UNIT 5: EDUCATION

UNIT 5: EDUCATION

What was your school like? 

Talk about some of the following in your description:

• The size of the school
• Whether there were separate classes for clever and less able students
• Whether there were school fees
• Whether there were sport facilities
• Whether there was a school uniform
• Whether there were some subjects you wanted to learn but they were not available.
• What happened to less able students
• The teachers
• The school rules.

    Which of these suggestions would
improve education in your country? Discuss each one.

o The school day should last longer so that students can take additional classes.
o All students ought to have access to the Internet.
o Schools should limit class size to twenty students.
o Physical education classes should be made optional.
o Teachers’ salaries should be based on how popular the teachers are with students.
o Schooling should be free until the age of 21.
o Students should take classes in all subject areas.
o Students shouldn’t be given failing grades.

     Academic subjects aren’t the only things you learn in school. Here are some other things. Read the list. Can you add two more items?

► How to get along with others
► How to think for yourself
► How to follow a schedule
► How to organize your time
► How to speak with confidence
► How to finish something you’ve started
► How to become independent from your family.
► 
► 

Now discuss these questions about the list above 

1. Which of the skills did you learn in school? How did you learn them?
2. Was there a particular teacher who helped you learn these skills?
3. What subject areas helped you to learn these skills?

• Foreign languages • History • Science • Physical education

• Literature • Mathematics • Music • Other:

4. What are some important skills that you feel you didn’t learn at school?

Read an extract from a booklet published by the Open University (OU) in Britain and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of ‘supported open learning’.

Supported Open Learning

    Having decided to study towards a Master’s degree with the Open University, you may now be wondering what it will entail and what commitment it will require from you. Let’s start with explaining how the Open University will support your learning.

    The method of study you will use with the Open University is called ‘supported open learning’. This means that the course is carefully structured and you are taken through the components step by steps, and
could include: written texts, study guides, set books (which you will have to buy before the course begins), readers, videos, audio tapes, computer software, and CD-ROM. You will be learning mostly on your own, in your own time, and in the space that you have organized yourself, but with the support of your tutor and services from the Open University.

    Supported open learning involves you in becoming an active learner, taking responsibility for motivating yourself, pacing your studies, and managing your workload to suit your own circumstances. There are deadlines to meet such as assignment submission and exam dates, but matters such as how, when and where you study are very much up to you. In order to learn effectively from this method, you need to become actively involved in your own learning process. This means both assessing what you have learned as you go, and testing out new ideas and concepts. One way of doing so is by keeping in regular contact with your tutor letting him or her know if you are experiencing difficulties with your studies, or are having problems that may affect your ability to study.

    Most of you will have gained a first degree already and may feel that studying for a master’s degree will entail more of the same. However, besides differences between the two levels of study, it may be several years since you completed your first degree and it is important to realize that your circumstances may have changed radically from when you were last a student. Your experience of being a student this time around may be very different. The majority of students studying for a Master’s degree with the OU completed their first degree as a full-time student at a traditional university. Studying was their main occupation. This time, things may be very different. You may be in full-time employment, possibly in a position of some responsibility, which entails working long hours and perhaps bringing work home with you. You may have a family and other domestic responsibilities. What you will definitely have less of, is spare time.

    Students studying at a distance are expected to be able to cope with increased independent learning, and be able to use their tutor as a resource rather than a provider of knowledge. Many courses include project work, which means planning and executing a small piece of research. Although your tutor will expect to see the plan for your project, and may check up on your progress, there may not be an opportunity for lengthy discussions or feedback as your project develops.

    You will have to organize your time and motivate yourself to keep to your timetable, if you want to avoid last minute panics. Likewise, the account of secondary reading you do will be your own responsibility and, if time is scarce, it can be tempting to cut corners and miss out on some essential background reading. One of the advantages of supported open learning is that it allows you to have more autonomy as a student, and give you the flexibility to study how, where, and, to some extent, when you choose to do so. The reverse side of the coin, however, is that you need self-discipline in order to meet deadlines and submit work on time _ you are responsible for your own learning.

Source: Learning with the Open University starts here, 1999

1. Does university qualification guarantee a good job?
2. Do you think that everyone should have the right to a free university education?
3. What changes in the Vietnamese
education system would you like to make?