Politics In Gilded Age Essays - , Term Papers

Politics In Gilded Age The paper discusses politics in the Gilded Age. Include major political events and issues, and the roles of the "bloody shirt," corruption, patronage, and reform movements. The term Gilded Age was named for a Mark Twain book. It meant covered with gold, and was applied to this period as a whole. This was a period of corruption in sordid politics. The Republicans and Democrats didn't really have strong opposing beliefs during this period. The Republicans supported high tariffs and sound money. The Democrats supported lower tariffs and expanded currency. Both rural and urban classes supported each party. They worked with spoils and local issues. Both parties worked to please everyone, and to attract voters. Since both parties were so close in strength, it caused the elections to be fought harder. The Republicans used the waving of the bloody shirt tactic. This meant that they brought back the past in order to avoid the real issues. They portrayed the Democrats as rebel traitors. The Republicans were against alcohol. The Stalwarts were led by Senator Conkling from New York and were the hard core machine of elections. Senator Blaine led the Half-Breeds from Maine, and they wanted to be in control of it all. The mugwumps were a group that turned Democrat because of the corruption of the Republican presidential nominee, Senator Blaine. One president was Grant during this period. He was elected into office for his past war experience. He had little knowledge of politics, and depended on his fellow politicians. These men, in turn, involved in scandals to embezzle money from the government. One was the Great Mobilier scandal; it dealt with the Union Pacific Railroad. The Construction Company hired themselves at inflated prices to build railroad lines, and distributed shares of stock to congressmen. A scandal during Grant's second term, was the Whisky Ring. This scandal was uncovered in St. Louis, and consisted of selling whiskey without the excise tax. In return it defrauded the government out of millions of dollars. Belknap was selling goods and trading with the Indians for lower prices. During Grant's administration the monetary issues were inflation, cheap money, and greenbacks. The debtors, especially farmers, wanted cheap money. However, Grant vetoed the bill to print more money, and supported withdrawing greenbacks from circulation. Hayes won the disputed election. Four states submitted irregular returns. It was disputed if the Republican president of the Senate or the Democratic Speaker of the House should count them. It was decided that an electoral commission made up of fifteen men. There were eight Republicans and seven Democrats, so the Republicans won. The Democrats would only accept this with conditions, one of which was to remove troops from the south. The next president was a political"unknown". His name was James Garfield. A disturbed politician shot him in the back at a railroad. This demonstrated the corruption in the patronage system and led to reform. In the next presidential election the Republicans nominated James Blaine and the Democrats supported Grover Cleveland. Both parties were the same on issues and both agreed on tariff and corporate abuses, so it came down to personal issues. Cleveland won the election and was the first Democratic President since before the Civil War. His philosophy of government was almost entirely negative. He believed that the government should not support people. He wanted to reform tariff, but congress postponed it. The Republicans described Cleveland's tariff reform as a free trade policy that would ruin American industries and put Americans out of work. The Republicans regain the White House with Benjamin Harrison. The payoffs for industries were high tariffs. The downside was increased government spending. The Sherman Silver Purchase Act was passed to help the silver minors and economy. During President Cleveland's reelection, the Sherman Silver Purchase Act drained the treasuries. Paper notes were traded for gold, then reissued, and the process would be repeated. The worst depression of that century occurred during Cleveland's second term. Cleveland tried to repeal the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, but it was too late. Gold was almost depleted, so he borrowed $62 million in gold from J.P. Morgan. The Wilson-Gorman Act reduced tariff slightly, and had a provision that the Populist favored. It was a 2% income tax on incomes over $4000 a year. In all Cleveland was unable to deal with the economic crises in his second term. There was too much corruption during this period. Honest politicians and businessmen might have prevented the depression. The big businesses were really in charge. The quality of Presidents played a major role

