Throughout my life, I have wondered what it would feel like to complete school from home. When I first began school, I wanted to stay at home and do school work or not work at all. This idea seems to be popular among young children. However, as I grow older and mature, I better understand why attending class physically is detrimental to a successful future. Distance learning can prohibit students from gaining important social skills needed for life, support student laziness, and even make cheating more accessible to students. For these reasons, I believe that school should be taught primarily in person.

To begin, distance learning can prohibit students from gaining the important social skills they need in order to flourish outside of school. For example, when a child learns online, they do not have to go in public or make friends. This causes a lack of social skills. Studies show that children who are taught by distance learning are more likely to develop social anxiety and lack public speaking skills. Secondly, when children learn solely off a computer, they do not develop the same respect that they would for a teacher or their peers. A child I know who is attending distance learning classes severely lacks needed social skills and suffers from anger issues. Although he can be sweet, he often loses his temper and often becomes physical with whoever he is angry at. I believe this is due to distance learning. Without learning these important skills, children often suffer outside of school and in the real world.

Moreover, students often become lazy when they no longer have to wake up and get ready for school. Although some students work wonderfully without this motivation, others may develop bad habits. Some of these bad habits can include, sleeping in too late, not finishing work on time, and never getting out of their house. A beneficial way to prevent these habits is obtaining a job or attending a few classes at a physical school throughout the week. I believe that students should be required to attend at least some physical school in order to prevent this from occurring.

Furthermore, when teachers cannot monitor students, cheating is more likely to occur. Students can easily get away with cheating on tests or exams when they are not proctored by a teacher. This cheating can also occur on other assignments. When attending physical school, teachers may take up phones and clear students' desks in order to prevent cheating. This can not be done while a student learns from home. Having students take their tests in a physical school could help prevent these acts. While some students may be honest, it would be extremely easy for others to lie and cheat.

Although I believe school should be primarily taught in person, there can be many benefits for a student taking online classes. Some students learn much better when they are not in an environment in which they feel vulnerable. For example, children with autism often break down because they feel like they are being watched and judged by their peers. These children would most definitely benefit from distance learning and it should be an option for people who already struggle with being in public. However, in most other circumstances, distance learning would negatively affect the student.

In conclusion, I believe that distance learning would, in general, negatively affect the school system. Although there are a few benefits to this new concept, I thoroughly believe that there would be many more negative consequences for students. Being able to make friends in school is extremely important and should be prioritized over students making online friends. After understanding all of the negative affects that can occur due to distance learning, I believe students need to be taught at least half of their classes in public. Doing so can prevent many negative affects attached to distance learning.