Writing Feedback / [WRITING TASK 1] The chart shows the employment status of adults in the US in 2003 and 2013 [2]

employment categories of adult population in the usa

The bar chart gives information about the proportion of teachers by gender in 6 types of educational institutions in the UK in 2010
It is clear that, while the number of female teachers in nursery and pre-school is largest, this figure is lowest in males. Furthermore, the biggest difference between the percentages of male and female teachers is seen in pre-school.

Women dominated the teaching profession in pre-school, with over 90%, whereas the percentage of males was just nearly 5%. The same pattern can be witnessed in primary school, with the figure for females higher than their counterparts, with 90% and 10% respectively. The gap between the two genders was much narrower in secondary schools, with around 57% for females and 42% for males.

It is noticeable that the proportion of men and women teachers in college were the same, at around 50%. However, the number of male teachers in private training institutes was higher than that of females, with nearly 60% and over 40% respectively. University recorded the highest percentage of male teachers, stood at 70%, over 2 times higher than the figure for females.

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Writing Feedback / [ Task 2 - Discussion ] Schools are no longer necessary [2]

Schools are no longer necessary because children can get so much information available through the Internet, and they can study just as well at home. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

There is no denying that with the wealth of information available on the Internet, students can study by themselves at home just as effectively they do at school, and therefore some people believe that schools are not needed anymore. To some extent, I agree that students can study well at home with the help of the Internet, I feel that schools still play a vital role in our society and cannot be replaced no matter what.

On the one hand, the opinion to learning from the Internet is attractive for several reasons. First and foremost, most of which are either free or affordable for almost everywhere. One great way is from online newspaper and video websites such as National Geographic, Youtube, Khan Academic ... which offer a wide range of topic areas suitable for people of different ages. Children can gain a great deal of knowledge about history, culture, science and many other areas which they are taught at school. They also can participate in online courses favored by a growing number of youths nowadays. As a result, this type of learning is even more advantageous in the sense that children can flexibly choose to study whatever subjects or topics that they are interested in.

Apart from the benefits above, I believe that formal education is irreplaceable in any society and country. It is true that students can acquire valuable knowledge at home very easily with the help of the Internet, however, the lack of teacher guidance and support is a clear disadvantage of this type of learning. For example, if students want to learn about history, there is a huge range of websites that furnish information about these topics. As a result, they may get confused and face many difficulties when choosing which one to read. Furthermore, knowledge and skills are not the only things to expect from formal school but social relationships and mental development. Children who go to school and establish friendships and can both have fun and improve their learning outcomes.

To draw a conclusion, while there are some benefits to learning from the Internet at home, I am of the opinion that school is irrelevant to children's learning due to the fact that it can significantly increase their understanding as well as social skills.