What Is a Pell Grant

What Is a Pell Grant SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips You might have heard about the federal Pell Grant and have some idea that it helps you pay for college. But you might not know the details, like how much you can get, whether you qualify, and how to apply. If you're looking for information financial aid, you should definitely learn about the Pell Grant. This annual award is given by the federal government to students who need help paying for college - if you meet all eligibility criteria, you're guaranteed to receive the money. Sounds like a great deal! In this guide,we'll cover the basic info about what a Pell Grant is, including: The history of the Pell Grant Award amounts What you can use Pell Grant money for Eligibility requirements Calculating your estimated award amount How to apply for a Pell Grant We'll explain each of these in more detail in separate guides that we'll link to, but this will give you a great overview of how Pell Grants work. History of the Pell Grant It wasn't always possible to get federal financial aid;there weren't many options for students who needed help paying for school outside of scholarships and private loans. This didn't present much of a problem for students who came from wealthier families, but the cost of higher education tended to prevent low- and middle-income students from attending college. During Lyndon B. Johnson's presidency, Congress passed the Higher Education Act of 1965, or the HEA. The HEA program provided federally-funded financial aid, in the form of grants and loans, to students who needed help paying for college or vocational school. Politicians reasoned that oneway to ensure better educational opportunities forcitizens was to mitigate financial burdens; why should motivated students be prevented from pursuing an education, if the only thing holding them back was cost? In 1972, Senator Claiborne Pell worked to expand and reform the HEA.Eligibility requirements for federal grants (formerly called Basic Educational Opportunity grants) were made more inclusive in 1978, and were renamed in honor of Senator Pell. Pell Grants have become an important financial aid foundation for many students across the US. The first year that grants were awarded, there were 176,000 recipients; for the 2013-2014 academic year, over 8.5 million students received almost 23 BILLIONdollars in Pell Grant money, with an average award amount of about $3,600! You could be one of those 8.5 million, and the Pell Grant amount will surely help you pay for college. Claiborne Pell, federal aid champion Pell Grant Award Amounts The amount of grant money students receive is based on a few different factors (which we'll touch on in a minute). For the 2015-2016 academic year, the maximum Pell Grant award is $5,775; the amount you'll receive if you're eligible will depend on financial need, and may be less than that. You can learn more about Pell Grant minimum/maximum awards here. What Does the Pell Grant Pay For? Because the Pell Grant is meant specifically to help students pay for school, it can only be used for school-related expenses (this does not come as a surprise, I'm sure). These expenses can include tuition, room, board, and school fees, but they can also include textbooks, supplies, transportation, and even food. Yes, the federal government could potentially fund late-night study fuel in the form of greasy pizza and/or energy drinks. Video games, not so much. You may not have to worry about managing your Pell Grant money, though. Oftentimes, it will go directly to your school, and will be applied to appropriate charges - most likely the big ones like tuition, room, and board expenses. You can get more information about Pell Grant limits here. As exciting as it may be to pay for your own textbooks, wouldn't it be great if you didn't have to? Eligibility Requirements Because the Pell Grant is a form of federal aid, you need to meet all federal requirements in order to be eligible to receive the grant. Basically, you need to have a high school diploma or GED, be a citizen or US national, and be enrolled (or accepted) in an eligible school. You can read more about the specifics of Pell eligibility requirements here. The Pell Grant is meant primarilyfor low-income students who don't already have a post-secondary degree (so, a bachelor's or vocational degree). Financial need is calculated by generating something called an Expected Family Contribution, or EFC; to receive the Pell for the 2015-2016 academic year, your EFC needs to be at or below $5081.Don't know what an EFC is? Don't worry - it's all explained in the next section. How to Calculate Your Estimated Award Amount It's possible to calculate how much Pell Grant money you're likely to receive before you even apply for federal aid. All you need is your family's financial information - you can get this from recent tax returns - in addition to information about your household size, family assets, and number of other family members in college. Go to this link, click onFAFSA4caster, and follow the prompts. The output will include Pell Grant estimates, in addition to other federal aid program estimates. Get more information about calculating your award by checking out our Pell Grant Calculator guide. Analyzing family finances can seem overwhelming, but I promise that calculating financial aid eligibility isn't this complicated. How to Apply for a Pell Grant There's no specific or dedicated application for the Pell Grant; you're automatically considered when you submit your Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA.The FAFSA is totally free to submit (as you may have guessed). Even if you don't think you'll receive Pell Grant money, you have nothing to lose by submitting a FAFSA. You can submit a FAFSA online here, or you can get a paper application from your school's guidance office. The application shouldn't take more than a few hours, but preparing to fill out the application (for example, gathering all the necessary paperwork and setting a timeline) can be confusing without a game plan. Get step-by-step instructions for submitting your FAFSA here What's Next? There are other opportunities to get help paying for school outside of federal financial aid. Did you know that you can receive scholarships based on your SAT scores? Learn more about getting top test scores here. Merit-based scholarships can also close the gap between what you owe and what you need. Doing well in school can get you access to those scholarships. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) and Phillips-Perron (PP) Results

Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) and Phillips-Perron (PP) Results While analyzing time series data, it is important to check the order of integration of the variables. Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) and Phillips-Perron (PP) unit root test are used at level form and first difference of each series. The results of the unit root test are reported in Table 5.9 taking into consideration of the constant-trend variables and without the constant-trend variables. In the ADF test, the lag length is included to solve the problem of autocorrelation and to enhance the robustness of the result. The ADF t-statistics for the series without the constant and the trend term are all statistically insignificant to reject the null hypothesis of unit root. This shows that the series are non-stationary in their original form and they contain a unit root process. For the series with the trend and constant term, all the variables are non-stationary except the capital expenditure whose ADF t-statistics is significant and it is I(0). When the ADF test is carried out at the fi rst difference of each variable, the null hypothesis is rejected for both the series with the constant and rend term and without the constant and trend term. This is presented in fourth and fifth column of Table 5.9 and it shows that the variables are integrated of order 1. The results are consistent with theory as most of the macroeconomic time series data are expected to contain unit root and thus are integrated of order one I(1). ADF critical values without constant and trend:1%: -3.750; 5%: -3.000; 10%: -2.630 ADF critical values with constant and trend:1%: -4.380; 5%: -3.600; 10%: -3.240 Long run Equation The long run equation can now be estimated with the assumption that no variable contains more than one unit root and the first difference of each variable is stationary. With the aim of analyzing the effect of aid on current, capital and loan repayment, this study employ annual time series data from 1985 to 2008. Table 5.10 presents the result of the long run equation. The reg ression result reported in Table 5.9 shows that the relationship between aid and current and capital expenditures is negative and statistically insignificant. An interesting result in Table 5.9 is the positive coefficient of aid in principal repayment. This shows that aid is being employed to finance loan repayment. Urban population has elasticity coefficient of 7.58, 4.28 and 1.44 in current, capital and loan repayment respectively. This shows that urban population has a positive effect on government expenditure while population has negative effect on government expenditure with negative coefficients. R2 value is greater than 0.5 in all the three cases indicating that Aid, population , urban population and lagged GDP accounts to 71% ,50 % and 52% variation in current, capital and loan repayment expenditure respectively. Another desirable property of econometric result is the value of the Durbin Watson statistics which is close to 2 and represent the absence of serial correlation in the error term. Testing for co-integration An important property of I (1) variables is that they can be linear combinations of I (0) variables. If this is so, then these variables are said to be co-integrated (Maddala et al 1999). To test the presence of co-integration, the null hypothesis of unit root in the residuals is tested against the alternative hypothesis that there is co-integration between the variables.

Currency Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Currency Management - Essay Example The foreign currency in the dollarization context serves as a medium of exchange, unit of account, and store of value (Honohan, 2007). Dollarization operates and functions within the geographical boundaries of the specific country that adopts it. Different countries can engage in dollarization and use the same foreign currency, but their decisions are independent and unrelated. On the other hand, monetary union defines a scenario where two or more countries come together and agree to share a common currency. This means that all countries bound to the union uses the agreed upon currency to carry out economic transactions. Dollarization and monetary unions exhibit both advantages and disadvantages. For a small country, dollarization may be used to enhance the economic performance. However, the success of dollarization in the country that adopts the foreign currency may result in disregarded domestic currency by having the foreign currency replace it. In the context of the global financial system, the strongest and most used foreign currency may dominate and outperform other currencies through overvaluation. The policy is, however, vital in nurturing economic relationships across the globe. On the other hand, monetary union improves the value of the chosen currency, making the countries bound to the union influential in terms of domestic and international economic transactions (Gerber, 2010). However, countries with poor economic performance can be dominated and â€Å"enslaved† by stronger countries in the

Technology Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Technology - Assignment Example This material has been transformed to create electronic displays and these displays are being used for e-readers. This technology is helping the society as it reduces its consumption of trees for paper and even provides them with a solution that consumes lower amount of battery of their e-readers. The RFID Chips are even recognized as radio frequency identification chips are wireless in nature and are used in replacement of bar codes as well as magnetic strips and are attached to different elements and helps in identifying those elements. These chips are being used by super stores and marts in place of barcodes and due to these chips there has been a decrease in the amount of time people spend at point of sales. Programmable Matter is a term used to refer to those elements that has the ability to alter their physical outlook in a Programmable way and this matter is said to have the ability of processing huge amount of information (Fan, 2013, p.152). The concept of programmable matter is being used to create items such as robots that can change their shape and perform various functions. These robots can help in making lives of human beings easier by performing different

