Debate/Discussion - Part 1
Debate/Discussion
Topic: Education System
Henry Ford said, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” Do you agree? Why?
Questions about books;
1) How effective are textbooks? Do they give proper knowledge about a certain field or topic? Are they constructed in a way so that pupils can develop their critical thinking, analytical mind, etc.
2) Why textbooks cover only classical Armenian writers leaving aside contemporary ones? For instance, do you know who Narine Abgaryan is? Her works are being taught in Russia for lower and higher grades. But here, students don’t even know her name.
Grig “Jesus’s Cat”, Aram Pachyan “Ցտեսություն ծիտ”, Ruben Filyan “Հեքիաթ փուչ պոպոքի մասին”, Gurgen Khanjyan “Հիվանդանոց”, etc.
3) Why physics and chemistry textbooks are written in hard technical lexicon? What should be considered is student’s mental ability of comprehending and understanding complex scientific theories and concepts, thus textbook authors must take it into consideration while writing those books.
4) Do you think it’s important to learn about sex education? Why and why not? In my secondary school, there were two lessons about that topic in 8th grade’s biology course, and my teacher did not even talk about it in class and when she gave us that lesson, she asked us if we want to move to the next lesson if there are no one wanting to answer the lesson. Do you think she did a right thing? Why?
Questions about educational system;
1) Is high school a necessary thing? Because it doesn’t actually teach you any new things, as it’s just a 3-year repetition of what you learned in secondary schools.
2) How do you feel about tests and examinations? Are they necessary? What is their main purpose. For example, if a person wants to become an engineer, why should they take Armenian language or History exams, how does that affect or concern that profession?
3) Why do young children too often lose interest and motivation in schools even though
Topic: Education System
Henry Ford said, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” Do you agree? Why?
Questions about books;
1) How effective are textbooks? Do they give proper knowledge about a certain field or topic? Are they constructed in a way so that pupils can develop their critical thinking, analytical mind, etc.
2) Why textbooks cover only classical Armenian writers leaving aside contemporary ones? For instance, do you know who Narine Abgaryan is? Her works are being taught in Russia for lower and higher grades. But here, students don’t even know her name.
Grig “Jesus’s Cat”, Aram Pachyan “Ցտեսություն ծիտ”, Ruben Filyan “Հեքիաթ փուչ պոպոքի մասին”, Gurgen Khanjyan “Հիվանդանոց”, etc.
3) Why physics and chemistry textbooks are written in hard technical lexicon? What should be considered is student’s mental ability of comprehending and understanding complex scientific theories and concepts, thus textbook authors must take it into consideration while writing those books.
4) Do you think it’s important to learn about sex education? Why and why not? In my secondary school, there were two lessons about that topic in 8th grade’s biology course, and my teacher did not even talk about it in class and when she gave us that lesson, she asked us if we want to move to the next lesson if there are no one wanting to answer the lesson. Do you think she did a right thing? Why?
Questions about educational system;
1) Is high school a necessary thing? Because it doesn’t actually teach you any new things, as it’s just a 3-year repetition of what you learned in secondary schools.
2) How do you feel about tests and examinations? Are they necessary? What is their main purpose. For example, if a person wants to become an engineer, why should they take Armenian language or History exams, how does that affect or concern that profession?
3) Why do young children too often lose interest and motivation in schools even though
they begin their schooling excited about education?
Let’s talk about Finland’s education system. Here are some reasons why it’s considered to have the best education system;
1) No standardized tests
Filling in little bubbles on a scantron and answering pre-canned questions is somehow supposed to be a way to determine mastery or at least competence of a subject. What often happens is that students will learn to cram just to pass a test and teachers will be teaching with the sole purpose of students passing a test.
Finland has no standardized tests. All children throughout
Finland are graded on an individualized basis and grading system set by their
teacher. Tracking overall progress is done by the Ministry of Education, which
samples groups across different ranges of schools.
2) Accountability of teachers
All teachers are required to have a master's degree before entering the profession. If a teacher isn't performing well, it's the individual principal's responsibility to do something about it. The concept of the pupil-teacher dynamic that was once the master to apprentice cannot be distilled down to a few bureaucratic checks and standardized testing measures. It needs to be dealt with on an individual basis.
3) Making the basics a priority
Many school systems are so concerned with increasing test scores and comprehension in math and science, they tend to forget what constitutes a happy, harmonious and healthy student and learning environment. Since the 1980s, Finnish educators have focused on making these basics a priority:
2) Accountability of teachers
All teachers are required to have a master's degree before entering the profession. If a teacher isn't performing well, it's the individual principal's responsibility to do something about it. The concept of the pupil-teacher dynamic that was once the master to apprentice cannot be distilled down to a few bureaucratic checks and standardized testing measures. It needs to be dealt with on an individual basis.
3) Making the basics a priority
Many school systems are so concerned with increasing test scores and comprehension in math and science, they tend to forget what constitutes a happy, harmonious and healthy student and learning environment. Since the 1980s, Finnish educators have focused on making these basics a priority:
·
Education should be an instrument to balance out
social inequality.
·
All students receive free school meals.
·
Ease access to health care.
·
Psychological counselling
·
Individualized guidance
4) Less homework and outside work required
Students in Finland have the least amount of
outside work and homework than any other student in the world. They spend only
half an hour a night working on stuff from school. Finnish students also don't
have tutors. They get everything they need to get done in school without the added
pressures that come with excelling at a subject. Without having to worry about
grades and busy-work they are able to focus on the true task at hand – learning
and growing as a human being.
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