What problems do students have to cope with at school?
School is supposed to be a friendly place for a student who should like it and feel safe in it. Unfortunately, it is only a theory because sometimes the reality is completely different. Even in best schools students face all sorts of problems because there are no ideal schools as there are no ideal people.
One of the most serious school problems is the relation between students and teachers. Although there are more and more good teachers, some conservative and intolerant ones don’t even try to understand young people. A lot of students complain that they are unjust, malicious and too strict. There are still teachers who give lessons in a traditional way, which means that students have to listen and take notes. Such teachers neither let students discuss nor express their own opinions. Some of them care more about students’ improper haircut or clothes than their knowledge.
Another problem some students find difficult to cope with is the way they are assessed. The school records should be plausible and well-founded so that students could feel that the assessment of their work is objective and fair.
Students have to deal with stress which accompanies school life since the beginning of primary school. It is connected with numerous tests and exams, which are a necessary element of school education. The higher the pressure of the family, the higher the student’s stress. Those with weaker character may find it difficult to resist the pressure and may turn to drugs and alcohol in order to relieve stress.
A lot of students complain that they have too many lessons at school and they have too much work to do at home. Every teacher thinks that his or her subject is the most important one and gives as much homework as possible. Students have to manage their time wisely to be able to take up leisure activities.
Another very serious problem students have to cope with is violence at school. Older students happen to bully younger ones in order to reinforce their status in a peer group. There are also numerous cases of robbery at school. More and more students have their mobile phones or other modern gadgets stolen at the school area.
Although there are so many problems students have to cope with at school, I think the majority of them can be easily overcome. They are not very different from the problems our parents had to face.
Przykładowe pytanie, jakie może zadać egzaminator.
Do you think marks are the best way of evaluating students’ work?
In my opinion the best solution would be the assessment written by a teacher. It would be his or her opinion about the progress students make at school. However, I realize that although it works well in the first years of primary school, it might be difficult to introduce to older students. Marks are a good way of evaluating school work provided the criteria are clear and well-
-founded. They can encourage students to make progress and to achieve better and better results. They show the weakest and the strongest points of a student and help him organise his work.
cope with something = radzić sobie z czymś