Compare and contrast Essay Example for Free

Compare and contrast Essay Over the last few weeks, I have learned about what makes an essay an essay, after reading the required chapters of â€Å"Essentials of College Writing† (Connell Soles, 2013) the knowledge needed to compare and contrast a narrative and descriptive essay is at my grasp. The essays I have chosen to use as support are â€Å"Homeless† by Anne Quindlen and â€Å"Are the Rich Happy?† by Stephen Leacock. While the differences between these two essays are apparent, the similarities are more recognizable. By using information, I have gained from the class I hope this paper can help you form your own opinion on which essay is superior. There are many different reasons why an author would write a narrative or descriptive essay and for each form, there is a main purpose, though it does not always have to be evident right away. A narrative story is to entertain or engage the reader, maybe for fun or to teach a lesson. In difference to a narrative, which can be truth or fiction, a descriptive is about a true event, person or place. The purpose of a descriptive essay is to create an accurate and vivid â€Å"picture† by using specific details. Details help you focus the reader’s attention on characteristics that make people, places, objects, and events unique and help them â€Å"come alive† for readers, a descriptive essay is about an actual person, place and/or event (Connell Soles, 2013). The author Stephen Leacock started his essay,† Are the Rich Happy?† with, â€Å"Let me admit at the outset that I write this essay without adequate material. I have never known, I have never seen, any rich people. Very often, I have thought I have found them. However, it turned out that it was not so. They were not rich at all. They were quite poor. They were hard up. They were pushed for money. They did not know where to turn for ten thousand dollars.† The essays purpose was not openly stated, I had to finish reading before I understood what point the author was trying to get across. In contrast, Quindlen began her essay â€Å"Homeless† by getting to the point from the very beginning, using words to describe exactly who and what she was writing about in her paper â€Å"Her name was Ann, and we met in the port authority Bus Terminal several Januarys ago. I was doing a story on homeless people. She said I was wasting my time talking to her; she was just passing through, although shed been passing through for more than two weeks. To prove to me that this was true, she rummaged through a tote bag and a manila envelope and finally unfolded a sheet of typing paper and brought out her photographs.† The author of both a narrative and a descriptive essay need to use elements to make sure that they maintain the reader’s attention. Like, the topic they have chosen to write about has to be interesting to others. Just because one person thinks something is interesting does not mean others will feel the same (Connell Soles, 2013). The author of ‘Are the Rich Happy? †˜ Stephen Leacock knew that money will always be an issue among man and no matter how much money one has they will always want more, because there will always be reason to need more and that they will never be happy with what they have. Anne Quindlen also knew that homeless is a major issue in the world and that others would have a related emotion attachment to this. Another element is the use of language that allows the readers’ senses to create the whole picture. A narrative uses words to represent physical objects rather than ideas, qualities, or concepts that help make characters come to life and give those personalities (Connell Soles, 2013). In contrast, a descriptive essay demands emotion and expressive details that are more precise when describing certain aspects such as the characters, the plot and the main idea of why the essay was wrote. As written in â€Å"Are the Rich Happy† By Stephen Leacock, â€Å" I know a man, for example his name is Spugg- whose private bank account was overdrawn last month by twenty thousand dollars. He told me so at dinner at his club, with apologies for feeling out of sorts. He said it was bothering him. He said he thought it rather unfair of his bank to have called this to his attention.†(Para 7) In her essay Homeless, Anna Quindlen wrote, â€Å"Home is where the heart is; there is no place like it. I love my home with ferocity totally out of proportion to it appearance and location† (Para 4). By expressing, her emotions about her home I feel Anna hoped to make the reader reflect on how they feel about there own home. Another example of a strong tone would be, â€Å"People find it curious that  those without homes would rather sleep sitting up on benches or huddled in doorways than go to shelters. Certainly some prefer to do so because they are emotionally ill, because they have been locked up before and they are determined no to be again. Others are afraid of the violence and trouble they may find there. But some seem to want something that is not available in a shelter and they will not compromise, not for cot, or oatmeal, or a shower.’(Quindlen, â€Å"Homeless†, Para 7) So far, we have compared the purpose for each essay, how each essay has an audience that the author must keep in mind and the language used to intrigue the readers. Finally, I want to compare their structures. All essays need organization, writers use a number of different strategies to organize information and, often, the choice of how to organize is based on one own judgment of what would be most effective (Connell Soles, 2013). The structures between the two essays are similar however; each has their own particular form. An author of a narrative essay can use chronological order, events arr anged in a chronological order that are organized by time, and may start with the earliest event and go forward in time to the present or start from the present and go backward in time and spatial order which means organized by direction.(Connell Soles, 2013). A third organizational structure that I have found to be very useful for a narrative is dramatic order The dramatic structure is common in many types of writing and uses these five elements, an opening paragraphs that has an introduction, the introduction should have a strong thesis that helps create questions in the readers mind; it should also captivate their imagination. The rising action should take up the majority of the story and should include interaction, dialogue and detailed descriptions of the characters and the environment. It should also explain the reason for writing the essay; the climax or turning point, which will be the moment the conflict comes into sharp focus and is resolved. The falling action is where the rest of the story falls into place and, the concluding paragraph that will end the essay with answers to the reader’s questions. The essay may conclude with a discussion of why the topic of interest is important (Connell Soles, 2013). As stated in Esse ntials of College writing second edition, a descriptive is very similar to a narrative because it to must have a sound structure, There must be an introduction that â€Å"tells readers what you will tell them†, a body that â€Å"tells them†, and a conclusion thatbbrings closure to your paper (Connell Soles, 2013). For the introduction, the author must accomplish a few goals: capture the readers’ attention by revealing the purpose of the paper, have a strong thesis statement and briefly describe the main points covered in the paper. For the body, which is the heart of your paper, the author must explain, describe, argue, explore, or elaborate on the point or thesis of the paper. The final part of the essay, the conclusion is where the author makes his or her final stand, they state they final opinion on the topic and they end the essay (Connell Soles, 2013, chap. 5). Are narrative and descriptive essay similar? Do they share the same purpose? My answer is yes. The similarities out weigh the differences and with this knowledge I have formed my opinion that neither form of essay is superior, but both equally matched. I believe that both essays inspire the readers’ creativity and help bring forth their own opinions on the topics. I have formed my opinion using the facts described ab ove, such as they both use expressive words to take a hold of their audience, they are wrote to create a clear picture of the characters and the plot, and they both have a similar structure. Based on the information I have gained I can say that the similarities are more recognizable than the differences. References Connell, Christine M Sole, Kathy Essentials of College Writing, 2013 Leacock, S. (1916). Are the rich happy? In R. Nordquist (Ed.), About.com Guide to Grammar Composition. Retrieved from http://grammar.about.com/od/classicessays/a/Are-the-Rich-Happy-by-Stephen-Leacock.htm Quindlen, A. (n.d.). Homeless. Retrieved from http://pers.dadeschools.net/prodev/homelesstext.htm

