Careers in Psychology Essay

Career Options After Pursuing a Degree in Psychology Choosing a major or a degree field to go into after graduating from high school is one of the more difficult things that recently graduated young adults have to go through. Many different aspects of a future career field are evaluated to help the individual in choosing the best career path for them. These evaluations include required education, salary, future places of employment and most importantly, what an employee in this specific area of employment will be doing. Choosing to earn a degree in Psychology offers many different possibilities for future areas of employment that can fit almost any type of person. In addition to the diversity of the field, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicted an increase in psychology job opportunities over the next decade due to increased demands for these services in education, law, hospitals, and private companies along with many more options (BLS, 2010). With so many different areas of society requiring these services pursuing a degree in psychology opens up many career paths outside the commonly stereotyped job description of psychologists. Even though many people assume that clinical psychology or other types of therapy are the only options with this degree, an individual in this study can go into fields such as neuropsychology, developmental psychology, and educational psychology. A neuropsychologist is one who has received a doctoral degree, typically a PhD, from an accredited American Psychological Association university along with completing the one year internship required for the degree, and a two year training period within a neuropsychology practice (Moberg,2006). The job description includes, studying the relations among brain structure and behavioral, cognitive, emotional, and sensory and perceptual functions along with the diagnosing and treatment of disorders related to the central nervous system. Most neuropsychologists organize and conduct academic  research relating to the aforementioned topics, along with assisting and witnessing testimony in court cases that involve judgment to the psychological conditions of the people involved. Outside of the court system, neuropsychologists usually work in laboratories, along side medical professionals at hospitals, or privately making starting salaries between $60,089 and $91,476 annually. After some years of experience an accredited neuropsychologist can make anywhere up to $300,000 a year, but the average yearly salary as of 2010 was approximately $127,460 (BLS, 2010). On top of earning a relatively large wage neuropsychologists report to having overall high job satisfaction, with less than twenty percent of them considering changing jobs or leaving the psychology field for a different one all together (Moberg, 2006). Being strongly interested in the functioning of the central nervous system and wanting to go into an area of research would make neuropsychology a top choice for anyone interested in pursuing a doctoral psychology degree. For a person who is more interested in a field dealing with people as a whole and not just the internal functioning of them, developmental psychology could be a possible career option. A developmental psychologist is someone who studies human growth and development that occurs throughout the entire lifespan. This includes biological development, but also focuses on cognitive, social, intellectual, personality, and emotional growth. Although the specific tasks of the psychologists vary based on the area they specialize in, most of them perform research and evaluations in the area of their study, such as studying a particular age range (Beilock, 2012). For example one could study how moral reasoning develops in children, or how people influence the personalities of others. Many developmental psychologists work in educational settings at colleges or universities where they conduct research as well as teach courses. Others could possibly be employed at teen rehabilitation centers, psychi atric clinics, government agencies, etc. The education required to become a developmental psychologist is a master or doctoral degree (PhD) with those holding the doctoral degree more in demand and having the greater range for employment options. The earned income of a developmental psychologist is also highly varied due to area of employment and subtopic of study. Those employed in offices of other  health practitioners earn around $68,400 annually while those employed at Individual and family services earn $57,440 a year (BLS, 2010). A career in developmental psychology allows for diversity among studies and the ability to change topics while still staying in your general field. Another non clinical or therapy related career in the area of psychology is education psychology. Going in this direction involves conducting research on how people learn, and/or designing methods and materials to enhance learning and intellectual, social, and emotional development. This area includes a number of other regions of psychology including developmental, cognitive, and behavioral. Based on the title of this career it is highly possible that an educational psychologist would be working in elementary and secondary schools, along with colleges and universities. Another possible place of employment is with government agencies specializing in education. As an educational psychologist a person could work on curriculum development, incorporationg technology into education, or the studying of gifted learners or those with learning disabilities (Doovis, 2013) The salary earned by educational psychologists was not absolutely defined, however it would have some variation pertaining t o where one was employed. A ccording the Bureau of Labor Statistics general psychologists could earn anywhere between $66,810 and $89,900 depending on who was employed where and experience of each individual (BLS, 2010). Educational psychology would be a good career for individuals interested in the betterment of educational system to produce more productive adults for society, as well as a good place for people who enjoy working with kids through young adults. Psychology degrees contain such a wide area of options for employment that almost anyone could find a job they enjoy with this major. Many of these areas also contain sub level areas for example, a person could possibly be a developmental psychologist working with elderly people on how they learn and obtain information and the connections their brain makes while doing this. Overall, whichever area of psychology one may choose to go into after receiving their psychology degree will provide many benefits to our society whether its improved schools, understanding of mental disorders, understanding of development, or even counseling. The career options are endless. References Beilock, C. L. (2012). Areas of Development in Developmental Psychology. Topics in Cognitive Science, 4, 731-739. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost Dozois, D. J. A.1. (2013). Psychological Treatments: Putting Evidence Into Practice and Practice Into Evidence. Canadian Psychology, 54, 1-11. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost Moberg, P.J (2006). The TCN/AACN 2005 â€Å"Salary Survey†: Professional Practices, Beliefs, and Incomes of U.S. Neuropsychologists. Clinical Neuropsychologist, 20, 325-364. Retrieved from Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2010). Occupational Outlook Handbook (2009-2010 ed.). Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos056.htm

