IELTS Essay

Some people think that parents should teach

children how to be good members of society

IELTS Writing Task 2 Essay

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Write about the following topic:

Some members of society think that parents should teach

children how to be good members of society.

Others, however, believe that school is the place to learn this. Discuss both these views and give

your own opinion.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or

experience.

Write at least 250 words.

IELTS Essay Answer

We all expect children to grow up and become productive adults and decent citizens. Who

should carry the main responsibility for this? Clearly there are different views on who should be

mainly responsible for this task. While schools are certainly important in the formation of

children and teenagers, we cannot ignore the overriding role of parents and immediate family in

bringing up children and in the process of forming their personality and character.

Our education system is well equipped for arming our children with all the necessary academic

skills as well as some social and other soft skills. Generations of children have passed through

these systems and most have gone on to lead happy, well-adjusted lives as productive members

of society. However, to expect schools to bear more responsibility than for general education

may be somewhat unrealistic. It is after all the family which will in the end exert the major

influence over the forming of a child’s character and therefore impact greatly on the child’s

future development.

Parents are ultimately responsible for all aspects of caring for their offspring. It would seem

incredible if parents were to believe they could outsource a major part of the process of bringing

up their children to the education system other than at an academic and basic social level. The

influence of parents over children, especially in their early years is so great that unless education

systems were very personalized we could not expect them to offer enough personal attention to

each child to ensure that they eventually became responsible and decent members of society.

In my opinion it definitely falls to the parents to make sure that their children get the best start in

life possible and that they do all they can in terms of leading by example, instilling values and

behavioural standards which will equip their children for life. The school system has its part to

play, without doubt, but it should be a secondary role to that of parents.

How would you answer this IELTS Essay question about parents should teach children how to

be good members of society?

Who in society has this role in your country?

Who is better qualified to teach children about society - teachers or parents?

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