Statement: “Teachers must attend workshops.” Consider this directive and decide which of the given assumptions is or are implicit.

Difficulty: Easy

Correct Answer: Only assumption 1 is implicit.

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
This question concerns a directive about professional development for teachers. The statement says that teachers must attend workshops. You must identify which assumptions are taken for granted when such a rule is made. Recognising implicit assumptions helps you understand the motivation behind policies and instructions.


Given Data / Assumptions:

  • Statement: Teachers must attend workshops.
  • Assumption 1: Workshops update teachers.
  • Assumption 2: Workshops kill time.
  • Task: Decide which assumption or assumptions are implicit in the statement.


Concept / Approach:
When an authority requires teachers to attend workshops, the implied belief is that workshops are beneficial in some way, usually by updating their knowledge or skills. Without such a benefit, making attendance compulsory would not have a rational basis. On the other hand, the idea that workshops kill time is a negative evaluation; if it were truly believed by those making the rule, they would be less likely to mandate attendance. So we expect only the positive assumption to be implicit.


Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: The directive Teachers must attend workshops suggests that participation is important for teachers.Step 2: A natural reason for this importance is that workshops help teachers stay updated with new methods, syllabus changes, or educational tools.Step 3: This is exactly what Assumption 1 states: Workshops update teachers. For the directive to make sense, the decision makers must believe this.Step 4: Therefore, Assumption 1 is implicit in the statement.Step 5: Assumption 2 asserts that workshops kill time, which is a strongly negative judgement.Step 6: If the decision makers truly believed that workshops kill time and offer no real benefit, it would be irrational to insist that teachers must attend.Step 7: Thus, Assumption 2 is not only unnecessary for the statement, it actually conflicts with the reasoning behind making workshops compulsory.Step 8: Hence, only Assumption 1 is implicit.


Verification / Alternative check:
Consider a school administration designing a policy. If they think workshops give teachers updated knowledge and techniques, they have an incentive to make attendance compulsory, so all teachers benefit. Now consider if they believed workshops only kill time without improving teaching. In that case, the logical move would be to reduce or remove workshops, not to mandate them. This confirms that the positive assumption about usefulness, not the negative one, underlies the statement.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:

  • Option a is wrong because including Assumption 2 misrepresents the motivation behind the directive.
  • Option b is wrong because at least one clear assumption (Assumption 1) is necessary.
  • Option c is wrong because it selects the negative assumption, which contradicts the intent of the rule.
  • Option e brings in truth value issues beyond the question of what is assumed.


Common Pitfalls:

  • Assuming that because some teachers may feel workshops kill time, this sentiment is also held by the policy makers who issued the directive.
  • Failing to distinguish between the perspective of those who must attend and those who set the rule.
  • Thinking that every statement about an activity includes both positive and negative assumptions, instead of identifying which one is logically required.


Final Answer:
Only assumption 1 is implicit: the belief that workshops update and benefit teachers underlies the directive that teachers must attend them.

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