IELTS Writing Task 2 – Topic: CHILDREN

Freedom plays a mandatory role in everybody’s life. We can see in today’s modernized era nobody likes to get some restrictions upon them, whether it would be a child or an adult. Some people think that there should have some strict rules of behaviour for children, but I disagree with this statement.

Wherever it is a reality that sometimes more restrictions can cause more frustration in children, which leads to many other mental diseases as well. Moreover they can be, behave like a stubborn. Sometimes they feel themselves under pressure, which can be a main reason for their poor performance in their field. In some cases children would be crazier to do these things from where we’ll try to keep them away.

In other words we have to look for other aspects as well, like if we usually ignore our children’s bad habits, then they can’t be good human beings in their future life. Moreover if we never draw attention upon the children’s main activities then they may be acquiring bad company. They can know regarding the value of respect for their elders. They can know the importance of relationships. They can know regarding their cultural values as well.

In a nutshell, I would like to say that children should be teach regarding the value of their customs, rituals and respect towards their elders for their future life, but most of the extra restriction should be being avoided. It would be better to make them good human beings in their coming future.

 (252 words)

Parents shape their children from the beginning of their children’s lives. They teach their children values. They share their interests with them. They develop close emotional ties with them. Parents can be very important teachers in their children’s lives; however, they are not always the best teachers.

Parents may be too close to their children emotionally. For example, they may limit a child’s freedom in the name of safety. A teacher may organize an educational trip to a big city, but a parent may think this trip is too dangerous. A school may want to take the children camping, but a parent may be afraid of the child getting hurt.

Another problem is that parents sometimes expect their children’s interests to be similar to their own. If the parents love science, they may try to force their child to love science too. But what if the child prefers art? If the parents enjoy sports, they may expect their child to participate on different teams. But what if the child prefers to read?

Parents want to pass on their values to their children. However, things change. The children of today are growing up in a world different from their parents’ world. Sometimes parents, especially older ones, can’t keep up with rapid social or technological changes. A student who has friends of different races at school may find that his parents have narrower views. A student who loves computers may find that her parents don’t understand or value the digital revolution.

Parents are important teachers in our lives, but they aren’t always the best teachers. Fortunately, we have many teachers in our lives. Our parents teach us, our teachers teach us, and we learn from our peers. Books and newspapers also teach us. All of them are valuable.

 (296 words)

Throughout my life, I have been lucky enough to have a very good relationship with my parents. They have supported me, given me necessary criticism, and taught me a great deal about how to live my life. Parents can be very important teachers in our lives; however, they are not always the best teachers.

Parents may be too close to their children emotionally. Sometimes they can only see their children though the eyes of a protector. For example, they may limit a child’s freedom in the name of safety. A teacher might see a trip to a big city as a valuable new experience. However, it might seem too dangerous to a parent.

Another problem is that parents may expect their children’s interests to be similar to their own. They can’t seem to separate from their children in their mind. If they love science, they may try to force their child to love science too. But what if their child’s true love is art, or writing, or car repair?

Parents are usually eager to pass on their value to their children. But should children always believe what their parents do? Maybe different generations need different ways of thinking. When children are young, they believe that their parents are always rights. But when they get older, they realize there are other views. Sometimes parents, especially older ones, can’t keep up with rapid social or technology changes. A student who has friends of all different races and backgrounds at school may find that her parents don’t really understand or value the digital revolution. Sometimes kids have to find their own ways to what they believe in.

The most important thing to realize is that we all have many teachers in our lives. Our parents teach us, our teachers teach us, and our peers teach us. Books and newspapers and television also teach us. All of them are valuable.

 (316 words)

There is plenty of evidence to suggest that children are overweight and the situation is getting worse, according to the medical experts. I feel there are a number of reasons for this.

Some people blame the fact that we are surrounded by shops selling unhealthy, fatty foods such as chips and fried chicken, at low prices. This has created a whole generation of adults who have never cooked a meal for themselves. If there were fewer of these restaurants, then children would not be tempted to buy take-away food.

There is another argument that blames the parents for allowing their children to become overweight. I tend to agree with this view, because good eating habits begin early in life, long before children start to visit fast food outlets. If children are given chips and chocolate rather than nourishing food, or are always allowed to choose what they eat, they will go for the sweet and salty foods every time, and this will carry on throughout
their lives.

