English Language: School Trips
For those of you who don't know English Language Paper 2 Question 5, it involves having to write out an argument for or against a statement (no sitting on the fence EVER). As this is the mock that we'll be sitting soon, we have been doing a lot of practice writing out answers, and I thought that I'd share one with you (because I'm actually quite proud of it).
The statement was this: Schools today should not take children on trips. They are expensive, little more than term time holidays, and in no way educational.
I, of course, argued against this (as all children, at least, should). This is my argument:
"School trips should be banned? Who honestly believes this? If it's just bitter old parents who are jealous that their child is able to go to France for a week, have they already forgotten what it's like to be able to go away with your friends?
Apparently, school trips are just holidays. Yeah, well, maybe they are- especially for the kids who don't normally go on holiday, or for the ones who spend family holidays waiting for an argument to blow up. Besides, after all the work we do at school, don't we deserve a holiday with friends that we don't have to bother planning?
I know my parents get stressed when we go on holiday.
School trips are also a chance for teachers to have a break from formal schooling and teach children in a different environment- learn French, for example, not in a classroom but in a market in Nice. And another point to drive this line of the argument home- what about trips after school? Don't tell me that they're holidays as well; going to the theatre to spend a few hours watching a (brilliant) performance of Macbeth is not how I spend my holidays.
But, of course, I can't speak for everyone.
School trips being too expensive, I can understand. Surely parents would prefer to go to Spain as a family rather than have their son or daughter go to Spain by themselves. I hear your cry, worried parents. However, I have some solutions for you. One, your child doesn't have to go on a week-long trip to America: they could go on a day trip to France. And two, there are plans in place to help pay for trips if money is tight. School trips are a big part of growing up, and schools don't want anyone to miss out on the opportunity to learn outside a classroom. Trust me on this, I beg of you. Ask, and you will find a way.
Finally, I come to the point of school trips not being educational.
Excuse me?
What trips have you been going one?
I, for one, believe that school trips are educational, if you apply yourself, and have been on may a trip that has inspired and taught me. For example, history trips are invaluable as they bring history to life. When studying Norman England, we visited Warwick Castle to see a Norman castle. When studying WW1, we toured around Belgium and France visiting grave sites and memorials- a humbling a sorrowful experience. When studying the USA, which included Vietnam and the Civil Rights Movement, we visited both Washington D.C. and New York City.
I learnt an unbelievable amount, so don't tell me that school trips are uneducational. Perhaps your child just spent the trip messing around. In that case, I would suggest not letting them go on another school trip, as they just end up ruining it for everyone else.
Sometimes, school trips are also crucial to exams. I've been to theatres to help with English Literature; I've been to London and Walton-on-the-Naze for a Geography paper; I've been to the GoodFood show in Birmingham for help with Food Coursework.
Hopefully, I'll do even better in my exams now.
To conclude, school trips should not be banned. They are not just holidays, they are indeed educational, and money is not necessarily an issue. It is my belief that school trips can reduce stress because they are fun, and if parents don't want their children to have fun, well, shame on you.
Live a little."
The statement was this: Schools today should not take children on trips. They are expensive, little more than term time holidays, and in no way educational.
I, of course, argued against this (as all children, at least, should). This is my argument:
"School trips should be banned? Who honestly believes this? If it's just bitter old parents who are jealous that their child is able to go to France for a week, have they already forgotten what it's like to be able to go away with your friends?
Apparently, school trips are just holidays. Yeah, well, maybe they are- especially for the kids who don't normally go on holiday, or for the ones who spend family holidays waiting for an argument to blow up. Besides, after all the work we do at school, don't we deserve a holiday with friends that we don't have to bother planning?
I know my parents get stressed when we go on holiday.
School trips are also a chance for teachers to have a break from formal schooling and teach children in a different environment- learn French, for example, not in a classroom but in a market in Nice. And another point to drive this line of the argument home- what about trips after school? Don't tell me that they're holidays as well; going to the theatre to spend a few hours watching a (brilliant) performance of Macbeth is not how I spend my holidays.
But, of course, I can't speak for everyone.
School trips being too expensive, I can understand. Surely parents would prefer to go to Spain as a family rather than have their son or daughter go to Spain by themselves. I hear your cry, worried parents. However, I have some solutions for you. One, your child doesn't have to go on a week-long trip to America: they could go on a day trip to France. And two, there are plans in place to help pay for trips if money is tight. School trips are a big part of growing up, and schools don't want anyone to miss out on the opportunity to learn outside a classroom. Trust me on this, I beg of you. Ask, and you will find a way.
Finally, I come to the point of school trips not being educational.
Excuse me?
What trips have you been going one?
I, for one, believe that school trips are educational, if you apply yourself, and have been on may a trip that has inspired and taught me. For example, history trips are invaluable as they bring history to life. When studying Norman England, we visited Warwick Castle to see a Norman castle. When studying WW1, we toured around Belgium and France visiting grave sites and memorials- a humbling a sorrowful experience. When studying the USA, which included Vietnam and the Civil Rights Movement, we visited both Washington D.C. and New York City.
I learnt an unbelievable amount, so don't tell me that school trips are uneducational. Perhaps your child just spent the trip messing around. In that case, I would suggest not letting them go on another school trip, as they just end up ruining it for everyone else.
Sometimes, school trips are also crucial to exams. I've been to theatres to help with English Literature; I've been to London and Walton-on-the-Naze for a Geography paper; I've been to the GoodFood show in Birmingham for help with Food Coursework.
Hopefully, I'll do even better in my exams now.
To conclude, school trips should not be banned. They are not just holidays, they are indeed educational, and money is not necessarily an issue. It is my belief that school trips can reduce stress because they are fun, and if parents don't want their children to have fun, well, shame on you.
Live a little."
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