Family Interview project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Family Interview project - Essay Example The eldest son is going to a preparatory school, the youngest is just a year and a half old. They are living in a middle-class subdivision. The relationship of the father between the two children is not any different with each other. He treats the eldest the same way he treats the youngest though he and the eldest son know that he is a stepdad. It has not been very difficult for them to establish a relationship since the eldest son was just young and there is no other prominent father figure present in his life. Their family is a picture of a happy one. Though there are the normal arguments and discussions between the couple and the between parent and child, there isn’t any inkling, if you’re a stranger looking at them, that they are a remarried family. The mother transitioned from being a single parent to a remarried parent. She has been a single parent for two years before she remarried and introduced her new husband to their family. Being a single parent, I was able to identify with her since I am mothering two children alone. This became the focus of our conversation, wherein she told me stories of the difficulties and perks of being a single parent and a remarried parent. It wasn’t that hard to introduce the new father since there was no prominent father figure prior him. The hard part was her adjustment to a new life with a man leading the house since she was used to being the head of the family. The once â€Å"her rules† became â€Å"his rules† or â€Å"his and her rules.† Eventually though, since her firstborn, being very young, easily adapted to situation, she was able to adapt to fairly quick. She is glad, she says, that she has found a partner that can help her raise her children and help them development mentally and socially since being alone sometimes gets too stressful because she has no one to share the tasks and responsibilities with. From a single parent family,

Viva Zapata Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Viva Zapata Paper - Essay Example The film explains the quest of the revolutionary and the challenges that had been subjected upon him, when he had desired to establish a more comfortable environment as compared to the dictatorial regime. This is an indication of how society presents pillars to prevent the oppression subjected by individual in power, to counter their actions with a more stable union that would favor development. Plot and Implications There is the need to offer equality and stability within the societal setting, and through the film there is little room for a dictator leadership style because there are activists who seek to fight for the best interest of the majority. Zapata is told to be the child from a poor background, but this does not stop his will to be capable of challenging the strongest man in Mexico, when he feels that there should be change in the manner he had been ruling his territory. The war that is the centrality of the film advocates for change, and deliver the oppressed from the hand s of the dictator. These developments in the film change the plot setting to depict Zapata as an outlaw. In such political setting within the society, there is an attempt as portraying the activists as the individuals who do not embrace change and engage in the process for selfish purposes. There is never stability in a society where individuals are not given equal opportunity to express themselves. The fight that the movie set in the 1900s indicates, and the trend exists in some countries in the developed world. Power is the entity used in the film to explain how individual who obtain the entity lead to the decline in equal individual development. Zapata is of mixed races, and we are told that he is Mexican Indian who sought their trade from farming. The film explains how Zapata forces to be the hero of his society when he decides to undertake the mission of creating a revolutionary change. The president full with selfish motives discriminates against the village Morelos when he se parates the arable land leaving them with the unfertile piece. Zapata handles the incident through rebelling against the decision and confronts the president in a manner known to him. His actions further led him to rescue one of the captives from the militia, and this turns him into the most wanted civilian in the land. There is an attempt to create a resolve by the producer as Zapata becomes popular among his people in the south as he had a positive implication on the exiled Don Francisco (Young 89). Diaz is defeated, and the new president Francisco is enacted as the new leader. However, all is not well because the new leader acts as an individual that lacks policies and is made to make decisions based on an outward influence. These actions do not work for Francisco because influential individuals like Zapata had aided him to power, and he had craved to return the favor. Viva Zapata highlights the consequences of greed and power explaining how those with the ability run the world f ull of evil. There is a limited solution as one evil action leads to the other. After Diaz is forced out of power, the new president Don Francisca is assassinated by the order of Huerta on his quest to deliver justice. This takes Zapata and his helper Villa to continue their quest of enacting a new leader. Zapata finds duty assuming the role of the leader with limited resolutions to settle the dispute that had led him to rebellion. This idealism leads

