beyond. The mission remains the same: No glitz. Just the work. New to the blog? Start your journey here to see the blueprint and the ‘Tricorder’ perspective behind the rebuild.

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