Bumibahasa

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Parents are the best teachers.

Most people will agree that parents are responsible for caring for their children and raising them properly. There is even a proverb that says, ‘the apple does not fall far from the tree,’ which means that a child will follow or imitate the sample given by their parents. Even so, is it true that parents are the best teachers?

It is important to understand that parents and school play an essential role in a child’s life. Any kid will significantly be affected by the behavior of their parents and the school where they spend most of their youth. For example, parents have more time in the early years of their children’s lives and, therefore, can guide them to learn simple values such as honesty, courage, wisdom, and so on. However, only after the children reach school can they implement and apply all these values taught at home.

Now, we must analyze what teaching means. If teaching means character building, parents have to be the best teacher since children will imitate them most of the time. When a father, for example, shows aggression at home, the kids will likely take after him and be aggressive at school. When a mother teaches about saving money, the kids will spend less of their pocket money at school. These are values and norms, not school subjects.

On the other hand, if teaching means integrating academic knowledge and skills of a specific subject, then it is doubtful for parents to be capable in all subjects like math, chemistry, physics, or biology. Subjects need to be taught by professionals with a degree in education. Becoming a teacher requires experience and a professional career approach.

To sum up, In this essay, I disagree that parents are the best teacher for their children. We need to have good figures both in instilling values and norms in our children and also professional teachers to get them the academic achievement they will need in school so that they can optimize their full potential.

(DRAFT 20 MINUTES)

Everybody should be allowed admission to university study programs’ regardless of their academic ability. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

The right to obtain an education should be given to every human mainly because education is a vital tool to improve people’s quality of life. If someone becomes more educated, they will likely be more beneficial to society than if they are uneducated. The ability to provide benefits to the public and oneself is the primary reason people must be granted their right to education.

When someone has finished their compulsory education from primary school up to the senior high school level, they usually have the option to join the workforce or continue pursuing an education in college or university. If they choose to work, they will be considered unskilled workers and, therefore, will likely receive a lower overall salary. In contrast, if someone qualifies for a bachelor’s degree, they will be viewed as educated and can work where they are trusted to serve the public. For example, teachers, doctors, and engineers, valuable members of society, all have their qualifications from university studies. Therefore, graduating from university will enable everyone to have a more positive impact as a community member.

When someone enters university, they can build a good social network with equally educated people with the same interest and study backgrounds. They have the chance to reflect daily and be more aware of the world’s competitiveness. With this advantage, people can have the option to live life as they plan and see fit. The situation does not force them, nor do they become a follower. They have the chance to inspire and also to embrace their dream. This freedom will significantly improve people’s happiness instead of having a limited life due to lower education qualifications and the lack of chance to grow with an intellectual and competitive mind. If educated, people can feel more satisfied and have more opportunities to do things as planned.

To sum up, I agree that allowing everyone to obtain a degree from the university is essential. University qualification and education can be the key that people need to help them develop as better partners for developing society. In addition, it allows them to have a better personal life than being uneducated.

(DRAFT 20 MINUTES)

Car ownership has increased so rapidly over the past thirty years that many cities in the world are now ‘one big traffic jam’. How true do you think this statement is? What measures can governments take to discourage people from using their cars?

Some people believe that traffic in some capital cities, such as Jakarta and Beijing, is no longer tolerable, or, at least, anyone can admit that they are far from adequate. However, there is still hope in forms of education and good city planning, which will be discussed below.

The road space will not be able to keep up with the buying power of a growing economy. If people are allowed to buy vehicles without limitation, they will surely buy more than two or even three vehicles per household. Ultimately this will lead to traffic problems, and there is no doubt that the main contributor to the traffic is the citizen (along with improper government ruling). If the government restricts the number of cars to be purchased, there will be less traffic in the city.

To be fair about the whole matter, one must consider the reason people want to own cars in their households. Owning a car raises social status, and this new car owner will be more respected in many ways. Understanding this, it is apparent that people’s perspective on the definition of success needs to be changed, and the only way to change how and what people think is by education.

The urgency to implement specific city regulations must be addressed. Providing good public transportation is a must, and for this purpose, buses, underground services, and bike lanes can be some alternatives. This need for public transportation system is vital and even more so in the future, so all government plans and efforts toward this should be supported and are therefore justified.

To conclude, willingness is the solution to solving traffic problems (and preventing people from buying cars). These are the willingness of the public to adapt to public transportation, the willingness to let go of the chance to improve their status by purchasing cars, and the willingness of the government to help create a better city atmosphere.

(DRAFT 20 MINUTES)

How do movies or television influence people’s behavior?

