Write your answer in 220-260 words in an appropriate style.

You have read an online article about changes in the types of subject taught at secondary
schools. The article says that some traditional subjects may no longer be taught at school. Four
of the subjects discussed are mentioned below, along with some of the readers’ comments.
Which subjects may no longer be taught at secondary school?
Music  ‘Most students who are interested in music take lessons out of school.’
‘Why do we need to know the names of rivers and mountains around the
Geography 
world?’
History ‘It’s all about the past. At schools, we need to be focussing on the future.’
Art ‘Art lessons allow kids to explore their creativity.’
Write an essay discussing TWO of the subjects mentioned above. You should explain why you
think these subjects should continue to be taught at secondary schools, giving reasons to
support your answer.

History and Geography

Schools are required to teach students more and more different subjects . Subjects like computer
science , citizenship and finance are now established in the curriculum , meaning that there is simply not
enough time to teach students everything . Consequently , there is discussion in the government about
dropping some of the more traditional subjects like geography and history . However , I believe that
these subjects are very important and should not be dropped from the curriculum.

People argue that history and geography just require students to memorise facts and figures , such as
dates , lists of kings and queens , the heights of mountains and the length of rivers . They argue that
remembering such things is an unnecessary skill in this day and age , as such information can easily be
found on the Internet . Some people say it is unnecessary to learn about history , because it’s the future
which is important . They say that geography is unimportant because country boundaries are always
changing and statistics such as population and export data quickly becomes out of date.

In my experience , however , geography and history lessons are not like this at all . I have rarely been
asked to memorise lists in either subject . In both subjects , I have learnt valuable skills , including
research , analysing different sources of information , map-reading and essay-writing . My history
lessons have taught me about how civilisations developed and interacted , and I find them fascinating .
My geography lessons have inspired me to travel and perhaps work towards solving some of the issues
in today’s society.

To sum up , I believe that traditional subjects like history and geography still have an important role to
play in a modern education system .