Going to school back and forth can be exhausting and inconvenient so wouldnt distance learning be a decent alternative? No, distance learning would not benefit the student because it would make it harder to make meaningful relationships, the courses would change, and it would be easier to become distracted during schoolwork.

My first reason for why students would not benefit from distance learning is that it would make it harder to make meaningful relationships. For example in my own life I have made some of my best friends through the public school system. In third grade I met a kid named Generic_Name and over the years because we went to the same school we became close friends and he even hooked me up with a job last summer. In seventh grade I had a less than desirable English teacher whose monotone voice made him sound like he came straight out of a charlie brown cartoon. Because of him I met a guy named Generic_Name who I quickly befriended because our shared hate toward our English teacher, and now I get a free movie sometimes when Generic_Name is on staff at the Regal movie theater, who I never would have meet if we didnt go to the same school. On the other hand there are people that believe it is possible to be connected and make new relationships online, and even though it is possible to do so their reasoning is flawed due to the fact that it is always easier to make new relationships through face to face physical contact. Someone who exemplifies this fact perfectly is my friend Generic_Name who I met in middle school. In middle school Generic_Name was my best friend, but this changed when she moved and her parents decided to have her take an online schooling program. While she does well in the course she has told me that she misses going to a physical school where she can actually see people because it is harder to make friends due to the nature of the online course and because of the online course whenever I do get to see her she is way more socially awkward than she used to be. All in all distance schooling not only makes it more difficult to make meaningful relationships but because of the lack of those meaningful relationships it makes it even more difficult to learn the intricacies of social interaction.

Another reason for why students would not benefit from distance learning is that the nature of the courses that we take would change for the worse. For example In my ninth grade biology class we had to dissect a frog and organize it's organs. During the assignment I learned more about that frog than I could anywhere else because of the hands on nature of the assignment. This just goes to show that if we started using distance learning courses they would miss out on the hands on portion of learning. On the other side of the argument there are those that believe the hands on portion of learning is not very important, and that might apply for some people however buy in large the hands on part is extremely important due to the fact that everyone learns differently whether it be auditory, visual, or hands on. Someone who demonstrates this fact excellently is my friend Generic_Name. I met Generic_Name sophomore of high school in my chemistry class, and during this class we were given a lot of lab assignments with a paper packet to go with it. During these assignments I would understand most of the work given to us while Generic_Name was a little more lost, and while I tried to help him through the packet he could never fully contemplate the complex design of the stapled pieces of paper, but this all changed once we got to the hands on section. As soon as we got to the hands on portion of whatever lab we were doing it was almost as if he was a completely different person, I would stand back and watch in awe as he took perfect measurements, solving complicated math equations, and just dominating the lab overall. So in the end distance learning would not only take away amazing hands on activities but by doing so would prevent us from learning how we learn whether it be Auditory, Visual, or hands on.

My last reason for why students would not benefit from distance learning is that it would make it even easier to be distracted from working. For example whenever I am at home doing my math homework and I am getting particularly bored with it it is very easy to "take a quick break". This could mean anything from a two minute glass of water or a five hour nap depending on how I am feeling. So if I took a online course I would have to face this same dilemma with every assignment I am given. On the other side of the fence there are some people that believe that they are very studious and would never have a problem like this. While I get where they are coming from, their reasoning is still wrong because even if they are the most studious person in the world that temptation to become distracted will still always be there. Someone who demonstrates this perfectly is my friend Generic_Name. Generic_Name is probably one of the most hard working people I have ever known, not only does he take high level courses for his age but he also does track all while being home schooled. Not only will he deny every offer of a hangout but he will also stay up way later than he should just to finish his latest assignment, but even though he does all of these things I will occasionally catch him logging into Minecraft when I know he shouldnt be, and because of this he usually has awful time management skills. This just goes to show how distance learning not only makes it easier to become distracted because of how convenient it is but also how it enforces bad study habits because of the lack of a classroom.

Distance learning in theory is a great idea because of how convenient it is, but the main reason why distance learning would not benefit students is because of how convenient it is. So to sum up schools should stay the way they are and not offer any distance courses because of how it would change what we are able to learn.