Can anyone recommend an interesting issue for English?

[elaine]

I desperately need an issue.

What are you guys doing for the English Issues Oral (first thing back from holidays)?

We're meant to have been searching for issues since November 2007  .
I've cut out random articles, but haven't really found anything that interesting. I've checked everyday in the Age.

[brendan]

OMG
there are plenty

do something that you know something about. do something related to schooling or university

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/highereducation/
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/highereducation/schools/
http://www.smh.com.au/education/
http://www.theage.com.au/education/

[elaine]

like?

[brendan]

check it out the links

[elaine]

sorry, the links weren't in before lol.

[brendan]

http://education.theage.com.au/archive_listing.asp?groupid=g

[sheepz]

OMG that actually looks interesting. Our ESL teachers dumbed it down for us to REALLY BORING topics. They gave us choices like euthanasia, gambling, drugs, smoking <-- yuck!! I hate those topics with a passion. They've been asking us to do them since year 10 and I have always argued and found a way out >.< They also gave us the choice of 'Australian soldiers in Iraq' so I'm doing that =) Doesn't seem that hard and is a tiny bit interesting compared to the other choices I have lol.

[brendan]

LOl
i dunno
a part of it is getting the attention of your classmates. do they really care about that? does the teacher really care about that? why not do an issue about education or schooling, something that both the students and teachers can relate to.

here are good ones:
Should government schools be privatized? http://andrewleigh.com/?p=1734

Are new teachers getting dumber? http://www.sprc.unsw.edu.au/seminars/2006%20Program/Leigh.pdf

What should we do about poor performing teachers?
http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/too-easy-it-seems-to-give-poor-teachers-a-pass-mark/2007/08/31/1188067365985.html
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21471824-661,00.html
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22429740-601,00.html
http://www.theage.com.au/news/education-news/poor-teachers-blamed-for-low-scores/2007/09/14/1189276985630.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7088383.stm
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22682645-13881,00.html

[elaine]

http://education.theage.com.au/archive_listing.asp?groupid=g

Where is the "issues" archive in Education they used to have? I remember seeing that a while back.

[Mao]

euthanasia is NOT boring...
it is an option for those willing to deal with hard philosophical ethics, but the amount of resources available that are useful for the study of issues, i.e. not philosophy papers but Media coverage, euthanasia is really hard to do....

if ur a computer wiz u might consider doing Internet Privacy/Internet Freedom of Expression?? there's plenty of ethical dilemmas around there...

LOl
i dunno
a part of it is getting the attention of your classmates. do they really care about that? does the teacher really care about that? why not do an issue about education or schooling, something that both the students and teachers can relate to.

thats why taboo stuff work so well! death, sex, drugs, money, blah... get them all worked up, then calming them down....

[sheepz]

Well, to tell you the truth, I don't think most of my classmates will understand whatever I say because most of them don't have a *ahem* firm background in English. It's really hard to get them to stay with me as I tend to speak too fast and with too many 'hard' words for them. Lol I think most of them tune out... I hardly dare to tell a joke because only the teacher would get it >.< We had I think 4 people do smoking (persuasive speech) in a row this year and everyone was thoroughly sick of it. They don't give us a choice though most of the time. I normally come up with a topic I would like to do and insist on doing it. I guess I wasn't really thinking this time round to not have done that... I don't mind it that much I suppose. I doubt many people will choose that topic. (oh no, another big round of smoking/drugs oral presentations)

true euthanasia is not THAT boring (it would be my second choice) but I can hardly think up of anything to say about it and yes, it's a bit hard to gather differing media information on it.

[elaine]

Are new teachers getting dumber?

Hell yeah.
 I'd get slaughtered by the teacher if I did that though lol.

[brendan]

The minimum wage issue.

[sheepz]

The minimum wage issue.

LOL you don't have to go that far to find points for that either! XD

[Collin Li]

The minimum wage issue.

LOL.

About those classic issues like euthanasia, abortion, etc. I would actually advise against these. Try to pick a simpler topic. These topics come down to principle, morals and the issue is too large! It is also not very unique.