Topic 11: is distant learning as effective as school education? (p98)
Thanks to telecommunicating technology, many students are now able to study at home through TV programs or the online courses. However, whether distant learning is as effective as school education is a highly contentious issue. I believe, distant learning has many inherent flaws but can serve as a complement to traditional school education.

As it has dawned on most people that school education does not only benefit the students on their academic learning, it also cultivates the minds of the youngsters. To begin with, teachers in schools, more often than not, do not merely inculcate knowledge in the students, but guide the students to learn by themselves and stimulate them to think critically. This magnanimity with which different values and perspectives are respected is essential for the students’ further development. Besides, schools offer the surrounding where every individual learn to communicate and cooperate. In modern society, interpersonal skills are especially valued by employers because the ones who have a good command of these skills can work more efficiently and cooperatively. Last but not least, providing moral and ethical education, schools also play a pivotal role in helping the youngsters to set up correct view of life. Honesty, loyalty and other virtues are praised in schools and whenever the youngsters make mistakes, they will be educated and their misbehavior corrected.

Despite the drawbacks mentioned above, distant learning solves many problems hindering disadvantaged students from receiving high quality education, such as handicapped students or the ones who live in rural area. Distant learning spares these students the trouble of traveling around and offers them a brand-new option to learn.

To sum up, it is undeniable that distant-learning can hardly compete with school education concerning the cultivation of good quality or noble virtues etc. However, it provides the opportunity to some special students who are not able to receive traditional education.