Writing for an Academic Discussion Scientific research ro teacher training? - revised -

Which area do you believe the government should prioritize in its spending, scientific research or teacher training? Why?

 

 

☆Let’s Think

1.        How will the government benefit from spending money on scientific research?

2.        How will the government benefit from spending money on training programs for teachers?

3.        What are the decisive reasons to choose one over the other?

 

 

☆Ideas and Expressions

About scientific research

1.        Scientific research is indispensable to the development of the industry, which has a huge impact on economic development, although not all people benefit from the blessings.

2.        To build and maintain the infrastructure of the country, governments should subsidize research and development to increase knowledge and skills for the purpose.

3.        To cope with the impact of climate crisis, we need to increase research funding and reward the experts.

4.        Over the past decade Japan has had budget cuts on basic researches, which had contributed to breakthroughs, and now other Asian countries have surpassed it in almost all areas from electronic applications to robotics.

 

About teacher training

1.         It will benefit the government in the long run. It will raise the academic level of the whole population, who will build a good county. It will also raise the levels of both science and humanities.

2.        Good education will reduce the number of health and social problems. The more educated people are, the fewer health and social problems they are likely to have. It will increase education continuance rates. It will also reduce the number of bullying, discrimination, and warlike characteristics.

3.        Trained teachers can find and develop talents. Many people who are as good as any successful people are doing menial jobs because they were not taught properly and recognized when they were in school. They could have contributed to the country if they had received a good education.

4.        The budget on scientific research equals the total budget for education including salary for teachers. This means that training teachers is not prioritized at all. In fact, capitalist countries have cut costs for education, and our children are not doing well compared to children of the socialist countries that prioritize education. This reflects on the difference in recent development between the West and the rest.

 

Decisive reasons

1.        Spending money on education is more egalitarian than spending money on scientific research.

2.        New information costs money to acquire, and science is all about new information. On the other hand, education is to pass down information that is already shared.

3.        Teachers are too busy to educate themselves. They also lack resources for training by themselves.

4.        Money for science is directed to military, for developing weapons.

 

 

☆Sample Response

Seeing the situation that we are in, where scientific development is doing more harm than good in this century, I believe training teachers should be put before scientific research. Although science and technology have made our lives comfortable and convenient, they also have put life on earth in danger. Life has been suffering and dying from diseases and injuries caused by the impact of scientific discoveries and inventions. The scientific endeavor to solve these new problems have not achieved much, controlled by capitalism, which prioritizes profits than life. In a sci-fi movie called “Extrapolations”, humans will have done little to solve the problems of climate change around 2070 even though the technology is available. Only the innovation on smart phones and other profitable technology will have advanced extremely. This satirical movie tells the truth of modern society, in which educators are attacked because they are regarded to have dangerous ideas to disturb society while actually teachers are the people who tell the truth and show children the right path for the survival of humankind. This has been going on for generations and consequently deteriorated the humanities, including teachers’ qualities. For the survival of humanity, education of teachers must be prioritized over scientific researches. (203 words)

 

 

☆Sample Response Structures

Sample A

【Advantages of spending money on scientific research】

【Advantages of spending money on training programs of teachers】

【Your choice】

 

Sample B

【Advantage 1】

【Advantage 2】

【Counterargument-treatment: The reason why the advantages of the other choice does not matter】

 

 

Your Sample Essay Structure

【Thesis = Outline】

【                    】

【                    】

【                    】

【Conclusion = Wrap-up】

 

Write your draft on this topic. Give feedbacks to other people’s drafts, asking questions and making suggestions.

 

 

DRAFT