People have various choices of things to do in their leisure time. Watching television should be placed in one of the higher ranks in that list of activities. It is often said that people need to be aware of the effect of television as it may affect people’s behavior. Movies are also said to have the same effect. Both television and movies can influence people explicitly and implicitly.

What I mean by the straightforward way is the situation when an audience is affected by what they see on the screen. Let’s say a romantic or sad scene that may make some people blush with happiness or fill with great sadness. What is seen on the screen is spontaneously delivering a reaction as the emotion feels proper.

The second way is the implicit way or the one that is rather indirect compared to the first. When people are constantly fed with bad news such as corruption and tragedy, this kind of news may affect people implicitly. The teenagers may think that corruption is an okay thing to do since they see all the arrested corrupt politicians smiling widely to the camera. The adults may believe that tragedy is common, and in the long term, it will reduce their sense of empathy. This does not happen instantly and, therefore, is implicit.

To sum up, media such as television or cinemas have the power to convey meaning to their audience. Unfortunately, these meanings are only sometimes as good as the broadcaster’s intention. There is an urgent need to study the effect of media on children, teenagers, and adults.

Recent figures show an increase in violent crime among youngsters under the age of 18. Some psychologists claim that the basic reason for this is that children these days are not getting the social and emotional learning they need from parents and teachers. Is this true? What are the solutions?

The increasing crime is a definite cause for worry, not only for parents and teachers but also for society in general. That will be even scarier to acknowledge that the increase mainly happened in the teenage age group. Most people related this trend to adolescents’ lack of social and emotional learning. However, it is possible that other factors, such as unhappiness with the family and the government, can also be a significant cause.

Social and emotional learning points to how people are raised. They are, most commonly, brought up by parents and teachers. Everyone will spend some time with their family and the rest with friends at school. Both parents and teachers may fail to answer the need of a particular child. However, this is only a good answer for a specific incident where the kid felt isolated and could not relate socially and emotionally with others surrounding them. But is it the answer for more than a million crimes? We need to look at other possible causes.

A significant number of teenagers likely feel unhappy with their current situation. They might do well at school, good at most subjects, but still, they need a real purpose for existing. In a world where people measure others by the amount of worldly treasure they have, good education and a good personality tend to be marginalized. These teenagers, who feel that they have nothing to lose, will start acting according to their beliefs. In other words, they react to the world around them. It is safe to say that the current system of the world these days frustrates and depresses many people.

Teenagers are in a vulnerable period of their life. Of course, they need sound guidance and communication. However, parents and teachers are only sometimes suitable for advice because they cannot win the teenager’s heart. Wealthy parents are usually hated because they work too much. In contrast, poor parents are usually hated because they tend to be lazy, or the father might be an alcoholic bum who is useless as a breadwinner. Teachers are not significantly different. It is so rare that a teacher can earn respect from their students. In this case, most teenagers do not need a role model.

To sum up, if we mean to solve the problem of crimes committed by teenagers, the first solution is to make ourselves worthy of communication. Parents and teachers cannot communicate with teenagers as long as they enforce their worldly views on them and do not treat them like adults.

(DRAFT 20 MINUTES)

As well as making money, business should have social responsibility. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

It is argued that businesses should share a certain percentage of their profit to help local citizens develop their economy. I agree with this statement as it can promote a sense of fairness and help to provide a better economy which is crucial to improving the quality of life.

First, it is essential to remember that these prestigious companies often create their plants and factories in the middle of the community. Since the factories need to be operated by experts in their fields, local citizens are rarely involved in the production process or as high-level employees. It is pretty standard that the available jobs for the locals are low-level jobs such as security or manual laborers. This fact cannot be denied, and unsurprisingly there will be some sense of unfair treatment to see that all the good positions are given to the “outsiders.” Therefore, social responsibility program is crucial, especially to promote a sense of fairness among the local citizens.

Another perspective that can be helpful is to see that creating an excellent corporate social responsibility program may develop the economy of the locals. It is possible to do this, as most of the employees in top companies are experts in exploiting a business opportunity. For example, the company can train citizens to start a bee farm or have a batik workshop for females. In addition, children can be encouraged to have additional valuable lessons such as music, vocal, or English courses. The idea is quite simple; with more knowledge and education, people will be more skillful and ready to seize available opportunities. In the long term, it will provide a better economy for most of them.

To sum up, maintaining an excellent corporate social responsibility program is undoubtedly acceptable. It can reduce the sense of inequality and even strengthen the economy. Moreover, if it is professionally done, the willingness to share some of the company’s profit may be transformed into a mutual benefit for both parties involved.

(DRAFT 20 MINUTES)