Writing Feedback / How does it feel moving towards the twilight? [2]

Some people say that in the modern world, getting old is entirely bad. Others, however, say that life for the elderly nowadays is much better than it was in the past.

Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Answer:
There is an on-going debate over whether getting older in the present times is positively influential. I am of the firm belief that people cannot escape from the world of challenges and difficulties as well as excitement in their life at any times throughout the course of human history.

The fact that today people are afraid of reaching the latter of their life is worth considering. This concern mainly stems from the sense of isolation that is very common among the elderly. To illustrate, youngsters of previous generations approaching adulthood tended to settle down in their own local areas and even lived in an extended family to easily take great care of their parents. This close contact contributed to alleviating the feeling of loneliness of older people. Today, higher standards of living intertwined with modern technology and popularity of transportation allow young people to travel and have access to state-of-the-art educational environments worldwide that, potentially, enable them to make a climb up their career ladder. Therefore, contact of the elderly with their children, siblings, and relatives is limited to a screen within a couple of minutes through which connection on an emotional level is virtually absent. Significantly, not having people around goes further beyond the scope of loneliness. In case of emergency, a sudden heart attack, for instance, would result in undesired situations if there is nobody to look after them. In another respect, this problem even concerns citizens in the developed world where aging population is a national issue. People therein do not get married, or if they do, they do not give birth or adopt any child because of economic hardships suffered. Comprehensibly, many would sometimes come to the realisation that their journey of hard work and efforts will end up in hiring a caregiver, at a high cost, to look after and befriend until the end of their life.

However, challenges do go along with benefits. Today, a number of solutions have been put forward to help the elderly overcome such negative feelings. Urban planners and developers always put at the heart of their urban designs cultural venues where people can meet up and socialise with each other. Furthermore, a variety of social programmes targeting the old available in big cities are shown to be effective. At the top of the list is dance performances, which according to some research, bring both physical and mental health benefits. Specifically, old people are encouraged to dance in groups as a means of interacting with others to reduce the sense of isolation and irrelevance. Besides, dance is proven to improve their balance and brain function by forcing it to process information faster, and thus better life quality of Alzheimer sufferers. Additionally, one of the major advantages of living in the modern world is unlimited access to health care services. Higher living standards and recent progresses in medical research are bound to confirm higher life expectancy compared to previous generations. In other words, that people dying prematurely of poor diseases before partaking in the excitement of their lives, is now a thing of the past.

In conclusion, challenges and benefits are always here to stay, regardless of the era people live in. Getting old in the contemporary or in any times is never given a welcome. At the least, many steps are now taken to help the elderly overcome their own difficulties.

Writing Feedback / More people for less traffic? [2]

The best way to solve traffic and transportation problems is to encourage people to live in cities rather than suburbs and the countryside.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Answer:

That more and more people migrating from suburban areas and countryside to big cities is put forward as the most effective solution to traffic and transportation issues. I do not agree with this idea.

According to a recent annual report published by the World Health Organisation (WHO), one of the worst problems that city dwellers face is overpopulation, with 72% of nearly 9 billion people in the world are predicted to live in urban areas in 2050. Significantly, participants in a survey conducted in Europe commented how their travel experience is negatively affected by seat unavailability of public transports. Besides, unreliable schedules due to overload of passengers might lead to an undesirable rise in the number of commuters turning to use their motorbikes and cars despite such high taxes on those vehicles. The consequential effect on national productivity is shown to be significant. In addition, car alarms seem to be a major contributor to noise pollution which affects life quality of city residents in such densely populated areas.

In another respect, the impact of disproportionate population allocation on economic development should be taken into account. Resources saved in decreased transportation of goods and labour forces back and forth would be converted to the rising costs of labour needed in directing the traffic flows and opportunity costs of leaving other empty areas unexploited. Furthermore, given a huge investment in redesign of urban transportation systems to ensure smooth flow of transport, increasing population means that more land is needed for new buildings, residential apartment blocks and even manufacturing factories. In other words, expansion upon roads and traffic lanes is impossible due to lack of spaces and urban planning would become much more difficult.

In conclusion, cities' higher population density seems to make little of a difference in a way transportation issues could be tackled, but there is evidence of its impracticality that would lead to numerous problems and make the situation even worse.

Writing Feedback / Will schools be a thing of the past? [NEW]

In the modern world, schools are no longer necessary because there is so much information available through the internet that children can study just as well at home.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Answer:

The beginning of industrial revolution 4.0 with new technologies namely artificial intelligence and machine learning marks a milestone transformation in the nature of work. Its widespread impact on the education system can be shown by the scenario in which educational institutions, educators, lecturers, and teachers might be things of the past. However, I do support the essence of schools in the learning and development process of children.

There are many downsides of conventional schools to be considered. In a mixed-abilities class, for instance, communitarian benefits are above all. This means excellent students benefit little from easy assignments but are lacking conditions to grow their potentials whereas underperforming ones while away considerable time trying to catch up with their superior peers, and miss out on self-exploring and nurturing their own strengths.

However, overall development of a child is not solely on his or her academic performance, but soft skills and hands-on learning experience as well. Schools form an essential environment for children's interaction with each other - which is, according to some research, facilitate further improvements in their language ability. Besides, given unlimited access to numerous learning materials, what technology fails to offer is a close connection with people that allows for intimate sharings. Therefore, limiting their learning environment to a screen all day seems to deprive children of opportunities to make friends, learn how to communicate well, and most importantly, connect with others emotionally - which is only feasible in a live conversation or discussion in a class. Significantly, group assignments, aimed to get students well-equipped with the capability to work in team and prepared for their future professional careers, would be virtually absent when children do not need to attend classes. Regarding professional competencies, the absence of rules like punctuality and time-management will probably direct them to a lack of self-discipline and commitment to work when they are grown up.

In another respect, young children, if not classified as exceptionally or profoundly gifted, are mostly unable to make sense of such abstract concepts in an academic curriculum without detailed guidance and instructions of a teacher. It is open to question whether busy parents could spare time, given they have equivalent knowledge and skills, to companion with their children on their learning path. More importantly, freedom to access the Internet at a young age may go further beyond the scope of education. That children, whether accidentally or deliberately, engage in such harmful or inappropriate contents available on social media, does not come over as a surprise and is not likely to be easily controlled by parents.

In conclusion, technological innovations are expected to change the nature of work in all sectors whilst do not necessarily mean that human labour force will be completely ruled out. Classes may be delivered online, but the roles of schools and teachers are still significant in, at the least, the former stage of children's development.