Discussion Topic - High school
- Details
- Written by IELTS Mentor
Discussion Topic - High school
Part 1: Introduction & Interview
Q. 1. Did you go to a secondary/high school near to where you lived? [Why/why not?]
Answer: Yes, I did attend a high school near to where I lived mainly because my parents lived near that school, and it was a good school as well. My parents just didn’t want me to attend a school far from them because of safety and security reason.
Q. 2. What did you like about your secondary/high school? [Why?]
Answer: The best thing about my high school, which I really liked, was its teachers and staffs who were very friendly and nice to all the students. Besides, I always liked the tiffin, provided by the school, because it used to have different and tasty snack items almost every day. Finally, the school library had a great collection of books and as a book lover, I read many books there.
Q. 3. Tell me about anything you didn’t like at your school.
Answer: There were two things which I didn’t like about my high school. First thing was that I just didn’t like the grey colour of my school dress. Another thing, which I didn’t like, was that our game teacher used to make us “train” for a long time which, I felt, wasn’t that necessary (but, of course, I was proved wrong at a later time).
Q. 4. How do you think your school could be improved? [Why/why not?]
Answer: I thought that the classes of my school were over-crowded with many students because the rooms were small in size, so it would be better if they could build some additional building/rooms to accommodate extra students.
Q. 5. Would you recommend this school to one of your relatives? [Why/why not?]
Answer: Yes, I would certainly recommend my high school to my relatives because the school maintains strict discipline and standard when it came to providing quality education and overall well-being of its students. Besides, the staffs at that school were not only very qualified but also very friendly who understood the needs of their students.
Part 3: Details Discussion
Q. 1. Do you think students should choose the subjects they like in high schools?
Answer: No, I don’t really think that students in high schools should be allowed to choose the subjects of their choice primarily because they simply wouldn’t know what prerequisite qualifications or credentials would be needed to do well in those classes. Besides, students, in principle, should learn a little bit of everything, not just the subjects they like, in order to become successful in both the personal or professional world. Finally, if they are indeed allowed to choose subjects on their own, the chances are that while one class has only a few students, the other classes are overcrowded because of too many students, which certainly is not an “ideal” scenario either for efficient learning or teaching.
Q. 2. What are some subjects all high school students should study? Why?
Answer: Logically speaking, high school students should study only those subjects which would help them to choose a certain career path of their choice. But, practically speaking, this isn’t necessarily the case in real education world because students are taught pretty much all kinds of subjects, at least in my country, from history to math to religious studies, and everything in between, which may include language, physics, chemistry, botany, biology, geography, geology, sociology, psychology, accounting, marketing, management, literature and so forth. Of course, it all depends on whether a student wants to pursue liberal arts, commerce or science major at college and university level.
Q. 3. How, in your opinion, could education in high school be made more useful for students?
Answer: In my opinion, high school education could be more useful for students if we, meaning all the stakeholders in high school education from students to teachers and from parents to school administration, could set a much “clearer” goal. In this way, we would be able to ask tough questions like whether we are trying to teach a core knowledge that is deemed important, or if we are preparing students for college only or also for life. Besides, we could also work onto creating a more integrated educational experience for students by putting them into such work environments where they would be able to actively see the value of their education and skills.
Q. 4. Do teachers have a great role in shaping students' personality? How?
Answer: Yes, I would say that teachers have a great role in shaping students personality because students spend a significant amount of time at their schools and with their teachers. And, when that is the case, students naturally pick up a lot of things from their teachers – things like “personal behavior”, communication style, thinking style, personal taste and preferences in social and cultural activities, dressing style, and even the hairstyle and walking style – which ultimately reflect in the personalities of the students sooner or later. Besides, since the students usually look upon their teachers for “guidance” on different issues, it is only natural for the teachers to leave a lasting impression on the personality traits of their students both positively and negatively.
Q. 5. How should young students spend their summer vacations?
Answer: Summer vacation is an important period of time in the lives of young students, and as such, they should make every effort to make the best use of it, depending on their personal needs and circumstances. For example, if they are lagging behind in some of their course works or test preparation, they should try their best to catch up with their lesson plans. In the same way, some students can also choose to spend their time a summer camp in order to improve their social/communication skills and fostering teamwork. They can also get involved in different kinds of physical activities during the summertime in order to become physically fit.
Q. 6. How has teaching method changed in your country over the past few decades?
Answer: Teaching methods in my country has significantly changed over the past few decades or so. For example, now students in the classrooms are more active by taking part in activities, like group discussion, while teachers are simply taking more of a “facilitator” or “passive” role in the class. Besides, teachers are more accessible to students these days with the help of technologies like the internet and messenger services where students can ask any study-related questions to their teachers. Finally, teachers are also taking the help of technologies and tools like computers and learning apps to make study materials easier for the students.
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