Letters to the Editor
When we write a letter to the editor, we try to persuade others to agree with our point of view. There are a number of different techniques and devices we may use to try to get people to see our side of an issue. We may appeal to the reader's feelings, we may use humour, we may use facts and statistics, and we may use devices such as hyperbole and metaphor.
A letter to the editor has to be quite short, usually around 450–500 words. This is because newspapers have limited space, so you need to phrase your opinion as clearly and briefly as possible. Keeping it short will also make it more likely that readers take the time to read your text.
There are many different ways to write a letter to the editor, so the examples here should not be regarded as a recipe for how to write such letters, rather they sould be considered examples of the genre. Each of the two examples have strengths and flaws, and each might be improved upon by making different choices.
We Need More Information About Career Opportunities
At my senior high school, we have a career day once a year. We also have an advisor with whom we can make an appointment to discuss what we want to study, or what kind of job we want in the future. We have access to websites devoted to answering questions about education and careers. While it is good that we have these things, it is far from enough. A study by the Norwegian Student Union and Universitas from 2020 shows that 41% of students are dissatisfied with the career advice they got in senior high school (Larsen, 2020).
Not many of my friends know what they want to do when they finish school. Those who do know, are usually following in the footsteps of a relative. They are interested in those jobs because they already know a lot about them. In a study, 78% of university and college students stated that they chose their studies based on their interest in the subject. 30% stated that they made their choice because they believed they had a talent for, or good abilities in the subject (Skalleberg & Lausten, 2014). It is impossible to know whether you have a talent for something, or an interest in something, unless you already know quite a bit about the subject. That is why information is so important.
When we receive a presentation from a university or college, they usually bring a list of different subjects to study and mention some of the jobs these subjects may lead to. Sometimes we get to meet representatives from different professions, but they are usually professions we are already familiar with. What about all the jobs we know nothing about? If we make an appointment with the advisor, it is usually because we have a specific plan, for example that we want to study in the United States, or we want to know what grades we need in order to get into a specific college.
I once met a man whose job it was to check the lenses used in astronomy observatories around the world. I had never heard of that before. What education do you need to get that job? My advisor had no idea. I only know about that job by accident. I am sure there are lots and lots of other jobs like that; jobs many people would want to do if they only knew they existed. Around 30% of Norwegians who start higher education drop out (Larsen, 2020). I think that number would be lower if we were able to provide more and better information about the opportunities that are out there.
I think we need to focus on our future careers much earlier than we do today. If, instead of having one career day per year, we had one lesson per week devoted to introducing different professions, I think that would be a step in the right direction. I also think this should begin much earlier than senior high school. If we learned about different jobs already in primary school, we would have time to think, dream, and become motivated. I also think we should visit workplaces, and see what different jobs are really like. That way, we would make better, more informed choices about what we want to do with our lives. The dropout rates would go down, and people would be much happier with their work and, by extension, with their lives.
I Don't Want to Help People
I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up, but I know that I don’t want to help people. I have no interest in making the world a better place, and every day, my school tells me that I am wrong. School tells us to be self-realising, which is presented as the same as being self-sacrificing. I think schools indoctrinate children into taking low-paying, smelly, difficult jobs by telling them that they will be making the world a better place. In my opinion, schools should provide more neutral information about what jobs are out there for us.
From the day we start school and all the way through high school, we are asked 'what can you do to make the world a better place?' All of my classmates answer: "I want a job where I can help people". They want to be nurses, vets, doctors, social workers – one or two even want to become teachers – as if thirteen+ years of school wasn’t enough. I don’t want to be a nurse. I am afraid of contagious illnesses, and bad smells make me hurl. Vet is out of the question for much the same reasons, and besides, I love animals, so why would I choose a job where I would most days be euthanising them? People bore me, so social work is out of the question. And becoming a teacher, well, where to begin? I don’t know why anyone would do that to themselves.
Some of my friends want to save the world. They want to go to Africa and work in health care or education. I know one girl who wants to spend her life cleaning oil off seabirds or stop pollution in other ways. I don’t want to do any of that. I want to be safe and comfortable. I think Africa would be fine if foreign companies were made to pay fair taxes for the assets stripped from the continent each year. And I really do not see the appeal of spending your life cold and wet, sleeping in tents on polluted beaches.
I am sure nurses go to bed feeling good about themselves, or they would if they hadn’t been so overworked and underfunded that every day is all about compromises. I am sure that teachers feel on top of the world when they actually get through to students. I am sure it is very satisfying to turn an oil-soaked seagull back into an ear-piercing, feathered ball of greed; I just have no interest in doing it. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t go about kicking puppies, and if I found an animal that was hurt, I’d bring it to the vet – but that’s where my involvement would end.
What I do want is to make money. I want to buy a home. I want a cabin by the sea. I want to get married and raise a family. I never want to worry about my food budget, or if I can afford winter shoes and clothes. I want to eat at nice restaurants, and I want to take nice holidays. I want to be safe and comfortable. That’s it. That's the kind of job I am interested in. That's what I would like to get information about from my school. Tell me what job will get me there, and I’ll take it. If what I do helps people or makes the world better in some way, that’s a bonus, but for me it’s not a requirement.