Families who do not send their children to government-financed schools should not be required

to pay taxes that support universal education.

You should write at least 250 words.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or

experience.

model answer: (Disagree)

Families who do not send their children to public school should be required to pay taxes that support

public education.

Every child in my country is required to attend school and every child is welcome to enroll at his/her local

public school. Some families choose to send their children to other schools, and it is their prerogative to

do so. However, the public schools are used by the majority of our children and must remain open for

everyone. For example, my uncle sent his two children to a private academy for primary school. Then he

lost a huge amount of money through some poor investments and he could no longer afford the private

school's tuition. The children easily transferred to their local public school and liked it even more than their

academy. The public schools supported their family when they had no money to educate their children.

Because the public schools educate so many citizens, everyone in my country-whether a parent or not-

should pay taxes to support our educational system. We all benefit from the education that students

receive in public school. Our future doctors, fire fighters, and teacherspeople whom we rely on everyday-

are educated in local public schools. When a person is in trouble, it's reassuring to know that those who

will help you-such as fire fighters-know what they're doing because they received good training in school

and later. Providing an excellent education in the public school system is vital to the strength of our

community and our country.

Our government must offer the best education available, but it can only do so with the financial assistance

of all its citizens. Therefore, everyone-including families who do not send their children to public school-

should support public education by paying taxes.

(290 words)

Families who do not send their children to government-financed school should not be required to pay

taxes that support universal education.

When families send their children to non-public (that is, parochial and private) schools, they must pay

tuition and other school expenses. Spending additional money to pay taxes creates an even greater

financial hardship for these families. They must make sacrifices, trying to have enough money to pay for

school in addition to other bills. For example, my friend Amalia is a single mother with an eight-year-old

son, Andrew. Because they survive solely on her income, money is tight. Amalia works at least 10 hours

of overtime each week to cover Andrew's school expenses. This gives Amalia and Andrew less time to

spend together, and she is always so tired that she is impatient with him when they do have family time.

Clearly, this extra expense is an unfair burden for hard-working parents like Amalia.

While some people may consider parochial or private school to be a luxury, for many families it is

essential because their community's public schools fail to meet their children's needs. Unfortunately, due

to shrinking budgets, many schools lack well-qualified, experienced educators. Children may be taught by

someone who is not a certified teacher or who knows little about the subject matter. Some problems are

even more serious. For example, the public high school in my old neighborhood/neighbourhood had

serious safety problems, due to students bringing guns, drugs, and alcohol to school. After a gang-related

shooting occurred at the high school, my parents felt that they had no choice but to enroll me in a

parochial school that was known for being very safe.

Unfortunately, even when families prefer public schools, sometimes they can't send their children to one.

These families are burdened not only for paying expenses at another school, but also by being forced to

pay taxes to support a public school that they do not use.

(323 words)