Undoubtedly governments of developed nations should share the responsibility of helping less fortunate nations. Different measures exist, ranging from market access to direct financial payments or even medical assistance. This essay will explain why certain measures are inherently better than other methods.

Firstly, the most adequate manner to assist the lesser developed countries is not through health or education ‘hand-outs’. This method is flawed and only offers temporary relief from long-term challenges; also, this assistance can be cut at any moment, leaving the country stranded. For example, economical help from the UK to disadvantaged regions in Africa has gradually been reduced since the onset of the financial crisis. Although some parts of the continent may be better educated or in better health, the benefit was short lived, thus leaving the countries of Africa to look for other donors.

Commerce is without doubt the most essential type of assistance that can be given. If the lesser developed country has the opportunity to develop trade, then it will build strong capabilities to serve it for the long term. These strengths can develop the local economy and are more reliable than education or health. For example, while trading with the richer country the government can search for other foreign markets to trade with. This would offer more stability and diversification for the nation.

To conclude, assistance is definitely necessary for the poorer regions; however, ‘hand-outs’ are short-term solutions. The optimum solution is to offer market access so the region can produce products and generate regular income.

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The conventional rote method of learning is often considered to be so dull as to discourage full development of young people’s innate abilities. This essay agrees with the view that the current pedagogy is outdated, and will consider an alternative to traditional education.

While ordinarily, children are expected to retain pre-approved information dictated by a teacher, a self-directed approach can be more beneficial. Holding all children to the same standard will necessarily have a divisive result, with some children believing themselves to be intellectually superior, and others feeling inadequate, perhaps for life. In systems in which achievement is relative, such as in Finland for example, young people graduate from education each feeling as if they have completed their own unique path, and knowing deeply and without prejudice their own capabilities, reducing or even eliminating the feelings of inequality that conventional education creates.

Furthermore, under the current system, students who lack aptitude in core subjects such as mathematics and the sciences are seen as having less intrinsic value to society. These children spend their lives believing that they are inadequate, but many may have valuable talents that were never explored. It is in this way that conventional education does the most harm, by ignoring niche abilities in favour of skills with more mass appeal. Comparing traditional education with the Finnish system of self-direction, we can see that the former is certainly causing harm to a significant number of pupils.

To conclude, changes are urgently required in education systems around the world. We should focus more on a child’s interests and innate abilities in order to maintain their engagement, and allow them to direct their own learning to achieve the best outcomes.

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Whether the development of modern technology should be permitted to advance unhindered, or improved only with specific regard to human need, is a contentious issue. Since learning to use new technologies strengthens intellect, I believe that new devices should be developed without limits in order to challenge people.

The achievements of humanity over the last century have only been made possible by the development of modern technology. Driven by the need to discover, people have created countless innovations in fields such as electronics, medicine and engineering which have improved the lives of billions. Additionally, many key discoveries throughout history were made while investigating something else entirely, such as with penicillin or the microwave oven. Establishing controls over what may or may not be investigated could therefore severely limit new discoveries.

This style of innovation also provides intellectual benefits for both the inventor and the consumer, since both must work hard in order to either create or use the new device. A constant flow of new discoveries maintains mental stimulation amongst those who choose to make use of them. The computer, for example, has enabled humans to achieve remarkable things, but only after we adapted our behaviour and learned to use it fully. Also, those people who have maintained a good degree of computer literacy are now able to seek the best professional opportunities, which is further known to be intellectually beneficial.

In conclusion, I believe that technology should be allowed to develop freely and that humans should adapt their behaviour to emerging discoveries. This will keep us intellectually strong and ensure that the maximum good can come from scientific endeavour.

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It is supposed by many that copyright laws may be counterproductive and could hinder creative endeavour; however, personally, I disagree with this idea and opine strongly that the protection of intellectual property is crucial to a well-functioning society, and, in fact, encourages the production of further works by providing a framework within which innovators may be adequately rewarded for their efforts.

