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Best Education Essays of 2021: Our 15 Most Discussed Columns About Schools, COVID Slide, Learning Recovery & More

A full calendar year of education under COVID-19 and its variants gave rise to a wave of memorable essays in 2021, focusing both on the ongoing damage done and how to mitigate learning loss going forward.

While consensus emerged around several key themes — the need for extensive, in-depth tutoring, the possibilities presented by unprecedented millions in federal relief dollars for schools, the opportunity for education reimagined — there was far less agreement on whether to remediate or accelerate, which health and safety measures schools should employ, even how dire the shortage of teachers and school staff really is. 

From grade-level standards and hygiene theater to lessons from the Spanish flu and homeschooling, here are the 15 most read and buzzed-about essays of 2021:

Analysis: Focus on Grade-Level Standards or Meet Students Where They Are? How an Unintentional Experiment Guided a Strategy for Addressing Learning Loss

Learning Recovery: What’s the best way to support learning recovery in middle-grade math? Should schools stay focused on grade-level standards while trying to address critical learning gaps as best as they can? Or should they systematically address individual students’ unfinished learning from prior years so they can ultimately catch back up — even if that means spending meaningful time teaching below-grade skills? As educators and administrators wrestle with those questions as they prepare to return to school in the fall, contributor Joel Rose offers some guidance inadvertently found in a study of Teach to One , an innovative learning model operated by New Classrooms Innovation Partners, the nonprofit where he is co-founder and CEO. That research found performance in schools with accountability systems that focused on grade-level proficiency (and thus prioritized grade-level exposure) grew 7 percentile points, while those that operated under systems that rewarded student growth (and thus prioritized individual student needs) grew 38 points. While the study was never intended to compare results across schools in this way, the stark difference between the two groups could not be ignored. Math is cumulative, and the path to proficiency often requires addressing unfinished learning from prior years. For the middle grades, administrators and policymakers would be wise to question the grade-level-only gospel as they begin to plan students’ educational recovery. Read the full analysis . 

Lessons from Spanish Flu — Babies Born in 1919 Had Worse Educational, Life Outcomes Than Those Born Just Before or After. Could That Happen With COVID-19?

History: Contributor Chad Aldeman has some bad news: The effects of COVID-19 are likely to linger for decades. And if the Spanish Flu is any indication, babies born during the pandemic may suffer some devastating consequences . Compared with children born just before or after, babies born during the flu pandemic in 1919 were less likely to finish high school, earned less money and were more likely to depend on welfare assistance and serve time in jail. The harmful effects were twice as large for nonwhite children. It may take a few years to see whether similar educational and economic effects from COVID-19 start to materialize, but these are ominous findings suggesting that hidden economic factors may influence a child’s life in ways that aren’t obvious in the moment. Hopefully, they will give policymakers more reasons to speed economic recovery efforts and make sure they deliver benefits to families and children who are going to need them the most. Read the full essay .

Pittman & Darling-Hammond: Surveys Find Parents Want Bold Changes in Schools — With More Learning Inside and Outside the Classroom

Future of Education: Whatever they thought of their schools before the pandemic struck, parents now have strong opinions about what they want them to provide. They are looking beyond fall reopenings to rethink schooling, and they care about having good choices for interest-driven learning opportunities beyond the classroom . Two national parent surveys released in May shed new light on how to think about the often-used phrase “more and better learning.” Among the key findings, write contributors Karen Pittman and Linda Darling-Hammond: Parents want bold changes in schools, to make public education more equitable and learner-centered. But they also believe that home, school and extracurriculars play complementary roles in imparting the broad set of skills children need for their future success. This means educators and policymakers must support learning that extends beyond the school day, the school walls, the school staff and the traditional school approaches. Read the full essay .

High-Quality, High-Dosage Tutoring Can Reduce Learning Loss. A Blueprint for How Washington, States & Districts Can Make It Happen

Personalized Learning: There is near-unanimous, bipartisan agreement that tutoring is among the most promising, evidence-based strategies to help students struggling with learning loss . Decades of rigorous evaluations have consistently found that tutoring programs yield large, positive effects on math and reading achievement, and can even lead to greater social and motivational outcomes. It isn’t just the research community buzzing about tutoring — it is gaining momentum in policy circles, too. Which means there is a real opportunity — and responsibility — to design and deliver tutoring programs in a way that aligns with the research evidence, which is fortunately beginning to tell us more than just “tutoring works.” Contributors Sara Kerr and Kate Tromble of Results for America lay out a blueprint for how Washington, states and local school districts can make high-quality, high-dosage tutoring happen .

COVID-19 Raised Fears of Teacher Shortages. But the Situation Varies from State to State, School to School & Subject to Subject

Teacher Pipeline: Is the U.S. facing a major teacher shortage? Relatively low pay, a booming private sector and adverse working conditions in schools are all important elements in whether teaching is becoming an undesirable profession. But, writes contributor Dan Goldhaber, the factors that lead to attrition are diverse, so treating teachers as a monolith doesn’t help in crafting solutions to the real staffing challenges that some schools face. There is no national teacher labor market per se, because each state adopts its own rules for pay, licensure, tenure, pension and training requirements. And nationally, tens of thousands more people are prepared to teach than there are available positions. But while some schools have applicants lined up when an opening becomes available, others, typically those serving economically disadvantaged students, draw far fewer candidates. And schools tend to struggle to find teachers with special education or STEM training. The pandemic certainly raises concerns about teacher shortages; what is needed is a more nuanced conversation about teacher staffing to come up with more effective solutions to real problems. Read the full essay .

Clash of Cultures, Clash of Privilege — What Happened When 30 Low-Income Students of Color Were Admitted to Elite Prep Schools

Analysis: Programs like Prep for Prep and A Better Chance have long been regarded as groundbreaking solutions to the lack of diversity in the nation’s most elite prep schools. Teens who join these types of programs undergo a transfer of privilege that starts with their education and bleeds into every facet of their lives, forever altering their trajectory with opportunities that otherwise would likely be unattainable. But what assumptions do these programs subscribe to? And what lessons can be found in the experiences of the participants? In her Harvard senior thesis, contributor Jessica Herrera Chaidez followed 30 participants in a program that grants select socioeconomically disadvantaged students of color in the Los Angeles area the opportunity to attend famed independent schools. She found that the experiences of these students can be understood in various forms of twoness associated with this transfer of privilege, an internal struggle that begins with their introduction to the world of elite education and will come to mark them for their entire lives in a way that they aren’t even able to comprehend yet. Read more about her findings, and what some of these students had to say .

Steiner & Wilson: Some Tough Questions, and Some Answers, About Fighting COVID Slide While Accelerating Student Learning

Case Study: How prepared are district leaders, principals and teachers as they work to increase learning readiness for on-grade work this fall? That’s the question posed by contributors David Steiner and Barbara Wilson in a case study examining how a large urban district sought to adapt materials it was already using to implement an acceleration strategy for early elementary foundational skills in reading . Among the insights to be drawn: First, planning is critical. Leaders need to set out precisely how many minutes of instruction will be provided, the exact learning goals and the specific materials; identify all those involved (tutors, specialists, and teachers); and give them access to shared professional development on the chosen acceleration strategies. Second, this requires a sea change from business as usual, where teachers attempt to impart skill-based standards using an eclectic rather than a coherent curriculum. It is not possible to accelerate children with fragmented content. All efforts to prepare students for grade-level instruction must rest on fierce agreement about the shared curriculum to be taught in classrooms. What we teach is the anchor that holds everything else in place. Read the full essay .

Schools Are Facing a Surge of Failing Grades During the Pandemic — and Traditional Approaches Like Credit Recovery Will Not Be Enough to Manage It

Student Supports: Earlier this year, failing grades were on the rise across the country — especially for students who are learning online — and the trend threatened to exacerbate existing educational inequities. The rise in failing grades appears to be most pronounced among students from low-income households, multilingual students and students learning virtually . This could have lasting consequences: Students with failing grades tend to have less access to advanced courses in high school, and a failing grade in even one ninth-grade course can lower a student’s chances of graduating on time. Addressing the problem, though, won’t be easy. In many school systems, the rash of failed courses could overwhelm traditional approaches to helping students make up coursework they may have missed. In a new analysis, Betheny Gross, associate director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education, implored school and district leaders to be especially wary of one long-established but questionable practice: credit recovery. Read more about her warning — as well as her recommendations for how districts should seek to reverse this learning loss .

