Is family planning necessary?

Is family planning necessary?

My answer to this question is a definite Yes! My reasons are as follows.

When a man and a woman settle down and start having children without considering what sort of life they and the children will have, they are behaving very irresponsibly. Often the result of such irresponsibility is a family that will undergo a lot of hardship. I give an example of this.

An uncle of mine works as fishmonger. In the eight years of his marriage, he already has eight children and more seem to be on the way. He can hardly make enough to feed himself and his wife. With eight more young mouths to feed it is not surprising that he simply cannot cope.

His children do not have decent clothes to wear or sufficient food to eat. They live in a squalid squatter shack near the edge of town. My mother, who is his sister, does what she can to help. However the amount of help she can give is limited for she is a housewife and my father is not too keen on giving unending assistance to someone (my uncle) who is so irresponsible. So my uncle moans about his misfortune and complains that no one wants to help him. What he will not admit is that he is the cause of his own misery. He suffers the consequences of not planning his family.

There are hundred of families that live the way my uncle does I the squatter settlement. I have visited them on numerous occasions and have to say that they live in miserable conditions. They do not have piped water or proper drains. Basic hygiene is not observed. As a result the people living there are not healthy. The children are especially prone to all sorts of illness. My cousins seem to have perpetual runny noses and smelly bodies.

The future of these children is not bright. Without proper upbringing many of them will end up on the wrong side of the law. I know that some of the residents of this area are thugs and gangsters. Some of them have already been arrested for crimes such as drug trafficking and armed robbery. What hope is there for children brought up here?

On the other hand one of my father’s cousins is careful about his children. He only has three, all of which are given a good home to grow up in. he is by no means rich. He earns his living as a van salesman. The difference is that he is concerned with the quality of the children he has, not quantity. He makes sure they have enough food to eat and their well-being is looked after. The result of such care is so obvious. The children live in much better conditions. They are a joy to be with. At least there is less risk in getting some kind of sickness from them, as in the case with my less fortunate cousins.

On the whole I will say that a planned family of about two or three children is best. The children have a chance of a happy childhood. The likelihood is that they will grow up to be good responsible citizens too. In a large unplanned family, the parents have not enough time to bring the children up properly. Besides having a difficult childhood, the chances of growing up into wrong company is very real indeed. Consequently, they suffer the rest of their lives.

The signs are obvious. A planned family has a much better chance of being a happy one. An unplanned one has virtually no chance at all.

Education is very necessary. Do you agree?

Education is very necessary. Do you agree?

Whether or not education serves the right purpose in our society is a difficult question to decide. Very often people do not take up professions for which they are trained; at other times they do not get the opportunity to use their training. When most education at the school level is either free or subsidized, it becomes essential to examine the question in great detail.

Is education really necessary? Did we not live before this quantitative expansion took place, before education began to be imparted to members of all classes? In Britain till mid-nineteenth century education was class privilege. Britain could expand the area of its education on the basis of the industrial relation. Can the developing and the under-developed countries afford to take similar measures?

For generations our people have depended only on life to educate them and they have all learned through experience. Even at a higher stage of education mere theoretical knowledge is not enough; it has to be related to actual experience. Many young engineers and technicians find that what they have learned in their schools and colleges is not of much use to them and they have to learn everything anew once they take to practical work.

However solid these arguments may appear to be, I firmly believe that education alone can save us. It alone can help us build a better future. Ignorance never was bliss and to believe in it would be a folly. It is not gold that makes good people or good countries. It is knowledge. Knowledge is the only thing which can come to the help of mankind. Education is one we cannot neglect. If we want young minds to grow and be aware of the world around them, if we want our country to be in the forefront or at least on par with other countries, we must educate our people for all advanced knowledge and for peace and war education is necessary. We can never be free if we depend on other countries for the technical know-how. Even if practical knowledge is acquired in the fields and the factories, we have to have some one who knows about the soils and the fertilizers and can build our factories.

Today war is not a mere matter of bravery of courage. Wars are won or lost on the basis of literacy. Modern weapons are so sophisticated that an illiterate soldier cannot use them. Education is not a mere ability to sign one’s name. It is the basis of something much more important. Even basic hygiene and cleanliness are connected with the level of education. To some extent they are also connected with the economic situation. Education helps to solve both the problems at one go. With better education better jobs will be available.

There is no time to dilly-dally about matters related to education. If we want progress, we must ensure minimum education for all.

Private tuition – is it necessary?

Private tuition – is it necessary?

As far as I am concerned, private tuition is not necessary for me. I shall give some reasons.

I find that if I pay attention in class when the teacher is teaching, it is adequate to see me trough my lessons and homework. If there is any doubt I can always ask the teacher concerned.

Today most of the things taught in school are not too difficult to follow, as long as I do not neglect my work. Mathematics, Science, Geography, History, and English are not that difficult to handle provided I take an interest in them and put in some genuine effort. So in all years in school I never had to have any private tuition. Yet I can get through my examinations without any problem.

I notice that my classmates who take private tuition are usually not interested in their studies. In class they have a “couldn’t-be-bothered” attitude thinking that their tuition teachers will cover the lessons for them later. What they do not realize is that it is so much easier to pay attention in class than having to spend extra time in the afternoons just to cover up for the wasted time in school. The extra time can easily be spent for other more constructive things than having to repeat a lesson.

Also private tutors do not come cheap. The parents have to fork out a considerable sum of money for the services of the tutors who are ordinary teachers anyway.

The trouble with taking private tuition is that the students can become too dependent on the tutors and cannot function on their own. Everything has to be spoon-fed.

Private tuition is only necessary if the child is really weak in certain subjects. But nowadays it is trendy to go to tutorial centers or engage private tutors.

Whether private tuition does really improve the performance of an ordinary student is debatable. Some of my classmates take private tuition. I do not see them doing exceptionally well in tests and examinations. Some of them still fail. Those who do not take private tuition perform just about the same as those who do. One who does not have private tuition, does not feel disadvantaged nor less capable than those who do.

I have to concede that not everyone has the same ability or intelligence. So some students may really need extra tuition before they can grasp what is being taught. Perhaps then these people can benefit from private tuition. But for the majority of students, like my classmates, they do not need private tuition. What they need is to do their classwork properly and they should have no troubles passing any examination.

The teachers in school are always there to help if we bother to ask them. They are already paid for their services. So there is no need to pay them extra for the same things they teach in school.