Showing posts with label band 6 essay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label band 6 essay. Show all posts

MUET Sample Essay Band 6

Single Parent Struggle 


         For many years, children growing up in a single parent family have been viewed as different. Being raised by only one parent seems impossible to many yet over the decades it has become more prevalent. In today’s society many children have grown up to become emotionally stable and successful whether they had one or two parents to show them the rocky path that life bestows upon all human beings. The problem lies in the difference of children raised by single parents versus children raised by both a mother and a father. Does a child need both parents? Does a young boy need a father figure around? Does the government provide help for single parents? What role do step-parents and step-siblings play? With much speculation, this topic has become a very intriguing argument. What people must understand is that properly raising a child does not rely on the structure of a family but should be more focused on the process or values that are taught to these children as they learn to mature. Children of single parents can be just as progressive with emotional, social and behavioral skills as those with two parents. 

           People claim that the only way for children to gain full emotional and behavioral skills is to be raised by both a mother and a father. When a topic such as this one has a broad amount of variables it is impossible to simply link these problems to only having one parent. In the article, “Single-parent families cause juvenile crime”, author Robert L. Maginnis states, “Children from single-parent families are more likely to have behavior problems because they tend to lack economic security and adequate time with parents”. The simple statement that raw criminals are products of single-parent adolescence is absurd. What this writer must understand is that it can be extremely difficult for one parent to raise a child by themselves for many reasons. A single-parent must work full time to be able to afford to provide for themselves and their child. They must also be able to still have time to offer an exuberant amount of emotional time for the well being of their child. However, even though this may seem impossible, it can be done. 

      As this subject continues to be looked down on people must realize that single parents are becoming more common in today’s world. Since 1995 the American family structure for children ages fourteen to eighteen consists of forty-two percent living in a first marriage family with both parents, twenty-two percent living in a second marriage step-family, twenty-one percent living in a single parent, divorced or separated family, six percent living in a single parent never married family and three percent living in a single parent widowed family. This is an extremely scary statistic considering that fiftyeight percent of children in America are living in a single parent family. This is a chilling percentage because it shows how little faith is put into a relationship before actually deciding to have children. Unfortunately not all single-parents take the time to perform the vital tasks needed to raise their children. Parents who think they would never be able to provide emotional stability for their children by themselves should have taken the time to think this through before deciding to become parents. Accidents may happen once in awhile but in most cases adults know what is at stake when planning to have a child. Plain and simple, if you’re not ready, than don’t do it. If you do decide to have this child and you love this child, then you can be a good parent. There are many ways to enhance the well being of your child if you simply apply yourselves as parents.

       Magginnis later states that, “Boys who do not have fathers as male role models suffer especially”. While it is extremely important for a male child to have his father around, there are other ways of teaching a young boy the lessons he needs to become a man. I know from personal experience that what the author of this article is trying to convey is wrong. I never had my father around while growing up and I did in fact have many positive male role models. My Grandfather was always there to help guide me as I slowly blossomed into a young man. Anytime my mother had to work to support us, my grandparents, aunt’s, uncles and cousins would step up and provide the time and attention I needed. Therefore, I had the best support group I could have had as a young man. Being a child with a single mother had its benefits. Although I came to find how hard it really was for her to always meet the needs of her child, she did the best job that she possibly could and gave me the knowledge that I needed to become a successful man without the guidance of my father. 

          I did however have the experience of dealing with a step-parent. Today, twentyfive percent of all American children will spend at least some time of their growing-up years in a stepfamily. This seems fine for single parents because they feel like they can start over in a new relationship and receive help from their spouse both emotionally and financially. A step-parent can cause confusion and emotional stress on the child since they have just had to adjust to only one parent and now have to adjust to a new parental figure stepping into the family role. Another factor of bringing a step-parent into a single family’s life is new step-siblings to get along with. It might not be justified for a step-parent to punish their step-child like they would their own flesh and blood. As long as both parents have an understanding that their family comes first and that it is important to communicate between themselves and with the children, a step-family could survive. 

          Children who are raised with both a mother and a father have more attention from both parents therefore they get the emotional time they need to progress in life. This could be true but not in all circumstances. It would not be beneficial at all to grow up in a two parent family who did nothing but argue and put each-other down. Naturally, a child who sees this from a very young age until they are ready to be out on their own would only follow in the footsteps of all that they have ever known. Children who are raised by one parent who devotes their time and emotion into their child would benefit much more than a child who has both parents showing them that fighting and arguing is acceptable. 