Riccards: The 1776 Report Is a Political Document, Not a Curriculum. But It Has Something to Teach Us

Analysis: The 1776 Report was never intended to stand as curriculum, nor was it designed to be translated into a curriculum as the 1619 Project was. It is a political document offered by political voices. But, writes contributor Patrick Riccards, dismissing it would be a mistake, because it provides an important lesson . The American record, whether it be measured starting in 1619 or 1776, is hopeful and ugly, inspiring and debilitating, a shining beacon and an unshakable dark cloud. American history is messy and contradictory; how we teach it, even more so. For years, we have heard how important it is to increase investment in civics education. But from #BlackLivesMatter to 2020 electioneering to even the assault on the U.S. Capitol, the basics of civics have been on display in our streets and corridors of power. What we lack is the collective historical knowledge necessary to translate civic education into meaningful, positive community change. The 1776 Report identifies beliefs espoused by our Founding Fathers and many Confederates and reflected by those who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6. They are a part of our history that we must study, understand, contextualize and deconstruct. The 1776 Report becomes the proper close to the social studies lessons of the past four years. As the next chapter of American history is written, it is imperative to apply those lessons to significantly improve the teaching and learning of American history. Our nation’s future depends on better understanding our past .

There’s Lots of Education Data Out There — and It Can Be Misleading. Here Are 6 Questions to Ask

Student Data: Data is critical to addressing inequities in education. However, it is often misused, interpreted to fit a particular agenda or misread in ways that perpetuate an inaccurate story . Data that’s not broken down properly can hide gaps between different groups of students. Facts out of context can lead to superficial conclusions or deceptive narratives. In this essay, contributor Krista Kaput presents six questions that she asks herself when consuming data — and that you should, too .

Educators’ View: Principals Know Best What Their Schools Need. They Should Have a Central Role in Deciding How Relief Funds Are Spent

School Funding: The American Rescue Plan represents a once-in-a-generation federal commitment to K-12 schools across the country. The impact will be felt immediately: The $122 billion in direct funding will support safe school reopenings, help ensure that schools already providing in-person instruction can safely stay open and aid students in recovering from academic and mental health challenges induced and exacerbated by the pandemic. How these funds are distributed will shape the educational prospects of millions of students, affecting the country for decades to come. As they make rescue plan funding decisions, write contributors L. Earl Franks of the National Association of Elementary School Principals and Ronn Nozoe of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, states and districts should meaningfully engage and empower school principals throughout all phases of implementation. Principals, as leaders of their school buildings and staff, have unequaled insights into their individual schools’ needs and know which resources are required most urgently. Read the authors’ four recommendations for leveraging this expertise .

Case Studies: How 11 States Are Using Emergency Federal Funds to Make Improvements in College and Career Access That Will Endure Beyond the Pandemic

COVID Relief: The Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund gave states more than $4 billion in discretionary federal dollars to support K-12 schools, higher education and workforce initiatives. These were welcome resources, coming just as the pandemic accelerated unemployment and exacerbated declining college enrollment, hitting those from low-income backgrounds hardest. But as contributors Betheny Gross, Georgia Heyward and Matt Robinson note, most states have invested overwhelmingly in one-time college scholarships or short-term supports that will end once funds run out. In hopes of encouraging policymakers across the country to make more sustainable investments with the remaining relief funds, the trio spotlights efforts in 11 states that show promise in enduring beyond COVID-19. Read our full case study . 

In Thousands of Districts, 4-Day School Weeks Are Robbing Students of Learning Time for What Amounts to Hygiene Theater

School Safety: Last April, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made clear that having good ventilation and wearing masks consistently are far more effective at preventing the spread of COVID-19 than disinfecting surfaces. This clarification was long overdue, say contributors Robin Lake and Georgia Heyward of the Center on Reinventing Public Education, as scientists had long suspected that deep cleaning and temperature checks are more hygiene theater than a strategy for limiting the spread of an airborne virus. Thousands of school districts, however, had already built complex fall reopening plans with a full day for at-home learning. The result was a modified four-day week with students receiving significantly reduced live instruction. Eliminating a full day of in-person teaching was always a high-cost strategy from an education standpoint; now there is confirmation that it was totally unnecessary. Lake and Heyward argue that we cannot afford to throw away an entire day of learning and student support based on a false scientific premise .

Teacher’s View: How the Science of Reading Helped Me Make the Most of Limited Time With My Students & Adapt Lessons to Meet Their Needs

First Person: March 12, 2020, was contributor Jessica Pasik’s last typical day in the classroom before COVID-19 changed everything. When her district closed, she assumed, as did many, that it was a temporary precaution. But with each passing week, she worried that the growth in reading she and her first-graders had worked so hard for would fade away . Many pre-pandemic instructional approaches to teaching reading were already failing students and teachers, and the stress of COVID-19 has only exacerbated these challenges. When Pasik’s district reopened for in-person classes in the fall, they were faced with difficult decisions about how to best deliver instruction. One factor that helped streamline this transition was a grounding in the science of reading. Having extensive knowledge of what they needed to teach allowed educators to focus on how they would teach, make the most of the limited instructional time they had with students and adapt lessons to meet their needs. There are multiple factors that teachers cannot control; one person alone cannot make the systematic changes needed for all children to reach proficiency in literacy. But one knowledgeable teacher can forever change the trajectory of a student’s life. Students will face many challenges once they leave the classroom, but low literacy does not need to be one of them. Read her full essay .

Homeschooling Is on the Rise. What Should That Teach Education Leaders About Families’ Preferences?

Disenrollment: With school closures, student quarantines and tensions over mask requirements, vaccine mandates and culture war issues, families’ lives have been upended in ways few could have imagined 18 months ago. That schools have struggled to adapt is understandable, writes contributor Alex Spurrier. But for millions of families, their willingness to tolerate institutional sclerosis in their children’s education is wearing thin. Over the past 18 months, the rate of families moving their children to a new school increased by about 50 percent , and some 1.2 million switched to homeschooling last academic year. Instead of working to get schools back to a pre-pandemic normal, Spurrier says, education leaders should look at addressing the needs of underserved kids and families — and the best way to understand where schools are falling short is to look at how families are voting with their feet. If options like homeschooling, pods and microschools retain some of their pandemic enrollment gains, it could have ripple effects on funding that resonate throughout the K-12 landscape. Read the full essay .

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Bev Weintraub is an Executive Editor at The 74

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Different Ways to Think About COVID, Schools & Repairing Students’ Lost Learning

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• School Education /

Essay on Importance of Education

• Updated on  
• Jun 6, 2024

Education is very important for success in life. A well-educated person not only succeeds in life but also takes his society and country to new heights. Education develops essential skills like decision-making, problem-solving, and mental agility. Education helps a person to be self-aware and to solve problems in personal and professional life. In this article, we have provided an essay on the importance of education and points to note before writing the same. Moreover, you would find short essays and long essays that can be used to present in school.

Check out our 200+ Essay Topics for School Students in English .

Table of Contents

• 1 Points to Note While Writing an Essay on the Importance of Education
• 2 Reasons Behind the Importance of Education
• 3 10 Lines on the Importance of Education
• 4 Importance of Education Sample Essay (100 words)
• 5 Importance of Education Sample Essaneighbouringy (250 words)
• 6 Importance of Education Sample Essay (400 words)
• 7 10 Popular Quotes on Education
• 8 What Will Your Child Learn From This Essay on the Importance of Education?

Points to Note While Writing an Essay on the Importance of Education

Certain points must be included while writing an essay. It makes the essay more detailed and helps the reader to understand the topic in a better way. An essay on the importance of education must include the following.

• While writing a short essay make sure that it is to the point 
• A longer essay must contain an introduction, body, and conclusion.
• Facts about education and the personal perspective of the writer must be included
• Think about the importance of educated individuals in society and write about them
• You can also write about the job market and the role education plays in it.

Also Read: Essay on Democracy

Reasons Behind the Importance of Education

There are many reasons that make Education of utmost importance. Some of those reasons are mentioned below:

• Removing Poverty : When people are educated, it helps society to fight and eradicate poverty because a person who is educated can get a good job.
• Safety and Security against Crime : A well-educated person cannot easily fall prone to a crime or fraud hence, education becomes a safety net to protect against crime and fraud.
• Increases Productivity : Educated people develop a lot f skills and knowledge because which they become much more productive.
• Confidence : An educated person develops a lot of self-confidence by facing and overcoming difficult situations that life throws at them.
• Improved Standard of Life : When an individual becomes educated, the quality of life for him/her and their family changes for the better.
• Women Empowerment : Education helps women become self-sufficient and thus empowers them.
• Upliftment of the Economically Weaker Section : Illiterate people have to suffer hardships like discrimination, injustice, untouchability, etc. By educating them, we can uplift their lives, thus uplifting the society.
• Communication : Education helps improve communication and good communication is essential for success.
• Success : Education is the key to achieving success. With it, comes a positive mindset that helps the individual excel in life.

