Some people argue that because the internet makes it so easy for children to access facts, schools should not focus on teaching facts.

Nowadays some people hold the opinion that as the factual information has become so easily accessible online, the schools could abandon teaching facts but should instead switch to developing children’s potential and interpersonal skills. While I agree it is unwise to spend too much of time learning mere facts during the lessons, schools should still offer proper guidance in this process alongside with creation of favorable environment for the development of children’s academic and social competences. Apparently, in our present-day world Internet access has become practically an ordinary issue thus removing any difficulties to free access to various information resources. Therefore, it might be easy to arrive to a conclusion that as long as we get practically unlimited opportunities for making any research, there is no need for the teachers to spend precious time for presenting facts during the lessons. On the one hand, this idea is completely correct. Indeed, it may take no more than a few minutes to find and read the biography of a scholar or, for instance, to get acquainted with the outline of the Great geographical Discoveries. Naturally, it could open the opportunities to spend the lessons’ time on something more interesting. On the other hand, although learning facts could be easily done as a self-study, I am convinced that teachers should guide and control this process in order to make sure that such self-study fully corresponds to the school curriculum and the children do not omit any important information which might seem too complicated or uninteresting to them. In this case, pupils might be given a home assignment to find and read certain information which will later become a base for more creative in-class work, such as in-depth class discussions or debates or group-presentations. Obviously, it will help a teacher both to make sure that the basic information is learned by everyone, and to structure class activities in the way to help students get deeper knowledge on the topic in question as well as to practice their soft skills. Basically, it is of utmost importance to remember that learning is a life-long process which is not limited by school or university. It is true both with regards to gaining academic competence and developing one’s potential, soft skills and creating successful relationships with other people. Undoubtedly, schools should create positive environment for helping children realize their academic potential, learn how to communicate with other people and how to maintain relationships. At the same time, the main aim of any school as an educational establishment is to provide academic knowledge. Thus it would be quite ambiguous to expect it to shift its main focus from the main task to supporting ones only because of the easy access to factual information. In conclusion, even though the Internet makes quite a lot of information easily accessible, schools should not completely abandon teaching basics. It is of great importance for all the participants of educational process to follow standards and school curriculum, as well as to strive to create an environment where children can thrive and achieve more in all aspects of their education.