         Not all families are lucky enough to have a healthy structure. It is important for society and government aids to notice these structural differences and take action. There should be government funded programs to help assist single-parent families with childcare and finances for parents who must work and still have time for their children. Whether it’s a mother and a father, a single mother, or a single father, children need guidance. They will only become a product of what they are taught from a young age and these children are deeply affected emotionally by the amount of love and compassion that is put into raising them. Whichever family structure is implied it must be one of respect and strong moral values that they can someday pass on to their family. 





Chris Polito 
Paola Brown 
Eng102 
25 March 2008

MUET Sample Essay Band 6

       School Choice – An Unwise Option 

           The topic of charter schools and vouchers is an ongoing debate that is currently being argued in places from the local school board meetings to state supreme courts. Both charter schools and school voucher programs are collectively referred to as “school choice” initiatives, in that they allow parents to choose educational options for their children that are outside of the traditional public school system. A school voucher program provides parents with certificates that are used to pay for education at a school of their choice, rather than the public school to which they are assigned. Charter schools on the other hand are publicly funded schools that have been freed from some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools. In exchange, charter schools have specialized accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school’s charter. As Americans we enjoy choices and often associate choice as something positive. Being able to choose a school may sound like a reasonable initiative on the surface, but after a closer look it has serious problems. School choice turns out to not only be a bad idea; it’s also a violation of our constitution.   

        Considering the many challenges facing public schools, it’s understandable that many people would be eager to pursue new options. Supporters of school choice point out that under the current public school system, parents with economic means already exercise school choice by moving from areas with failing or dangerous schools to neighborhoods with better, safer schools. Their argument is that school choice would allow all parents the freedom, regardless of income level, to select the school that provides the best education (Chub and Moe). Schools would then have to compete for students by offering higher academic results and greater safety. Schools unable to measure up to the standards of successful schools would fail and possibly close. Activists within the school choice movement can be applauded for seeking to improve public education, but the changes they propose would in fact seriously damage public education as a whole.

        One of the biggest dangers of school choice is the power behind large corporations specializing in opening and operating charter schools. Two notable companies are Green Dot, which is the leading public school operator in Los Angeles (Green Dot), and KIPP, which operates 65 schools in 19 different states [KIPP]. These companies represent a growing trend of privatization of public schools by large corporations. It is feared that these corporations could grow to a point that public control of education would be lost. Education policy would be left in the hands of entrepreneurial think tanks, corporate boards of directors, and lobbyists who are more interested in profit than educating students [Miller and Gerson]. Education should be left in the hands of professional educators and not business people with MBAs. To do otherwise is not only dangerous, it defies common sense.

        The validity of school voucher programs has met numerous challenges, with results varying from state to state. At the center of the divided opinions is whether or not it is constitutional for the federal government to give money directly to private schools, many of which are religiously based. According to the NEA “About 85 percent of private schools are religious. Vouchers tend to be a means of circumventing the Constitutional prohibitions against subsidizing religious practice and instruction [NEA].” One might view a parent’s choice to send children to a religious school using government funded school vouchers as acceptable considering that family pays taxes and it’s only fair that they have a say in where the money is spent on behalf of their children. But consider the many people who have no children, or who have grown children that no longer participate in the public school system. These people still pay taxes to support public education, and it is only reasonable to consider that they may object to the funding of religious schools with the tax money they are paying. It is clear from any point of view that far more people object to voucher programs than benefit.  

     The public school system guarantees an education for every child in our nation. It becomes apparent that this isn’t the case after examining the various school choice options. One must also consider the fate of special needs students which require many additional hours of direct teacher attention. These students could easily be viewed as “too expensive” to educate and could face sub-standard treatment or even exclusion in profit minded, corporate operated, charter schools. Even voucher programs possess a hidden selective element when one considers that religious schools are allowed to choose their students. Parents may apply to the school for admission of their children, but the school may choose to not admit them [ATF]. The only way to truly guarantee equality in public education is to invest in our public education system.

          America was the first country to provide public education to all and we must ensure that it is not eroded by school choice. It can bee seen that charter schools, while attractive at first, fade under closer examination. The dangers of huge corporations taking control of education are real. Consider what would have happened if Enron was involved in education. And voucher programs, also attractive under first light, become less appealing after considering their constitutional legality and the fact that private schools are allowed to practice a form of “student choice”. All of the school choice initiatives are answers to the problems facing public education. But consider that for decades public education has suffered from lack of proper funding [Haider-Markel]. Without proper funding, public schools have never had a legitimate chance to succeed. Why don’t people pursue a simple answer to a simple problem? American’s should fund the public schools adequately so they can get the job done. It’s a simple answer that will work. 




Mark Liles 
Professor Brown 
ENG 101 
26 June 2008 

Yuran IPTA Paling Mahal di Malaysia

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