10 Lines on the Importance of Education

Education is important for several reasons. Here are 10 lines on the importance of education that can be added to the essay. Students can also describe these points to make the essay more descriptive and coherent.

• Education is a basic need for every individual to live in the modern world
• Education helps us to understand technological systems and services
• An educated person can easily take up a job based on interest 
• Without an education, a person will lose the opportunity to be successful in life
• Moreover, education protects an individual from being cheated and exploited by others
• Educated citizens are a valuable asset to the company
• It also helps society to adapt to change and discard old and unproductive ways of conduct and thinking 
• Thus, it enables all sections of society to prosper 
• Particularly, it enables poor sections of society to prosper and develop
• Education helps an individual to uplift the society and community
• Education is extremely important for the development of individuals. Hence, children from all sections of society must be educated.

Also, Read; Essay on My Aim in Life

Importance of Education Sample Essay (100 words)

Education is crucial for the importance of the nation and its citizens. Education is about gathering knowledge and training the mind to think. Moreover, it helps a person to apply the knowledge gained to solve problems.  Education is important in the modern world, as it helps a person to learn about the world and new technologies. It can also empower people and help them to gain employment opportunities . Educated individuals can impart their knowledge to the next generation and thus contribute to society.  They also contribute to the development of the nation and society in general. Thus, the importance of education can’t be denied.

Importance of Education Sample Essaneighbouringy (250 words)

Men and women have to be educated as it helps in the development of a healthy society.  Educated individuals help in the progress of society. It is the highly educated individuals who lay the basic foundation of a developed country. Moreover, education helps in the personal development and empowerment of individuals. It develops in a person the knowledge, and critical thinking skills required to be successful in life. These skills increase self-awareness and help individuals to make informed decisions. Thus, people gain a deeper understanding of the world around them and help them to follow their interests, passions, and talents.

Education helps in growth and innovation. A well-educated workforce is more skilled and productive. Thus, they are more competitive in the global marketplace. Research , technological advancements, and entrepreneurship skills can all be credited to educated individuals. It is the sword that can be used against misinformation and ignorance. A well-educated person is more likely to make a good decision and resist manipulation. Moreover, education promotes healthy lifestyles among individuals.  Educated people are more likely to follow a healthy lifestyle and preventive healthcare measures. 

In conclusion, we can say that education helps in societal advancement and economic, and personal development. It helps individuals to make informed decisions and pushes society for innovation and growth. Education helps to uproot illiteracy and inequality in society. It encourages individuals to take better care of themselves and the environment they live in. Moreover, it encourages people to understand their duties, rights , and responsibilities toward their country.

Importance of Education Sample Essay (400 words)

Education is important for the development of the individual, nation, and society. It empowers individuals to make better decisions for themselves and for the environment they live in. Education provides an individual with the knowledge and skills that are necessary to navigate the complexities of life. It is crucial for personal growth, societal development, and global progress.

Education empowers an individual to think critically and develop analytical skills. It ignites curiosity in humans and encourages them to explore, learn and adapt to changes. Moreover, it helps individuals to identify their strengths and weaknesses, and set meaningful goals. Thus, it helps in the holistic development of an individual. Thus, a well-educated individual can contribute to the progress of the society. It develops empathy, and tolerance, and contributes to a stable and prosperous community. It also helps in the reduction of social inequalities and discrimination and encourages people to actively participate in the democratic functioning of the government. When individuals have access to education it means that they can get employment opportunities as well. Thus, education can help in eradicating poverty and increase economic growth. Moreover, it helps in increasing the living standards of families.

Globally, education helps to drive innovation, develop international cooperation, and deal with global issues. Scientific breakthroughs, advancement of technology, and innovations are all a result of education. Moreover, it helps in cross-cultural understanding and exchange of values and ideas. Global challenges such as climate change, and medical issues can be easily dealt with due to education. Society becomes better equipped to provide sustainable solutions for the betterment of all.

 Education can break down gender inequalities. Therefore, it can empower women and marginalized sections of the community. When societies recognize the importance of education, it helps in promoting equitable access to opportunities. Educating the girl child can result in a reduction in child mortality rates. Thus, it helps in social progress.

The importance of education can’t be denied. It results in personal development, international collaboration, and the development of society. Education provides knowledge and skills that are necessary for navigating through the challenges of life. Moreover, it helps in progress of the society and dealing with global challenges like environmental crises. Thus, education helps in creating a prosperous, and just world.  Education can help an individual achieve his dreams and aspirations. Most of the successful people in the world are educated. In the future educated individual will be a person who knows and can apply it to solve problems.

10 Popular Quotes on Education

Here are 10 popular quotes on education. Feel free to add them to your essay on importance of education or similar academic topics.

‘Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.’ – Albert Einstein

‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.’ – Dr APJ Abdul Kalam

‘Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.’ – Malcolm X

‘The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.’ – Martin Luther King Jr.

‘The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be ignited.”‘- Plutarch

‘Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.’ – John Dewey

‘Education is the key to unlocking the world, a passport to freedom.’ – Oprah Winfrey

‘The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn…and change.’ – Carl Rogers

Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace.’ – Confucius

An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.’ – Benjamin Franklin

What Will Your Child Learn From This Essay on the Importance of Education?

An essay on the importance of education will help a student to learn to express ideas and knowledge simply. It will also help them to express their ideas in a lengthy format. 

An essay on the importance of education will help a student understand the significance of education in the modern world. Moreover, it will make them realize the privilege of a good education later in life.

Also Read: Essay on My Brother in 200 Words

Ans. Education helps a person develop critical thinking and decision-making skills. It helps empower a person to deal with the personal and professional challenges of life. An educated person can make rational and informed decisions while dealing with challenges.

Ans. Education helps in the development of the mind, and the growth of society and the nation. An educated society is an empowered society. Individuals of such a society can make informed decisions and can work towards the social, economic, and political development of the nation.

Ans. The main aim of education is to acquire knowledge and skills. It helps a person adjust to the environment and achieve goals.

Check out our Popular Essay Topics for Students

This was all about essay on the importance of education. We hope the samples listed above will help students with their essay writing practice. For more information on such interesting topics, visit our essay writing page and follow Leverage Edu.

Blessy George

Blessy George is a Content Marketing Associate at Leverage Edu, boasting over a year of experience in the industry. Her expertise lies in crafting compelling content tailored to online courses, making her a go-to source for those navigating the vast landscape of digital learning. In addition to online classes, she writes content related to study abroad, English test preparation and visas. She has completed her MA degree in Political Science and has gained valuable experience as an intern.She is known for her extensive writing on various aspects of international education, garnering recognition for her insights and contributions. Apart from her professional pursuits, Blessy is passionate about creative writing, particularly poetry and songwriting.

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Education Essay Titles

IELTS Essay Questions for the Topic of Education. All essay questions below are reported by IELTS candidates and seem to have been repeated over the years. Regardless of the years the questions were reported, you could get any question below in your test. You should, therefore, prepare ideas for all questions given below. The topics below could appear in both GT and Academic IELTS Writing Task 2.

Education Essay Questions for IELTS Writing Task 2

The IELTS practice essay questions below are for the topic of education.

Some educationalists think that international exchange visits will benefit teenagers at the school. To what extent do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages? (Reported 2020, Academic Test)

For centuries, important parts of education have remained such as reading, writing and maths. With the advent of computers, some people think that computer skill be made as a fourth skill to be added to the list. To what extent do you agree? (Reported 2017, Academic Test)

The government should allocate more funding to teaching sciences rather than other subjects in order for a country to develop and progress. To what extent do you agree? (Reported 2017, Academic Test)

Discipline is an ever increasing problem in modern schools. Some people think that discipline should be the responsibility of teachers, while others think that this is the role of parents. Discuss both sides and give your opinion. (discipline in schools is a common question)

Some people believe that children should not be given homework everyday, while others believe that they must get homework everyday in order to be successful at school. Discuss both sides and give your opinion. (quite common question)

Some children receive almost no encouragement from their parents regarding their performance at school, while other children receive too much pressure from their over enthusiastic parents which can have a negative impact on the child. Why do you think some parents put too much pressure on their children to perform well at school? What do you think the role of a parent should be in their child’s education? (2017, 2019, 2020, 2021)

The role of education is to prepare children for the modern world. Schools should cut art and music out of the curriculum so that children can focus on useful subjects such as information technology. To what extent do you agree?