Personal Writing: Our Trip To See The Band last One Standing :: essays research papers

Personal Writing: Our Trip to See the Band "Last One Standing" This past Friday I traveled down to Burlington with my friends Justin, Jamie, and Steve. The purpose of our trip was to see Justin and his band, Last One Standing, play at his old high school in Colchester. We all met around three o'clock, then piled into Justin's black, Volkswagen GTI, behind the Senators dorm. His car being a little used, it took fifteen minutes to actually be on our way. We put on some fast-paced driving music, a band called INTEGRITY(they're a hardcore band), and left the worries of Johnson behind us. The trip was a lot smoother in good company, even though our driver, Justin was getting a little frustrated while driving in heavy traffic. He has a short temper, and following a line of cars that are going thirty-five miles an hour in a fifty zone does not help. A sigh of relief passed through the car as we came into Burlington. Justin dropped me off at my house in Burlington at four o'clock, a few hours before his show started. I made my plans with them for later and sent them on their way. Something about being home makes me feel much more relaxed. Walking into your house and immediately recognizing that perfect smell of freshness (my mom keeps a clean house), flopping yourself onto your comfortable bed, now this is what makes me feel at peace.I was relieved to be home, knowing that I was going to see Kristie,a friend of mine that I'm quite fond of. A few hours slipped by with no significant happenings. I was really looking forward to seeing Kristie. She called around six, and made plans to stop by at seven. I was more than excited to see her, and when she showed up I couldn't stop smiling(I was really happy to see her). We talked for a few hours, which let me forget about my plans with Justin and the guys. It had been snowing since early that afternoon, and by nine-thirty we had three or four inches. Kristie lives in Shelburne, which is south of Burlington, and realizing the long drive in front of her, we decided to take off. We headed towards Colchester High School hoping that her car would make it there, and back to her house. It wasn't a problem, it only took us longer than we had expected. Kristie gave my a hug, a few kisses, some cigarettes, and we said our good-byes. She drove off into the snowy night, and already I missed her.

