You are the main speaker in a debate on the topic: Education is the best legacy a parent can give a child. Write your arguments. for or against the motion.

Answer Details

Mr Chairman, timekeeper, distinguished panel of judges, my co-debaters, ladies and gentlemen, I stand to argue for the motion, that education is the best legacy a parent can give a child.

My first argument is that education is a legacy that can never be lost or stolen. Money can be squandered, houses can burn down and land can be seized, but the knowledge and skills lodged in a child's mind remain his forever. Whatever else a child may lose in life, an educated mind stays with him to the very end.

Secondly, education empowers a child to create wealth for himself. A parent who leaves only money leaves something that will one day be exhausted, but a parent who educates his child gives him the ability to earn, to build and to prosper again and again by his own effort.

Thirdly, education shapes good character and sound judgment. It teaches a child not only how to make a living but how to live, instilling honesty, discipline and respect for others. Such moral training makes an educated person an asset to his family and his nation.

Fourthly, the benefit of education reaches far beyond the child himself. An educated person lifts up his parents in their old age, trains his younger ones and contributes to the progress of the whole society. Thus a single well-educated child becomes a blessing to a whole generation.

Some may argue that landed property or a thriving business is a better inheritance. Yet without education a child cannot even manage the wealth he inherits, and will soon run it to ruin. It is education that makes every other legacy fruitful.

For these reasons I submit, without any doubt, that education is truly the best legacy a parent can give a child. Thank you.