"Warning" desoldering of edu kits could and will damaged copper pads of pcb

I found it out for myself the hard way ( a noob’s mistake). I had the switch some leds around , wasn’t too careful when i put the circuit together. I used one of those suction desoldering rods, which lifted the circuit pads with it leaving nothing but a bare pcb board under it . I’d imagine carefully using a soldering iron with a wick would be the safer option, afterall they’re learning boards (i.e roulette) not hardened nasa equipment .
duh!