Children must learn sense of responsibility

THE latest suggestion that cutting child benefit will combat truancy is a mistake.

While family values in relation to children’s upbringing during the early stages cannot be denied, the most important influence on a child, beyond the ages of 10 or 11 is, increasingly, the peer group and its social significance, for good or ill.

To shift the blame for truancy on to parents, quite literally at their expense, will inevitably prevent the child – the real culprit – from ever developing any sense of personal responsibility.

Little wonder that “boredom” is so often the complaint where individual accountability is in such short supply.

Camouflage the turbines

From: D Birch, Smithy Lane, Cookridge, Leeds.

I CAN understand the concerns of people in the vicinity of the Brontë Moor where these very large wind turbines are proposed to be built (Yorkshire Post, April 12), particularly if you go south from there towards Halifax and see the mass of these monstrosities built there.

I don’t doubt for one moment that they are needed for the future and for our well-being and are becoming a necessary evil.

But is it not possible to at least use some form of camouflage, maybe with wooded areas around them, so that in time the trees will grow and still leave the parts needed with all the space they need to catch the wind?

In the main, trees take a long time to grow, but there are lots that are fast growing and could be strategically placed and will have lots of growth within 10-12 years.

Woods can’t be planted everywhere but they could be on that site and on that particular moor.

Who knows, in time lots more visitors would be attracted to the wood areas and the moor could become more useful.

It’s good to talk to Burma

From: David Quarrie, Lynden Way, Acomb, York.

PRIME Minister David Cameron is right to visit Burma and he is right to suggest that sanctions are temporarily removed gradually as and when things improve democratically.

It is very brave of the Burmese president to have started a number of reforms, and the European Union and nations such as the United States, India, Brazil and Britain should encourage the Burmese military to change their way of running their country.

Burma need not be so poor, she has immense natural resouces and a potentially gifted, hard-working workforce within her population of 55 million souls.

Unless we talk with regimes we dislike, we will get nowhere.

We have to show, but being careful at the same time, the benefits to all, if these hardliners really do sincerely change their policies and rigid dogmas.

Sensible diplomacy, “jaw jaw”, rather than “war war”, is the answer. Trying to police the world “à la Americana”, will not bring about what we most desire.

Decline of our industry

From: Paul Brown, Bents Green Road, Sheffield.

Politicians like to claim that all the money made in British business comes from south east England.

The point that they conveniently forget is that the decision to close large parts of manufacturing industry in the north was one taken in London.

It seems to me that the only politicians who have any interest in British enterprise are Nick Clegg, who has taken the time to visit businesses, Philip Hammond, who wishes to see our defence industry grow and prosper, and John Redwood ,who has long campaigned for a reduction in the bureaucratic restrictions on business.

Unfortunately, they sometimes seem to be the only three politicians who can see anything wrong with a policy closing our home industries, buying everything we need from China and borrowing money from the Chinese government to pay for goods which we are quite capable of making ourselves.

Good start in Barnsley

From: AV Kent, St Juliens Way, Cawthorne, Barnsley.

I WAS disappointed in your education coverage (Yorkshire Post, April 11). There are some positives in Yorkshire which you included in your coverage of primary statistics on December 16 last year but which were missing last Wednesday.

I refer in particular to the recognition by Barnsley local authority that a good start is of major importance to achieve progress in education.

Barnsley’s dedicated professional primary teachers and support staff have now ensured that Barnsley is the highest performing local authority in key stage two Sats in both South and West Yorkshire and close to North Yorkshire.

Barnsley’s position as 95th out of 152 local authorities, given the overall difficulties that this authority has to overcome, is tremendous.