IELTS essay sample | Schools should teach students to become good citizens rather than independent thinkers

Essay topic

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.

Essay sample

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

To conclude, 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.