There is a third factor, however, which contributes to the situation. Children these days take very little exercise. They do not walk to school. When they get home, they sit in front of the television or their computers and play video games. Not only is this an unhealthy pastime, it also gives them time to eat more junk food. What they need is to go outside and play active games or sport.

The two views discussed play an equal role in contributing to the problem, but I think we have to encourage young people to be more active, as well as steering them away from fast food outlets and bad eating habits. We need to have a balanced approach.

 (286 words)

It has recently been suggested that the way children eat and live nowadays has led to a deterioration in their health. I entirely agree with this view, and believe that this alarming situation has come about for several reasons.

To begin with, there is the worrying increase in the amount of processed food that children are eating at home, with little or none of the fresh fruit and vegetables that earlier generations ate every day. Secondly, more and more young people are choosing to eat in fast-food restaurants, which may be harmless occasionally, but not every day. What they eat there is extremely high in fat, salt and sugar, all of which can be damaging to their health.

There is also a disturbing decline in the amount of exercise they get. Schools have become obsessed with exams, with the shocking result that some pupils now do no sports at all. To make matters worse, few even get any exercise on the way to and from school, as most of them go in their parents‟ cars rather than walk or cycle. Finally, children are spending far more time at home, playing computer games, watching TV or surfing the Internet. They no longer play outside with friends or take part in challenging outdoor activities.

To sum up, although none of these changes could, on its own, have caused widespread harm to children’s health, there can be little doubt that all of them together have had a devastating effect. This, in my opinion, can only be reversed by encouraging children to return to move traditional ways of eating and living.

 (267 words)

Nowadays, many children involved in different types of jobs to have some kind of financial assurance for themselves. However, whether this is good for their development and personality is a much debatable issue. I personally believe that paid works is harmful for children for several reasons.

It is said that children learn valuable experience in the work place. This may be true. However, I would argue that children are mainly employed for jobs that require manual work and are low paid. The recent statistic reveals the common tasks that children are assigned are washing dishes, cleaning floors or serving food in restaurants. Meanwhile, this kind of jobs actually do not provide children with necessary and useful skills so that they can apply in their future career.

This brings me to the second point. Defenders of child work argues that it is an effective method of learning. The point is children should be able to apply knowledge taught to them in a real life working environment. Although this is undoubtedly true, it also means that children may neglect the classroom study and even fail the class. The worst thing is yet to come. They may become so occupied with the benefits ahead of them like small salary and leave school.

Finally, supporters said that it helps them to build responsibility in the family. They will understand how it is difficult to earn money and therefore have a compassionate view with their parents. This is true to a certain extent, but may have a totally adverse effect on children. As children can make money at an early age, they would feel that it is appropriate to spend on luxury things by their own money, which could be recovered later.

In conclusion, I think that parents should take measures to restrict their child to work, otherwise it would have a negative consequences on their futures.

 (312 words)

Nobody can say with confidence that children should be taught at home or at any children’s institutions. There are many different children and every one demand of education suitable only for him.

But for most of children the best way of learning the life is being in the children’s institutions. Nobody would argue that contacts between children of the same age are very important for bringing your child up. Such a contact is very important for playing, entertaining and learning living with other people. The harmonious living with other people, to my mind, is the first task for any man. Lack of this harmony sets problems and troubles.

The children need space to run and make noise, to jump and cry. Do you or your neighbours allow these actions for your child? If you live in town, it is difficult to find a safe place to play. Kindergartens give such a possibility. They give space, a lot of toys and constructions for physical exercises. So, if you have bad living conditions, the kindergarten is the best way for you. But if you have a large family with many children and enough space, you may keep your child at home. You should be sure that the child feels, dressed and comfortable. His brothers and sisters give him necessary contacts. It’s noticed long ago that children in big families are much more easy-tempered and calm. They are located in more harmonic world than others.

Sometimes differences in age put troubles in contacts between children in large families. Then it is better for child to be sent to the kindergarten (school). But if quarrels don’t last for a long time, everything is all right. In general, quarrels develop ability to cooperate with people. They develop a personal initiative and force setting the balance. In such a way the child gets lessons of life. Addly, the quarrels often take place in kindergartens and schools and we shouldn’t fear it.

