Some people think that secondary school children should study international news as one of the school subjects. Other people think that it is a waste of valuable school time. What do you think? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
The potential for the global
media
to shape the views of today’s youth is considerable. However
, while
some commentators think that the media
has no place in secondary education
, other analysts defend the idea that international news
should be studied at school
. In this
essay, I shall examine a number of studies which show that both viewpoints are, to some degree, justified.
To begin
with, global media
undoubtedly enriches teenagers’ understanding of contemporary affairs. This
is because television reports provide concise summaries of international affairs. For example
, a study run by Oxford sociologists showed that the media
heavily influenced teenagers’ knowledge of contemporary affairs. Since any secondary school
education
would be incomplete without an awareness of such
events, it is therefore
clear that the media
can play a vital role in assisting education
.
On the other hand
, many critics argue that teenagers are negatively affected by the global media
’s focus on wars and civil unrest. This
is because exposure to violence often leads to depression. For instance
, recent surveys have discovered that depressed teenagers usually cite the dismal state of the world as a source of their depression. Since mental health is an important objective of secondary education
, it isAdd the comma(s)
, therefore,
therefore
questionable whether the study of international news
wouldn’t be a destructive and wasteful use of school
resources.
In conclusion, it should be clear that there are reasons for and against the study of news
at school
. Thus
if media
studies are to enter schools in the future, schools will have to think about how negative aspects of the news
can be decreased, and positive aspects maximized.Submitted by mohan315.bits on
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