Band 9 essay sample | Students should be separated according to their academic skills

Essay topic

Some people believe all children should be taught together. Others say that they should be separated according to academic abilities. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

Here is a sample response

As competition for jobs is becoming tougher and tougher, there are several different views on how young students should be taught in the classroom. While some people argue that regardless of their academic performances, youngsters should be taught together, others are firm in their belief that classrooms need to be divided according to the academic skills of the students. I also agree with the latter view.

There are a few benefits to grouping children together. Students, who are sensitive to peer-pressure, are less likely to feel isolated from their peers when they study in the same classroom. If poor performers are separated from brilliant students and taught in another classroom, they may feel a sense of abandonment. As a result of this, they may develop mental and physiological problems which will inevitably have a detrimental effect on their lives in the future.

On the flip side, separating students on the basis of their academic skills has its merits too. This separation will benefit them when they enter the job market. We are now living in an age of cut-throat competition. Students need superior academic credentials to survive in this competitive environment. The education system needs to be revamped to meet the different needs of students at different levels. When students of different intellectual levels are put together, teachers will not be able to teach effectively because the level of understanding of the subject will be different among students. Slow students need more attention. When a class is a mix of students of different skills, the teacher will not be able to spend more time on any particular student. Therefore, this type of grouping will only produce mediocre students who will struggle to secure a well-paying job.

To conclude, while there are some benefits to grouping students together, I strongly believe that separating them will be more beneficial to them. This way, teachers can give slow students more attention and help them compete better.