Side by side with quarrels parents often are afraid of colds which happen in kindergartens more frequently. Parents prefer keeping the child at home. But for a healthy child odd cold (if illness occurs, it goes its normal course) can’t make big harm to the child. And if the child is adaptable to the conditions of public places earlier it would be better for him in future.

In general, I am a follower of the theory of keeping children in adapted places such as good kindergartens. But keeping children in such a place can’t replace family and home. Only together they make harmonic and beautiful union.

 (431 words)

Nowadays, purpose of education being changed in Korea. There are some People who think that competition in children should be made, also others believe that children who are taught to co-operate as well as become more useful adults. There are advantages and disadvantages for both of the arguments.

To begin with, what is good if a sense of competition m children is made? They could develop themselves more and more as they learn and study a lot to win from the competition. To prove this, in Korea, it is popular – even common now – to have a tutor who come to student’s house to teach extra pieces of study with paying a lot of money. They learn faster than what they learn at school. Furthermore, during the vacations, students study abroad to learn English for a month instead of revise school work. If they have experiments such as study abroad, it is one of the greatest plus point to go to the famous well-known high-school. Moreover, there are four big school exam and two national examinations to test students’ level of studies. Generally, only the highest 40% can go to the good quality high schools and colleges. Children learn as much as they can, to win the competition to obtain good quality schools.

On the other hand, as they are busy to enter the schools and study individually with their own tutors, there are problems. They become selfish. They become careless and don’t help others alot if it is about studies. There will be no co-operations for them. Then, why are there companies for many people to work in? Each of them are clever, however, there are weak parts and strong parts for each person. To co-operate is to improve this part. People talk and listen to what others thinking of and learn. That could also be a great opportunity to learn instead of learning alone with one teacher.

In conclusion, I strongly agree with that children should be taught to co-operate rather than compete. Nobody is perfect. People learn together, work together to develop each other. Therefore, I want parents and teachers to educate children concentrating on cooperation, not compete and ranking them.

 (365 words)

I can not completely agree with the statement that classmates are a more important
influence than parents on a child’s success in school. In this essay I will first focus on
the reasons why I agree with this statement and then list a few points why from my
opinion in some cases is not true.

From the one side, classmates have a significant influence on child’s behavior and his
or her success in school. First of all, children spend much time at school. Classmates
have many things in common such as age, interests, homework and classes after all.
So, they discuss their impressions about a new teacher, solve problems together, learn their homework, gain new knowledge and experience and even make their own
discoveries. Sharing all these makes them closer. Some of them become friends and
they spend after-school time together. In addition friends tend to copy each other’s
habits and manners. For instance, my little sister became friends with the girl who did
not have good grades at school at that time. It does not mean she could not have better
grades; she just had many friends who did not care about their grades. So, when they
started to spend their time together and share their interests, girl’s grades improved.
They did their homework together, shared their dreams and exciting moments. From
this point I must agree that classmates can change child’s attitude towards school.

From the other side, parents have a great influence on children’ success in school too.
For example if parents show an interest in their child’s progress and talk to him or her
about the importance of learning I think their child will listen to them and do his or her
best.

Personally, I believe that relationships between parents and a child play an essential
role in child’s success in school. If these relationships are close and wholehearted I am
sure that parents should not be afraid of bad influence from the outside.

 (328 words)

Some people believe that it is better for children to grow up in the countryside than in a big city. However, other people think that a big city gives more opportunities and it is good for the long run. Personally, for several reasons I think that it is better for children’s health to grow up in the country.

First of all, it is very important for a child to grow up in a healthy environment. Children need fresh air, not polluted by the huge amount of cars and factories of the modern city. In the country they can spend more time exercising and walking with their friends. Scientists say that now children spend the same amount of time watching TV as they do at school. Probably, the possibility to join their friends for a play will change this proportion. Another important aspect of this is that parents will have more time to spend with their children as a result of eliminating traffic jams and decreasing driving time as a whole.

From the other side, children have some advantages living in a big city. For example, they have more opportunities to choose from what they want to do. They can choose to attend ballet school, school of art, gymnastics, etc. For the long run, it is good for them. They will be better prepared for a live in a “real world” and they will have more chances to make a good career and succeed. Moreover, a big city usually has many entertaining centers with movie theatres and play stations. When I was a child I liked to go to the movie theatre with my parents to watch a premiere.