Copyright regulations may prevent people from expanding on existing ideas, but a key purpose of such rules is to ensure that new ideas are sufficiently original to warrant financial reward. It is unlikely that members of the public could discern an original piece from a fraud, and so the support of the courts is necessary in order to uphold standards of originality. The US federal government states, for instance, that such laws exist to stimulate artistic creativity for the general public good, and to ensure reasonable return to authors and inventors. Through this process, the law establishes incentives for producing new works, which in turn encourages learning, progress, and development.

Without such regulations, individuals would be free to copy another’s work. As mentioned above, the general public cannot reasonably be expected to defend authenticity, and so would-be fraudsters may receive a financial reward comparable to that of the originator. Resultantly, in countries with substandard protections for artists, for example, creative output is consistently and considerably lower than that of nations with strong intellectual property regulations since the genuine owner of the work is afforded little protection or reward. If we accept that more creative output is good for society, then copyright law can be taken as the same.

To conclude, copyright regulations are an essential tool for the promotion of creativity, and society tends to function better with their enforcement.

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Parents throughout the world spend time reading with their offspring to prepare them for school where their literacy skills are further developed; however, recent research suggests that focusing on reading at an early age can be detrimental, and participating in fun activities would be far more beneficial. I am a strong advocate of this approach, and the benefits of it will be covered in this essay.

A fundamental reason for this is that there is no biological age for reading, and pushing infants to acquire this skill before they are ready could have repercussions. For example, in the UK, many boys are reluctant readers, possibly because of being forced to read, and this turned them off reading. By focusing on other activities and developing other skills such as creativity and imagination, when they are ready to read, they usually acquire this skill rapidly. In addition, the importance of encouraging creativity and developing a child’s imagination must be acknowledged. Through play, youngsters develop social and cognitive skills, for example, they are more likely to learn vocabulary through context rather than learning it from a book. Furthermore, play allows youngsters to mature emotionally, and gain self-confidence.

There is no scientific research which suggests reading at a young age is essential for a child’s development, moreover, evidence suggests the reverse is true. In Finland, early years’ education focuses on playing. Reading is only encouraged if a child shows an interest in developing this skill. This self-directed approach certainly does not result in Finnish school leavers falling behind their foreign counterparts. In fact, Finland was ranked the sixth best in the world in terms of reading.

Despite being a supporter of this non-reading approach, I am not vehemently opposed to it and I strongly recommend incorporating bedtime stories into a child’s daily routine. However, reading as a regular day time activity should be swapped for something which allows a child to develop other skills.

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While many people believe that schools should focus only on academic curricula, I strongly advocate the inclusion of more enjoyable activities in order to maintain student engagement and therefore improve learning outcomes, as many young people struggle to remain focused on strictly educational tasks.

Learners who are required to absorb information via conventional academic methods often experience problems with focus and attention. More specifically, repeatedly performing the same memory-based task throughout one’s school career is likely to cause boredom and ultimately result in student disengagement. In several schools in the UK, to take an example, it has been shown via survey that a considerable number of young people fail to remember crucial information simply because it was uninteresting. Adhering strictly to rote learning is therefore harmful to those students who require further assistance to remember key details.

However, this problem can be tackled by creating more engaging and entertaining lesson plans. Incorporating interactive media and a variety of classroom formats into the learning experience can improve overall attention and therefore increase the quantity of information available for recall. This is borne out by a study completed at the University of Melbourne which demonstrated that overall academic performance increased dramatically when students were properly and meaningfully engaged with the subject matter. Teaching in this manner can benefit all students and ensure that those learners who struggle to pay attention are not left behind.

To conclude, I strongly agree that schools should be at least somewhat entertaining since a more holistic approach to teaching provides better academic performance overall.

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A healthy and educated society is the backbone of any successful society; however, deciding who is to provide this is a sensitive topic. I strongly believe the government should be held responsible to provide these services for two reasons. Firstly, the entire society benefits, and secondly the whole population is currently paying for the services. However, if one prefers extra services they should be prepared to pay for it themselves.

Firstly, education is largely considered a basic right. A population unable to calculate, read, write or even learn would be doomed in such a competitive global economy. Globalisation has increased competition and shifted the emphasis to knowledge, information and science. A state education should, therefore, be freely available to everybody. However, if people wish to purchase private education, this should also be allowed or even encouraged. Private education reduces the strain on public services and provides a source of tax revenue for the government, in effect, subsidising state education.

