Should homework be banned? Are standardized tests gendered? Should teachers carry guns? We’ve curated ten of the key debates on education to help you think critically around the purpose of education, and the way it is institutionalized.
Should sex education be taught in schools?
Teenagers receive a constant stream of sexual imagery and information. Whose responsibility is it to equip children and teens with the knowledge to form attitudes about sex, relationships and intimacy? Is it the parents’? Or should educators provide teens with sex education classes in schools?
Should homework be banned? There has been a recent surge in the discussion around productive study habits for students. Is homework productive and useful, or is it merely an added stress?
With the rise of gun violence and school shootings, many people believe that the school environment can be safer for everyone if teachers carry guns and have a defensive weapon to use against school shooters and other school aggressors.
Should UK students be charged University fees?
Just over twenty years ago, higher education was free in the UK for any student who secured a place on a university course. Flash forward to today and students graduate with an average debt of £50,000. Critics claim this is wildly unfair and inhibits social mobility. Others claim that high fees improve equality. With both sides aiming to reduce inequality, why do the positions on implementing fees and reducing grants contradict each other? Is College education worth it?
The ever-rising costs of a university degree, coupled with increasing numbers of unemployed graduates, has left the latest generation of students pondering over whether a college education is worth it. Do the benefits of a college degree outweigh the costs?
Should schools be able to ban books?
Hundreds of books have been challenged or banned in schools throughout the US. These books are banned on a huge range of reasons, from obscene language to sexual content to violence to the discussion of menstruation. But all of these things are facts of life. Should academic institutions have the power to censor books?
Should multicultural literature be included in high school curriculums?
Multicultural literature includes literature about people who are underrepresented in mainstream society and have been marginalized in some way, including Asian-American, African-American, and Chicano-American literature. For the most part, high school curriculum for English courses revolve around teaching the classics, but should more diverse literature be taught in high schools?
Are standardized tests effective?
Standardized testing has been around for a surprisingly long time, but has become much more regulated in the 21st century. With so much based upon these tests, debate has sparked about the effectiveness of them. Are they really a good measure of intelligence? Or do they just measure how well a student takes a certain form of test?
[Does the school system benefit girls more than boys?](https://www.parlia.com/c/does-school-benefit-girls-boys_
Girls outperform boys across all subjects, in all age groups, and across all racial groups. They secure more university places and suffer fewer disciplinary problems. By contrast, boys are overrepresented in programs for students with special educational needs and account for around 93% of suspensions and disciplinary actions. Is the modern school system designed to benefit girls more than boys?
Who should bear the cost of public tertiary education?
The cost of tertiary education varies across the world. With many expenses to cover including room and board, basic utilities and salaries for professors, how should these operating costs be funded? This debate revolves around equity, socio-economic factors, and the role of tertiary education in society.