Briiiiiiiiing!

The bell signals and the sound of shuffling papers and zipping bags begins as people pack up for their next class. The teacher bids farewell as their students trickle out the door into the busy hallway. Students chat as they meander to their next classroom. Settling down, they pull out their notebooks for their lesson. The teacher begins, interacting with them and receiving questions. While this seems like a standard snippet of a high school experience, there are many factors that would be lost if school began allowing the use of distance learning. Students should be required to attend class in person. Through distance learning, students would be unable to retain scheduled attention, and would miss out on important activities.

One thing that many students struggle with is attention. However, being in a classroom environment helps students maintain focus. First of all, classrooms have a live, and trained teacher. Students are able to learn from someone that they get to know throughout the year. Interaction is easy with both the teacher, and with other students in the room. With a live teacher, the learner can ask and answer questions easily and receive personal attention concerning their individual issues with topics or assignments. This factor helps students maintain focus as they are able to quickly resolve confusion and the teacher can alert them if they begin to zone out or get distracted. Secondly, a schedule is very important in maintaining a balanced day. Having classes aligned for the week can enable students to practice time management and help them be alert for appropriate times throughout each day. To my friend, having a schedule is extremely important. Without one, she gets concerned that she will not be able to accomplish what needs to get done. To combat this fear, she creates lists, with scheduled times, that allow her align her personal schedule with her tasks. Similarly to my friend, students need to able to see what they need to learn in that day and get it done. They can work on getting to class on time, and due to breaks and meals throughout the day, they can relax knowing that their time is planned out for them. This ability is lost when students make choices as to when they feel like taking their online or video conference classes. Lastly, the school environment is made for learning. Classrooms have helpful posters and worksheets that guide students in their learning. The walls are usually soundproofed, and teachers help to prevent distractions. This setup is in direct contrast to a home environment. Also, being present in the classroom helps to prevent technology malfunctions and poor connection that could be disruptive or deteriorate the student's ability to learn.

When using distance learning, students lose the ability to participate in many activities that are both crucial and embellishing to school life. For example, for science classes, participating in labs helps develop the understanding of the material and helps learners of all types, such as visual, auditory and kinetic. In other classes such as the humanities, seminars and workshops are important. These activities are inhibited when a student uses an online learning platform. Also, people think in a variety of ways. When put together, they can combine ideas and think about topics from different angles. Teachers often create group assignments to enable students to think together. This is extremely difficult to do when a student does not attend class in a classroom. Similarly, students are unable to join clubs, and are limited in their extracurricular activities, such as sports. These entertaining experiences help students unwind while doing something they enjoy. In the case of sports, exercise helps create endorphins that make a student happier and healthier. Clubs allow students to branch out in their interests and take action in issues that are important to them. I started a club which allowed me to combine my love for music and community service. This helped improve my school experience. Opportunities like these are limited when classes are taken through technology. Lastly, many school strive to have entertaining activities for students to do with friends. My school does fairs, bake-offs, karaoke, and volleyball scrimmages. We also have an entire week in which students can wear funny outfits that coincide with a theme. It is a way to spend time with friends and try something new. When a student takes classes at home, they are unable to participate in these diverse and exciting events.

Some people may counter this viewpoint in many ways. For instance, students are better able to learn in their home because they are comfortable. It is true that students are able to be more comfortable at home by having a choice in what they wear, where they sit, or when they take the classes, but this is often a negative factor. Being too comfortable can be distracting and it does not benefit the learning experience. The brain tells the body that it is at home and it can cause the mind to be less focused. Also, as students attend school, they begin to become more accustomed to the environment there and it becomes more comfortable to them. Another viewpoint is that students will have fewer distractions at home. While there may not be other students there, there are pets, family, and objects that can be destructive to learning and attention.

While distance learning may sound productive and helpful, in reality, it lessens the ability for students to learn. They lose the ability to get proper instruction, participate in activities, have a scheduled day, and have a necessary learning environment. As technology becomes increasingly popular, students begin to lose important connections with peers and family. To prevent this from happening in schools, students need to be present for class. To create the best learning environment for everyone, a classroom experience trumps the use of online learning.