Some people think that students in high school should not waste their time studying literature, such as poems and novels. Do you agree? (2020)

Some parents believe that their children should do educational activities during their free time. Others say that in this way children are under pressure. Discuss both views and give your opinion. (Reported 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, GT Test)

 Some people think that teachers should be able to ask disruptive children to leave the class. Do you think it is the best way to deal with a disruptive child in the classroom? What other solutions are there? (as mentioned above, discipline is a common question)

Education should be accessible to people of all economic backgrounds. All levels of education, from primary school to tertiary education, should be free. To what extent do you agree with this opinion? (common question)

The current trend in education is to move away from traditional exams and instead have continuous assessment over the school year. What do you think of this trend? (2017, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023)

Some people think that educated people are more valuable than people who have learned skills through experience. Do you think that educated people are the most valuable for society? What kinds of skills can people learn through experience that can benefit society?

Being able to speak a foreign language is an advantage these days. Some people think that children should start learning a foreign language at primary school, while others think children should begin in secondary school. Discuss both sides and give your opinion.

The gap between education in richer countries and education in poorer countries is a growing concern. What solutions can you suggest to deal with this situation?

Some schools are very strict about their school uniforms and the appearance of their pupils, while other schools have a very relaxed dress code. What are the advantages and disadvantages of children of having a school uniform?

In some high schools, part of the curriculum requires students to participate in community work such as helping the elderly or disabled. In what way do children benefit from this? Do you think it should be part of the curriculum? (2018, 2020)

The best way to help underachieving pupils is to have compulsory after school activities which they must attend. This way they will become more involved in school and their grades will improve. To what extent do you agree?

Some people think that schools should invest more money in technology, such as more computers, while others think more money should be spent on teacher. Discuss both views and give your opinion. (2020, 2022)

Some people think that parents have the greatest influence on their child’s academic development, while others think that a child’s teacher has more influence. Discuss both sides and give your opinion. (common question)

 In some countries, girls and boys are educated in different schools rather than in the same school. What are the advantages and disadvantage of this? (2019, 2020, 2021)

In nearly all science courses at university, there are significantly more male students than female students. What is the reason for this? What could be done to balance out the numbers?

Some people think that it is beneficial for old people to learn something new while others believe that once a person is past 65 years of age it is too late to learn. What is your opinion?

It is thought by some that a school teacher’s role is to motivate and inspire students. However, other people believe that a teacher’s primary role is to pass on knowledge. What do you think is the role of a teacher? (quite common question)

Fewer schools are requiring children to learn and improve their hand writing skills. Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages of this trend?

Reported essay questions are from students who have taken their IELTS test. That means questions may have appeared more frequently than have been reported. These questions may vary slightly in wording and focus from the original question. Also note that these questions could also appear in IELTS speaking part 3 which is another good reason to prepare all topics thoroughly.

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49 Opinion Writing Prompts for Students

• Lesson Plans
• Grading Students for Assessment
• Becoming A Teacher
• Assessments & Tests
• Elementary Education
• Special Education
• Homeschooling

One of the most common essay types is the opinion, or persuasive, essay. In an opinion essay , the writer states a point of view, then provides facts and reasoned arguments to support that viewpoint. The goal of the essay is to convince the reader to share the writer’s opinion.

Students aren't always aware of how many strong opinions they already hold. Use the following opinion writing prompts to inspire them to start thinking and writing persuasively.

Prompts About School and Sports

School- and sports-related topics often elicit strong opinions in students. Use these writing prompts to kick off the brainstorming process.

• Ch-ch-ch-changes . What is one thing about your school that needs to change? Is bullying an issue? Do students need longer breaks or a dress code? Choose one vital issue that needs to change and convince school leaders to make it happen.
• Special guest. Your school is trying to decide on a famous person to give a speech or presentation to students. Who do you think they should choose? Write an essay to convince your principal.
• Oxford or bust. Is the Oxford comma essential or obsolete?
• Scribble scrabble. Do students still need to learn cursive handwriting?
• Co-ed conflict. Would students perform better if more schools were single-gender rather than co-ed? Why or why not?
• Participation awards. Should there be winners and losers in sports, or is participation the ultimate goal?
• Homework overload. Write an essay to convince your teacher to assign less homework.
• Sports. Which sport (or team) is the best? What makes it better than the others?
• No slacking . Write an essay persuading a fellow student to do their homework.
• Class trip. This year, students get to vote on where to go for a class trip. Write an essay convincing your fellow students to vote for the place you’d like to go.
• Superlatives. Which would you rather be: a top student, a talented athlete, or an accomplished artist?
• Virtual athletes . Video games competitions are often aired on TV and treated like sports competitions. Should video games be considered sports?
• Class debate. Should classes that students may not use or that don’t interest them (such as physical education or foreign language) be required?

Prompts About Relationships

Friendships, dating, and other relationships can be both rewarding and exasperating. These writing prompts about relationships will help students explore their feelings about both the positive and the negative moments.

• Snitch. Your best friend tells you about his plan to cheat on a test. Should you tell an adult? Why or why not?
• Give it a chance. Your best friend is convinced that she would hate your favorite book, even though she's never read it. Convince her to read it.
• Friendships vs. relationships. Are friendships or romantic relationships more important in life? Why?
• Driving age. What age do kids start driving in your state? Is that age too old, too young, or just right? Why?
• Truth or consequences. Your best friend asks your opinion about something, but you know that a truthful answer will hurt her feelings. What do you do?
• Who chooses? Your best friend is visiting, and you want to watch TV together, but his favorite show is at the same time as your favorite show. Convince him that your show is a better choice.
• Fun times. What is the most fun thing you and your best friend have ever experienced together? Why does it deserve the top spot?
• Dating. Are long-term dating relationships good or bad for teens?
• New friends. You want to spend time with a new student at school, but your best friend is jealous. Convince your friend of the importance of including the newcomer.
• Be mine. Is Valentine’s Day worthwhile or just a scheme for the greeting card and chocolate industry to make more money?
• Debbie Downer. Should you cut ties with friends or relatives who are always negative?
• He loves me not. Is it really better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all?
• Elders. Should you respect your elders merely because they are older, or is respect something that must be earned?

Prompts About Family, Pets, and Leisure Time

The following writing prompts related to family, furry friends, and free time will help students reflect on preferences, ethics, and integrity.

• Self-reflection. This time, you're the one who needs convincing! Write an essay to persuade yourself to start a healthy habit (or kick a bad habit).
• Paper wars. Should toilet paper hang with the loose end resting on the top of the roll or hanging from the bottom?
• Movie vs. book. Choose a book that has been made into a movie. Which version is better, and why?
• Weekend wanderings . Do you prefer to stay home on the weekends or get out and do things around town? Write an essay to convince your parents to let you do what you prefer this weekend.
• Sweepstakes. A travel agency is hosting an essay contest to give away an all-expenses-paid trip to the one place in the world you’d most love to visit. Craft a winning essay that convinces them they need to choose you.
• Zoo debate. Is it ethical to keep animals in zoos? Why or why not?
• Presence of pets. Should there be limits on the types of places pets can go (e.g. airplanes or restaurants)? Why or why not?
• Inspiring stories. What is the most inspiring book you’ve ever read? Why is it so inspiring?
• Dollar discovery. You find a $20 bill in the parking lot of a crowded store. Is it okay to keep it, or should you turn it in to customer service?
• Vacation day. What is the very best way to spend an unexpected day off from school and why is it the best?
• Digital or print? Is it better to read books in print or digitally? Why?

Prompts About Society and Technology

The people and technology around us have a significant impact on our lives. These writing prompts encourage students to consider the effect that society and technological advances have on our day-to-day lives.

• Reverse technology. Pick one technological advancement that you think the world would be better off without. Explain your reasoning and persuade the reader.
• Out of this world . Do aliens exist? Why or why not?
• Social media. Is social media good or bad for society? Why?
• Emoji. Has the use of emoji stunted our ability to express ourselves in writing, or does it help us identify our emotions more precisely?
• Auto safety. Have advancements like self-driving cars, blind spot indicators, and lane departure warning systems made driving safer, or have they just made drivers less attentive?
• Exploration Mars. Write a letter to Elon Musk convincing him that you should be part of a colony to Mars.
• Fundraisers. Is it okay for kids to stand outside stores and ask shoppers for money for their sports teams, clubs, or band? Why or why not?
• Inventions. What is the greatest invention ever made? Why is it the best?
• Important cause. In your opinion, what global problem or issue deserves more attention than it currently receives? Why should more time and money be invested in this cause?
• Minimalism. Does living a minimalist lifestyle make for a happier life? Why or why not?
• Gaming gains. Are video games generally a positive or a negative influence? Why?
• Rose-colored glasses. Is the current decade the best era in history? Why or why not?
• Paper or plastic. Should plastic bags be outlawed?
• Writing Prompts for 7th Grade
• Writing Prompts for Elementary School Students
• 3 Real World Exit Slips for Formative Assessment
• Engage Students With a Four Corners Debate
• 8 First Day of High School Activities to Get to Know Your Students
• Writing a Lesson Plan: Closure and Context
• Topics for a Lesson Plan Template
• The Best Interactive Debate Websites for Students and Teachers
• Lesson Plan Step #8 - Assessment and Follow-Up
• Using Bloom's Taxonomy for Effective Learning
• Write Lesson Plans
• Writing a Lesson Plan: Independent Practice
• Writing a Lesson Plan: Guided Practice
• Writing a Lesson Plan: Anticipatory Sets
• 5 Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month in the Classroom
• Writing a Lesson Plan: Objectives and Goals

IELTS Writing Task 2: Benefits of Education Essay

Updated On Feb 23, 2023

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Table of Contents

Some people say that the education system is the only critical factor to development of a country. to what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement.