One more reason to choose a big city for a child is that a city provides better live conditions and services such as medical, dental, etc. My friend lived in the country for a while and one time he and his family had to drive a couple of hours to the nearest medical center when his child got a heavy cough.

To summarize, I agree with those people who want to raise their children in a city. The plenty of opportunities offered by a city helps children to find what they really like and be the best at it. Moreover, despite the air pollution, children get a better medical service that is good for their health.

 (394 words)

People learn through their entire lives. Curiosity was always the basic characteristic of a human being. We always want to break limits and learn more. At this point some people think that children should begin their formal education at a very early age and spend most of their time on school studies. This will help them to succeed in the future. However, for several reasons, which I will explain bellow, I think that children should not study at a very early age.

Of cause, children who begin to study at a very early age have more chances to succeed in the future. They gain more knowledge and experience which are priceless and valuable. In addition, studying more now they will give them the opportunity to perfect their knowledge in the future and become better professionals.

However, I think that every child must have his or her childhood. Children should learn through playing and communication with their friends and parents. I think that such basic qualities as kindness, self-confidence and just a good sense of humor can not be gained from studying. Children should more time spend with their family, playing and learning with their parents. Imagine that a child instead of playing with his friends does his homework and feel exhausted and tired. Another important aspect of this is that children at their early ages need more exercise because at this age the development of their body is a very essential aspect. Children first of all must be healthy.

To sum up, I think that children should have their careless childhood with no responsibilities. Moreover, I am sure that playing helps them develop not only their bones and muscles but their ability to make decisions, analyze things, make conclusions, which is very good for their future.

 (296 words)

Language is the best means of communication. In the modern globalization era it is not enough to be able to speak one language to communicate with the outside world. I strongly support the idea that children should begin learning a foreign language as soon as they start school. They faster become familiar with a strange language, improve their hearing ability to understand new words as time goes by and learn new words. In the following paragraphs I will list some reasons to support my position.

First of all, if one wants to see outcome soon, one must start sooner. So, the early children begin to learn new language the better will be the result. Scientists say that a child does not confuse two different languages but learns them more effectively.

Second of all, adults are often afraid to make mistakes when they are speaking in a new language. This fear is one of the biggest barriers for a person in his efforts to speak freely. Otherwise, children do not afraid of making grammatical mistakes because basically they just repeat words and sentences in the way they hear them. Also, children have a better chance to get rid of an accent. They faster get used to the right pronunciation and better feel the melody of a language.

To sum up, I think that it is very essential for children to begin learning a foreign language in their early ages. It is brings many benefits such as great pronunciation. Also, it helps a child develop and gain more knowledge which is good for a long run.

 (264 words)

Some parents believe that watching television is bad for their children. So, they try to restrict their children from watching TV. However, other parents think that there is nothing bad in watching TV. Personally, I think that watching TV brings children only benefits unless they spend in front of TV set less then a couple of hours daily. For the following reasons, which I will mention bellow, I believe that television plays an essential role in child’s development.

First of all, television helps a child to extent his or her range of interests. Children can find out many new things and make many exiting discoveries for themselves. In addition to these practical benefits television improves children’s vocabulary, their memory and gives them the opportunity to gain more knowledge. I think it is very essential for a child. Of cause, someone can say that there are plenty of different recourses of information such as books and teachers. But, I think, in our modern world children must learn faster and use all contemporary technology in order to succeed. Second of all, watching cognitive programs helps children to learn more about wild life, our environment and about the importance of preserving our forest and wild animals that live there.

Scientists say that a child should not watch TV more then 40 minutes successively. For example, my mother always made us have a break after watching TV more then half an hour and let our eyes rest for several minutes before turning on the TV again. I think it is the best solution.

To sum up, I believe that television gives children and all people the opportunity to learn what can not be learn from books. Television and movies in particular allow people to feel the reality and see what they will most likely not be able to see in their lives. Personally, when I was a child I liked to watch cognitive programs about wild animals. Unfortunately, my family had only one TV, but these programs were the only ones we all wanted to watch. So, we gathered in our living room and watched them in complete silence and I always remember those moments with a smile on my face.

 (367 words)

Parents are in most cases our first teachers and friends. From my everyday experience I have to agree with the statement that important decisions should be made by our parents or adult relatives. In the following paragraphs I will give my reasons to support this statement.

