A good education is the most valuable aspect of a child's development; what we learn as youth affects us in our every day lives. The challenge that many kids face today is how they can best learn and retain material. Educators, professors, teachers, students, and parents alike are attempting to figure this out. In the past, when our parents were our age, there was a standard way of learning for everyone that was rigid and not as enjoyable as it is today. Now, there are many ways to learn: hands-on interactions, critical thinking emphasis, through games or logic, or by video call. You may ask yourself, what does it mean to learn via video? Essentially, some schools are offering kids to experience school from their homes by way of video conference. This may sound like fun to a kid, however, this type of learning limits kids capabilities and removes the core aspects of school. Distance learning dampens necessary social interactions, puts a unnecessary pressure on families, and does not guarantee the same learning environment as classrooms do.

A key part of school is the importance of interacting and working with other students, making friends, and facing social challenges. In a classroom kids have to learn to work with others; often times for a project or classwork. Discovering the trait of working in a team or with others is something that people use in their everyday lives. Whether you're on a sports team, in a play, or working as an adult, you need to be able to work with others in order to achieve a common goal. Distance learning destroys social interactions and forces kids to rely only on themselves. Another great aspect of school is making new friends and facing social challenges. True friendship is one of the best feelings ever because they can have such a tremendous impact on your life and open your eyes to new things. Also, facing social challenges are crucial for maturation and set us up for success in the future. Social challenges include, but are not limited to: overcoming the fear of asking a girl on a date, facing mean people and things, and how to handle betrayal, rejection, and apologizing. All of these qualities of social interactions are very important for us to grow because all of these things are in our lives as adults. If you do not learn from an early age how to face and overcome these challenges, then you will be a miserable person for the rest of your life. Distance learning shatters all hopes of social interactions which harms kids in the future.

Another crucial aspect of schools is the burden that it releases from families. Many kids rely on the school to provide breakfast and lunch for them because many low-income families can not afford to pay for these meals. Kids also may require after-school care if their parents or guardians are not able to be at home when they get back from school. Distance learning limits both of these things. Parents who work would have to worry about their kids being home alone, and poorer families would have a harder time feeding their children. I do not think it is a good idea for kids to be alone at home, it puts an unneeded pressure especially on low-income families.

Learning in a classroom also helps kids build self-control, patience, and the ability to learn from someone else in person. As we grow older, we learn many skills including self-control and patience from being in classrooms; we learn from discipline and through the teachers. Learning from home would hurt us because we would too comfortable at home and not develop these necessary skills. Also, I have found that learning material from someone else has a very lasting effect on people. I go to a camp in the summer and have been taught many things by my counselors and peers alike. Now, as a counselor myself, I teach others skills. This cycle of learning and teaching is very beneficial for the future. Distance learning may help kids learn but the in-person teachings are crucial for kids to develop and grow.

In conclusion, distance learning is an idea that harms students futures by limiting their social interactions, removing necessary things that the school provides, and taking away core aspects of learning and growing.