Pauls Case Essay Example for Free

Pauls Case Essay A Misunderstood Person Paul is a very interesting character, who has struggles within himself in the story of Paul’s Case by Willa Cather. His teachers misunderstand him and see him as a trouble maker throughout the story. So Paul begins to be self-conscious about how people portray him because of his actions. Paul reflects on his actions and begins to confuse reality life to fantasy life where he is comfortable in because of all the amenities he had. Paul is misunderstood by his teachers so; Paul begins to live in his fantasy world where he makes his mistakes in the real world. Paul is misunderstood by his teachers because of the way he looks and acts during the meeting the teachers have about him with the principal. This part of the story says. â€Å"His teachers felt this afternoon that his whole attitude was symbolized by his shrug and his flippantly red carnation flower, and they fell upon him without mercy, his English teacher leading the pack. †(Cather pg. 245) This is explaining how his teachers are portraying him by comparing his body language to a flower. Which symbolizes him shrugging off what his teachers though about him but, deep inside him he cared because Paul always thought someone was watching him. As the story said, â€Å"Paul was always smiling, always glancing about him, seeming to feel that people might be watching him and trying to detect something. †(Cather pg. 245) His teachers are explaining him as being a selfish person thinking about himself all the time, but what they don’t know is that he does think about them and what they think about him. Paul thinks that someone is always watching because of his teachers always trying to find something wrong about his life style. â€Å"He stood watching the approaching locomotive, his teeth chattering, his lips drawn away from them in a frightened smile, once or twice he glanced nervously sidewise, as though he were being watch. †(Cather pg. 260) Towards the end of story he thinks before he jumps because begins to think about someone watching him. Showing how he is always thinking about what others thought about him and how know one ever quiet seem to understand him. Paul seems to always be looking for someone to understand him, but in the end he was always misunderstood because of his choices that he made. Paul begins to confuse his fantasy life to reality and begins to make bad choices in his life. â€Å"The moment he inhaled the gassy, painty, dusty odor behind the scenes, he breathed like a prisoner set free, and felt within him the possibility of doing or saying splendid, brilliant things† (Cather pg. 251) His fantasy was to become a part of theatre in any way he could. So he begins to think of going to New York to pursue his dreams, but what he doesn’t understand is that, that’s only his dream not reality. Paul pursues this dream by stealing, â€Å"There was above two thousand dollars in checks, and nearly a thousand in the banknotes which he had taken from the book and quietly transferred to his pocket. † (Cather pg. 255) Paul takes the money for his selfish reasons of wanting to live his fantasy. It is wrong because he is living in his fantasy life and thinks nothing about it. All Paul wants to do is be rich because that’s the way he portrays himself in his fantasy life without working for the money. â€Å"Presently he came out of his white bathroom, resplendent in his new silk underwear, and playing with the tassels of his red robe. The snow was whirling so fiercely outside his windows that he could scarcely see across the street† (Cather pg. 254) In the hotel Paul is living the good life because of the money he has stolen just as in his fantasy. The following sentence shows how he finally begins to see reality because it’s showing how he is having a battle within himself about the bad things he did, which end up killing him inside. At the end of the story Paul ends up killing himself because he was never understood by his teachers or anyone else in his life. That made him unhappy within himself so he began to believe more in his fantasy world because he felt comfortable there. Paul didn’t seem to care about anything because he was living his fantasy life of being rich and going to New York. It took Paul a while to understand that he was doing wrong by stealing money and living in his fantasy life instead of reality. Towards the end Pauls’ fantasies end up killing him, since he is never figure out he tries to escape to his fantasies to make him happy but, by doing so he causes more problems to himself making him deeply unhappy. So he decides to kill himself to live free from all the worries that made his life so confusing to him.