First of all, teenage children have the tendency to live in their own fantasies. They do not clearly understand the rules of a real life. When I was 18 years old I thought that the world was perfect and everything seemed to be simple. Teenagers are basically inexperienced; they aspire for independence and try to make their first steps towards freedom. I think that it is like starting to walk when a baby needs its parents for support. An independent life is a big and significant part in a person’s life. So, my point is that it is very important to make this step right.

Second of all, I think that parents have right to interfere in their children’s lives. They need to know what kind of friends their children have and how children spend their spare time. For example I had an eighteen years old friend who got really angry with his parents when they prohibited him to be friends with a young man. Somehow his parents found out that that young man was occasionally taking drugs. That man was dead in a year because of drug abuse. After that accident my friend thanked his parents for that interference.

Finally, I think teenage children should be more open-minded with their parents. It will help them to make the right choice and avoid many mistakes.

To sum up, I believe that young people should trust their parents because they wish their children only the best.

 (291 words)

Some people believe that it is better for children to grow up in the countryside than in a big city. However, other people think that a big city gives more opportunities and it is good for the long run. Personally, for several reasons I think that it is better for children’s health to grow up in the country.

First of all, it is very important for a child to grow up in a healthy environment. Children need fresh air, not polluted by the huge amount of cars and factories of the modern city. In the country they can spend more time exercising and walking with their friends. Scientists say that now children spend the same amount of time watching TV as they do at school. Probably, the possibility to join their friends for a play will change this proportion. Another important aspect of this is that parents will have more time to spend with their children as a result of eliminating traffic jams and decreasing driving time as a whole.

From the other side, children have some advantages living in a big city. For example, they have more opportunities to choose from what they want to do. They can choose to attend ballet school, school of art, gymnastics, etc. For the long run, it is good for them. They will be better prepared for a live in a “real world” and they will have more chances to make a good career and succeed. Moreover, a big city usually has many entertaining centers with movie theatres and play stations. When I was a child I liked to go to the movie theatre with my parents to watch a premiere.

One more reason to choose a big city for a child is that a city provides better live conditions and services such as medical, dental, etc. My friend lived in the country for a while and one time he and his family had to drive a couple of hours to the nearest medical center when his child got a heavy cough.

To summarize, I agree with those people who want to raise their children in a city. The plenty of opportunities offered by a city helps children to find what they really like and be the best at it. Moreover, despite the air pollution, children get a better medical service that is good for their health.

 (394 words)

The issue about whether children should help with household tasks as soon as they are able to do so is open for debate. Some people say that children should devote more time for playing with their friends, watching TV and studying. However, other people believe that children should help their parents with household tasks. Personally, for several reasons, which I will explain bellow, I adhere to the latter point of view.

First of all, I think that every child should have his or her own responsibilities. When I was a child my parents taught me how to make breakfast in the morning. So, I woke up, went to the kitchen and prepared a couple of toasts for breakfast. It was easy and I enjoyed doing it because I liked the way my parents thanked me and I felt that they were proud of me. Also, my mom always wanted me to know how to cook, clean and iron my cloth. Thanks to the learning, nowadays, when my maid can not come to my house I handle all household tasks myself.

Second of all, performing household tasks teaches children to value the job of people who did it. When I was a child I did not imagine that cleaning house could be so time and energy consuming. So, when I began to do some of the household tasks by myself I began to respect the job of others and tryed to collect all my toys after my playing with them.

Finally, doing household tasks teaches children to arrange their time. In addition to those practical benefits, help from children allows parents to have more spare time for their personal lives and for the children. A family can have more time to spend with each other talking, watching movies or just enjoying the beautiful moments. To sum up, I think that children should help their parents with household tasks. Doing household tasks helps them to grow into independent, self-confident, and attentive persons who respect their parents.

 (334 words)

Over the past few decades, the world has significantly changed. Nowadays, many have begun to wonder what the reasons behind [=for] these changes are. Two major factors contributing to this phenomenon are advances in media and change family dynamics [=organization].

First, advances in media, such as the Internet and TV, have meant that children spend a large portion of their leisure time in front of a screen. Consequently, they are not getting proper amounts of exercise, which results in an increase in the number of children who are overweight and obese. In addition, fast food restaurants have become increasingly popular, which has also contributed to children’s health problems.

