نص نموذجي
Model essay: schools, creativity and technical knowledge
It is often claimed that, as machines take over routine tasks, schools should concentrate on creativity and social skills rather than technical knowledge. While I accept that these qualities will become more valuable, I do not believe that technical knowledge can safely be sidelined.
The case for the proposal is a strong one. Tasks that follow clear rules, from filling in forms to sorting data, are precisely those that software performs most efficiently, so a curriculum built around them risks preparing young people for jobs that may no longer exist. By contrast, the ability to generate original ideas, to collaborate and to persuade is far harder to automate. Employers also report that graduates with sound technical skills frequently lack the interpersonal abilities needed to work in teams.
Nevertheless, it would be a mistake to treat the two kinds of learning as rivals. Creativity does not arise in a vacuum: a designer, an engineer or a composer can only innovate within a field if he or she has mastered its basic principles. Moreover, a population that understands how technology works is better placed to question it, whether by spotting errors in an automated decision or by deciding when a tool should not be used at all.
In practice, the most sensible approach is probably integration rather than substitution. Technical subjects could be taught through group projects that demand imagination and negotiation, so that pupils develop several capacities at once, instead of acquiring them in separate lessons that compete for time.
In conclusion, I agree only partly with the view expressed. Creativity and social skills deserve a larger place in education, but this should be achieved by teaching technical content differently, not by teaching less of it.