IELTS Commentry: IELTS Essay, topic: Should governments or teachers be responsible for what is to be taught in schools (opinion)?

This is a model response to a Writing Task 2 topic from High Scorer’s Choice IELTS Practice Tests book series (reprinted with permission). This answer is likely to score IELTS Band 9.

Set 3 General Training book, Practice Test 11

Writing Task 2

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

Should governments or teachers be responsible for what is to be taught in schools?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your knowledge or experience.

You should write at least 250 words.

Answer

In modern day society, it is essential for a child to be educated in order for him or her to have success later on in life. Children are typically educated in schools, which are run by the government. The government officials therefore decide what is taught to the children and what is not. Personally, I believe that it is better if governments are responsible for the subject matter covered in school and not the teachers.

It is a common goal to supply all children with the same opportunities in life, meaning that the same core knowledge should be taught to all children to offer them the same benefits. Naturally, some children will be better at certain subjects than others and will therefore obtain a more detailed degree of knowledge, yet every child should be taught the same core knowledge. Education provides opportunities, because certain types of education will enable children to pursue certain careers later on in life.

Supplying the same core knowledge is an essential concept, yet it has not been put into action in several countries. In Germany, for example, the syllabus taught depends on the region of the country. In certain regions, children attend school for thirteen years and in other regions for twelve years. This raises the question whether or not the children obtain the same degree of knowledge and that the children attending school for thirteen years are at an advantage compared to those attending school for twelve years. Already one can see that problems arise when the regional government decides upon the core knowledge taught to students. If teachers had a say in what knowledge should be taught to students, the subject matter would become even more complex. The core knowledge would not only vary from region to region, yet also from school to school, providing unfair advantages and disadvantages for certain students.

In conclusion, the government of a country should decide upon what knowledge is taught in schools, as the situation would become too complex if all teachers were responsible for this aspect.

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