On Distance Learning

Republicans have suddenly made education a higher priority issue this year. Trump thinks distance learning is terrible. Even though he spent his K-12 years in brick and mortar schools, he failed to learn proper punctuation and capitalization.

Technology is way better now than when I was in school. We would be foolish to not take advantage of that during this crisis. Imagine if 100 years ago, parents argued that school buses were not as effective at transporting kids to school as tried-and-true horse drawn carriages. Today we have something even faster and safer than school buses: wifi. Why should schools and parents place children at an unnecessary risk during a pandemic?

Even after COVID-19, distance learning has unprecedented advantages. Kids with rare, special needs can be matched with qualified educators anywhere in the country. Kids with behavior problems who need to be kept physically separate from other students can still continue their education. School districts with teacher shortages can outsource from areas with teacher surpluses. This can make it easier for schools to find teachers and easier for teachers to find jobs.

Distance learning isn't even all that new. For almost two decades, soldiers have been earning college degrees while deployed abroad in Iraq and Afghanistan. When the President dismisses distance learning as worthless, he is saying that these degrees that these brave men and women have earned are worthless.

Please vote responsibly.