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IELTS is one of the English language evaluation exams that millions of candidates take in order to migrate to an English-speaking country. This reflects the importance of the language on a global scale. As a result, the benefits of education essay for IELTS, which is an opinion essay and a part of the Writing Task 2 of the IELTS, is discussed here with an outline and vocabulary that will help you to prepare. So, check out  given below.

For more education topic for IELTS essay, check out this link .

You should spend no more than 40 minutes on this task.

You should write at least 250 words.

Opinion Essay

Introduction

• Introduce the given topic
• I disagree that education is the only critical factor necessary for development.

Paragraph 1: Economic stability and employment opportunities are equally important.

Paragraph 2: Healthcare facilities also play an important role.

Conclusion 

Clearly restate points covered in the essay.

Sample Answer

Considering the current global scenario, some people opine that  enlightening  the masses is the sole developing factor for a nation. However, even though education can be regarded as one of the essential aspects of a country’s progress, other factors, like economic stability and healthcare facilities, play a crucial role. Therefore, this view will be further elaborated in the upcoming paragraphs of this essay.

Literacy  is the most fundamental right of an individual, and it not only furthers the advancement of the person but the society and country as a whole. But, unfortunately, only being educated is not enough, as one needs capital to  procure  necessities. For example, many people in India are highly qualified, but due to the lack of jobs, they are moving to countries that grant professional opportunities. Consequently, employment and monetary growth are also vital for a country, without which it cannot upgrade its infrastructure.

Moreover, another  decisive  factor in a country’s evolution is its health sector. When the citizens of a country are not physically and mentally  robust , no education will facilitate the  burgeoning  of a country. The recent outburst of the coronavirus not only addressed the medical  paucity  at large but also  brought  many influential economies  to their knees . Consequently, it was an  eye-opener  for all to be prepared for unknown perils in the unforeseeable future.

Nevertheless, education is the prime factor for improvement. As practical and theoretical knowledge is the foundation of every occupation that helps a country’s welfare, it is definitely one of the  paramount  influences for prosperity.

To conclude, although education is a dominant element in the nation’s development, it is also accompanied by other factors, as mentioned above.

1. enlightening (verb)

Meaning: providing or tending to provide knowledge, understanding, or insight

E.g.: The speech was enlightening for the public on the health benefits of yoga

2. literacy (noun)

Meaning: the ability to read and write

E.g.: Our institution aims to provide literacy to all.

3. procure (verb)

Meaning: to obtain something, especially after an effort

E.g.: The army believed he would be able to procure the essential materials.

4. decisive (adjective)

Meaning: able to make decisions quickly and confidently, or showing this quality

E.g.: Her condition was one of the decisive factors in the jury’s verdict.

5. robust (adjective)

Meaning: strong and healthy

E.g.: Ramen was a robust child, but now he has become sickly.

6. burgeoning (verb)

Meaning: growing or developing quickly

E.g.: The burgeoning of the company was the result of employee-friendly policies.

7. paucity (noun)

Meaning: the condition of having very little or not enough of something

E.g.: The paucity of water and food led to many deaths in the village.

8. bring to one’s knees (phrasal verb)

Meaning: to force to submit or give in

E.g.: He was brought to his knees after the repeated blow of his opponent.

9. eye-opener (noun)

Meaning: situation revealing surprising new information

E.g.: The celebrity’s death was an eye-opener for all.

10. paramount (adjective)

Meaning: more important than anything else

E.g.: The termination of the senior board member was the paramount reason for the company’s downfall.

Practice IELTS Writing Task 2 based on Essay types

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Essay on Importance of Education for Students

500 words essay on importance of education.

To say Education is important is an understatement. Education is a weapon to improve one’s life. It is probably the most important tool to change one’s life. Education for a child begins at home. It is a lifelong process that ends with death. Education certainly determines the quality of an individual’s life. Education improves one’s knowledge, skills and develops the personality and attitude. Most noteworthy, Education affects the chances of employment for people. A highly educated individual is probably very likely to get a good job. In this essay on importance of education, we will tell you about the value of education in life and society.

Importance of Education in Life

First of all, Education teaches the ability to read and write. Reading and writing is the first step in Education. Most information is done by writing. Hence, the lack of writing skill means missing out on a lot of information. Consequently, Education makes people literate.

Above all, Education is extremely important for employment. It certainly is a great opportunity to make a decent living. This is due to the skills of a high paying job that Education provides. Uneducated people are probably at a huge disadvantage when it comes to jobs. It seems like many poor people improve their lives with the help of Education.

Better Communication is yet another role in Education. Education improves and refines the speech of a person. Furthermore, individuals also improve other means of communication with Education.

Education makes an individual a better user of technology. Education certainly provides the technical skills necessary for using technology . Hence, without Education, it would probably be difficult to handle modern machines.

People become more mature with the help of Education. Sophistication enters the life of educated people. Above all, Education teaches the value of discipline to individuals. Educated people also realize the value of time much more. To educated people, time is equal to money.

Finally, Educations enables individuals to express their views efficiently. Educated individuals can explain their opinions in a clear manner. Hence, educated people are quite likely to convince people to their point of view.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Importance of Education in Society

First of all, Education helps in spreading knowledge in society. This is perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of Education. There is a quick propagation of knowledge in an educated society. Furthermore, there is a transfer of knowledge from generation to another by Education.

Education helps in the development and innovation of technology. Most noteworthy, the more the education, the more technology will spread. Important developments in war equipment, medicine , computers, take place due to Education.

Education is a ray of light in the darkness. It certainly is a hope for a good life. Education is a basic right of every Human on this Planet. To deny this right is evil. Uneducated youth is the worst thing for Humanity. Above all, the governments of all countries must ensure to spread Education.

FAQs on Essay on Importance of Education

Q.1 How Education helps in Employment?

A.1 Education helps in Employment by providing necessary skills. These skills are important for doing a high paying job.

Q.2 Mention one way in Education helps a society?

A.2 Education helps society by spreading knowledge. This certainly is one excellent contribution to Education.

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Opinion Essay The importance of education

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Lesson Plan

Opinion essay essentials, view aligned standards, learning objectives.

Students will be able to identify the parts of an essay and generate ideas in their own graphic organizer.

Introduction

• Ask students to work with a partner or with a table group and consider how they would respond if the principal said they were going to take recess away. Change this issue out with a different one if it doesn’t apply.
• They will have strong feelings, but direct them to generate a list of reasons for their position.
• Share responses and decide on three main reasons as a class. Write them on the board.
• Tell students that they just created an outline for an opinion/persuasive essay.
• Discuss possible titles for the essay. Examples might include: "Recess: A Key to Learning," "Recess is Good for Kids," and "Why Recess Shouldn’t Be Disposable."

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Education Needs Expectations | Opinion

This past week, the Oregon Board of Education decided to extend its "pause" on requiring students to pass any standardized tests for graduation . Naturally, it cited COVID and racial equity as its reasons . Not only would the standardized tests punish any kids still somehow affected by the shutdowns, but they would especially harm black and Hispanic students who disproportionately perform worse on such tests.

Although it's tempting to dismiss this news as kooky progressives just being kooky progressives, the board's decision to essentially phase out standardized testing is deeply concerning for a couple of reasons. First, this is not an isolated incident, but part of a nationwide trend. And second, it's a huge disservice to the millions of students attending public schools, particularly those at the bottom of their class.

As many parents with college-bound children can attest, aptitude tests like the SAT and ACT are going the way of the dinosaurs. Many universities no longer require them (probably because students who would have been denied admission because of their test scores will likely pay the schools thousands of dollars for zero-credit remediation courses instead).

Fortunately, many students applying for college are still taking Advanced Placement (AP) exams, which help prepare them for college-level work. In many ways, these exams demand more from students and their teachers (of which I am one) than the typical college class, where the workload has become laughably light and rampant grade inflation almost guarantees a passing grade.

