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School is bad for children

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Name: Phạm Minh Nhâm
Class: 16E18
To what extent do you agree with the statement: “School is bad for children?”
Support your claims with appropriate grounds and warrants.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), adopted in 1948, states in Article
26: “Everyone has the right to education”, which recognizes a right to free to school at
least in the elementary and fundamental stages and compulsory elementary education. The
right being enforceable in countries around the world has helped many children approach
knowledge at school. However, in the recent time schooling education has been a
controversial topic. Some people think school is a safe environment for children to
improve knowledge and cultivate virtues, while others say formal education brings many
negative effects on students. From my perspective, school no longer benefits children.
It is undeniable that school-type formal structure accounts to too much time of children.
Overall, for every student, the day is spent in school, travelling, doing homework, playing
or sleeping. This time fund will be divided appropriately to help children develop best both
physically and mentally. However, Rawat (2012), ASSOCHAM Secretary General and
chairman of ASSOCHAM Social Development Foundation (ASDF), show that on an
average, nearly 7-8 hours a day is time which children in metropolitan cities spend in
school, with some spending even 10 hours. It means they spend longer hours in school than
their parents spend at work. Another result of this survey also suggests a number of
children have less than 15 to 25 minute, each day, to play time because of homework
overload and parental pressure.
Besides, school is no longer safe for children due to bullying school. Bullying means
repeated threatening, verbal cursing, teasing, physical attacks or exclusion occurring
among school-aged children and teenagers within the school environment. School violence
is now recognized as a widespread and usually problem and is a threat for both students
and whole society. In the United States about one in five elementary school and 1 in 10
middle school students is bullied (Brown et al. 2005, 384). Moreover, approximately 15%
of Swedish school children are involved either as victims or bullies (Frisen et al. 2007, 1).
School violence may cause psychological and physical effects in children. A survey
conducted in 2010 by the Foundation for Preventing Youth Violence, a counseling center
established more than 15 years ago, indicated that more than 30% of victims of bullying
had suicidal ideation. Instead of joy, healthy and the eagerness in school, many students
experience low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation, and even may feel
socially rejected or isolated just due to bullying.
Some opponents suppose that school is an ideal destination for children to express
themselves and help them to gain essential skills for future life. But in fact, our education
system often seems to push creativity out of the curriculum. Most of the children are
initially creative, resourceful, active and curious about the surrounding environment.
According to a test devised by NASA 98 percent of children are born creative geniuses
scientists. However schools accidentally turn them into passive students due to their
teaching methods and limited freedom. Students have to be compelled to spend almost of a
day into space of class or school with full of chairs, table, numbers and words.
Additionally, teachers tend to shape children’s way of thinking mechanically, which make
children lose the ability to think outside the box. What students do and creates tends to be
based on the permissions of teachers. For example:” Students are reluctant to carry on any
work without teacher permission or instruction”. That makes students become passive,
have the tendency to rely on teachers.
While I admit that school brings some indisputable benefits to student education, from my
point of view, its disadvantages outweighed the advantages that it has. Schooling not only
may make children suffer from psychological and physical effects due to bullying but also
take time and creativity of them. Therefore, it will be necessary for parents to consider the
strengths and weaknesses of the schooling so that they can make the most informed
decision in educating their children.
REFERENCE LIST
Assocham Social Department Foundation Survey (2012). The Times of India: Children
spend more hours in school than adults do in office: Assocham.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Children-spend-more-hours-in-schoolthan-adults-do-in-office-Assocham/articleshow/15271798.cms
Gaia (2018). We’re born natural innovators, so does school kill creativity?
https://www.gaia.com/article/does-education-kill-creativity
Limo (2015). Bullying among teenagers and its effects. Theseus.
The Foundation for Preventing Youth Violence Survey (2010). CNN: South Korea's school
bullying has deadly consequences.
https://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/18/world/asia/south-korea-bullying/index.html
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