Grade 12 University English is a mandatory credit for anyone wishing to attend University. However, there is conflict on whether or not grade 12 University level English should be required to get into all programs. In my opinion, this should be a mandatory credit as it teaches skills and knowledge that will be needed in every university program, including; communication, essay writing, and reading, among many others. An understanding of these skills is a necessity for students who wish to succeed in their chosen field.
Communication is a skill that is needed in today’s society, not only in person but electronically as well. This is a skill developed in the grade 12 University level English course in many different forms, including debates, presentations, poetry, group work,
class discussions, and more. In my experience with this level English course, I’ve developed and improved my communication skills drastically, and my peers did as well. Electronic communication is also developed in this course in a few different ways. Communicating with group members outside of the classroom is very common in the 12U English course, and it is transferable to the future of these students through their university group projects and studying, but also in their careers, as communicating with coworkers is common and encouraged in the workforce. Communication is very important in life because it is the beginning to a relationship, contributes to team-building, it helps to manage the people around you, it is used for marketing for companies, and it allows transparency, especially in businesses, if everything is communicated properly (6 Reasons Why Effective Communication Should Be a Focus in Your Business, 2014)
Essays are a way of organizing information. This is important because it is a much more clear and effective way of communicating ideas, rather than just throwing unorganized information at someone. In the grade 12 University English course, students are taught how to properly write an essay. I have learned how to convey a message with a clear argument with proper format, structure, and use of resources.
The skill of essay writing is very useful in the futures of students, especially through university because they will have to write many essays, on many different things. Grade 12 University English essay writing also prepares students for jobs because they will often need to write in many different forms such as letters, notes, lists, descriptions, etc, that require many of the same skills needed for essay writing, organizing information being the biggest. Not only does essay writing help students for their writing in the future, but it also teaches students to expand their thinking, develop their though processing, and transfer the ideas from their head onto paper. Without grade 12 U level English, I might not have ever tried to blog! This course should certainly be mandatory for admission into all University programs because it enhances the students abilities to organize their thoughts, and write in different forms which will be needed in their future.
Reading makes you smarter. Reading allows people to build their crystallized intelligence, which is basically the facts that people know. As people read more, they add more to their knowledge. Reading also develops people’s fluid intelligence, which is involved with problem solving and identifying patterns. Finally, reading also builds a person’s emotional intelligence, which helps people develop empathy and an understanding of how others feel and think. This idea is called “Theory of mind” and it
was published in a paper by two psychologists (Emily Martin, 2018). In my Grade 12 English experience, reading was a huge. We read daily and throughout the course there were many different forms of writing that we had to read and interpret, including, novels, short stories, Shakespeare, poetry, and scholarly articles. These are also common in University, where students will be required to read and have assignments to complete based on their reading. Grade 12 University level English is essentially practice for all University programs.
In my opinion, Grade 12 University level English should be required for admission into all University programs because it prepares students for what is ahead of them, and I have experienced this first hand in many different ways through the trading, writing, and communication skills I was taught in this course.
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