Roma People And The European Union Politics Essay

Roma People And The European Union Politics Essay The term Roma refers to a variety of groups of people who describe themselves as Roma, Gypsies, Travellers, Manouches, Ashkali, Sinti, as well as other titles. For the purpose of this paper, we will use of the term Roma to describe the group in question. This is in no way intended to downplay the great diversity within the many different Romani groups and related communities, and it is not intended to promote stereotypes. Our basic question is what is the status of the Roma people today, within the context of the European Union? For millennia, the Roma have been an integral part of European civilisation. Today, with an estimated population of 10-12 million people, Roma are the biggest ethnic minority in Europe; Roma communities are present in all 27 EU Member States. And in contemporary times, most Roma are EU citizens. An issues is that their situation is characterised by persistent discrimination and social exclusion. Thus, Roma are very exposed to the risks of poverty, unemployment, stereotypes and social prejudice. Its vital to understand that the Roma population is heterogeneous. Following the elimination of traditional labor activities and of nomadic lifestyles in some Member States, urban migration, but also migration from Eastern Europe to the western EU states, there have been a lot of changes affecting the Roma people. However, there is a very big gap between the living conditions (in the fields of health, education, labor and housing) of the Roma and the majority population. And a concentrated effort toward EUs integrated policy towards the Roma is needed, preferably a multidisciplinary one, dealing with the problem from multiple angles, not just from an economic of sociological point of view, and also one whose results have to be quantifiable, state-wide but also centrally. This is our hypothesis. Legal Framework in the EU The European Union has established a strong legal anti-discrimination framework; the most important documents on the issue consist of Article 13 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, Council Directive 2000/43/EC on Racial Equality and the Council Directive 2000/78/EC, that establishes a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation. The European Union also has a strong legal framework dealing with Roma discrimination, that is based, among others, on article 13 of the Treaty of the European Community, the Directive 2000/43/EC on racial equality and the Directive 2000/78/EC concerning the prohibition of discrimination in employment and vocational training. Its important to note however that it is the duty of the Member States to translate these Directives into their own national legislations.   The European Commissions mandate also includes stimulating the use of EU Structural Funds by EU Member States for supporting Roma inclusion.  This process is supported by the EURoma network, composed of representatives from 12 Member States,  whose goal is to promote the use of Structural Funds in order to enhance the effectiveness of policies targeting the Roma and to promote their social inclusion.   Roma people in Romania According to official data, Roma population in Romania included, according to the 2002 census, 535,250 people, of which 325,000 people (60%) lived in rural areas. Roma population is, numerically speaking, the second ethnic minority group in Romania, after the Hungarians. However, these census numbers might or might not reflect reality, for there are probably more Roma who havent been accounted for because they refused to participate in the census or might have avoided stating their nationality. According to a study by the National Agency for Roma, the socio-economic situation of Roma ethnicity remains still quite difficult: Roma score on a high level of poverty. Roma communities are affected by various problems: high levels of unemployment (28%), low income, low educational and vocational training (with visible effects in the labor market participation), improper living conditions and limited access to public services. Many Roma are working as day laborers, thus without having a stable source of income. According to OSI (Open Society Institute) research conducted in 2007, 4.9 percent of Roma people in Romania lacked a birth certificate. Among nonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ËœRoma citizens, less than 1 percent lacked a birth certificate. Similarly, surveys in 2007 and 2008 indicated that between 1.9 and 6 percent of Roma lacked identity cards, compared to 1.5 percent of nonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ËœRoma. The lack of identity documents leads to exclusion from participating in elections, receiving social benefits, accessing health insurance, securing property documents, and participating in the labor market. Another survey, conducted by the ICCV (Institutul de Cercetare a Calitatii Vietii), points out that the proportion of illiterates among Roma is disturbing: more than one third of the Roma (38.6%) are functionally illiterate, 19% of men and 27% of mature women only attended one school year. 18% of Roma children aged between 7 and 16 years have never been to school. Among the conclusions of the study are the following: Roma population categorically refuse to be a part of the education system. The problem is that the Roma population lives, usually in secluded and / or notorious neighborhoods, and schools located in these areas, where Roma children might study, have inferior learning conditions. NGOs and the media report that discrimination by teachers and other students against Romani students served as an additional disincentive for Romani children to complete their studies. However, other Roma are largely or fully integrated into society. Scholarships in schools and universities were created for Roma by the state creating positive discrimination whose impact on improving integration in Romania remains to be seen. On the downside again, in schools where students are predominantly Roma, repeater rates reach 11.3%, almost three times higher than the national average. Because of the low quality level of the school, almost 20% of Roma students enrolled in the fourth grade are functionally illiterate, according to the ICCV. The EU, Romania included, has