Our school systems have seen many changes as technology has advanced. We have gone from paper tests to electronic tests, from notebooks to laptops, and even from paper books to eBooks! With all the new technology at our disposal, schools have begun experimenting with new learning techniques. One technique, called distance learning, proposes learning from home via video conferencing. Distance learning is not beneficial to students because there are numerous technical issues, the program reduces the teachers' ability to effectively help students, and it removes the social interaction that students require to develop.

As with all new technology, distance learning is bound to come with an array of technical issues. The first issue would be software bugs. Software bugs can make a program unpleasant to use, or completely shut it down. Software bugs fixed at the discretion of the developers, which could take anywhere from a few hours to a few years. Students would opt out of the program, making it a wasted resource. Besides developer issues, some students lack the tools to use an online class. Not all students have internet access or an internet capable device, and the majority of those students are in a financial situation where they may not ever get one. To solve this, the school system would have to provide these students the devices they need. This is extremely expensive and unlikely in most cases. Schools would have to host fundraisers or revisit the budget, both of which aren't fool-proof plans, in order to accommodate these students. The biggest problem of all would be the learning curve both teachers and students would experience with program. Teachers would be trained beforehand, but that doesn't ensure fluency. They would still have to experiment and problem solve before they actually learned the program. The same goes for students; though, they may have a harder time since they are most comfortable with mobile devices rather than desktop computers. The whole program would cause widespread confusion and produce little results.

The most important characteristic of a teacher is their ability to help students understand subject material. Most teachers use some form of conversational engagement because it is the most effective way of sharing information with another individual. This ranges from teacher led PowerPoint presentations to group work among peers. Without a physical classroom, teachers lose this ability. Now, they are forced to present information in a single way and hope that it is reaching everyone. Teaching methods shouldn't be based on hope, they should have solid evidence for success. Also, distance learning removes a student's ability to get after school help. In a physical class, a confused student can simply ask to stay after school for extra help, and receive immediate feedback. Distance learning makes getting extra help harder. Now, a student will have to sent an email, wait for a response, find transportation, and take many more steps just to get further explanation. Realistically, a teacher will just redirect students to a self-learning site, such as Khan Academy, and force a student to help themselves. This defeats the point of having a teacher in the first place. Moreover, some students simply learn better when they can talk to a real person.

According to psychologist Erik Erickson, students need social interaction to properly develop. Erickson developed a model that discusses the cognition and life goal of humans at different stages. From birth to death the underlying factor is social interaction as you chase morality, understanding your role, love, and generativity. Social interaction is especially crucial during the adolescence period (ages 11 to 20); the main focus of this period is finding your niche in the world, and becoming comfortable within yourself. Adolescents accomplish their goal by meeting, talking to, and hanging around different people groups. Physical classrooms allow students to do this effortlessly; especially in middle and high school classrooms where students are given multiple classes with different people every day. This mechanism paired with the teaching styles briefly discussed earlier aids tremendously in the development of adolescents. While students are finding their role, they're also looking to build relationships with others. Distance learning makes relationship building hard, as there is no physical interaction. Students aren't able to read facial expression or make meaningful memories, because everything is online. Without strong relationships, students easily fall into feelings of loneliness and depression and experience a decreases in self esteem.

Some students are introverted, and would greatly appreciate an opportunity to learn in a distanced environment, but this holds little benefit to them. In short, distance learning would set up an introverted student for failure in life. The world is not designed for introverts, and complete isolation is not feasible. If a school was to allow an introverted student to participate in a distance learning program, then they would be positively reinforcing the behavior and the student would never gain the skills to handle a job, internship or relationship. The student wouldn't learn how to speak publicly, how to work in groups, or how to simply hold a conversation. Accommodations should be made in extreme cases, but even then complete isolation is not the answer.

The drawbacks of distance learning greatly outweigh the benefits. There are certain things that students need, and distance learning fails to provide them. Students would miss out on social interaction and variety in teaching style, while facing a harsh learning curve and issues beyond their control. The purpose of a school is to set our students up for success in life. Schools should do what will benefit the student body the most: leaving distance learning out of the school system.