APRIL 2012. ESSAY.

Read the following article and discuss the issues involved, concluding with your personal recommendations and opinions.

IS EDUCATION TOO IMPORTANT TO BE LEFT IN THE HANDS OF POLITICIANS?

Little was known of the plans of the Government in its early days when Mariano Rajoy was silent, but it has become clear that one of its first initiatives is to bring about new Education measures. The Abortion Act is one, labour reform will be another and the elimination of Citizenship Education is the third. And watch out because it is not without controversy, especially because the reasons that the Minister of Education, José Ignacio Wert, has given to justify such a change have not gone unnoticed. Specifically on the subject “Education for Citizenship” he said it had created a "serious split" in society and in the educational world, and went so far as to use the word “indoctrination”..

MAY 2012. REPORT.
Read the following statistics and then write a report for your local Tourist Board, explaining the merits of your city:

Barcelona in the top fifty!
Barcelona has been ranked 40th in the 50 cities with the best quality of life in the world. Madrid made it to 43rd. Other European cities on the list include Vienna and Zurich.

The report studied 221 cities around the world, taking New York (which occupies 47th place) as the reference to compare various levels of quality of life, such as public services, the offer of nightlife and accommodation, the socio-cultural atmosphere, economic, political, social, and educational environment.

Those at the bottom of the list include Monterrey (104), San Jose (105), Asunción (112), Lima (118), Ciudad de Mexico (121), Quito (124), Santo Domingo (129), Bogota (130), Guatemala (142), La Paz (147), Caracas (164), Managua (166), San Salvador (168) and La Habana (189).

According to Mercer, which undertook the study, these rankings help multinational companies and governments to establish the levels of aid that they need to facilitate workers and expatriates.