Moreover, another leading force of this trend is changes in the family unit. Compared with a half century ago, nuclear families have become way more common in modern society. People tend to have only one child, which has caused personality disorders such as depression, loneliness, and selfishness. This is mainly because parents with one child have tendency to put all their focus and money into their only son or daughter. Studies have indicated that over 65% of children who are brought up without siblings show self-centered behavior find it difficult cooperating with their peers.

In summary, there are many factors that have caused children to live very differently
from the generation before them. There are high hopes that parents exercise(s) wisdom
in treating their children.

 (233 words)

In past educational institutions, children have been taught together based on age regardless of intellectual ability displayed at school. Alternatively, a large proportion of the population believes there should be a strong move towards the separation of children of different intellectual capabilities in current educational institutions. From my own educational perspective, I honestly believe that younger students possessing higher intelligence levels than their peers ought to be separated into alternative levels based on their gift, for a number of reasons.

Admittedly, although young learners have the chance to learn a lot from associating with
classmates their own age, it is widely believed that such a process isn’t considered to be vital for a healthy educational upbringing. The argument for intellectual separation holds some strong advantages. Firstly, by allocating students to classes based on levels of intelligence, high achievers have the opportunity to excel in a way that they couldn’t in a normal class. Owing to the fact that they can be placed into an unrestricted educational environment, students can excel with intellectual freedom.

Secondly, there is a strong argument in regards to inhibiting a child’s intellectual growth by restricting them from moving above their peers if their mental capability permits. Why should we limit the intelligence of our future generation? For instance, many of today’s highly successful artists and entrepreneurs in the world have come from an unrestricted educational background and have been allowed to explore their mind and careers to the fullest extent.

In conclusion, although I believe an educational environment for young learners should promote equal opportunity, I honestly think that creating a more liberal environment which enhances the learning capabilities of intellectually-gifted children will not only benefit individual’s careers but future society as a whole.

 (288 words)

Today, education has become a priority for many parents seeking to secure a good future for their children in this rapidly changing world. They believe that if their children apply themselves and work hard at school, then they will increase their opportunities for going to higher education and eventually getting a good job. Of course they are right, and as access to the best education and best jobs is becoming more competitive, then it is true that children have to make the best of their study time when they are young.

However, the parents who do not allow their children sufficient free time for leisure activities outside school hours, are misguided. Such activities are far from being a waste of time for the children simply because they are not academic. It is important to remember that children need to develop skills other than intellectual ones, and the best way to do this is through activities such as sports, games and playing with other kids. If they cannot play make-believe games, how can they develop their imagination? How can they learn physical co-ordination or learn important social lessons about winning and losing if they do not practise any sports? Many children form strong, personal relationships with the friends they play with, and without the opportunity to do this, they could grow up emotionally immature or unformed.

Finally, I think it is also important to remember that children need to relax as well as work. If everything they do must have some educational or academic relevance, then they will soon get tired of studying altogether, which is the last thing parents would want.

 (271 words)

Many parents use physical punishment to discipline their children. Others prefer to use different methods to reward good behavior or punish misbehavior. This essay will look at some of the arguments for and against physical punishment of children.

It is often claimed that physical punishment will damage children in later life. Opponents of corporal punishment claim that the children will grow up to become delinquents or even beat their wives. However, many happily married adults today were slapped when they were younger but have never hit their spouses. Another point often made is that physical punishment teaches children that you can use force to make others do what you want. In fact children brought up well soon learn that force by itself is nothing – it must be associated with right. Finally, some people say that punishing a child by smacking him will damage the relationship between the child and the parents. This is clearly wrong. Children who understand the reasons for rules will be happier than children who are not given clear guidelines.

There are definitely concerns about physical punishment. Some parents lose control and can injure children – even breaking bones or causing bruises. Others can use violence excessively or as the only method of discipline. In this case, the child will be hurt, fearful and anxious and will not learn to distinguish right from wrong. The biggest problem with physical violence is when it is not appropriate to the age of the child. It can be very effective to quickly smack a two-year-old who is screaming. However, it is not effective to beat a 16-year-old who is late for school once again.

In conclusion, physical punishment can be a useful method of discipline. However it should be the last choice for parents. If we want to build a world with less violence we must begin at home, and we must teach our children to be responsible.

