General Training Task-2: Many people believe that schools should teach children to become good

citizens and workers rather than independent individuals. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Give your own opinion and relevant examples.

There is no doubt that both dimensions of the statement carry their own importance and
significance if I would be given a choice I would go for educational institutions like schools and
colleges have a duty to mold students into law abiding citizens and hardworking employees.
However, I don’t think that this should be at the cost of their individuality. I can endorse my
proposition as fellows.

Firstly, Individuality helps people stand out in a crowd. Independent thinking fuels their creativity
and helps them become good writers, thinkers and artists. Their creative pursuits will bring glory
to the nation and give patriots even more reasons to be proud of their country.

Secondly, Children spend a great deal of time in schools. The text books, the teachers and the
general atmosphere at school have a major impact on their impressionable minds. If schools don’t
encourage creativity and independent thinking, the nation will suffer.

Thirdly, just because someone thinks independently, it doesn’t mean that they can’t become good
citizens or good employees. I can’t understand how independent thinking will make a person anti-
national or anti-social. Some of the greatest patriots we have seen were highly creative people who
thought independently. There are numerous examples of such men and women in the annals of
World history.

Fourthly, A nation needs great thinkers, writers, artists, scientists and philosophers to take its
culture and legacy forward. We can’t accomplish much by being mechanized patriots and workers.

So, eventually having discussed the above paragraphs, we can put all debate into a nutshell by
caring that, I don’t agree with the argument that schools should only teach students to become
good citizens and workers. Yes, these institutions should teach these values, but they should also
encourage independent thinking. A person can be an independent thinker and a patriot at the same
time. If one studies world history one can find several examples of thinkers who were also great
patriots and citizens. Since students spend a great deal of their time at school, it is the right place
to learn all of these values.