Sargon of Akkad

Sargon of Akkad And the Dawn of an Empire Sargon of Akkad, also known as Sargon the Great, was an Akkadian emperor who is famously known for his victories and rule over the city-states of Sumer in the 24th and 23rd centuries. He is referred to as one of the greatest rulers of Mesopotamia and he is accredited for the creation of the world’s first major empire (Time-Life 17). He is also referred to as the founder of Mesopotamian military tradition. The story of his birth is what some refer to as a legend. The story of his birth is somewhat like the story of Moses in the book of Exodus. The baby Sargon was put in a reed basket by his mother covered with bitumen to protect him and sent down the Euphrates. Later the baby was adopted by Aqqi, the water drawer, and raised him as his own. His father remained unknown but some have reason to believe through surviving fragments that his father’s name was La’ibum. After Aqqi raises him as his son the story becomes a little unclear, other than the one story of Sargon and Ur-Zababa. Ur-Zababa, king of Kish, awakens after a dream, the contents of which are not revealed on the left over portion of the tablet. For unknown reasons, Ur-Zababa appoints Sargon as his cupbearer. Soon after this, Ur-Zababa Marth invites Sargon to his chambers to discuss a dream of Sargon's, involving the favor of the goddess Inanna and the drowning of Ur-Zababa by the goddess. Obviously scared, Ur-Zababa orders Sargon murdered by the hands of Belis-tikal, the chief smith, but Inanna prevents it, demanding that Sargon stop at the gates because of his being â€Å"polluted with blood. When Sargon returns to Ur-Zababa, the king becomes frightened again, and decides to send Sargon to king Lugal-zage-si of Uruk with a message on a clay tablet asking him to slay Sargon. This where the legend more less cuts off but I am guessing it leads the story of him becoming king (Cooper 67-82). This leads us to the start of one of the greatest empires ever created. The Akkadians were a Semitic people livi ng on the Arabic peninsula during the great flourishing period of the Sumerian city-states. Although we don't know much about early Akkadian history and culture, we do know that as the Akkadians migrated north, they came in increasing conflict with the Sumerian city-states, and in 2340 BC, the great Akkadian military leader, Sargon, conquered Sumer and built an Akkadian empire stretching over most of the Sumerian city-states and extending as far away as Lebanon. Sargon based his empire in the city of Agade, or Akkad as it is referred to, which became the basis of the name of his people. What is believed to have started the rage for rule by Sargon is a man named Lugalzagesi, ruler of Umma, who referred to his self as â€Å"Ruler of Sumer† and would use force with the neighboring city-states. He conquered Kish and killed Ur-Zababa, and then went on to conquer the neighboring city-states. Sargon’s motivation for what happened afterward may have been revenge, but either way, he raised an army and launched a surprise attack against the city-state of Erech, occupied by Lugalzagesi’s forces. He managed to defeat the garrison, as well as a force led by fifty kings loyal to Lugalzagesi. When Lugalzagesi returned and found Sargon had taken Erech, he immediately took to the field, and was defeated. Sargon proved to be a brilliant military tactician. After the battle, Sargon paraded the former king through the streets of Nippur, where the people spat on him in disgust. Sargon then went south, taking the city-states of Ur, Lagash, and Umma – Lugalzagesi’s former city, consolidating his hold on southern Sumer. Afterwards, he proceeded west, then slowly moved north, gaining more and more territory until he created an empire that spanned from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. There is a story of how Sargon washed his sword in the waters of the Persian Gulf to prove how he ruled from one coast to the other(Oppenheim 276). Also, there is evidence that Sargon may have sent armies even further, to places like Egypt, Ethiopia, and India in order to expand his empire even more. After he finished his campaign, he positioned garrisons at strategic locations throughout his possessions to stop any uprisings. It is important to note that many did not like having a Semite as their leader, especially one that had conquered them by force, so resentment ran high. In addition, Sargon appointed fellow Semites to positions of authority in order to ensure loyalty. His home, Akkad, became the greatest city-state in the coming years (Kramer 66). Sargon made inscriptions inside the temples in his conquered cities that detailed his exploits, and they were more accurate than the over exaggerated stories that where told after the events. You can see all the recorded events on the map in the back with every star showing you where a battle was won. It will also give you a sense of the amazing size of the Akkadian empire. It is remarkable that an empire of this size actually had the army to hold it down and an advanced mail system that would send messengers from one end to the other. The man was a true military tactician planning out every battle and naming people he knew he could trust to maintain his city-states. They were not lying when they refer to him as Sargon the Great. Unfortunately greatness does not last forever. Sargon of Akkad died Sargon died, according to the short chronology, around 2215 BC. His empire immediately revolted upon hearing of the king's death. Most of the revolts were put down by his son and successor Rimush, who reigned for nine years and was followed by another of Sargon's sons, Manishtushu who reigned for 15 years. Sargon is the first individual in recorded history to create a multiethnic, centrally ruled empire, and his dynasty controlled Mesopotamia for around a century and a half. This is an insane accomplishment. This man and his empire have and will keep being referred to as one of the greatest empires of not only Mesopotamia, but the entire world. I am lucky to have researched him and I’m sure many others will in the future. Works Cited Cooper, Jerrold S. and Wolfgang Heimpel. â€Å"The Sumerian Sargon Legend. † Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 103, No. 1, (Jan. -Mar. 1983). Kramer, Samuel Noah. The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1963. Print. Mesopotamia: the Mighty Kings. Alexandria, Va. : Time-Life, 1995. Print. Oppenheim, A. Leo, and Erica Reiner. Ancient Mesopotamia: Portrait of a Dead Civilization. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1977. Print.

