Some people think that parents should teach children how to be good members how to be good members of society. Others, however believe that school is the place to learn this. Discuss both views and give your own opinion

There are diverse opinions about whose responsibility it is to nurture

children

into responsible members of

society

.

While

some schools of thought argue that it is the

parents

, other intellectuals feel it is for the schools to shoulder.

This

essay will critically analyse the two sides of the debate and conclude by stating that the responsibility of building a child into a good citizen falls on the

parents

. On the one hand,

children

learn about various aspects of being a good citizen in schools

although

the duration of learning could vary. Put in another way, pupils and their peers under the guidance of the teachers spend about eight hours daily playing together and partaking in academic activities. During

this

period, teachers impart knowledge to them about the civic responsibilities of citizens through various types of teachings

such

as active participation in community programmes, classroom discussions on social issues, volunteering

as well as

the inclusion of projects in the curriculum that surround social issues.

While

this

number of hours could appear juicy, I do not think it would suffice to correct the

children

to learn and imbibe the ethics of a good citizen.

On the contrary

, it is axiomatic that

parents

are

children

's first and foundational teachers.

In other words

,

children

master the language, the mother tongue, from their

parents

and

also

imbibe the culture and tradition of their immediate environment from their fathers and mothers.

Furthermore

, the primary link between the

children

and

society

is the parent and there is a traditional concept that

children

need to be well-groomed at home,

otherwise

, the grooming will be done by

society

, the outcome of which is often never palatable. Primary evidence of

this

is

children

raised in harmonious families in Africa. They tend to behave more maturely and sensibly than those from dysfunctional homes,

further

lending credence to the view that perhaps, the

parents

, not the school holds the obligation to nurture

children

aright.

To conclude

, there are valid arguments on both sides.

However

, on balance, the

parents

, not the school, hold the duty to train

children

as responsible adults because

parents

are the first contact of the

children

and they connect them to the larger

society

.