Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Discussion Topics: School and College

1) Do you like school?  Why or why not?
2) What do you like best about school?  What do you like the least?
3) Why do we have to study English?
4) Why do we learn math?
5) Why do we do music or art in school?
6) Which subject is your favourite and why?
7) Who is your favourite teacher? Why?
8) Who is the most unpopular teacher at your school?  Why?
9) Would you like to be a teacher someday?  Why or why not?
10) If you could choose between going to school all year long but only five days a week, or going to school on Saturday and Sundays (full days), but getting two very long vacations a year, which would you prefer?  Why?
11) Are you interested in studying hard?
12) Do you want to go to college?  If so, what do you want to major in?
13) What college in Mongolia would you like to study at?  Or, if you want to leave the country for college, where would you like to study?
14) What do your parents think about your going to college?
15) Do you think a college degree is necessary for success?
16) You know a college education costs a lot of money.  Do you think it is a good investment?  Why or why not?
17) Would you go to college if you had to pay for it yourself?
18) What do you think would happen to you in the future if you did not ever go to college?
19) Do you think that parents have a right to insist that their children go to college, even if the kids do not want to go?
20) Imagine that you don't want to go to college.  How would you persuade your parents not to send you?

Vocabulary

Here are twelve more vocabulary words (from the SAT book) for you to learn if you're interested.  Remember that these are words that a normal American student your age is expected to know.

real McCoy (N)  An authentic thing or quality; something that is not an imitation or a substitute.
The classic 1964 Ford Mustang was the real McCoy; not only had it not had any body work done on it, but it had never been repainted.

tangible (Adj. N--> tangibility, Adv--> tangibly) Possible to touch; possible to be treated as fact; real or concrete.
Carlos's fantasy became tangible when Angie, the girl of his dream, agreed to go out with him.

tenable (Adj.  Adv--> tenably) Capable of being maintained; able to be maintained because of genuineness.
The team's successful season was barely tenable because of the girls' growing apathy toward attending practice.

truism (N)  Self-evident truth, actuality, and reality.
The rumour about a possible scandal became a truism once the facts were released to the public.

unassailable (Adj.  N--> unassailability, Adv--> unassailably) Undeniable, actual, and authentic.
The unassailable truth came out when Marla's little brother realised that their parents were really the Tooth Fairy.

valid (Adj.  N--> validity, Adv--> validly)  Real, authentic, correct; sound and well-grounded.
Benny Lee was able to draw a valid conclusion only after he had discovered all the facts.

veracity  (N)  Adherance to truth, reality, accuracy, and precision.
The teacher confirmed the veracity of the student's late pass by checking with the teacher who supposedly wrote the pass.

veritable (Adj.  Adv--> veritably)  Being truly so-called; real or genuine.
A veritable stranger was kind enough to give Suzanne enough money to use the phone so she could call home.

aberration (N.  Adj--> aberrant)  A defect or departure from the normal; deviation or imperfection.
My mother was not sure whether her occasionally seeing her dead great grandmother was real or an aberration.

artifice (N.  Adj--> artifical, Adv--> artificially)  Pretense, deception, or ruse.
The young woman was about 90 percent artifice and only 10 percent authentic.

chimera (N)  (1) A fanciful mental illusion or fabrication; (2) An organism, organ, or part consisting of two or more tissues of different genetic composition.
(1) The new history teacher seemed to be a chimera-- one-half despot and one-half concerned mentor.
(2) The chimera of Greek mythology was a fire-breathing she-monster who had a lion's head, a goat's body, and a snake's tail.

deceptive (Adj.  Adv--> deceptively, N--> deception)  Tending to deceive, betray or fool; unauthentic and untrue.
The burglar was deceptive because he left the front door unlocked, even though he entered and left the house from the rear.