Gufy Media: Hortatory Exposition - School Uniform, another Good Lesson

School Uniform, another Good Lesson

School uniform is special clothes worn by all students of a particular school. The uniform of a school may differ from others. Why should schools use uniforms? Below are some reasons.

First of all, Notre Dame’s Department of Sociology produced a study in 1998 concerning school uniforms. Their findings using 10th grade students showed that uniforms have no direct effect on “substance abuse, behavioural problems or attendance.” It also claimed a negative effect on student achievements for those students considered ‘pro-school’.

Secondly, uniform helps to create a strong sense school ethos and a sense of belonging to a particular community. As such it promotes discipline and helps to drive up academic standards, which is why a uniform is often adopted by schools which are being reopened with a fresh start after being classified as failing.
Finally, uniform acts as a social leveller, under which all students are equal in the eyes of the school and of each other. In institutions without uniform students are often competitive and worry endlessly about their appearance and the clothes they should wear. Pupils without expensive designer clothes and trainers may be singled out as social outcasts, or stigmatised as being from poor backgrounds. For these reasons many parents prefer uniforms as they save them money on buying clothes for school wear.

Considering the findings, schools should implement the uniform as their identity. The government should also publish some kind of rule which makes uniform compulsory for schools.

Adapted from: http://www.idebate.org

Answer these questions based on the text.

1. What is school uniform according to the text?
2. What is the finding of the research by Notre Dame’s Department of Sociology?
3. What is the relation between school uniform and students’ ethos and discipline?
4. Why do parents prefer uniforms than casual clothes?
5. What does the writer suggest?

Gufy Media: Hortatory Exposition - Home Schooling

Home Schooling

Home schooling is an education system which provides child’s main education programme at home. Home schooling takes the place of full-time school attendance and, in the United States and Canada, it usually meets state requirements for compulsory education. Although home schooling could achieve the objectives of compulsory education, there are some points that should be noticed from the home schooling.

First, the idea of taking our children’s education on home schooling can be a bit intimidating. Since our country is so large and the people are from so many different kinds of backgrounds, students need some kind of social glue to make them stick together and to give them a sense of unity in spite of all the differences. They will not get such a unity when they are in home schooling. They will get the sense of unity when they are in the compulsory public schools since it is the easiest and best places to make this glue.

Then, the home schooling may not be able to prepare children to fit into the mass society, which means, among other things, believing what most people believe and liking what most people like. Or it may not be able to help children to find a set of values with which they could resist and reject at least many of the values of the mass society.

Recognizing the lack of home schooling in the case of children’s socialization opportunity, we should afford them abundant social opportunities. We can have active home school support groups. We can hold ongoing park days, meetings at the zoo, the science museum, book clubs, history clubs, language clubs, home school scouting troops and many more options to provide them opportunities to socialize with others.

Adapted from: http://www.idebate.org

Choose one correct answer based on the text.
1.  What does the text tell us?
     a. Some complaints on home schooling
     b. Children’s complaints on home schooling
     c. Ban on home schooling
     d. Some criticisms and suggestions on home schooling
     e. The government’s concern in home schooling

2.     Where does home schooling meet state requirements for compulsory education?
a. In Indonesia
b. In Canada and the US
c. In Japan
d. In Canada and Japan
e. In the US and in Great Britain

3.  How many important points of home schooling should be noticed according to the text?
     a. One only
     b. Two points
     c. Three points
     d. Four points
     e. Five points

4.  What do our children need to live in such big country?
     a. creativity
     b. financial support
     c. computer skill
     d. independence
     e. social awareness

5.  What should be prepared for children to fit into the society according to the text?
     a. creativity
     b. financial support
     c. the sense of unity
     d. independence
     e. high quality school

6.  Where do children get the sense of unity easily according to the text?
     a. In home schools
     b. In public schools
     c. In their own home
     d. In their own community
     e. In their own ethnic society

7.  Considering the weakness of home schooling, what should be done according to the text?
     a. Parents should give them many social opportunities.
     b. Parents should be able to tell them to study harder.
     c. Home schools teachers should be able to teach social sciences.
     d. The government must ban home schooling.
     e. Parents should not have their children home schooled.

8.  The word “it” in line 16 refers to ...
     a. a social community
     b. an ethnic group
     c. a public school
     d. home schooling
     e. the government

9.  The word “them” in the last line refers to ...
     a. The government
     b. parents
     c. children
     d. home schools
     e. public schools

10. The Indonesian equivalent of “scouting troop” is ...
     a. Karang taruna
     b. OSIS
     c. PMR
     d. Pecinta alam
     e. Pramuka