In the coming era of budget cuts to education, distance learning could become the norm.

        The temptation for those in charge of education budgets to trade teachers for technology could be so strong that they ignore the disadvantages of distance learning. School facilities are expensive to build and maintain, and teachers are expensive to employ. Online classes do not require buildings and each class can host hundreds of people simultaneously, resulting in greater savings, thus increasing the temptation of distance education for those concerned more about budgets than learning. But moving away from a traditional classroom in which a living, breathing human being teaches and interacts with students daily would be a disaster. Physically attending school has hidden benefits: getting up every morning, interacting with peers, and building relationships with teachers are essential skills to cultivate in young people. Moreover, schools should be more than simple institutions of traditional learning. They are now places that provide meals. They are places where students receive counseling and other support.

        Those policy-makers are often fascinated by the latest technology in education and its potential to “transform” education overnight. But online education does not allow a teacher to keep a struggling student after class and offer help. Educational videos may deliver academic content, but they are unable to make eye contact or assess a student’s level of engagement. Distance education will never match the personal teaching in a traditional classroom. In their first 18 years of life, American children spend only 9% of their time in school. Yet teachers are expected to prepare them to be responsible citizens, cultivate their social skills, encourage successful time management, and enhance their capacity to flourish in an increasingly harsh labor market. Given these expectations, schools should not become permanently “remote”.

        The power of the classroom is rooted in the humanity of the people gathered in the same place, at the same time. Personal teaching is about teachers showing students a higher path, and about young people going through the process together. Technology, no matter how advanced, should simply be a tool of a good teacher.

解析：D。根据题干中的possible benefit和students attending school physically可定位至原文第二段倒数第四句。该句提到，去学校实地上课有潜藏的好处：每天早上起床，与同龄人互动，与老师建立关系，这些都是年轻人需要培养的基本技能。D项是对interacting with peers和building relationships with teachers的同义概括，故为正确答案。

错项排除：A项利用原文中的getting up every morning设置干扰，但原文中没有说早起（getting up early），A项中的habit和early无依据，故错误。B项利用原文中的meals设置干扰，但其中的nutritionally well-balanced在原文中无依据，故排除。C项利用原文中的a living, breathing human being设置干扰，但这里讲的是传统课堂的情况，不是说学生会因去学校上课而成长为活生生、会呼吸的人，C项曲解文意，故错误。