Topic 17 Do you learn better by yourself or with a teacher?

Some people prefer to learn by themselves. They think they can learn better in this way because they have more freedom, independence, and pressure in their self-study. There is some truth in their way, but they fail to see the many advantage of learning with a teacher. Especially, when you learn something more complicated, it is always best to have a teacher. My arguments for this point are listed as follows.

First, a teacher can act as a guide to lead you to success. When you grope (шаритесь, щупаете) for knowledge, you need help and advice. A teacher, who treats you as if you were his own child, will give you a hand when you encounter difficulties; he will render (окажет помощь) his advice when you are in a dilemma. Without a guide, you would be searching in darkness without a torch (факела) to light the way for you.

What is more, a teacher exerts (оказывает) real pressure on you. If you study by yourself, you must be strong-minded (решительным) enough to keep on. You may become indolent (ленивый, вялый) for lack of a strong will (отсутствие сильной воли). Studying under the guidance of a teacher, however, you will feel there is always someone to supervise you. The teacher may assign you some books to read or some homework to do. You must complete the assignments, or you will not pass the course. You are urged (вынуждены) to go no by your teacher.

Last but not least, studying with a teacher will receive the benefit of the teacher's knowledge. In class, the best teachers do more than just go over the material in the textbook. They teach students how to learn, how to absorb information and then apply what you have learned to other situations. They guide all of you on classroom to develop discussion of the material and provide extra materials to broaden the scope of the topic (расширить сферу охвата темы). Without the help of teacher, it is nearly impossible to get these skills just by reading the textbook yourself.

In short, I prefer go to class, studying with teacher to guide and urge me. I choose to learn in a big family - my school. If I was obliged (был бы вынужден) to learn by myself without a teacher or classmates, I would feel very sad and lonely. There would be no fun, no pressure, and no motivation. I could not learn well in such dull (скучных) and depressing circumstances.