Unfortunately, for students outside the AP bubble, lifting standardized testing requirements poses a much bigger problem. It is now possible for students to pass each year without learning anything and be awarded a diploma that means nothing. Nobody is held accountable in any serious way, and the quality of instruction will inevitably deteriorate. This is already clear in many districts where students are well below grade-level standards in reading, math, and civics .

It should go without saying, then, that removing testing requirements leads to systemic inequity, not the other way around. Calls to eliminate education standards suggest that students of certain races are less capable of mastering general academic skills, effectively condemning those students to mediocre instruction so they will remain permanently behind.

Then again, in my experience, the argument about systemic inequity acts more as a pretext than a real reason for opposing standardized testing. Most educators and administrators are trying to deal with the severe learning difficulties of today's students, a widening achievement gap between different racial groups, and a chronic lack of resources and public support.

As the recent news of falling ACT scores shows, and as my own observations as a public school teacher would confirm, today's K-12 students, particularly those in regular or on-level classes, are struggling. Most of them are addicted to their screens , have poor mental health , and exhibit little to no motivation for anything. On a behavioral level, this has made them much easier to manage (instead of becoming rowdy and loud, they now plug into their devices and keep to themselves). However, on an academic level, that same listlessness and disengagement makes them very hard to teach.

This situation leaves schools with two options on how to proceed: they can confront their students, take away their phones , and challenge them; or they can let it all go and mouth some platitudes about social justice, 21st-century skills, and different learning styles. Not surprisingly, most campuses do the latter.

After all, doing the right thing would upset all the stakeholders. Kids would complain that their digital pacifier was being taken away, parents would complain that their kids are unhappy and hate school, teachers would complain about all the complaining from parents and students, and administrators would be overwhelmed with all the above. Perhaps this could be countered with seasoned educators, strong administrators, and committed parents, but for most schools, it's just a lot easier (and cheaper ) to maintain the status quo.

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It's also a lot less controversial. Whenever there's testing of any kind, school leaders have to deal with the uncomfortable reality of the substantial achievement gaps between racial groups . Again, they have two options on how to proceed: the school could target the behaviors and habits holding these students back, or it could try to pass everyone with a pulse and accuse standardized tests of being racist and unfair.

As Oregon's recent decision demonstrates, it's clear where many public schools are headed. Even so, some parents may try to maintain the illusion that learning will still happen, or even improve, without tests, but they should realize that the truth is the exact opposite. Put simply, if something isn't tested, it isn't taught . Without visible stakes involved, no one will have any serious incentive to do the work.

Until everyone involved comes clean about this fact, American education will continue dropping in quality, and those students already on the margins will suffer most of all.

Auguste Meyrat is a high school English teacher in North Texas. He is the founding editor of The Everyman , a senior contributor to The Federalist, and a regular contributor to The American Mind, Crisis Magazine, the American Conservative, and the Acton Institute.

The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.

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3 strategies to help college students pick the right major the first time around and avoid some big hassles

Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Educational Psychology at the United States Coast Guard Academy, University of Connecticut

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Not long after new college students have finished choosing the college that is right for them , they are asked to declare an academic major. For some students, this decision is easy, as their majors may have actually influenced their choice of college. Unfortunately, this decision is not always an easy one to make, and college students frequently change their minds.

For instance, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, 30% of undergraduates changed their major at least once.

While it may be common for undergraduates to change their major, it can cause them to lose time, money and opportunities . Students who experience the loss of these resources may be at risk for dropping out of college altogether .

While earning a Ph.D. in educational psychology , I conducted a study that highlighted students’ experiences upon changing their majors. I wanted to know why students made the switch and what that experience was like.

The results of my study showed that students became disoriented about their majors during their undergraduate education. Oftentimes, they were influenced by professors and advisers who were dismissive of their aspirations and abilities . These students experienced failure , which sometimes ruined their motivation. Failure may be commonplace in certain majors, but these students believed themselves to be outliers, viewing failure as a hit to their self-esteem .

So, what is a college student to do when faced with such an important decision? It is tempting to give into fear, indecisiveness or worry. But rest assured, using the following strategies to select the right major will also help sustain your motivation when the going gets tough.

1. Make a career plan

Creating a career plan is one of the ways that students can bolster their chances of success in their chosen majors. When creating a career plan, think about the career that you want to have in the future and consider the academic and professional paths that could lead to that career. Researchers have found that students who made career plans were more likely to persist in their academic majors.

When making a career plan, you should reflect on your beliefs about work, your interest in various academic subjects and your abilities. Exploring these factors may be one of the reasons why students who complete career plans are more likely to stick with their majors . Use your reflections to guide you as you search for careers that you would enjoy. Then, identify a specific career and outline the steps that you will have to take during your time at college that will help prepare you for that career.

2. Do your research

College students sometimes drop out of their selected majors because they have become disenchanted with the academic area they have chosen . Or they may find themselves more attracted to a different academic major altogether. For others, the desire to switch majors may occur after they get a taste of what it is like to work in that field, particularly during work-placement opportunities. One study found this to be true for some nursing majors , who shared that their first clinical placements showed them that they were not well suited to perform the duties of a nurse.

To avoid these sorts of outcomes, it is important to do your research about the job that you are interested in pursuing, as well as any related jobs. Is there one that would be better suited to your abilities and your preferences? Is there someone you can talk to who can tell you more about what an average day looks like at a particular job? Ask yourself which aspects of the job you could see yourself enjoying, as well as the parts of the job that you think you might dislike. While it is possible to switch out of your major once your interests become more apparent, you will save a good deal of time and energy by initially choosing a major that is aligned with your interests and abilities.

3. Brace yourself for challenge

It may come as a surprise when you are presented with incredibly challenging material during your first semester at college. Students who were at the top of their class may be particularly shocked when they receive their first low grade on an exam. You should not assume, however, that you have made the wrong choice of academic major simply because you performed poorly on one test. Negative feedback from college advisers and instructors can influence a student’s choice to switch out of their major.

The possibility of failure can be so discouraging to students that they can lose their ambition on the first day of class , before they have experienced any academic failure at all. Hold on to the confidence that guided you to select your major in the first place, and prepare yourself for the academic challenges that await you in whichever major you choose.

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Rick Hess’ Project 2025 Gaslight

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To the Editor:

As a former special education paraprofessional during COVID-19 and a current school board member responsible for voting on budgets, I was disappointed by “education policy maven” Rick Hess’ flippant account of Project 2025’s impact on schools in his opinion essay “ The Great Project 2025 Freakout ” (July 19, 2024).

Instead of dedicating nearly 25 percent of an essay to a walk down the conservative movement’s memory lane (with references to Hess’ childhood ), I encourage Hess to defend policy agendas by explaining policy, not reactions. In discussing block grants, for example, providing context for how little federal money goes to school districts might be useful.

Doing so would require research, and Hess repeatedly displaces actual analysis of Project 2025 policies with “hot takes” on Trump’s awareness of Project 2025, Miguel Cardona’s legacy, a JD Vance-like figure as a new education secretary, congressional majorities, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

The essay’s subtitle says, “There’s nothing especially scary in the Heritage Foundation’s education agenda.” Without an account of the policies, how would he know?

Thankfully, the Education Week article “ Project 2025 Would Dramatically Cut Federal Funds for Schools. Then What? ” (July 22, 2024) provides the data that Hess omits, and I encourage readers to review it.

Anne Demo School Board Member State College, Pa.

Anne Demo serves on the State College Area school district board of directors. This letter to the editor is her own and not a statement by the board.

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A version of this article appeared in the August 14, 2024 edition of Education Week as Rick Hess’ Project 2025 Gaslight

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The Crisis of Disclosure on Our Campuses

As students reveal upsetting personal information to us, we must help them transform it in ways that become meaningful, writes Deborah J. Cohan.

By  Deborah J. Cohan

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When I started teaching in the mid-90s, student disclosure of terrifying and heartbreaking memories felt sacred. It was even before I heard the phrase “hold space,” but I realized that I was indeed being tasked with holding something carefully and gently. Simultaneously, I was attending to other students’ reactions so that the classroom could be an open and comfortable space for discussion of highly charged and complicated issues.

I even recall in 2002 having a student who shared that the reason she had enrolled in my family violence class was because she was insistent on breaking the cycle of it in her own family. Her grandfather killed her grandmother, her great grandfather killed her great grandmother, and her stepfather threatened her mother constantly. And my student, too, was abused by her stepfather, sexually, when her mother was working the night shift as a nurse. Not only did she share the horror of that, but she also shared another secret that felt equally brave: she had once considered folding rat poison into a casserole, hoping to kill him.

I read so many papers detailing family dynamics similar to this. And I remember trying to catch my breath as I was reading, letting my heart and my head catch up with each other.

