Students have been going to school for hundreds of years, but now with the introduction of new technology, there are other methods of learning. Online and video conferencing is a more recent form of learning due to new computers, tablets, phones etc. Students can be greatly benefited by the ability to do online schooling because they can work at their own pace, they have more time to participate in extracurricular activities, and have more time to be with family and friends.

In high school, students have to attend school for 4 blocks, each an hour and a half, combined with lunch, approximately 30 minutes, and homeroom which is approximately 45 minutes. School starts at 9:10 and ends at 3:58, which is approximately eight hours. The amount of time actually needed to complete my work is much lower than eight hours. I could complete all my work in two to three hours, and be done for the day. This gives me flexibility in my day, allowing me to do other things and complete my work when I please. Say some students need more time to complete their work; they have all day to complete their work. Also, a big problem many students face when going to school is distractions because they see all their friends. Students spend a majority of class goofing off because they have class with their best friends, and it's hard to concentrate. Having the ability of online school can eliminate this problem, giving students the peace and privacy to learn.

A large majority of high school students participate in extracurricular activities such as sports, jobs, and clubs, but have little time to do all of them because school gets out so late. By the time school gets out, students need to complete their homework, help out their family, eat dinner, and then maybe have enough time to play a sport. With the ability to work at your own pace with online schooling, there is much more free time to have a job, play a sport, or join a club. Furthermore, a lot of students have to work a job to help support their families or save up to go to college; not all students have the luxury of having everything paid for. With online schooling, students can finish up their work quick and have to rest of the day to work and help support the family or save up for college. With having to go to school for eight hours, students are tired when they get home and don't feel that it's necessary to work out and get exercise. Less and less kids are going outside or playing a sport because they want to relax after a long day of school. This could all change with online schooling because school could be much shorter and they will have a lot of energy to want to exercise and get into shape.

Lastly, with online schooling, students will have more time to spend with the people who matter most, their family and friends. Students aren't spending enough time with their family and friends because they have to balance school, sports, and jobs. This could all change because they could get their work done in the morning, exercise, go to work, and have the rest of the evening to spend with whoever you choose. Life is meaningless if you don't get to enjoy it with people who make you happy. People have finite time on this earth, and if they are spending the first 20 or so years of it doing school work instead of enjoying meaningful time with their friends and family. Don't get me wrong, school work is very important, but school work isn't needed for eight hours a day.

Although with more time on their hands, kids can cause more trouble in their town, students could still cause trouble no matter what. The small portion of kids doing drugs, stealing, and being mischievous isn't worth not giving students an advantage of being able to work from home with online schooling. Kids will still do illegal things and cause trouble no matter if they are going to school or working from home. You can't punish all students for the small amount of kids who are participating in illegal matters and getting into trouble. Most students will take advantage of online schooling and use it to work at their own pace, participate in extracurricular activities, and spend time with their family and friends.

All in all, online schooling is a huge benefit to students because it allows students to work at their own pace, participate in extracurricular activities, and spend more time with family and friends. I strongly encourage school boards around the United States to contemplate switching school curriculum to online schooling.