TWE Topic: A Teacher 托福谈教师

托福作文真题
Some people think that they can learn better by themselves than with a teacher. Others think that it is always better to have a teacher. Which do you prefer?

构思笔记。主题》有老师更好。结构四段。内容如下+
Note--an outline for 4 paragraphs, each beginning with a topic sentence.
1. The importance of having a teacher should not be underestimated.
2. Here are some problems about the immature minds learning all by themselves.
3. The crucial issue lies in being human.
4. The basic role of a teacher remains the the same as it used to be.


Sample writing:


The importance of having a teacher should not be underestimated. Some people who think they can learn better all by themselves tend to mistake information for education. Education matters. It is not complete without schools, and along with them, teachers. True enough, modern technology and the inernet can make much of information easily accessible, with or without teachers around. It is also true that self-learning is essential as well in so far as it is part and parcel of education.

Here are some problems about immature minds learning all by themselves. For one thing, I think most of them are confused, as if trapped in the middle of nowhere. A teacher doubles as a guide. Indeed, teachers of different disciplines help map the realm of knowledge for students to follow. Also, as children of school ages are usually playful and even mischief-making, teachers are indispensable like parents at home, to see to it that the kids are all right in studying. Furthermore, learning without having a teacher is not very unlike dancing alone. It takes two to tango.

The crucial issue lies in human nature. It is human to be interactive. In the absence of a teacher, face-to-face contact may be missing. What is lost has much to do with the emotional quality among the youth. On their way to reach maturity, boys and girls must develop their emotion quality and intelligence quality simultaneously. Powerful as the internet is, sitting in front of a computer screen is nothing like having a teacher being human.

The role of a teacher, therefore, remains basically the same as it used to be. Even time has changed, the old wisdom about education still applies. Now as ever, a teacher, I believe, is supposed to underline the principle, to illustrate knowledge, and last but not least, to explain doubts about emotional life. Such is the concept of a teacher, accordingly to the great Chinese sage Confucius. I further believe that the enduring value of having a teacher is nothing less than making sense of education itself.