Dear Editor,
I am writing to express my view over the issue ‘Should there be elite classes?’ and explain why I support the policy.
There are lots of advantages having elite classes.
First, elite classes provide targets for the students to strike for. As the students with good academic results can stay in the elite classes, students having poor grades would work hard to get good grades for the chance of staying in the class. Therefore, elite classes are setting up targets for all the schoolmates, either students having bad or good academic results.
Second, a better learning environment can be maintained for the elites. While most students of lower grades seldom pay attention in the lessons, good students should be separated from them. Take myself as an example, I was in the elite class in the first two school years. In our class, we had positive thoughts toward learning. We used to keep ourselves focused in lessons and had good academic results all the time. However, I didn’t enjoy such an attitude towards learning after the school cancelled the elite classes. Instead, everyone kept chatting in all lessons and we couldn’t concentrate in class. Also, we weren’t helping each other to solve problems about studies like in the past. It is clear that elite classes can keep students with a good learning attitude together and help to enhance their learning skills.
Third, students are grouped with others of similar learning progress and abilities, which is easier for the teachers to give help. Teachers can design different teaching methods that are suitable for the students they teach. For example, teachers may give more challenging and difficult exercises to the elites and assign easy exercises to the low-achievers or average students. In this way, teachers can help both types of students to improve effectively.
Nevertheless, some may say that there would be intense competitions among students if there are elite classes. However, I think that competitions are needed to urge the students to improve themselves. In this way, students can be better day by day and do their best. Positive competitions can benefit all students, but not causing conflicts.
To sum up, elite classes give students targets, a better learning environment and they can enjoy suitable teaching methods. There should be elite classes to help the students to do their best in the school. Why shouldn’t there be elite classes if they have that many benefits to students’ studies?
Yours faithfully,
Anson
Anson Leung