launched a program entitled Decade of Roma Inclusion to combat this and other problems. Roma situation differs from country to country, but integration problems remain in developed countries. A report by the European Roma Rights Center (ERRC) emphasizes that, in 2005, the Roma in France for example, counting around 500,000 individuals are the target of dramatic levels of discrimination. The report notes that civil, political, social and economic community are frequently violated and concluded that the authorities fail integration of minorities in the Hexagon (France). The most important communities of Roma live in Central and Eastern Europe, but, similariy to Romanias case (where the official 2002 census claims numbers of 535,000, while a EU report dating from 2004 says there are 1.8 million Roma) their number varies between official censuses and unofficial estimates: Czech Republic has between 11,000- 200,000 Roma, Slovakia, between 95,000- 550,000, Hungary, between 200,000- 600,000, and European reports on this minority are often negative. In each of the three of the EU countries mentioned above, unemployment among Roma reaches 75% -80%; when they have access to education, most often the children study in special schools and the wider community is a victim of racial prejudice coming from the majority population, according to Amnesty International. EU Strategy for Roma integration The European Commission has set up a programme to tackle the main difficulties involved in the integration of Roma people. There are EU funds available to help, and countries are encouraged to make greater use of them on a national level. To this effect, one important tool is the European Social Fund, which currently stands at around 12 billion Euros and amounts to 10% of the EUs budget. The purpose of the fund is to provide support for projects that seek to improve social cohesion in the Union. The second European Roma summit, was being held at the beginning of April 2010- on the International Roma Day, and was set-up as a forum to discuss the Commissions new strategy and to renew commitments. Representatives of EU institutions, EU countries and civil society organisations, including Roma groups, have participated in the conference and also present were World Bank Director Theodore Ahlers and the investment banker and philanthropist George Soros. The direct involvement of Roma organisations and representatives was a key feature of the event. The agenda included the implementation of rules against discrimination and racism by member countries of EU. Concerning this, the Commission had taken legal action against 24 EU countries which have not fulfilled their obligations in this respect and for 12 of these cases, the proceedings are ongoing. The focus shifted in the EU in 2009 from an analysis of the problems to an exploration of how existing instruments could be made more effective and how the situation of the Roma could be addressed more explicitly across a broad range of policies, including employment, social inclusion, health, education, housing, youth and culture. But the enforcement and development of specific EU legislation in the areas of non-discrimination, freedom of movement and anti-racism has continued. The European Platform for Roma inclusion- composed of key players in Roma inclusion from EU institutions, international organisations, Member States governments and civil society, was launched in April 2009 to exchange good practice and experience and to stimulate cooperation among its participants, with a clearly stated objective: to increase the coherence and effectiveness of the parallel policy processes at national, European and international level with a view to creating synergies. Most Member States report a stronger focus on internal coordination and on involving the Roma communities. Some Member States have begun to use the opportunities of complex programming and combined cohesion policy instruments. Among the findings of the forum, it seems that Member States want to mainstream Roma issues and to use mutual learning in order to explore how to improve their current initiatives on desegregation and on access in the areas of education, employment and basic social services. Another new effort of The European Commission deals with the implementation of a pilot project on Roma inclusion (5 million Euros for 2010-2012), initiated by the European Parliament, addressing early childhood education, self-employment through micro-credit, and public awareness particularly in countries with high Roma populations. The pilot project will also explore methods for data collection and counterfactual evaluation to assess the impact of the interventions in these three fields. Specific problems concerning the workforce As a fact, working age Roma lack sufficient human capital. Apart from barriers such as labor market discrimination still affecting them, the vast majority of working age Roma lacks the necessary qualifications to participate effectively in the labor market. The next figures will portray the cases of 3 member states, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Romania, and also a non EU state, Serbia, in order to get a grasp of how serious the educational problems are among various European Roma communities. Note: Data included in figures 1, 2 ,3 and 4 comes from the World Bank. This is seen dramatically in Figure 1, which shows the proportion of working-age Roma that have completed at least some secondary education or more. Only 1 in 5 Roma of working age in the Czech Republic and as few as 1 in 8 in Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia are equipped with these necessary education skill levels. Working age members of the majority populations in these countries are 4 to 6 times more likely to have these educational qualifications. Figure 3 shows the average monthly net income that employed Roma earn compared to that of the majority population. Employed Roma earn 31% less in Bulgaria, 48% less in Serbia, 55% less in Romania, and 58% less in the Czech Republic. Specific problems concerning demographics and education The health situation of the Roma conditions their life expectancy and their demographics are different from the european average. The European Roma population is significantly younger than the overall population (an average of 25.1 years old