As in the physical world, inertia carries ideas onward. No idea exists languidly or singularly. No idea is a simple utterance or a glance, lost to the world the moment their intention is blurred. No- ideas are sparks, and what spark doesn't greedily take the thin air into its lungs to then watch itself bloom into a mighty flame? Being of this nature, human progress rushes on through the constrains of time, thrust forward by the gusts of wind at its back. A step is taken, and it falls forward two more steps. As of late, progress has become more akin to lightning than to any breed of animal, striking with the full speed and power of all past ideas. Indeed, as many thing have, educational systems around the world have been profoundly struck. New initiatives and programs are constantly being implemented to better suit the new world order, as defined by sudden bursts of new technology. One of these widely considered ideas is the using of the aforementioned technological advancements to facilitate learning. Online classes and education via live stream as well as their positive effects can already been seen in numerous school systems. Better at preparing them for their rapidly changing world, virtual schooling and at-home education are a great good to education systems and should be implemented around the world because they help students become more disciplined and prepare them for college-style learning as well as real-world learning experiences.

In this time of lightening progress, discipline and patience are long forgotten virtues. Despite the increasing lack of these traits in the youth of today, the world continues to demand them. It's simple economics, the law of supply and demand- all one needs to do is simply increase the supply. A manageable way of doing this is to give students greater opportunity to learn for themselves, which, in essence, is online schooling. Two years ago, entirely unprompted by my formal, in-building schooling, I decided to attempt to teach myself Japanese. Today, I look towards my future, seeing my first Japanese aptitude test successfully completed and an immersion trip to Japan embarked upon. Teaching myself Japanese based off of online resources has not only fueled my love of languages and urged me to begin new language adventures, such as studying Mandarin, Korean, and Ancient Greek, but has also convinced me of my ability to do whatever I have set my mind to in a way nothing else has. I have seen both my mind and confidence expand outward in new ways ever since I began my studies, and that has enriched my life in an incredibly impactful way. Similarly, online schooling and partial self-education could give countless students that same pride in their abilities and dedication to their studies that it gave me. When told that only one place will serve as their primary source of learning and then associating that place with the direct, critical judgment of others on their skills, students, ironically, don't learn much other than to doubt both themselves and the system that supposedly embodies study. If instead those same students were to be given the same information but driven to seek out more knowledge for themselves and schedule their everyday life around learning, life would become an enthralling adventure to prove one's worth to themselves and to investigate and marvel at the expansive body of knowledge surrounding one everywhere.

In addition to enriching their current lives, online education and the independence and initiative that comes with it prepares students much more thoroughly for higher learning experiences than any in-building experience could. A fundamental tenet of college and pursuits beyond it is a philosophy that partial self-education inherently breeds- learning is not about being fed a prescribed diet of knowledge, but rather seeing depth in all the ornate structures that make up the world. Schools employ countless lackluster brands of methodology to try to better ready students for college, such as the SATs, AP classes, and general preparedness lectures, but what can really prepare one better than diving into the closest thing to the actual situation themselves? By introducing students to this kind of learning, online schooling, on the students' end, helps to both de-stress students about college and get them invested in their own education. Many claim to know complex answers concerning the root of today's educational crisis, but there really is one easy fix- make students care about what they're doing and feel comfortable with it, and more students will find success and contentment in adult life. Ironically, the education system's primary function (to ready students for college learning) can really only be accomplished well with online schooling, a method many systems have yet to apply.

While in-building schooling fails to do this by turning school, and by extension, learning, into a chore and cracking down on spoon-feeding students information which they spit back out and are then evaluated on, online schooling opens students' eyes to the idea that knowledge is a living, breathing force that surrounds everything and, while incorporating elements of grading and standardization, shifts the focus more onto individual students testing their limits and discovering their abilities fro themselves. The world is changing, and in our lifetime, we will watch it morph countless times right before our eyes. For the sake of knowledge, for the sake of confidence, for the sake of virtue, and for the sake of the younger generation, who, if we can evolve the system in time, will go into the future prepared and enthused, online schooling and at-home education must be implemented on a much wider scale. After all, who else but our children will keep the fire of progress burning?