111 MA If you could make one important change in a school that you attended, what change would you make? Use reasons and specific examples to support your answer.

Most of the schools that I attended bad excellent programs and instructors. Unfortunately, at one school this was not the case. The foreign language program there needed both better planning and better instructors. If I could, I would make changes in three major areas.
  
The first step would be to offer third and fourth year language classes. This particular school had no language programs above the second year level. Students who started language classes in the first year ran out of classes to talk by the time they were halfway through the school. This was frustrating for those of us who loved learning languages. It also had bad affects when we tried to resume language studies in college after a two-year break.

Next, the foreign language program should be staffed with well-trained instructors. The current teachers in the program don’t speak the languages well enough. In our classes teachers frequently made errors while the students repeated. If the teachers were well-trained, they would be good models for the students.

Finally, the materials in the language courses should be updated. They need to use modern technology. Even though the school has a computer laboratory, our language class never used it. We were limited to using the assigned textbook. If software was available, the students could search the Internet for current, real-life materials, such as newspapers from other countries.

Understanding people from other countries depends on being able to communicate with them. Poor language instruction makes this impossible. Improving the foreign language program would really make a difference to the students of the school.

112 MA A gift (such as a camera, a soccer ball, or an animal) can contribute to a child’s development. What gift would you give to help a child develop? Why? Use reasons and specific examples to support your choice.

When I was about 10 years old, my older sister gave me a present. It was my first real grown-up bicycle: a three-speed, yellow and black, shiny and new. I still remember how excited I was. That bicycle was very important to me over the next few years. If I wanted to give a gift that would contribute to a child’s development, I would choose a bicycle.
  
Bikes are great exercise. They encourage outdoor play. Television and video games, which are the most popular children’s activities nowadays, involve mostly sitting and starting. Riding a bike makes exercise fun.

Bikes are convenient transportation, too. Without a bike you have to depend on an adult to drive you almost everywhere. With a bike you can go farther. You can ride to your friend’s bouses. If your school is close enough, you can take yourself to school. You have control over where you go, and you’re not always waiting or begging for a ride. Now you can say “Can I go ……?” instead of “Please take me!”

To me as a child, a bicycle meant independence. Not only could I could I go farther, but no one was watching where I went. The road went past the park, the pond, the woods, the 7-11 store, and more. I saw the network of little neighborhood roads from a different viewpoint. I could stop anywhere and look at whatever I wanted. Everything was my choice. Bike riding was active, not passive.

My bicycle gave me fun exercise, easy transportation, and freedom. For all these reasons, I think that a bicycle is a special present for a child.