in seven Member States, compared to 40.24 years in the whole EU; 62.38 percent of the Roma population is under 29 years old, compared to 34.98 percent in the EU-27). There is no official information on the average life expectancy of Roma, but this is expected to be significantly lower than the overall EU population (which is around 63 years old in Romania) The child dependency index is 57.77 compared to 23.33 in the EU, while the elderly dependency index reaches 4.11, much lower than the EU of 24.93. There is also a gradual decline in birth rates among Roma, however, the replacement index (reflecting the number of people with ages between 15 and 39 for every 100 people aged 40 to 64) remains significantly higher among Roma (231) than for the overall population (101). As we have seen from the figures above, Roma citizens in some Member States influence the demographic pyramid in a specific manner. Educational systems are selective and, despite efforts by Member States to overcome segregation, a great deal of the systems that have been ostensibly designed to combat segregation are often used in practice to increase disparities between social groups and disadvantage the poor profoundly, especially in the case of Roma. There is a constant need of specific educational policies to address Roma families and also policies that encourage active participation. Although the proportion of young Roma enrolled in education and higher education systems has largely increased in some Member States, their level of qualification is still below the EU average. However, in the absence of formal qualifications, the position of Roma in the labor market can be improved by creating a system of recognition of practical skills. Indeed, Figure 6 shows that among Roma who completed secondary education the average earnings are much higher than the average earnings among Roma who completed primary education: 83% higher in Bulgaria, 110% higher in the Czech Republic, 144% higher in Romania, and 52% higher in Serbia. Romanias efforts aimed towards the Roma through structural funds Surprisingly, there is a great deal of implication concerning this matter with the local, Romanian authorities, and a lot o projects concerning Roma and their social integration are on their way. Most projects are co-funded by the European Structural Funds, are managed centrally and focus primarily on education (including early childcare), vocational and professional training, labour market insertion and social inclusion. According to the information provided by the Romanian Managing Authority, a total of 11 projects are being or will be implemented multiregionally or statewide with an aggregate budget of 37,819,853 Euros and are planned to benefit 61,634 Roma men and women. Most projects are short-to-medium-term (2-3 years). We can note that 6 major projects (employment and early education) are directly managed by the National Roma Agency. Our hope it that perhaps these efforts will actually wield some quantifiable results. Figure 5 source: EURoma report- Roma and the Structural Funds There are currently several integrated projects that rank as highly important. First, a transnational pilot project, Together on the labour market, is managed by the National Roma Agency is being implemented in 8 cities, in partnership with the Fundacià ³n Secretariado Gitano from Spain as transnational partner during the period 2008-2010. In the following period, 2010-2013, the project aims to be expanded nationwide. At a cost of 4,908,749 Euros for a period of two years, the project has ambitious aims: to benefit 6,670 Roma women and men through personalised support for labour insertion, vocational training adapted to the demand of the Romanian labour market. With a budget of 4,770,000 Euros, another employment activation project, Strategic steps for improving access to education for Roma children, presents ambitious outcomes and outputs: to increase the qualification on the labour market of 2,000 persons, including 1,000 Roma, the development of social economy structures, the increase of job opportunities addressed to vulnerable groups, the establishment of 8 Regional Centres to supporting social economy structures, the creation of 8 Regional Partnerships, and the development of 80 social economy projects. Within the education field, the All in kindergarten, all in the first grade. Integrated programmes for increasing the access to education and the educational level of the children within under-privileged communities, mainly Roma, during 2008-2009 project, is managed by the central government with a budget of 5,000,000 Euros. Although no data is yet available on its results, it had some ambitious and specific targets. The general objective of the project is to prevent and correct early school leaving for children aged 5 to 8 within 420 disadvantaged communities (a high proportion of them being Roma children). It seeks to increase access to pre-school and school education for 8,000 children within disadvantaged communities, mainly Roma, trough participation in Summer kindergarten and School after school educational programmes. Its potential outputs are ambitious: A 75% decrease in school dropout rate for pupils in the first grade belonging to the 420 disadvantaged communities; 6,000 Ro ma children benefiting from the school-after-school programme and 10,000 Roma parents receiving counseling regarding child education. Three other projects target pre-school education. Two are managed respectively by the Amare Rromentza Roma Centre and the National Agency for the Roma, with more than 4,000 combined beneficiaries. The third, titled Strategic steps for improving access to education for Roma children is managed by Romani CRISS and will have as a general objective the reduction of early school leaving risk among Roma pupils. With a budget of 4,872,060 Euros, it will develop desegregation plans within 90 schools from 4 regions of the country -North-West, Centre, South-East and Bucharest-Ilfov over three years, including intercultural training for 150 teaching staff and awareness-raising initiatives regarding the benefits of education to 20,000 planned Roma beneficiaries. Finally, an integrated project, Education of Roma children- the way to a guaranteed employment, is being managed by the National Roma Agency and implemented for three years (no