Lenin and Philosophy Essay

The images dispersed through this document attempt to give an example of how women are systematically removed from their sports settings, and placed within a more feminized or sexualized manner. In this way, we can see how over and over, in the images of Chynna Doll, Kristina Korneacouvia and others are used further entrench the socio-cultural rules which place within a limited and static gender role. The images illustrated throughout this paper are clear examples of Mulvey’s â€Å"male gaze† paradigm. In most of these photographs the athlete was professionally made up. Their hair was styled in the wind blown look often used on models, they wore makeup, and they were each dressed in sexually suggestive, revealing clothing. In doing so, the media acts within the paradigm of hegemony by sending mixed messages. Particularly, sports magazine may seem to portraying female athletes in a positive light, yet there is a constant trivialization of the actual performance in sports. This allows those that maintain the power and create the rules to allow women a limited role, while simultaneously maintaining the all-pervasive social dictations on the role of women as passive objects within a male dominated society. In this light, women in sports advertising are women first and athletes second. The status quo of gender hierarchy is maintained by muffling images of strong women, while simultaneously re-encoding women as sexual objects. The 1996 Olympics brought much success to female athletes. Many proponents of women’s rights and equality in sports though that this marked the final acceptance of women in the sports arena. Women’s sports magazines flourished during this time as well. Unfortunately, despite the athletic success on the playing felid and an increase coverage in the media, the media depicted women in less active rolls, oftentimes showing them in their home and family settings, or dressed in their athletic gear in a provocative way. In this sense, women are allowed to participate in sports, but the underlying message is one that keeps the backdrop of women in the domestic and sexual field. This is a further entrenchment of the aforementioned ideological hegemony of male superiority. Furthermore, this fact reinforces the dominant cultural order that blatantly sexualizes the female experience of success and merit in the sports arena. Ann Balsmo (1996) in her Technologies of the Engendered Body, discusses this phenomenon, stating â€Å"To be both female and strong today violates traditional codes of feminine identity. Any attempt to reconstruct the body is transgressive out by using signifiers of hyper-femininity. † Herein lies the essence of this analysis; women today are caught within the traditional structure of male-dominated hegemony and the perpetuation of this domination through the against the ‘natural’ identity of the female body. The transgression is balanced vehicle of the mass media. Through the light of social and individual discovery, it is now time to take back these traditionally held power roles, allowing a woman’s body and physical accomplishments to be as worthy of merit and public praise as those of her male counterparts. Works Cited Althusser, Louis. Lenin and Philosophy and Other Essays. (Online version) Balsamo, Anne. Technologies of the Gendered Body. Duke Univ. Press, 1996. Blinde, E. , Greendorfer, S. , & Shanker, R. (1991). Differential media coverage of men’s and women’s intercollegiate basketball: Reflection of gender ideology. Journal of Sport & Social Issues 15, 98–114.

