Experts

Herumin, Wendy. //Child Labor Today: A Human Rights Issue//. Berkeley Heights: Enslow, 2008. Print. Issues in Focus Today.

Wendy Herumin is a published author who writes young adult books about pressing issues in today’s society. She has written __Child Labor today: A Human Rights Issue__, and in depth critical evaluation of existing institutions of child labor and __Censorship on the Internet: From Filters to Freedom of Speech,__ a critical review of censorship and its impact. Herumin qualified, published author who analyzes critical issues relating to society. This specific source is an informational report because it provides general information about child labor and how culture can impact its occurrence. It is also a persuasive piece because it paints child labor in a negative light. This source is intended to be geared towards young adults.

Throughout the source, the author’s thesis seems to be that child labor that is deeply rooted in culture is a growing epidemic in our nation that claims that lives of children and is ultimately bad. The author argues that child labor prevents most children from attending school, thereby ensuring their bleak future and impossible escape. Herumin does state that children in impoverish countries may work to provide for their family, however, others are wrongly fully forced into the practice and are often given no choice or alternate options. She argues that this practice is wrong, should be abandoned, and that more needs to be done to eradicate child labor in the world. The author provides statistics as well as quotes from other sources, child labor prevention organizations, children, and qualified professors. The author provides a boundless amount to information about my topic, which is how culture impacts the proliferation of child labor. She provides many examples of cultural traditions, such as camel racing in the Middle East, that encourage the use of child labor. Herumin covers topics such as child labor abuse, why children work, possible solutions, different types of child labor, and slave labor.

Overall, the source is logical, clear, and well-researched. The author backs up many of her claims with reliable sources and quotes from different child labor prevention organizations. The topic is adequately researched and even provides and looks into the future as to how child labor could be reduced or eradicated. The author is motivated to argue that child labor is not always a good practice because most children are forced or wrongfully deceived into participating in it. However, she does acknowledge that some families need their children to work to provide for them. I believe this source was very helpful, in gave me general information about my topic. I learned different types of child labor and where it occurs from this source. This source provides several examples of how culture impacts child labor through the stories it recounts. This source helped me develop my argument because now I have specific examples of how culture impacts child labor.

UNICEF. "Child Protection from Violence, Exploitation and Abuse - Child Labour."//United for Children//. UNICEF, 19 Oct. 2010. Web. 10 Dec. 2010.<[]>.

This source was written by the United Nations Children's Fund, or UNICEF, an organization within the UN responsible for regulating and enforcing policies concerning children rights. UNICEF is an organization dedicated to improving the lives of children and is made up of several nations across the all striving for the same goal. This source is both informative and persuasive; UNICEF seeks to educate people about child labor happening today and to prevent child labor from occurring. This source is intended for individuals who are concerned about the current epidemic of child labor in the world today.

UNICEF’s main thesis and argument is that child labor is a dangerous and growing practice in the world today that needs to come to an end. They argue that if nations, NGOs, and the UN were able to provide education to these children, then child labor would not have taken as many lives as it does today. UNICEF provides various statistics, facts, research, and numbers to back up many of their claims. These pieces of information are all used as evidence for the organization’s arguments. For example, the source says that 158 million of 14-15 year olds participate in child labor. This means 1 in 6 children are laborers in the world. These children are often forced to work with dangerous machinery, chemicals, fumes, and unhealthy conditions. In Sub-Saharan Africa specifically, UNICEF states, 1 in 3 children participate in child labor. In South Asia, 69 million children do. The source also states that kids living in poor conditions are more prone to concede to child labor and in turn they lose out on educational opportunities. Overall, this source covers the definition of child labor, different types of it, the conditions children are in, and where child labor is taking place.

Overall, the source is logical, clear, and well-researched. UNICEF backs up many of their claims with reliable sources, statistics, and specific examples. The topic is adequately researched and even provides and looks into the future as to how child labor could be reduced or eradicated. UNICEF does have a bias on the topic of child labor; however it is an understandable one since they are an organization dedicated to prevent the abuse of child laborers. In reflection, this source was very helpful for my research. I learned many more statistics and facts about child labor from this source that I did not know before. This source provides me with different examples of child labor in other cultures that can be used to support my argument that culture does play a role in child labor. This source provides me with a ton of new information that I can use in my project to build my argument.