exact dates provided). It aims to increase of the educational level of the Roma children from rural and urban areas nationwide and the development of human resources. With a budget of 4,943,831 Euros and targeting 4,800 beneficiaries (50% women), it could help to find ways to articulate education and employment policies through effective local implementation of equal opportunity and desegregation measures, and if it demonstrates long-term sustainability. Economic costs of Roma Exclusion: As expected, the fact that Roma people sit on the margins of society leads to some macroeconomic consequences. These consequences have been thoroughly analized and documented in a recent, 2010 report by The World Bank. Note that some of the issues presented in the report have surfaced in the previous chapters of this paper. A summary of the findings is presented in the following table: Figure x: The economic costs of Roma Exclusion The vast majority of working-age Roma lack sufficient education to participate successfully in the labor market. As a result, European countries are losing hundreds of millions of Euros annually in productivity and in fiscal contributions to the governments. Lower bound estimates of annual productivity losses range from 367 million Euro in the Czech Republic, 526 million Euro in Bulgaria, to 887 million Euro in Romania. Lower bound annual fiscal losses range from 202 million Euro in Romania, 233 million Euro in the Czech Republic, and 370 million Euros in Bulgaria. Toward inclusive growth: bridging the education gap is also the economically smart choice to make Better educated Roma can expect much higher earnings. Compared to Roma with primary education, Roma who complete secondary education can expect to earn 83% more in Bulgaria, 110% more in the Czech Republic, 144% more in Romania. The annual fiscal gains from bridging the employment gap are much higher than the total cost of investing in public education for all Roma children; by a factor of 7.7 for Bulgaria, 7.4 times for the Czech Republic, 2.4 times in Romania. The share of Roma among the working-age populations will rise as majority populations in Eastern and Central Europe are aging rapidly. Equal labor participation among the Roma is essential to shoulder the nationally rising costs of pensions, health and other costs of aging. source: The economic costs of Roma exclusion, World Bank Report, April 2010. Conclusions We consider that Roma are mostly discriminated because of a certain lack of education, but also because they are sometimes perceived as social outcasts. And this is sometimes a matter of choice, even tradition, which makes this a very tough area to cover and improve. Education is a milestone to consider, and perhaps the key to solving a lot of Roma related problems. We have seen that there are trumendeos efforts on a local but also European level, which we believe is a positive sign. The use of structural funds could be a very powerful tool when used properly. While targeting Roma education might lead us to certain cultural barries, we have to do our best to understand these limitations and figure out a way to please both parties. There are a lot of opportunities and advantages what will come with a better integration of the Roma people, and some steps have been taken into this direction, both socially and economically. However, there is one problem that should be noted. The issue of results, and more specifically, how do we make the efforts quantifiable? We see a lot of projects through structural funds in Romania, but we should also bear in mind their specific results and goals. The centralisation of these results should be a priority, otherwise they risk getting by unnoticed. Have the goals been achieved? They the programmes succesful, but just how much? How can they be improved so they reach the broader audience rather than smaller groups? Bibliografie www.euractiv.ro www.ecursuri.ro 3. www.ec.europa.eu Home http://www.romadecade.org/ http://www.anr.gov.ro http://worldbank.org/

The Life Of Jesus :: essays research papers

The Life of Jesus The New Testament is mainly based on the life of Jesus and the early church. He is known as the son of God though his parents were Mary and Joseph. Jesus was born in a stable in city of Bethlehem as there was no room in the inns. Once he was born, Mary had no crib to place him in, so they made one with a troth and some straw. Three Kings and some shepherds came to visit him. The kings gave him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Jesus and his family travelled to Jordan from Galilee so Jesus could be baptised. Jesus went all over Galilee preaching the Good News about the Kingdom of God. He educated in the synagogues, speaking and reading in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin. He taught people how to live properly and to always make the right decision. He also told many parables. Jesus healed many different people with incurable diseases and sicknesses. He performed many miracles with the power of God. It was time for Jesus to choose his twelve apostles. He chose Simon, James, John, Andrew, Phillip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, Thaddaeus, Simon and Judas. They all came from different backgrounds. Judas was the apostle who betrayed Jesus. It was time for the last supper. Jesus sat down with his disciples at the table to share the bread and wine. Jesus went to pray in Gethsemane with his disciples when Judas arrived with an armed crowd sent by the chief priests. They arrested him. Jesus was brought to Pilate and he sentenced him to death. Then he was crucified. When he died, a man named Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus and he replied yes. Joseph took the body down wrapped him in linen and placed him in a tomb. He rolled a large stone across the entrance. Jesus's body still had to be anointed, so the day after the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James came to dress him. When they arrived the stone was rolled open so they entered though shocked that it was open. In there they saw a man in a white robe, an angel. They were shocked even more. The angel calmed the women and told them that he had been raised. The women were so afraid that they ran out of the tomb yet they were filled with joy. A man stopped them. It was Jesus. The women were so happy.

