"Knowledge is power," the esteemed Francis Bacon once said. Those words, repeated verbatim for ages, are the foundation of education, for as long as education serves to teach and inspire. However, there is an arising problem where students are unable to focus on their schooling due to external factors such as holding jobs or taking care of their families. This phenomenon causes harm to the future academic aspirations of these students and is wholly detrimental to their education. As per federal law, all children in the United States, from the ages of five to eighteen, are legally required to attend school. However, for those students who must serve a purpose other than studying, having to spend hours of their day at a physical school can actually severely affect their ability in both educational and non-educational pursuits. Although this situation may seem dire, there exists a surprisingly simple solution that can adequately meet all the needs of these students: distance learning. Distance learning is a program by which students are afforded the option of doing their coursework from home by taking online courses. By providing a feasible alternative to traditional schooling, distance learning will allow students to do better in all facets of their lives. Distance learning would be a massive benefit to students because it would allow schedule flexibility and encourage student independence, both culminating in a better future for all students.

While a work-life balance seems to be the cornerstone of happiness for any American worker, the same does not seem to be true for American students. In a 2016 study published by Psychology Today, it was found that the stress level of students had risen nearly 15% since 2012. This, in tandem with the fact that many high school students work part-time or even full-time jobs on the side is the exact reason why distance learning must be implemented: schedule flexibility. If students are able to shape their educational schedules to meet their unique independent needs, then the mental health of those students would doubtlessly improve. In fact, in a TED talk about a similar brand of tutelage entitled "hack schooling", it was discussed how the alternative method allowed for students to feel more secure about their learning as it was being done on their own terms. This means that if students are allowed the chance to shape their education to suit themselves, they are then able to comprehend the information that they learn rather than simply memorize and regurgitate it. By removing unnecessarily strenuous factors such as the long hours and rigidity of traditional schooling, distance learning provides an avenue by which students of all backgrounds and situations are afforded the opportunity to thrive.

Independence is a trait that empowers all those who possess it as it enables them to function on their own. Between fixed bell schedules and assigned bathroom breaks and a plethora of functional rigidity, independence is rather unfortunately not a trait that is bred well in traditional American schools. However, as students grow to become adults with much more autonomy than is allowed in said schools, this dependency can become malignant to the development of their own psyches. Giving students the ability to attend a distance learning program is something that can, in turn, teach students to become more independent and self-reliant. Between managing their own time, finishing their coursework, and learning to use their online resources wisely, students will gain a learning curve which will lead them to be vastly more independent than they would have been in a traditional school setting. Take, for example, students who complete online courses via the Generic_School program in the Generic_City school district. In the form to apply for courses, students are asked how they demonstrate independence and ability to manage their coursework. As distance learning demands more in terms of organization than traditional schooling does, it is clearly vital for students to be, or at least to learn to be, more independent. Essentially, by taking these courses, students will display an increase in independence and autonomy that they would not necessarily experience in a traditional setting. Clearly, in this regard, distance learning reigns superior.

Despite the many bonuses that distance learning offers, there is something that can be said about the social aspect of traditional public schooling. By forcing students to interact with one another, traditional schools facilitate social interactions between peers. While performing this function does seem to advantage traditional schools, it is not necessarily a bad thing for distance schooling. In fact, students are quite often put in social situations outside of a school setting. Whether interacting with family or speaking to friends, students experience social interaction rather often in their lives. Additionally, as many distance learning programs use video conferences as a means to teach, they can provide a means to teach further social and emotional interaction as well. Schools are not the only means by which students may develop social skills, and distance learning would genuinely not hinder any sort of societal interaction or ability that traditional schools seemingly provide.

In summation, schools should implement distance learning as it serves as a vital benefit to students who genuinely cannot gain from traditional forms of education. By allowing for flexible schedules, distance learning provides a feasible alternative to students who cannot perform their tasks within the confines of traditional schools. By encouraging independence, distance learning empowers students to learn discipline and organization in addition to traditional academia. Knowledge is indeed power, and with the knowledge that educators have about distance learning, they must now enable students to experience first hand how distance learning can benefit them.