Many people believe that educational standards have declined in recent times, particularly in the areas of literacy and numeracy. Discuss the causes of this problem and offer some possible solutions to it. v.1

This issue of falling educational standards is of great importance in the world today. In this essay, I will briefly discuss some of the main causes of this problem and also offer some possible solutions to it. In my view, one of the main reasons for poor quality education is that school students are not disciplined properly. In the past, teachers could smack or cane children who misbehaved. Now, however, this kind of punishment is not allowed and many teachers are losing control of their students as a result. If student do not listen, teachers cannot teach and learning becomes impossible. Clearly, discipline must be restored if we are to improve educational standards. Of course, there are many other ways to discipline children; however, I would argue that physical punishment is still the most effective method. Another reason for poor reading, writing and mathematical skills among students today is that many schools waste too much time teaching “soft” subjects like music, art and drama. These subjects are certainly interesting. However, they tend to distract students from more important subjects like mathematics and English. The more time a student spends learning how to paint, the less time they spend learning how to read. Thus, in order to improve basic literacy and numeracy, I would argue that schools should focus their attention on core subjects. In conclusion, this is such a complex problem that I don’t believe any real solution will be found in the near future. However, I am convinced that the steps mentioned above would be helpful.