My Philosophy on Education Essay -- Educational Teaching Essays

My Philosophy on Education Throughout history there have been many philosophies on education, they range in content, from subject area to disciplinary measures. I do not believe that one should completely follow someone else’s example, but instead form their own personal theories based on their current knowledge base. Philosophies are ever changing and often redundant in their statements, yet still allow others to learn something they may not have ever considered before. I believe students, children, are naturally curious. They are not good or evil as many philosophers believe, but instead very open to new experiences that can shape their developing personality. The nature of knowledge is very relevant to what point they are at in life and at what particular place. If a young child is placed in an environment full of harsh criticisms, he to will learn to criticize himself and others. On the other hand, if a child is placed in an environment that emphasizes independence, that child will learn to do things on his own. I believe this must be done in the first years of life, before age ten, or the ability to pick up the new behavior is more difficult. Children should be taught to read by the time they are in the first grade. I believe that education should start before that with the parents or with the day care workers. A small child can learn the alphabet and get a head start in life without even knowing about it. Knowing the letters and sou nds that they make makes reading simpler than not knowing them. Whether you teach a child through songs or writing, any thing they are taught prior to school, subject wise is an advantage. As a teacher I don’t want anyone to leave my classroom without at lea... ...he child’s ability. Different styles of teaching should be incorporated into every classroom so each child can reach his potential. Certain subjects should be emphasized, even on the preschool level, but every subject should be taught. All in all, I feel the best philosophy is to put my students first, without bias, teach them that most everything is possible if you try hard enough. Professional Development Plans: I plan to teach at an elementary school or a preschool while I am attending college to get my masters degree in psychology. I have a passion to work with children and whether it is through psychology or teaching, I want to aid in shaping their developing future. The only professional group I would take into consideration at this point is the NEA, mostly to keep current with school issues and in case a court matter would ever arise.

How Do William Golding and Williams Shakespeare Present Disturbed Characters? Essay

How do William Golding and William Shakespeare present disturbed characters? In Lord of the Flies Golding presents disturbed characters as savage and blood-thirsty. After his own experience in world war two, he seems to believe everybody has a savage personality and thriving which is brought out through an extreme situation. Golding uses the technique of evoking emotion from the reader through the use of innocent children committing unthinkable actions. He conveys his views through the ever growing savage characters of Jack and Roger, whereas Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as a mentally disturbed character consumed with an obsession of becoming a part of the hierarchy within society. In the first chapter of Lord of the Flies Golding uses the Island as an allegorical object, presenting the general overview of society and civilisation. The Island can be represented as the Garden of Eden; an innate place of perfection to be undisturbed and civil. It seems to be an idyllic place for some time with rules and order throughout, this is up until it is corrupted and nature is changed by the boys’ savage intentions. This relates to biblical themes of the Garden of Eden once corrupted by mankind (Adam & Eve). We also see a use of pathetic fallacy, the Island in this sense is more important than anything, it foreshadows the events which are beginning to unfold. Throughout both pieces of Literature Shakespeare and Golding use religious beliefs and values; in Macbeth the uses of supernatural creatures like the witches represent a devil like figure. The strong Christian themes in the play and during Elizabethan times made them even more evil, Shakespeare conveys Lady Macbeth as the total opposite of what a women ‘should be’. She knows as a female she is limited because of her gender, she asked to be filled with cruelty which is ironic because she created the plan to kill the King. This point is significant in the quote â€Å"unsex me here†. Similarly you could argue the ‘beast’ brought to the attention of the boys by a ‘littlun’ is equally as important. Simon proposes the beast is only the boys imagination itself, although they laugh off his idea, Simon is central to the novel; he links to Golding’s point of innate human evil which exists. He is the first boy to acknowledge that the ‘beast’ is an external force of human nature. Lady Macbeth is first introduced