WAEC English Language 2018 Theory — Question 4

Model answer

CHILDREN OF LITERATE PARENTS PERFORM BETTER IN SCHOOL THAN THOSE OF ILLITERATE PARENTS Good day the Moderator, Panel of Judges, Accurate Time-Keeper and my Co-debaters. I am Kentebe Laye, and I am here to passionately support the motion that children of literate parents perform better in school than those of illiterate parents. You can't give what you don't have goes the popular saying, and this has an effect on the motion. Literate parents understand and value the significance of education, as they are products of it and have seen its significance; hence they would undoubtedly encourage their children to attain the zenith of their education because they know education is light. From the foregoing, children of literate parents would perform better in school than children of illiterate parents because they would constantly monitor the progress of their children and know the requisite intervention they need to take, especially in situations when the child is not performing satisfactorily. This might not be the case for illiterate parents, who might be stranded in coming up with the suitable mechanism to assist their children academically. Homework is correctly supervised by literate parents, as these are subject matters they are not strange to. However, illiterate parents are oblivious of these subject matters and stand a high chance of being deceived and hoodwinked by their children. Furthermore, literate parents can call at their children's school anytime, as they understand what the children are expected to be taught, and if there is an issue, they can easily detect it. Also, they understand, from the assessment reports of their children, their strengths and weaknesses, and can proffer necessary intervention to move them to their expected or targeted levels. This cannot be so for illiterate parents, because those concepts would be strange to them. Literate parents can assist their children with projects, debates, quiz preparations, etc. They also know the right incentives to give to children to spur them on the part of excellence. My opponents might argue that literate parents might not have the time to assist their children with their academic needs; however, a literate parent who understands the value of education will know that while teachers are important in a child's destiny, the home is the bedrock in shaping children's destiny and in achieving the necessary academic milestone of a child. More so, literate parents understand the importance of a child's exposure to what they learn in class. They are enthusiastic about their children going on trips, vacations, excursions, etc. which would further aid learning. However, illiterate parents might see this as meaningless adventures which are not worthy of attention or significance. Literate parents are empathetic towards their children, as they celebrate their successes and encourage their areas of shortcomings; this is so because they have passed through that stage before and understand that it is not always rosy. This might not be the case for illiterate parents, whose main preoccupation might be result-oriented and thus over-stretch their children above their limits, resulting in depression and low self-esteem. Literate parents have a high tendency to detect relationships that might destroy their children and thus act timely to prevent such; illiterate parents might not, as they might not understand the language of communication of their children with their friends, especially those who are not literate in the English Language. Finally, literate parents know which device or gadget can affect their children's concentration and thus would take proactive measures to either reduce it or eliminate it completely. This might not be the case for illiterate parents, who are usually tossed around by their children and feel that if they give their children all that they ask, they may do well in their studies — and this is not necessarily so. I believe with these cogent facts I have been able to assert convincingly that children of literate parents perform better than children of illiterate parents.