(1) Educating girls offers many benefits to current and future generations. However, in many developing countries, girls’ illiteracy is still a serious problem because it obstructs social and economic development. A huge number of children don’t go to school, and the majority are girls. Tina is one of them.
(2) Tina can barely read and write. She is eleven-years old and she is the youngest child in a poor family living in rural India. She dropped out of school two years ago. Her family believes that there is no need for her to study because at the end she will get married. So, she stays at home and spends most of the time doing housework like cleaning, cooking…etc.
(3) Tina’s former teacher tried to convince the child’s family and the village elders to send girls to school, but in vain. Tina’s father said: “I didn’t study myself, we are poor people.” In fact, the government tried to support such families by providing free books, scholarships, uniforms, and even meals. However, this made no difference because of their ignorance.
(4) The boys in the village attend school every day. When Tina passes by them, she feels so sad and she wishes she could study like them because she dreams of becoming a teacher. Tina really knows the value of education and always says to her: “I will let my children study”. If all the children think in the same way, there will be less illiteracy among the future generations.
Comprehension Questions:
A- Among these titles, choose the best one for the text:
- Poverty in Tina’s village.
- The story of Tina’s father.
- The problem of Tina’s education
B- Are these statements true or false? Justify
- Tina never went to school before …………………………………………………………………………………………………………
- Tina’s father thinks that sending her to school is useless for her. ………………………………………………………..
- Tina’s father is illiterate. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
C- Answer the following questions
- Why is girls’ illiteracy still a problem in developing countries? ……………………………………………………..
- What does the government offer to encourage girls to attend school? ………………………………………….
- How does Tina feel when she sees boys going to school? ………………………………………………………………
D- Find in the text words that mean the same as:
Big (paragraph 1)= ………………………… Help (paragraph 4)=………………………….
E-What do the underlined words refer to in the text
Them ………………………………….. She ……………………………
F- Discussion
- Do you know a child who doesn’t go to school? If yes, what are the reasons behind this?
- How does this affect him and his society as a whole?
- What are the solutions that you suggest to reduce this phenomenon?
Created by : Youssra Kettani
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