 (319 words)

In most countries in the world, governments require children to attend schools in which trained teachers are responsible for educating the children using an approved curriculum. However a significant number of parents believe that it is much better for their children to be educated at home by the people who know them and their needs best. This essay will examine the question of home schooling and discuss which the best option for the child is.

An increasing number of parents are deciding that home schooling is the best option for their children. They are unhappy with the quality or depth of education offered in the schools, or have other reasons why they feel that traditional schools are not suitable for their children. One reason is social factors. Parents worry that their children will suffer from bullying or will be forced into antisocial behavior by peer pressure. They believe that the good behavior they have taught the child will be lost in school. Another reason is concern over the quality of schooling available. Schools frequently have large classes. They are often under-funded, and staffed by teachers without sufficient knowledge of their subjects. Subjects such as the family‟s religion or language may not even be available in the school. Other parents may disagree with the aims of the school curriculum, preferring for academic, social or cultural reasons to keep their children separate. Finally, some children with special needs may need particular parental care.

However, there are many arguments in favor of sending children to conventional schools. The first is that the children will be exposed to other children. These children may represent either a cross-section of society or a narrow group, but in either case the children will interact with each other and develop social skills. A second point is that the children will learn to function outside the family. They will not be dependent on their parents for their educational, emotional and social needs. A third point is that the children will find it easier to integrate when they finish school, as they eventually will, when they start work or college.

Overall, while many parents work hard to teach their children at home, conventional schools are still the right choice for most children. Schools are not perfect, but they seem to be a proven way of preparing our children for the real world.

 (392 words)

Small children seem to learn very quickly, while adults sometimes appear to lose the ability to pick up new subject such as languages, music, games, or computer programs. In this essay, I will discuss whether children or adults make the best learners.

It is undoubtedly true that children seem to learn very quickly. In just a few years, they can learn how to play a musical instrument, speak one or even two new languages, and deal with many subjects at school. They even have time for sports and hobbies, and become experts in their favorite pastimes. However, how much of this is social pressure and how much is genetic? I am convinced that while children’s brains have a natural ability to absorb new information as part of their developmental growth, much of their achievement is because of social pressure. Schools force them to take many subjects. Parents force them to practice new sports or to learn music. Even their playmates force them to become better at computer games or to read Harry Potter novels faster. In summary, children may enjoy learning, but their environment also is a big motivating factor.

Adults on the other hand are supposed to be poor learners. However, I disagree with people who say that adults cannot learn quickly. Adults have many skills that compensate for the decline in the ability of the brain to grasp and remember new material. They can organize their learning by setting times for reading or practice. They can build on skills and experiences they know already. Adults usually cannot learn to do ballet or to play the violin, but even despite these physical challenges, their motivation can often be higher than a child’s. Unfortunately, society does not encourage many adults to learn. People are busy with families and work, and some adults may feel that further learning is pointless, since they have already achieved many goals at work or in their personal life.

In conclusion, I feel that we cannot generalize about children or adults being better learners. It depends on the situation and the motivation of the person, and the level of enthusiasm he or she has for learning.

 (360 words)

Gives reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Over the past few decades, along with growing interest in child education, people’s attention to the family environment where a child is brought up has also significantly increased. Some people have begun to feel that a child who has grown up in a poor family tend to be better prepared to deal with problems. In my opinion, however, family environment alone does not much influence a child’s ability to solve problems.

A child who was born into a poor family would have had more situations where they had to solve a problem or make a decision on their own. This is because in most unfortunate families, both parents are usually working and children are put into situations where they have to take care of themselves. By contrast, due to their wealth, rich children can experience and learn things that unfortunate children cannot. For example, they usually go to the best schools and receive a higher education there, which prepares them better for solving problems in their life.

However, few would disagree with the fact that each individual is different. That is, problem solving skills come more from life experience. That is, the more a person experiences in life, the more they can use these experiences to adjust, to adapt and to solve problems they encounter. Personality also can be a factor in dealing with problems. A person who is optimistic, outgoing, confident and open-minded can look at and solve problems more effectively.

As discussed above, nature and nurture have an equal influence on a child’s ability to face challenges. Parents should spare no effort to figure out how they can help their children to be independent. I hope that in the future the next generation will grow up as mature citizens.

 (307 words)