The terror of it all gripped me, but perhaps what was the most compelling—and which had the strongest hold on me and still does—is the resistance that such students conveyed. It was also because of that resistance that I was able to help students make meaning of their experiences, most often by sharing with them sociological concepts and theories that would give language and voice to what they had endured.

Resistance can take many forms, and in my students, I’ve witnessed it in terms of writing and other art they’ve created and shared with me that wasn’t done for class but for the purpose of their own healing. I’ve also watched with profound admiration as students have organized events, rallies and concerts on the campus to assert their voices. Over the years, I’ve also invited some students back to speak at my classes about their experiences of survivorship, resistance and healing, and in so doing, newer students have seen them as real mentors.

A Different Context

Fast-forward to the present moment, and I’m struck by something else. I realize that I’ve come to think about student disclosure in a different way: It doesn’t look quite as brave anymore. Not because of anything that the students really did wrong, but because the social context for their sharing differs so significantly.

When I started to teach, students weren’t posting every hiccup of their private lives on social media, performing for the crowd. Nor were images of others doing that swirling around them. And they were talking about their struggles years before this country announced that young people were having a mental health crisis.

Nowadays, when students share, there’s a flattening to it that’s in keeping with their more overall flat emotional affect. Whereas students used to display great angst when disclosing things, they now share such information in a routinized, mundane way. I still hear about brutal transgressions that students have witnessed and endured in their lives, experiences that are every bit as horrific as years back. Yet, today they share it in a tone and cadence similar to how they tell me or their classmates what they ate for lunch. That steely cold reporting reveals the way that students are actively relying on and using what they know to be true in the culture. They are drawing on the messages that they know are concerning to adults.

While I don’t mean the word manipulating in a malicious way, students are indeed manipulating the language and the telling. For example, when students express themselves, they are not simply sad, they are depressed. They are not nervous, they are anxious. They are not having performance anxiety about an upcoming presentation or test, they are having full-blown panic attacks. Words like trauma even lack meaning now when people use it to describe anything and everything distressing, and we begin to lose sight of what those words truly mean.

Students announce in classes that they’ve attempted suicide. So hungry for a diagnosis, they’ll refer to themselves as having depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder, even if they’ve never sought counseling. In large classes, they very publicly report their diagnoses—self-proclaimed or offered by professionals—unlike students from years past, who spoke of such things in hushed tones in my office upon realizing they could trust me after a long conversation.

The Allure of the Reveal

These current students have quickly bought into a paradigm of disease—fully medicalizing any sort of feeling ill at ease. And in all our talk about the mental health of college students, nowhere are we really seeing an important discussion about what all this disclosure means and will mean going forward.

Judith Herman , whose groundbreaking work on incest changed the field of family violence and gave it new direction, refers to what she calls a crisis of disclosure. It describes what happens both when a survivor of sexual abuse goes through the process of disclosing a series of traumatic events and the fallout of that for not only the person but the constellation of the family in light of the secrets and silence. As a sociologist, I want to extend the idea of a crisis of disclosure beyond the family unit to see that we are now in the midst of a public crisis of disclosure on our college and university campuses.

But the concern isn’t just in the telling; it’s also in the way that meaning is lost. Catharsis is not enough. My former students from years back know this well. Disclosure was contextualized, and classroom concepts became a container for holding the sharing. Together with their peers, I’d push them to see the connections to what we were learning, as well as encourage them to take positive action in the form of volunteering, advocacy and social change.

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When I think about catharsis, I think back to when I was writing a book about caregiving for my adoring and abusive father, and people often asked if it felt cathartic to me. I found myself perpetually confused by the question as it seemed to reduce the writing of such a book into a series of tawdry diary entries or the like. So much more was at stake, and so much more was involved.

Of course, I trusted that the question was well-intended and that people asked because they wanted to know that I was OK—they wanted the reassurance of healing. And in some cases, they wanted to know if they themselves set out to write whether they, too, might be able to expect catharsis.

But the problem is that disclosure on its own may not be enough. Neither disclosure nor catharsis are enough. And that’s because the heart of the telling and the heart and art of the healing are firmly rooted in the meaning of the disclosure—or you might say the meaning-making of the catharsis.

As a culture, we are caught up in the allure of the reveal. We see this in happy events like a pregnancy announcement complete with a dramatic gender reveal. We also see it in the titillation that some people have revealing family secrets. But if the real purpose of revealing secrets is to break the silence and initiate a healing process, then what is most transformative goes far beyond the telling. It goes to the kind of acts of resistance and meaning-making that I’ve previously described.

And that’s where we as educators are responsible for not just holding space, but holding students accountable for what and how they share so that it is not gratuitous, but instead meaningful. By doing this, we help students move beyond the paralysis of despair and empower them to change the course of their lives; we walk our students to the farthest edge of courage, all the while helping to ensure that they don’t fall.

Deborah J. Cohan is professor of sociology at the University of South Carolina Beaufort and the author of Welcome to Wherever We Are: A Memoir of Family, Caregiving, and Redemption (Rutgers, 2020).

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Justice League of Greater Lansing awards $50K in scholarships as first reparations disbursement

LANSING — The Justice League of Greater Lansing Michigan made its first distributions from its Reparations Fund in the form of 10 $5,000 scholarships to graduating seniors in the region. The fund was created to address the racial wealth gap in Greater Lansing.

The students submitted essays about the racial wealth gap, how it has affected them and their communities and what can be done to address it.

“A common thread in their essays is that discrimination today has resulted from years of social injustices," Willye Bryan, founder and vice president of the Justice League of Greater Lansing Michigan, said in a news release. "It continues to limit African American families’ access to basic wealth builders — education, higher paying jobs and home ownership. This doesn't allow for generational wealth building, nor does it allow for closing the Racial Wealth Gap."

The winners were honored at a reception on Aug. 3. They are listed here with their hometown, high school and where they will study this fall:

• Zachary Barker, East Lansing, Okemos High School, Michigan State University
• Olivia Burns, East Lansing, East Lansing High School, MSU Honors College
• Ahja Crawford, Lansing, Holt High School, Lansing Community College
• Marvin Deh, Lansing, Eaton Rapids High School, MSU
• Lydia-Anne Ding-Mejok, Lansing, East Lansing High School, Central Michigan University
• J'Kyla Hobbs, Lansing, Haslett High School, University of Michigan
• Braelyn Jackson-Pointer, Lansing, Grand Ledge High School, Howard University
• Nala Noel, East Lansing, East Lansing High School, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
• Hailey Perkins, Okemos, Okemos High School, Howard University
• Joseph Pizzo, Lansing, J.W. Sexton High School, Siena Heights University

Here are essays from two of the winners:

Politics and policies block generational wealth

Generational wealth is something Black families struggle to have. It seems like there are obstacles put in our way to keep us from attaining it, and people ready to knock us back if we look like we are going to achieve it. Generational wealth means having resources, property, assets, valuables, money, businesses you can pass on in your family from generation to generation.

Having generational wealth gives the next generation opportunity and a head start for success. It gives families a sense of financial security. When I think of generational wealth I think of families like the Rockefellers, Gateses, and Buffets. Recently, some famous Black people have achieved billionaire status like Michael Jordan, Jay Z, Lebron James and Oprah. But the rest of us are still struggling to get by. 

My family is working to achieve generational wealth. My maternal great-grandmother was an entrepreneur. She was “The Help.” My grandmother was The Help's help, and my mother was three times The Help. My great-grandmother desperately wanted more for her family. She and her husband had 10 children and started out in the projects. They eventually purchased their own home and my grandmother had to go to work. She began as a maid, but in time started her own business called, “Days Work,” a maid service.

She and her husband saved money and she later became a certified nursing assistant. The money from that job was used send their children to college and to buy a small rental apartment complex. She became a widow at a young age and the money she generated sustained her for her entire life. She left an inheritance for each of their 10 children, which helped jump-start their future.

The lessons learned from her example laid the foundation for the pursuit of generational wealth for our family. We have not achieved billionaire status, but we are working to make sure the next generation does better than the one before.

African Americans have less generational wealth because politics and policies have blocked our potential.  Homeownership is really important for generational wealth. A home is something that can be passed from generation to generation. It can build equity that a family can use to borrow against to start a business.  Many Black families are not able to afford a home, cannot obtain a loan to make the purchase, or their home is marked as lower value.

Creating programs that will help African Americans afford homes is key in addressing the wealth gap. Lack of financial literacy also contributes to the problem. You have to understand what to do with money, how to stay out of debt, invest and save. 

Generational wealth is worth pursuing. African Americans have to stand up against systems that were created to keep us down. When I think of the solution to the generational wealth problem, I think of the Kwanzaa principles, particularly Ujamaa, cooperative economics. We must understand that all of us, not just one or two, needs generational wealth.