Methods of instruction Essay

Education is like taking a whole series of journeys. There are destinations and there are different routes to those destinations. In the most common approach, the teacher determines both the destination and the route, that is, he or she decides what is to be studied and how. Many educators recognize the importance of talk as a route in teaching, and many consider teaching as an interactive process. But because learners now had so little attention span to lectures, it pauses a challenge to teachers to look for ways to attract their attention to classroom learning. Creating a situation conducive for learning can be facilitated by introducing various teaching strategies. As it is important that both the teacher and the learners know whether they are on the right track or not and whether the journey has been satisfactorily completed or not, regular assessment is also needed. Parents , school officials and employers also require information about students progress. TEACHING STRATEGIES Teaching strategies deals with teaching-learning procedures that encourage active learning to take place. It suggests a variety of routes that aim to expose students’ prior knowledge and challenge it in such a way that students want to make delve into new concept areas and new understanding. Meaningful learning results when students can relate new information with what they already know. In selecting appropriate strategies, teachers should consider their own objective, understanding of how students learn; and the desire or teach in a way which caters to the individual needs of the students n the classroom. A. Strategies Involving Interaction and Collaboration Many strategies which elicit student’s active participation in learning use group work. Groups can find solution to problems, brainstorm and undertake open-ended investigation or teacher-directed investigations. These strategies give students a chance to work and learn together, and to interact and collaborate with other students and with the teacher. 1. Brainstorming is a simple strategy of group discussion designed to collect ideas without criticism and restrictions from others through free expression of thoughts that leads to the possible solution to problems. The advantage of this strategy is that it removes inhibitions, thereby developing self confidence among members. It is best used in discussing social and environmental issues. 2. Problem Solving is a student centered strategy which requires students to find either a scientific or technological solution to problems. It helps students to develop the necessary process skills to become successful problem-solvers. Students are given the chance to display their own initiative, inventiveness, and persistence. Problem-solving could be used after students have gained substantial knowledge of relevant scientific ideas and appropriate practical techniques. 3. Open-ended Investigation is similar to problem solving but here, the students are given considerable amount of choice concerning what they might choose to investigate and how they will go about it. It allows students to demonstrate the scientific and investigative skills rather than the knowledge gained in that particular investigation. 4. Teacher- directed Investigation is a strategy which takes the students through aseries of teacher-planned instructions given for each step in the procedure. Though highly structured, it is designed as a discovery task so that all students record a similar set of results and make inferences. Strategies Involving Transformation Active thinking involves the skilled use of important media: talking, listening, reading writing, pictorial representation, three-dimensional models, play or drama, etc. A. Translation provides opportunities for the students to alter the form of their understanding. For example, students can simplify a more complicated text, diagram, flowchart or procedure for their classmates. In doing so they are challenged to develop a clear understanding of the original text. This engages them into thinking, talking and further exploration. B. Role Play poses a challenge to students to do their best in acting out a basic concept or phenomenon. It provides students opportunities to respond and analyze a range of viewpoints about an issue with the intension of reaching a personal view on the issue. Though it varies from teacher to teacher, role playing has a number of important stages which are as follows; 1. Warming up the group- identify problem; introduce some of the issues which will be raised by the role play; explain role playing. 2. Selecting Participants- analyze roles, select role players. 3. Setting the stage- role players outline the scene. 4.. Enacting- role players enact the situation. 5. Discussing and Evaluating- review role play; discuss issues raised; relate problem situation to real experience. C. Games can provide variety as a change from other classroom activities. They are generally used to reinforce particular items of knowledge. These can be developed in such a way that they will require students to search for new information or strengthen ideas previously known. D. Reporting Back is a sharing process that involves a small group presenting its findings to the rest of the class. The report can take any form i. e. , written, chart, pictorial representation, etc. ). In preparing the report , the group could be involved in transformation, translation, collaboration, reflection(valuing) , and asking questions. E. Model Building gives students the task of making representations of abstract ideas and helps them develop a broader understanding of the concepts. In model building, the teacher may either provide a step by step procedure with the set of materials required to produce almost identical models. If more creative solutions and wider variety of outcomes are expected, a less structured set of instructions and wider range of materials may be provided. Strategies on Knowledge Acquisition Strategies which focus on knowledge acquisition are concept formation or concept attainment, Predict-Observe-Explain, and concept mapping. Thses teaching strategies enable students to formulate new ideas based on their previous knowledge and experience. They give students the chance to rethink and change their misconceptions. A. CONCEPT MAPPING – a concept map is a visual, structure representation of concept and their interrelationships. The simplest concept map would consist of two concepts linked by logical connectives. Concepts are terms in boxes and the verb or logical connectives are called prepositions which are explanatory notes describing the relationships. It is used as a learning or diagnostic device which helps a learner to change or modify his understanding of the concept as he makes associations with a wider array of concepts and specific propositions. It also serves as a guide for the teacher during the classroom interaction and as a chapter summary for students. Guidelines for constructing concept map should be well defined, such as 1. identifying the central concept and key subordinate concepts of the lesson to be mapped.. 2. arrange the concepts in hierarchy from the most inclusive, most abstract and general concepts to the least inclusive, most concrete and specific. 3. Place the concepts down the map. Highlight each concept by enclosing in a box. 4. Connect the concepts that are related by drawing lines with arrows between them 5. Carefully describe the nature of relationship by adding proposition for each relationship line. B. PREDICT-OBSERVE-EXPLAIN (PROBEX) develops students’ ability to form hypothesis, make accurate observations and offer plausible explanations. It challenges the students to think and gives them a certain degree of satisfaction when their predictions jibe with the observations. Steps: I. PREDICT 1. Teacher shows/demonstrates a phenomenon which is reasonably familiar to the students 2. Teacher changes one factor in her demonstration and asks students to predict what might happen. 3.. teacher manages predictions – may be group or individual predictions written on the board or on a paper or given orally. I. OBSERVE 1. Demonstrate or have students perform the changed situation. 2. Students record observations and repeat activity if necessary. 3. Teacher checks observations. II. EXPLAIN 1. Teacher employs various methods at this stage, e. g. , students may give explanations individually or in groups. 2. Teacher summarizes and checks explanations. Teaching strategies could vary in many directions and many forms. It is now dependent on the teacher to modify basic knowledge on different teaching strategies that would best fit the lesson and the learners as well. EVALUATION In order to assess the success of a given teaching strategy, student learning, should be assessed/evaluated. Measuring students learning is a means by which teachers can keep track of what they have learned and understood. It is important that whenever a test is constructed, all levels of learning are assessed. It should be emphasized that assessment is not an end –of-topic activity but rather a part of their ongoing task in the classroom. Thus, it can provide a framework in which student’s progress is chartered and expressed. Furtheremore, assessment helps teachers to effectively plan the next step in the student’s learning.

