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：A。根据题干中的the latest technology in education可定位至原文第三段第一句。该句提到了政策制定者对最新教育技术的看法，并在第二句提到了作者自己的观点：但在线教育不允许老师在课后留住一个学习困难的学生给予辅导；教学视频无法进行眼神交流或评估学生的课堂参与度；远程教育永远无法与传统课堂中的真人教学相匹敌。由此可知，作者认为最新的教育技术存在弊端，故A项为正确答案。

错项排除：B项中的jobless和C项中的students’ financial burden在原文中无依据，故排除这两项。D项利用原文中的“transform” education设置干扰，但这是政策制定者喜欢最新教育技术的原因，而非作者的观点，故D项错误。