Distance Learning: the Solution

While walking the halls of a high school building during the winter, one can hear sneezing, coughing, and the constant blowing of noses. Students walk the halls half dead and slouched over. They come to school sick because missing a day of school can be catastrophic to their grades. In the past 40 or so years, most high school students have gone from taking one or two AP level courses, to six or seven. These fast paced classes can do wonders for a grade point average, or they can ruin it. AP classes are so fast paced, missing a day of school means missing vital learning time. By the time sick students get back on their feet, their class has probably moved on to another unit. A solution to this problem? Distance learning. Providing students with a way to take classes from home would reduce the amount of sick students in school and help them to stay on task, no matter their location while giving them more time to do the things they enjoy.

Schools have become cesspools for diseases like strep, the flu, and colds. Students come to school sick because they believe they have to, and in some cases they are right. Missing school means makeup work, which is a task most students would want to avoid. Having double the amount of work while simultaneously getting over an illness causes sleepless nights of stress and anxiety. As a way to avoid makeup work, students have started to come while sick. The sickness will spread throughout the school and cause outbreaks, more students will come sick to keep up with schoolwork. The best way to stop this is through distance learning. Through video chats students will be able to keep up with their learning and work while sick or injured. Distance learning will keep kids at home and the spread of germs will be stopped. Students will also no longer have to stay up late to teach themselves difficult material. Distance learning is the best solution to the epidemic of sick students in schools.

More time. That is something very student wants. Colleges are no longer looking for just good grades, they want someone who made varsity in their sport, is well rounded in their club choices, works a solid job, and has given back to their community. If you look at the average day of a high school student, you will see they start with morning club meetings, usually at 8 A.M, then at 9:15, about seven hours of school. At 4:03 P.M. most will go to athletic practice for three to four hours, they'll get home at 8 or 9 P.M. and then sit down with two to three hours of homework. They'll sleep at 12 A.M. or later and wake up at 7 A.M. the next day to do it all over again. Most will volunteer or go to a part time job over the weekend. So when exactly does a student have free time? The answer is easy. Never. Distance learning will solve that. Almost all students have a study hall during the day, an hour and a half to just do homework, through distance learning that study hall turns into an opportunity. Students could grab food with their friends, get ahead in their classes, hold club meetings online, or even get some rest. The format of distance learning allows students a more flexible schedule, they can sit in on a video chat while cleaning their room. Distance learning will help students to free up time out of their day and make them less stressed.

Some parents may argue that distance learning will cause students to become lazy and socially awkward. Attending school from home means students can sit in bed in their pajamas and work on assignments, and the lack of interaction between students will cause them to lose their social skills. Both of those ideas, however, are false. Most high school students do not put in the effort to dress nicely for school everyday already, they would rather be comfortable then look nice. Through video chatting, students have the opportunity to interact with their peers and teachers, everyone needs social interaction and distance learning takes that into account. Many students find it easier to learn while sitting at a desk or table, both of which are very common in any household, therefore, students lazing around in bed while learning is highly unrealistic.

Distance learning is a solution to the large amount of sick students and high levels of stress. By giving them more free time and a place to work on school from home, distance learning allows students to have a more enjoyable school experience. Many students will agree that there is just not enough time in the day to get all their work done, distance learning will provide them with a way to adequately keep up with studies while giving them time to work on other tasks. Schools have progressed to become more difficult as time has passed, causing the systems to become outdated. Students are unhappy with the way schools are currently run, its time for a change.