School can be a dull experience for most children, but nonetheless, is an important part of early life. Technology has made its way into the school system, and presented a unique opportunity for students: online classes. While virtual courses may seem ideal due to the added ability to study from home, online schooling would be detrimental to the youth. Students would not benefit from attending classes at home because they would be less productive, less social, and less prepared for normal life than if they attended school in person.

The addition of online courses to a school's curriculum, while it might gain support from students, will inevitably decrease the productivity of the student population. Taking courses from home would allow too many distractions during the students' critical learning period. This drop in productivity will result from the many electronic devices found in modern homes, as well as the loss of common school rules such as limited lunch times and permission to use the restroom. While the rules may seem strict, they are put in place to keep students focused. The loss of a teacher's presence accompanies the loss of a physical classroom. Teachers are the main source of discipline for schools, as they are constantly monitoring their students, and encouraging productiveness, and their lack of authority due to online courses will be detrimental to the student's education. Online classes require children to be self motivated, a characteristic hard to find in today's youth.

Because of the ability to stay home while attending school, online courses will decrease the social aspect of students' lives. Public school creates a distinct social environment due to a diverse group of people. Required attendance to school allows for children to interact with their peers and create friendships, whereas virtual classes would remove the physical factor and make connections harder to create. While online courses remove rigid schedules, they also remove the necessity to relax and unwind from stress. This necessary relaxation drives people to meet up with their peers and enjoy each other's presence, a tradition that will see a drastic decrease among children if online courses are implemented. The removal of a standard schedule also creates differentiation in availability throughout friend groups, causing difficulties when planning events. Virtual courses remove mandatory attendance to school, and thusly remove children's primary opportunity to create relationships.

The convenience of online courses will create false expectations of life after school for young adults, and will subsequently leave them unprepared for their experiences in society. The ability to work whenever one desires is not a trait that will follow into a common workplace, and the strict rules and schedule of public school are designed for the exact purpose of prepping children for their lives after youth. Online courses will remove the set schedule and the tried and true method of training for workplace skills and etiquette. Also detrimental to the abilities of a productive member of society is mindset that the education system will change its methods of teaching in order to serve the individual. Careers and occupations will never change their methods to make things more convenient to one singular employee, and by granting children the convenience to stay home and study whenever they choose, schools will ultimately set them up for failure in society.

While online courses can be seen in a positive light, as they create a convenient, stress free environment for learning, they are dangerous to the development of the youth. Virtual classes will result in lowered productivity, sociability, and preparation for the workplace due to their ability to let students study from home. Convenience and a lack of stress are unrealistic expectations in an ever busy society, and the education system should not allow themselves to give students false ideas about life after school. 