Sample Essay

Ideal School

A school is a place shared by a group of people forming different functions. They are the students who form the bulk of the population, the teachers, the principal, and the non-teaching staff. For the principal and the teachers, it is a place where they carry out their vocation, and get paid for what they do. For the non-teaching staff such as clerks, office attendants, grounds men, and canteen vendors, the school is where they earn a living.

Everyone who has attended a school will have an opinion about how an ideal school will be, based on their own school experience. However, it is possible to find some common elements among these varied thoughts.

A school does not just mean a building. What makes it a school is the high-quality education that takes place there. In an ideal school, students will grow in their knowledge and application of that knowledge to real life. Teachers will be of the highest caliber and will be experts in their respective domains. They would have been trained by teacher training institutes in how to teach students of varying abilities. Each student will be able to learn at their own pace. The teaching methods will be student-centered, and will involve brainstorming, lecture sessions, seminars and group discussions among others. There will be examinations, but those examinations will not be fearsome for the students. A student’s grade will be determined not only by assessment of learning, but also other abilities such as public speaking.

In an ideal school, there will be a host of extra-curricular/after-school activities. There will be opportunities for students to train in games such as football, basketball, badminton, cricket, softball and volleyball. The coaches will be nurturing and encouraging to students who want to learn the game. There will also be activities that lean towards the arts such as music training, traditional dance, modern dance, art and craft, etc. Board games such as chess and scrabble should also be available.

The library in an ideal school can be said to be the most important part of the school. The library should have a great number of books – both fiction and non-fiction. Story books, motivational literature, classics, magazines, newspapers, textbooks, reference books – all these should be available in the library. It should also have a room dedicated to surfing the internet or reading books online.

For students, an ideal school will have up-to-date and sophisticated physical facilities. All classrooms will be airconditioned and spacious enough to include a reading area at the back where students can use their free time to read. The classroom will have modern chairs and tables that are ergonomic. There should be a smart board that students and teachers can interact with. Since artificial intelligence is developing so fast, it is possible to have a robot assistant also for the teacher.

An ideal school must ensure good mental and physical fitness of the students. The school must have a sports complex complete with tennis and badminton courts, a well-equipped gymnasium and a swimming pool. It should also have a well-trimmed field surrounded by a running track. The school sports day should be held here every year.

In an ideal school, the aesthetic needs of the students should not be overlooked. Students need to express themselves in music, art, drama and the like. Thus, an ideal school should provide a well-equipped music and concert hall, a studio, and a well-developed drama programme.

Such a school will undoubtedly need a capable leadership. Thus, an ideal school should be led by a principal and assistant principal as well as heads of departments who will decide the policies of the school in accordance with its vision and mission.

Finally, an ideal school must never fail to look into students’ emotional needs. The principal and staff together with students must always work together to achieve a caring, understanding and tolerant environment. There should be a capable and well-trained counsellor who can advise students who are in need. There should also be a teacher who is in charge of discipline and conduct of students.

After all, schooling is supposed to prepare students for life, and thus is the most important of all human enterprise on the face of the earth. Enough funds and resources should be allocated to education by the government of each country. It is only then that an ideal school will take shape in reality.