Children's right to education is widely recognized today as a fundamental human right. But that right also implies that the school they go to will have a pleasant and learning-friendly environment where everyone will have an enjoyable time. Teachers will be kind, caring and supportive and children will feel relaxed. No harsh words will be spoken to them and special care will be taken of children with learning disabilities.

That, unfortunately is not the general picture in our school. The system of education in our part of the world does not allow children much freedom, and classrooms look more like cages where they are pent up for hours. Rabindranath Tagore found it unacceptable; so did William Blake (1757-1827) an English poet and painter, whose favorite subjects included children. In his poem "The School Boy" Blake writes about a young boy who is unhappy with his school where dour-faced teachers give joyless lessons. He would rather like to be outdoors and enjoy the summer day. He pleads with his parents to rescue him from the drudgery of school.

১.

Choose the best answer from alternatives.

(a) The right to education is considered to be―
(i) negligible (ii) minor (iii) major (iv) fundamental

(b) What kind of environment does a child like?
(i) Strict (ii) Boring (iii) Joyful (iv) Tiresome

(c) What does the word 'drudgery' refer to?
(i) Pleasant task (ii) Hard and boring work (iii) Painful experience (iv) Bad feeling

(d) The word 'implies' indicates―
(i) to suggest something without stating it directly (ii) to judge something to be just (iii) to admit something (iv) to appreciate something

(e) The antonym of the word 'harsh' is―
(i) cruel (ii) unpleasant (iii) kind (iv) rough

(f) In our schools teachers should be―
(i) comprehensive (ii) judgemental (iii) authoritative (iv) helpful

(g) When was William Blake born?
(i) In 1757 (ii) In 1767 (iii) In 1787 (iv) In 1797

(h) The expression 'dour-faced' means―
(i) unfriendly and severe (ii) sad and gloomy (iii) panicky (iv) very anxious

(i) What unacceptable thing did Rabindranath find?
(i) Students' anxiety about examinations (ii) Students' caged up in classroom for hours (iii) Difficult lessons for children (iv) Learners' indifference to education

(j) Who should get special attention?
(i) Poor children (ii) Students with learning disabilities (iii) Unruly students (iv) Children with special intellect

উত্তর

(a) (iv) fundamental

(b) (iii) Joyful

(c) (ii) Hard and boring work

(d) (i) to suggest something without stating it directly

(e) (iii) kind

(f) (iv) helpful

(g) (i) In 1757

(h) (i) unfriendly and severe

(i) (ii) Students' caged up in classroom for hours

(j) (ii) Students with learning disabilities

Children's right to education is widely recognized today as a fundamental human right. But that right also implies that the school they go to will have a pleasant and learning-friendly environment where everyone will have an enjoyable time. Teachers will be kind, caring and supportive and children will feel relaxed. No harsh words will be spoken to them and special care will be taken of children with learning disabilities.

That, unfortunately is not the general picture in our school. The system of education in our part of the world does not allow children much freedom, and classrooms look more like cages where they are pent up for hours. Rabindranath Tagore found it unacceptable; so did William Blake (1757-1827) an English poet and painter, whose favorite subjects included children. In his poem "The School Boy" Blake writes about a young boy who is unhappy with his school where dour-faced teachers give joyless lessons. He would rather like to be outdoors and enjoy the summer day. He pleads with his parents to rescue him from the drudgery of school.

২.

Answer the following questions.

(a) What does children's right to education imply?

(b) Mention three qualities a teacher should have.

(c) What does "learning-friendly environment" indicate?

(d) What is the general picture in our school?

(e) Describe the boy Blake portrays in his poem.

উত্তর

(a) Children's right to education implies a fundamental human right. But this right also implies that the school they go to study should have a pleasant and learning-friendly environment so that they may pass pleasant time there.

(b) Three qualities that a teacher should have are as follows:
(i) He should be kind, caring and supportive. (ii) He must abstain from speaking harsh words to the students. (iii) He should take special care of the students with learning disabilities.

**(c)**A learning-friendly environment indicates a setting where students feel safe, respected and engaged. The environment favours the students in many ways. No harsh words are uttered by anyone there, special care is taken of children with learning disabilities, and students enjoy more freedom.

(d) The general picture in our schools is very unfortunate and frustrating. Students cannot enjoy much freedom here. The classrooms of our schools are like cages where students remain pent-up for hours. Our children at schools cannot have a pleasant time.

(e) The boy Blake portrays in his poem 'The School Boy' is unhappy. The boy's childhood is crumpled due to unpleasant learning experiences. The boy likes the summer day and outdoor movements. He hates the misbehaviour of teachers who give boring lessons. He wants his parents to rescue him from the drudgery of school.

Education gives us knowledge and a set of abilities to function meaningfully in life, such as the ability to decide things rationally and make the right choices. As we learn how to read, write and do the basic operations of arithmetic, we gain a degree of self-confidence. We learn to think for ourselves and articulate our thoughts; we pick up skills to communicate with others and manage our affairs well. Education helps us think independently and make our own opinions. As we know more about the world, we appreciate the good things it offers us but also become critical of the deviations from the values it imparts and the rise of hatred or conflict that follows. The first thing education does is to give us an awareness about ourselves which leads to the development of our personality. As we begin school, we feel the need to belong to the class and make friends. We then expand our sense of belonging to include the school at large, our community and finally our country. Education thus prepares every child to become an active member of the community and work for its welfare.

৩.

Read the following text and make a flow chart showing what we can do with the help of education (No.1 has been done for you).

Pick up skills to communicate with others → 2. ______ → 3. ______ → 4. ______ → 5. ______ → 6. ______

উত্তর

1. Pick up skills to communicate with others

2. Manage our affairs well

3. Think independently

4. Make our own opinions

5. Know more about the world

6. Appreciate the good things

We spend money for different reasons. We buy food, clothes or everyday essentials, pay for different services, entertain people, travel to places, help others in need or invest in business and thus spend money every day. In fact, spending is a part of our life. Spending may make us happy or unhappy depending on how and why we spend. When we spend money on things that we need and within our limits, it is good. When it becomes a compulsive behavior, it makes life stressful. Unnecessary spending, or spending beyond one's means has some bad effects. For one thing, it may lead to financial ruin or debt, and for another, it may create unhappiness within families. People who overspend are never satisfied with what they have. They always rush for brands, fashion items, designer clothes, etc. Over a period of time, it becomes an addiction which may eventually create psychological problems. Nowadays consumer items are displayed in stores or in advertisements in ways that they create a feeling of immediate need for them. We are constantly tempted to buy, use or consume things even when we do not have a genuine need. We all need to be careful here. Salespersons often encourage customers to buy things by flattering them. 'This is a perfect match for you', they would say, or 'You look so stunning in that dress'. Never forget, they say the same thing to most of their customers. It is better not to be persuaded by such words. They use these words to please the customers as the more a customer buys, the higher the profit is.

৪. Summarize the following text :

উত্তর

Money is spent every day for various reasons. Spending may make us happy or unhappy according to our purpose. Essential and limited spending makes our life good. On the other hand, overspending makes our life stressful. People who overspend must bear the brunt of dissatisfaction, and the habit of unnecessary spending eventually becomes an addiction causing psychological problems. We should be careful about and avoid the tempting advertisements and the flattery and persuasion of the salespersons.

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