Topic 4: Education

Section 1: UNIFORM - HOMEWORK

1. Some high schools require all students to wear school uniforms. Other high schools permit students to decide what to wear to school. Which of these two school policies do you think is better? Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion. TOEFL
- What are advantages of wearing uniform?
- Make thing more equal for all students.
- Equal on an economic level
- -> Prevent envy and jealousy about stylish clothes
- -> Form friendship based on personality not clothes.
- reduce unequal treatment by teachers.
- Enhance solidarity
- Encourage the individual students of a school to feel like part of a bigger group.
- What are disadvantages of wearing uniform?
- School uniforms limit children’s individualism in clothes.
- Some families can’t afford those uniforms.
2. Many teachers assign homework to students every day. Do you think that daily homework is necessary for students? Use specific reasons and details to support your answer. TOEFL –unavailable.
3. Apart from uniforms, what do you think should be done to improve the equality among the children of different economic backgrounds?
4. Are school children in Vietnam required to wear uniforms?
5. What are some of the benefits of requiring children to wear uniforms to school?
6. What are some of the disadvantages of compulsory school uniform?
7. Do you think compulsory school uniform can be justified on educational grounds?

SECTION 2: TEACHER - STUDENT

1. When students are in large classes it is very hard for the teacher to give every student individual attention. What can educational authorities do about this?
2. Evaluate a teacher’s power to influence a student’s whole life.
3. Some people believe that students should be given one long vacation each year. Others believe that students should have several short vacations throughout the year. Which viewpoint do you agree with? Use specific reasons and examples to support your choice. TOEFL115.
Why several short vacations throughout the year?: (3 months per year, each time last for 1 month).
- Easier for parents to schedule vacations.
- Hard for parents to make a plan for the time in long vacation: expensive, unsafe for children.
- Better for economy and tourism.
- Overcrowded in holiday seasons.
- Children are better focused on study
Why one long vacation in the year?
- School buildings are air – conditioned -> in summer: hot.
- Students can take part in the real world: working for experiences.
4. Some people think that they can learn better by themselves than with teacher. Others think that it is always better to have a teacher. Which do you prefer? Use specific reasons to develop your essay. TOEFL17.
Why we need teachers?
- Teachers bring with them varied and useful background.
- Trained teach individuals in different ways depending on their style -> which way is best for each student:
- Discussion.
- Writing.
- A good teacher can adapt her teaching to your needs,
- Teachers help you to focus on what you are learning.
- Keep your attention on the subject.
- Know how to approach a subject logically, taking it one step at a time. Study by yourself -> skip parts you think you don’t need.
- A broader way of learning.
- Information in the written materials as well as the teacher’s own knowledge of the topic.
- Provided extra materials to broaden the scope.
5. To be successful in education it is more important to be a good student than to have good teachers. Do you agree?
6. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Teachers should be paid according to how much their students learn. Give specific reasons and examples to support your opinion. TOEFL.70
- Why shouldn’t teachers be paid according to how much their students learn?= how good do their students perform in examinations
- Students will miss out on a lot of education that can’t be measured on a test, because teacher will start to teach only what students need to get high test scores.
- Some less able students would be disadvantaged. Teachers may ignore students who have learning difficulties because they have to push the majority of the students.
- On what basis should teachers be paid?
7. Some students prefer to study alone. Others prefer to study with a group of students. Which do you prefer? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. TOEFL154
What are advantages of studying alone?
- In case the group don