to us as Macbeth’s loving wife, she seems thrilled to hear of her husband’s progression in social status. Her first reaction is to concoct a plan to kill the king; we are equally as shocked as Macbeth when she â€Å"pours her spirits in thine ear†. This leads us to believe she is a somewhat calculating character. Lady Macbeth then begins to develop into manipulating Macbeth, she uses blackmail such as â€Å"break this enterprise to me? † she weakens Macbeth â€Å"you were a man† implies she does not think of him as being worthy to be called a man. To some extent Lady Macbeth is to blame, as soon as she hears of Macbeth’s news her character is blinded by ambition. Similarly the three witches give Macbeth prophesies leading to the evil plan which is soon presented. The first significant change in their relationship comes when she creates a description of juxtaposition, turning a pure and natural thing into a horrific image; saying she would have â€Å"dash’d the brains out† of their unborn child. Using this hypothetic situation Macbeth is beginning to consider the consequences, she uses pronouns ‘you and I’ implying they are equally as involved and together through all of it. Golding presents the character of Jack as a developing character of savagery throughout the novel. He compares the deterioration of Jack’s civilized and well brought up mind with his lust and instinct to hunt. This is shown when the boys try and outline order on ‘their’ island. Jacks reaction to this is aggressive and intolerant- â€Å"bollocks to the rules! We’re strong- we hunt! †. Here we see that he seems manipulative towards the other characters trying to control them into following him as the leader. When the group of boys head up the mountain our perception as to Jack’s cruelty is further developed. This is shown when Jack is seen to â€Å"snatch the glasses from Piggy’s face†; â€Å"His specs- use them as burning glasses†. Golding uses this cruel streak in Jack so the reader feels sympathetic to lesser characters such as Piggy. The deterioration of civilization on the island first begins with the breaking of the conch, in the novel the conch symbolises rules, like a school bell when the noise sounds it enforces a sense of regulation and order. Secondly the fire symbolises a feeling of hope, it is the one thing that could save them and mean rescue. Contrastingly it represents destruction and corruption, it destroys the idyllic feel of the island first presented to us by Golding. Identity is a main theme in both Lord of the flies and Macbeth, Golding uses the technique of theriomorphism to give Jack animalistic qualities. For example Golding says â€Å"he passed his tongue across his dry lips and scanned the uncommunicative forest† conveying Jack as a primitive character. In other words Golding is beginning to show Jack’s impulsive and has a compulsion to kill, giving the reader an impression of his savage streak emerging. He also uses the word â€Å"uncommunicative† which literally is telling the reader the island is abandoned but foreshadows what is to come. This is an effective word choice because it gives an insight to the communication which causes their downfall. Our understanding of what is to come differs from the previous text ‘Coral Island’ the wildness of the surroundings influences changes in characters such as Jack to take natural animalistic instincts; contradicting the theme of ‘happy endings’ as conveyed in Coral Island. A link between both Lord of the Flies and Macbeth is that both involve a sense of changing identity and deterioration of characters. During Elizabethan times when Shakespeare wrote Macbeth, the ‘social-scale’ of class and stature was called the ‘divine right of kings’. External factors of society such as religion and the threat of war makes the actions of a simple Elizabethan wife seem unthinkable. From the beginning of the play onwards, the relationship of Macbeth and his wife is one of equality. Straight away we are aware that Lady Macbeth is highly respected by her husband; â€Å"my dearest partner of greatness† is how he addresses her in the letter. A change of identity is suggested to Macbeth, Lady Macbeth says â€Å"Your hand, your tongue: look like the innocent flower But be the serpent under’t† She is controlling him, telling him to convey a normal front yet be the killer you know you are beneath. Contrastingly Jack uses paint to cover his face in Lord of the Flies, this is a primitive, tribal act in which he can cover his identity and be the hunter he insists upon. As we come to the final scenes of the play, not only can we see a mental deterioration but Shakespeare’s use of iambic pentameter conveying her as physically and mentally disturbed. During such times ‘mental illness’ was not understood and looked upon as being ‘mad’. In act 3 scene 4 she has changed completely, a doctor and gentle-women observe her as she has clearly become mentally out of control. Lady Macbeth even imagines herself with hands covered with blood, there is a stream of guilt as she shows her fragmented speech reflecting her thoughts and soliloquy â€Å"out, damned spot! I say! †