THE Ministry of Education on Friday launched the JOF Haynes Debate Competition 2012 which saw Bygeval Secondary and Queen’s College starting off the first round of the competition at the Mahaicony Secondary School, Region 5 (Mahaica/ Berbice).

The moot for the debate was “Parents are solely responsible for their children’s behaviour”, with Bygeval Secondary being the proposition, and Queen’s College, the opposition.
The main argument put forth by the proposition was that parents are the most influential persons in a child’s development, as the behaviour of the child is directly as a result of what the parents do or fail to do. The first speaker, Oma Devi Nanku posited that children need adequate amounts of love, affection and attention from parents to develop personalities that are stable. She noted that when a problem arises in the lives of children, the parents are the first ones that are contacted because they are solely responsible for the child’s behaviour.
The second speaker of the proposition, Hemwattie Persaud, spoke about the role parents play in their children’s lives, as it relates to school. She said that the parents are the children’s first teacher, and continue to play a major role in their academic lives. Hemwattie added that parents help the children to perform better in school, by assisting them with their school work etc, and gradually become teaching coaches. She said that the parents are responsible for the behaviour children acquire through schooling. According to her, behind every good child and student, there’s a good parent.
Celine Mc Kenzie, the third speaker of the proposition posited that while children are subject to interaction with society, parents are the ones who guide them to be in the right company, and to do the right things. She noted that the responsibility of the parent is omnipresent.
The opposition, Queen’s College, used the nature versus nurture argument. The first speaker, Shaphan Hestick posited that parents are not the only agents of socialisation, as the environment plays a major role in shaping the child’s behaviour. He noted that children spend less time in the home, and parents are not spending enough time with their children to influence them as much. As such, children are often in situations where they have to make decisions for themselves. Shaphan said that according to the conventions of UNICEF, if a child is entitled to rights, then he’s also entitled to responsibility. He remarked that the child is just as capable of guiding himself through his actions, as he is of being guided.
The second speaker of the opposition, Lawrence Faria, spoke of the other agents of socialisation that are responsible for children’s growth and development. He noted that children spend more than half of their time outside of the home, and out of parents’ supervision. He said that the parents cannot choose all of the peers and persons that their children deal with. He alluded to the popular saying “show me your friends and I will tell you who you are,” stating that peer groups have a major influence on the behaviour of the children.
Lawrence said that television, social media and the internet play a major role in shaping the child’s behaviour. He also explained in utilising public transportation, children are subject to vulgar music and music which encourages violence. The young man posited that society is to blame for the actions of its people.
The third speaker from the opposition, Nyana Evans, posited that while parents are contacted when there is a problem with their children, the children are the ones who are held responsible for their actions. She said that it’s the child who chooses how they behave, and each child has a mind of his/her own.
In the rebuttal segment of the competition, the opposition posited that the child chooses his own path, and every decision made by that child is up to that child. They added that the children are the ones held accountable for their actions. In presenting their argument, they said that parents are the first ones contacted when there’s a problem with the child because they are responsible for their well being, and not their behaviour. They further argued that while parents do influence their children’s behaviour, so does their environment, and as such, parents are not solely responsible for their children’s behaviour.
The proposition posited that parents are solely responsible for their children’s behaviour because they guide their children in choosing the right company, and teach them right from wrong. They said that while children are exposed to vulgarity and music which promotes violence, but it is up to the children and the values and morals instilled by their parents to make decisions. It’s the parents who are the ones who guide their children in the socialisation process.
The chief Judge of the debate, Ms. Lurrine Meertius, noted that the students presented their arguments in a very persuasive manner, and there was evidence of research. The proposing team- Bygeval Secondary school gained 245 points, while the opposing team- Queen’s College, emerged the winner with 265 points. The best speaker for the proposition was Hemwattie Persaud, and the best speaker for the entire debate was Lawrence Faria of the opposing team- Queen’s college.