Sir Thomas Moore essays

Sir Thomas Moore essays Thomas More was born on February 7,1478 in Milk Street, London. He attended school at St Anthony's School in London. When he was young he was a page for Archbishop Morton who predicted he would be a "marvelous man.". He then went on to study at Oxford under Thomas Linacre along with William Grocyn. He wrote comedies and studied Greek and Latin literature. One of his first things that he wrote was an English translation of a Latin biography of the Italian Pico Della Mirandolla. Around 1494 More returned to London to study law, was admitted to Lincolns Inn in 1496, and became a barrister in 1501. More did not follow in his father's footsteps. He couldnt decide between a monastic calling and a life of civil service. While at Lincoln's Inn, he was determined to become a monk and learned the discipline of the Carthusians, living at a nearby monastery and taking part of the monastic life. The prayer and fasting habits stayed with him for the rest of his life. His desire was finally overcome by his sense of duty to serve his country in the field of politics. He entered Parliament in 1504, and married for the first time in 1504 or 1505. More became a close friend with Desiderus Erasmus.. They produced Latin translations of Lucian's works, printed at Paris in 1506, during Erasmus' second visit. On Erasmus' third visit, in 1509, he wrote Encomium Moriae also known as Praise of Folly, (1509), and dedicated it to More. More was soon married again, to Dame Alice. More attracted the attention of King Henry VIII. In 1515 he accompanied a delegation to Flanders to help clear disputes about the wool trade. Utopia opens with a reference to this certain dispute. More was also accountable for the 1517 London uprising against foreigners, portrayed in the play Sir Thomas More, possibly by Shakespeare. More went with the King and court to the Field of the Cloth of Gold. In 1518 he became a member of the Privy Counc ...

Business Ethics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Business Ethics - Research Paper Example The auditors would come, and most probably, would not be able to learn about Woods’s adjustments in the bills. There are two main options in front of Alex; either to tell what Wood has been doing to the auditors and get him fired, or remain silent and see what happens. There is no guarantee that Alex would be able to convince the auditors to let go of Woods if they come to know what he has been doing, and if Alex does try to convince them to do so, they might find it offensive and report the case to the authorities accusing Alex of cheating. On the other hand, this fact cannot be overlooked that whatever Woods has done has benefited the company in general and the department in particular one way or the other. In addition to that, the overall effect of Woods’s adjustments is negligible as the funds affected amount to perhaps five percent of the plants annual earnings. These points impart the need to overlook Woods’s mistake and consider the benefits drawn as a result of it. Utilitarianism is one of the most widely employed theories of ethics. Utilitarianism, as the name indicates, places emphasis upon the utility of an action. â€Å"Utilitarianism states that the moral standard should be promotion of the best longterm interests of everyone concerned† (â€Å"Nine theories of ethics†). In other words, if the end result of a certain action is good, this justifies the action irrespective of whether or not it is against the rules or principles. Analysis of the case under consideration suggests that whatever Woods has done has generated favorable results for the company. Absolutism is another theory of ethics which believes in a universally applicable system of values and norms. This system is applicable upon everyone at all times. Absolutism places a lot of emphasis upon rules, and does not make any exceptions. Analyzing the case under consideration in light of the theory of absolutism,

Wooden Chairs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Wooden Chairs - Essay Example Thirdly, pollution prevention mechanism is adopted to reduce air, water and soil pollution caused by wastes and gas emissions from the production of chairs. Lastly, recycling is used to put wastes into use and minimize wastes. In terms of implementation, the briefing paper suggests the formation of a five-member committee to oversee the implementation of the programme through planning, monitoring and evaluation. Wooden furniture production industries play significant roles in the process of development in tropical countries with abundant sources of wood and timber. Wooden furniture industries contribute economic benefits and enhance economic growth in such countries (International Trade Centre and International Tropical Timber Organization, 2005). Wood-processing companies such as companies producing wooden chairs create employment and expand the tax base of the country. They also promote the development of physical and institutional infrastructure needed for social and economic development of tropical countries. Furthermore, wooden chairs producers provide foreign exchange earnings and encourage investment in support industries. However, there are various challenges that wooden furniture producers need to consider in their business. This briefing paper will address one of the challenges affecting the company producing wooden chairs – environmental or social impact. Any organisation engaged in the production of goods using natural resources needs to consider environmental or social issues in order to enhance environmental and social sustainability for a sustainable development (International Trade Centre and International Tropical Timber Organization 2005). In this period when climate change is becoming real, human life is directly and indirectly affected. Therefore, companies producing furniture need to develop mechanisms that may be used to conserve natural resources and prevent