Some people think secondary school students should study international news as one of their subjects. Other people say this is a waste of valuable school time. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
Because of the IT revolution and the faster means of travel, we do not belong to a big planet ‘Earth’; we belong to a small global village which is very well connected and that is why there is a debate as to whether secondary school students should study international news as a subject. In this essay I shall discuss both views followed by my opinion.
Admittedly, the youth of today can benefit by studying international news as a subject. This would enrich their experience and broaden their horizon. From the news of any part of the world students would become aware of the social, political and environmental problems faced by that country. This could motivate them to do something for their country if they are lagging behind or even help the other nations by volunteering to help. For instance, when Tsunami struck Japan voluntary workers from all parts of the world reached out to help. Moreover, the significance of opening international news subject is that students can have a general view of the world which could help them decide their career.
On the other hand, as secondary schools students face stiff competition nowadays it would be unfair to add the burden of another subject. Moreover, ‘international news’ would have an ever changing syllabus and so would be practically impossible to introduce as a subject. Finally, in the pluralistic society of today, some news may hurt the sentiments of any particular sect of people and could give rise to conflicts.
In my opinion, international news should not be introduced as a subject. However, steps should be taken by secondary schools to keep students abreast of what is happening in the world by having a short (5 minute) session in the morning assembly in which every day a student could speak the headlines. This would keep students upto-date without having the tension of memorising things
To, put it in a nutshell, I pen down saying that, international news should not be a subject but students should be made aware of the international scenario in other informal ways.