Secondly, health services must undoubtedly be available to all because the entire nation is paying taxes and, therefore, should not be excluded from any service. Take the NHS in the UK, for example; this organisation caters for the entire population, and no private medical insurance is needed. Unfortunately waiting lists can be long and service is occasionally slow; therefore, some purchase private medical insurance for a faster service. This reduces the workload of the public sector.

To conclude, I believe both healthcare and education are basic fundamental rights, necessary for any advanced society, and, therefore, the responsibility should lie with the government. Nevertheless, if individuals require more than the standard level, then they should be prepared to pay for it.

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Crime is unquestionably one of the most prevailing and worrying aspects in any society, and its prevention should be taken seriously. Crime prevention can be executed in various ways, firstly through a sustained honest presence in the community and secondly through international cooperation.

A local presence by incorruptible law enforcement authorities may be costly, however, the long-term investment would pay dividends in the future. A safer region would encourage trade, investment and set an invaluable example for younger generations. For example, crime has dramatically been reduced in the Favelas around Rio de Janiero in Brazil. This was achieved largely through the government committing large funds of money to stationing police headquarters in and around the slums. These financial expenditures greatly benefited the community.

Secondly, due to the large-scale severity and the global impact that crime has in some areas of the world, global cooperation is critical. Operating in a different way would incur significant financial losses and render any expenditure futile. For example, Somalian pirates in Africa have reigned terror amongst many ocean transport companies in the area. Only through large-scale international cooperation was policing the area possible. Therefore, crime reduction can be attributed to a joint effort between countries.

To conclude, illegal activities are a costly and dangerous fact in the present global economy; however, through large-scale government investment prevention is an attainable goal. Also, spreading the expense through international cooperation the resources invested can be significantly more effective in reducing criminals’ effectiveness abroad.

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The debate between where to allocate valuable teaching resources probably started with the first educational institutions. In present-day society the conflict continues and rightly so. In my opinion, converting sports classes to more traditional subjects has two significant advantages. Firstly, it is a more effective use of a student’s time. Secondly, in the future, academic skills are more useful.

Switching time spent on sport in a school to time spent on more academic activities is a wise and cost-effective solution. Firstly, academic studies are inherently less expensive to perform when compared to physical education. For example, to play almost any sport one has to invest in the appropriate equipment, ranging from shorts, t-shirts to rackets and balls. Furthermore, excess time is spent in the changing rooms or washing afterwards. In more traditional subjects, students merely enter the classroom and are learning within minutes.

Secondly, sport can be argued as an activity practised naturally by children, especially boys. In every school at break time many children engage in energetic activities, whereas hardly any are studying algebra, biology or physics. Because these subjects are less popular more resources should be allocated to teaching them. In addition, academic skills could be argued as more important due to the small number of people in society currently using sport skills in a work environment. Thus, focusing on skills demanded by the labour market would benefit students’ lives dramatically in the future.

To conclude, young learners going through school would finish much better prepared for life avoiding sport tuition. Furthermore, they would have taken full advantage of their school years through more time spent learning.

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Women and men have had different roles in the community since the beginning. Under modern pretexts these differences are slowly converging. However, due to the genetic inheritance and socio-demographic components, these differences do exist.

Firstly, men are undoubtedly better adapted genetically to perform physical tasks. Therefore, the assumption that women can match men in everything is clearly flawed. The difference between their physical abilities is clearly demonstrated in the sporting arena. Take, for example, the Olympics or any international sporting event. It can be clearly seen that in these competitions the genders are separated due to inherent differences between the sexes.

Secondly, it has been argued that women are less appreciated in society due to their traditional roles in the home. This statement is true to a certain extent because it largely depends on the society. In certain traditional societies in Africa, females working is frowned upon and is seen as neglecting the family, whereas in Afghanistan, in general, females are allowed to do little else but stay at home, being a housewife. Consequently, a woman’s value is largely dictated by the society, culture and history. Nevertheless, to state that her place is in the home is widely considered sexist in modern western societies.

To conclude, differences do certainly exist; however, these are largely through nature. Also, the role women may have is usually dictated by other factors, such as, religion or society, not ability.

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