Many kids believe that they should not have to sit in classrooms for 6 hours every week day. Most of these kids find themselves uncomfortable or annoyed when they get to school. Online, middle and high schools have been compared to prison and research has found that they are structured very much alike. Students would benefit significantly from distance learning because they can be as comfortable as they want, control the heating and air conditioning, and work in a less hostile environment.

First of all, distance learning will help students learn because they can establish their own learning environment inside their home. Students are frequently uncomfortable at school. Generic_School, a public high school in Generic_City, is one of the poorest schools in the Generic_City Public School district. While select classrooms have comfortable chairs, the chairs in all of the other rooms are either uncomfortable, broken, or both. This creates a hostile learning environment for many students because they are not given the ability to relax while they are studying. Therefore, students at Generic_School do not acquire the same amount of knowledge as students attending other high schools with more comfortable seating arrangements. In comparison, when taking classes such as history at home, a student can work in their bedroom or in a different, more comfortable area in their house. The student can also bring food and water to their learning space to fit their needs. Once the student is relaxed and focused, he or she will be able to retain much more information through the video or online learning software that the teacher is using. The student may also take breaks when needed to avoid stress. This will ensure that the student is always 100 percent focused on the material being taught.

Secondly, high schools are notorious for having poor climate control throughout the building. Even though a high school will have all of the classrooms connected to a central heating and air conditioning system, almost every room will be a different temperature. When I am in school, I like to wear a sweatshirt to most of my classes. This can become very annoying because I have to take it off for certain classes and then put it back on for the next class. Many rooms in the school are too warm and I begin to sweat even without a sweatshirt. In times like these, I am not fully focused on the content that is being taught. In a recent conversation with a teacher, the teacher said "If i were to fix one problem in this school, I would address the climate control because my classroom is never the correct temperature." Many students also feel this way. They believe that very few classrooms are the same temperature. This problem can be temporarily fixed through distance learning. When the students are at home, they have the ability to change the temperature based on their preference. As a matter of fact, if a student is working at home, he or she can dress differently in the unlikely event that they cannot change the temperature. Referring to the previous paragraph, the student can also use blankets to control their own body heat. Through distance learning, students can become much more comfortable in their own house which leads to better focus.

While distance learning has been proven to be beneficial to students, many people have argued that the downsides outweigh the upsides. These people claim that the absence of social interaction between students and teachers reduces the amount of focus a student can give. While this can be true, many students have anxiety or can become nervous when talking to teachers. Using distance learning, children do not have to worry about excess social interaction. If a student needs to talk to a teacher or a fellow classmate, he or she can send an email, text, or place a phone call to communicate.

In summary, distance learning has many benefits over standard, in-school learning. Benefits such as proper climate control, comfortable seating, and a less anxious work space when at home can help students retain much more information. In this day and age, distance learning is very simple with the use of online computer programs and laptops. Students can stay at home and watch a video of the teacher or view a presentation made by the the teacher. Overall, distance learning is very beneficial for students who have trouble acquiring knowledge in a standard school environment and should be used much more often as an alternate learning style.