— Zachary Barker, an Okemos High graduate, plans to attend Michigan State University  

Adoptive, biological families provide first-hand case study in generational wealth

According to the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances, “between 2019 and 2022, median wealth increased by $51,800, but the racial wealth gap increased by $49,950 adding up to a total difference of $240,120 in wealth between the median white household and median Black household.”

Historically speaking, there have always been disparities between white and  Black Americans. For example: access to education, job opportunities, and housing. All of which prohibited access to greater resources. Past discrimination directly affects the lives of Black Americans today. 

I have had the unique opportunity to learn this from both sides. As a Black transracial adoptee,I was exposed to the generational differences that changed the amount of income in my white parents' household and my biological family's household.

Racial disparities passed down, including the environment where a family begins, play a big role in the amount of income a family can make in the future. According to my grandmother, my adoptive parents' families started in Virginia and other southern states and moved to Detroit for factory jobs, more specifically working for Henry Ford car factories.

My biological family mainly lived in Detroit their entire lives; my great-grandfather wasn’t able to get a job in factories at the time because employers didn’t want jobs to be taken from white people. Because of this, he mostly worked as a cook when he could. Since it was difficult for my biological family to get jobs to have enough food on the table, many children in my family had to start working as young as 10 years old instead of going to school, and this cycle continued throughout the years.

My adoptive family had the privilege of going to high school, and few had the opportunity to attend college. Today, both my adoptive parents went to college paid for by their parents and received bachelor's degrees. Neither of my biological parents nor siblings have had the opportunity to attend college, and most were barely able to finish high school because they had other responsibilities like working or providing childcare for my younger siblings.

Today my adoptive family owns their homes and no one in my biological family owns their homes. Even when applying for jobs, a study done by Bowdoin University found that employers just looking at resumes are 30% more likely to hire applicants they believe are white based off their name than Black.

Narrowing the wealth gap could potentially be very simple if the government can change its institutional racist ways. We can eliminate redlining and housing discrimination causing Black Americans to not have access to certain houses and to pay more property taxes despite receiving fewer benefits than white-dominated areas. This originated all the way back to the civil war period to try to force Black Americans to move back to plantations.

We also need to increase access and expand equity for higher education for low-income families and minimum wage should be raised to match the cost of living.

— Olivia Burns, an East Lansing High graduate, plans to attend Michigan State University Honors College

How to cite ChatGPT

Use discount code STYLEBLOG15 for 15% off APA Style print products with free shipping in the United States.

We, the APA Style team, are not robots. We can all pass a CAPTCHA test , and we know our roles in a Turing test . And, like so many nonrobot human beings this year, we’ve spent a fair amount of time reading, learning, and thinking about issues related to large language models, artificial intelligence (AI), AI-generated text, and specifically ChatGPT . We’ve also been gathering opinions and feedback about the use and citation of ChatGPT. Thank you to everyone who has contributed and shared ideas, opinions, research, and feedback.

In this post, I discuss situations where students and researchers use ChatGPT to create text and to facilitate their research, not to write the full text of their paper or manuscript. We know instructors have differing opinions about how or even whether students should use ChatGPT, and we’ll be continuing to collect feedback about instructor and student questions. As always, defer to instructor guidelines when writing student papers. For more about guidelines and policies about student and author use of ChatGPT, see the last section of this post.

Quoting or reproducing the text created by ChatGPT in your paper

If you’ve used ChatGPT or other AI tools in your research, describe how you used the tool in your Method section or in a comparable section of your paper. For literature reviews or other types of essays or response or reaction papers, you might describe how you used the tool in your introduction. In your text, provide the prompt you used and then any portion of the relevant text that was generated in response.

Unfortunately, the results of a ChatGPT “chat” are not retrievable by other readers, and although nonretrievable data or quotations in APA Style papers are usually cited as personal communications , with ChatGPT-generated text there is no person communicating. Quoting ChatGPT’s text from a chat session is therefore more like sharing an algorithm’s output; thus, credit the author of the algorithm with a reference list entry and the corresponding in-text citation.

When prompted with “Is the left brain right brain divide real or a metaphor?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that although the two brain hemispheres are somewhat specialized, “the notation that people can be characterized as ‘left-brained’ or ‘right-brained’ is considered to be an oversimplification and a popular myth” (OpenAI, 2023).

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

You may also put the full text of long responses from ChatGPT in an appendix of your paper or in online supplemental materials, so readers have access to the exact text that was generated. It is particularly important to document the exact text created because ChatGPT will generate a unique response in each chat session, even if given the same prompt. If you create appendices or supplemental materials, remember that each should be called out at least once in the body of your APA Style paper.

When given a follow-up prompt of “What is a more accurate representation?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that “different brain regions work together to support various cognitive processes” and “the functional specialization of different regions can change in response to experience and environmental factors” (OpenAI, 2023; see Appendix A for the full transcript).

Creating a reference to ChatGPT or other AI models and software

The in-text citations and references above are adapted from the reference template for software in Section 10.10 of the Publication Manual (American Psychological Association, 2020, Chapter 10). Although here we focus on ChatGPT, because these guidelines are based on the software template, they can be adapted to note the use of other large language models (e.g., Bard), algorithms, and similar software.

The reference and in-text citations for ChatGPT are formatted as follows:

• Parenthetical citation: (OpenAI, 2023)
• Narrative citation: OpenAI (2023)

Let’s break that reference down and look at the four elements (author, date, title, and source):

Author: The author of the model is OpenAI.

Date: The date is the year of the version you used. Following the template in Section 10.10, you need to include only the year, not the exact date. The version number provides the specific date information a reader might need.

Title: The name of the model is “ChatGPT,” so that serves as the title and is italicized in your reference, as shown in the template. Although OpenAI labels unique iterations (i.e., ChatGPT-3, ChatGPT-4), they are using “ChatGPT” as the general name of the model, with updates identified with version numbers.

The version number is included after the title in parentheses. The format for the version number in ChatGPT references includes the date because that is how OpenAI is labeling the versions. Different large language models or software might use different version numbering; use the version number in the format the author or publisher provides, which may be a numbering system (e.g., Version 2.0) or other methods.

Bracketed text is used in references for additional descriptions when they are needed to help a reader understand what’s being cited. References for a number of common sources, such as journal articles and books, do not include bracketed descriptions, but things outside of the typical peer-reviewed system often do. In the case of a reference for ChatGPT, provide the descriptor “Large language model” in square brackets. OpenAI describes ChatGPT-4 as a “large multimodal model,” so that description may be provided instead if you are using ChatGPT-4. Later versions and software or models from other companies may need different descriptions, based on how the publishers describe the model. The goal of the bracketed text is to briefly describe the kind of model to your reader.

Source: When the publisher name and the author name are the same, do not repeat the publisher name in the source element of the reference, and move directly to the URL. This is the case for ChatGPT. The URL for ChatGPT is https://chat.openai.com/chat . For other models or products for which you may create a reference, use the URL that links as directly as possible to the source (i.e., the page where you can access the model, not the publisher’s homepage).

Other questions about citing ChatGPT

You may have noticed the confidence with which ChatGPT described the ideas of brain lateralization and how the brain operates, without citing any sources. I asked for a list of sources to support those claims and ChatGPT provided five references—four of which I was able to find online. The fifth does not seem to be a real article; the digital object identifier given for that reference belongs to a different article, and I was not able to find any article with the authors, date, title, and source details that ChatGPT provided. Authors using ChatGPT or similar AI tools for research should consider making this scrutiny of the primary sources a standard process. If the sources are real, accurate, and relevant, it may be better to read those original sources to learn from that research and paraphrase or quote from those articles, as applicable, than to use the model’s interpretation of them.

We’ve also received a number of other questions about ChatGPT. Should students be allowed to use it? What guidelines should instructors create for students using AI? Does using AI-generated text constitute plagiarism? Should authors who use ChatGPT credit ChatGPT or OpenAI in their byline? What are the copyright implications ?

On these questions, researchers, editors, instructors, and others are actively debating and creating parameters and guidelines. Many of you have sent us feedback, and we encourage you to continue to do so in the comments below. We will also study the policies and procedures being established by instructors, publishers, and academic institutions, with a goal of creating guidelines that reflect the many real-world applications of AI-generated text.

For questions about manuscript byline credit, plagiarism, and related ChatGPT and AI topics, the APA Style team is seeking the recommendations of APA Journals editors. APA Style guidelines based on those recommendations will be posted on this blog and on the APA Style site later this year.

Update: APA Journals has published policies on the use of generative AI in scholarly materials .

We, the APA Style team humans, appreciate your patience as we navigate these unique challenges and new ways of thinking about how authors, researchers, and students learn, write, and work with new technologies.

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

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