Writing for an Academic Discussion Government funding for primary education or college level education? - revised -

Do you think the government should prioritize funding for primary education or for college level education?

 

 

☆Let’s Think

1.        Who will benefit from a good education? What about college level education?

2.        Which choice is better for economic development?

 

 

☆Hints for Points

Primary education

1.     Strike the iron while it is hot.

 

2.     Better primary education promotes equity. Primary education is for everyone while college level education is for only a small percentage of the population. Therefore, spending money on the former is more egalitarian than the latter, all children getting more resources for self-fulfillment, which increases their opportunities to live a better life.

 

3.     Narrower education gap will benefit society and the government in the long run. It raises the intelligence level of the whole population, who will make good workforce and citizens.

 

4.     Prioritizing primary education will reduce health and social problems by reducing dropouts.

 

5.     Subsidizing primary education helps find more talents.

 

College education

1.     Giving smart people an intensive higher education will help produce experts who will build and develop the country as quickly as possible by contributing to innovations and inventions. Thus, supporting those who have shown the best academic ability will efficiently help the development of the country.

 

2.     Better-educated workforce, in other words, more skilled and resourceful workers, will raise productivity of the society, and tax revenue will increase as a result.

 

3.     To revolutionize the whole education system, the government should start with the higher education to help change the educational concept and put new ideas into practice such as letting graduate school-bound students teach their subjects part-time at local grade schools.

 

 

☆Response for Ideas and Expression

【Thesis】I agree with Emily that a good education during formative years is crucial because it prepares children well for advanced level education and later life.  

【Supporting Details】Primary education must provide children with not only basic knowledge which will smoothly introduces them into the intermediate level education but also understanding about life and society which will save them from straying from the right path.

【Counterargument-treatment】Tom’s point that it is college level education that provides truly practical skills required in jobs makes sense. However, only the fraction of the population go to college and thus what the government should focus on is to reduce dropouts and low grades in early ages. After all, allocating a larger budget to compulsory education is more egalitarian than doing it to higher education as the former is for all children while the latter is only for good students. All children must be given equal opportunities regardless of their backgrounds such as race, ethnicity, or financial status of their family. Especially for children with any of these disadvantages, meeting a good teacher in a good educational environment, including good facilities like personal computers and internet access, can greatly help them survive. This will raise the spirit of the whole population in the end.

【Conclusions】Therefore, the educational institution for everyone to jump-start their lives must be subsidized more than higher education, which is only for the advantaged. (231 words)

Write your draft on this topic. Show each other your responses. Write down questions or suggestions to each other’s response.

 

 

                                                 DRAFT