The power of the past, Davinci Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The power of the past, Davinci - Essay Example Culture and religion are integral in shaping the way art is presented and features of the art. For instance, in Italy 1500 to 1600AD, the art presentation focused on religion and the depiction of the nature of human beings. The focus of the Italian art was on Christianity which was undergoing changes due to Protestantism which led to the development of different focus of especially on the beauty of humanity. During the era, Leonardo paintings included the last supper, virgin and child with St Anne including St John the Baptist and the Mona Lisa paintings (Kleiner 545). These paintings were oil based and mostly portrait. The influence of religion on the approach used by the artist of the era in the presentation of their ideas is evident from the type of pictures and paintings produced. Both the sculptures and painting of the era comprised of beautiful figures moving gracefully in multi-figure compositions conveying humanity and the perfection of God. The work of Davinci is not differe nt from other artists because it depicts the idea of the society. Art has an important role in the society because it shapes the ideology and customs of the society. In conclusion, Cone addresses the issue of artistic transition and use of portable materials. The art is important when evaluating the impact of material change in artwork. Therefore, artists in Europe were not influenced by the humanism approach employed in the art from Italy. Northern painters travelled to Rome and are known as Romanists.

Contemporary Auditing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Contemporary Auditing - Essay Example and more over it needs a three party relationship that is an auditor [approved and appointed by the Government authority], client and the management. Where as in the other services independent professionals approved by the CPA would carry out the service. Mainly the customers determine the economy of the nation, the aim of any organisation is focused at satisfying the customers, so that the targeted economy could be maintained all the time. The need for satisfying the customers has become a compulsory and necessary requirement to win over the competencies. This is the running economic issue through out the world. Organisations and clients are looking out for reliable information rather than the one obtained through evaluation or investigation. An assurance service is guided by the CPA which include independent verification of the data over which an expanded and reliable and variety of information is provided, as a result the job of decision-making becomes easy .At present satisfying the needs of the customers and improving, the strategies have become important concerns of organisations. To achieve the goals and strategies an assurance service will help the organisations as well as the customers to get assurance over the objectives. So the demand has increased for assurance services rather than for other services. Assurance engagement is a type of commitment taken by the service provider who would make critical reasoning of the issues involved in decision-making. Which as a result will bring together the client and the service provider, in which the latter will give his suggestions for new services to see whether the goals are achieved or not. More over an assurance engagement will include a deep evaluation of the objectives, and formulates best and informative solutions and suggests for further improvement in performance. As attestation engagement service includes the job of reviewing the

Liberty Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Liberty - Coursework Example Liberty is a word which is often used politically wherein it is advocated and fought for. According to most dictionaries liberty is the state of immunity from exercise of authority. It also means a personal freedom one possesses or has to possess so as to make one's own choice, be it in speech, opinion, worship, occupation or anything. Defining liberty is almost impossible without using the words which mean the absence of coercion. But is liberty just the absence of restraint "By liberty then we can only mean a power of acting or not acting, according to the determinations of the will; this is, if we choose to remain at rest, we may; if we choose to move, we also may." (David Hume, 1748) Good and bad are relative things. One person's good may be other person's bad. Likewise, liberty and restraint are also relative things. An absence of restraint for committing an act of robbery cannot be called liberty. If all restraints are minimized, so as to bring a complete absence of any kind of control, one would hope to achieve liberty. But when restraints are removed entirely, the world will not have equality, and there will be battles and bloodshed. So the definition of the word needs something more or less than bare absence of restraints. Going by the general definitions, no one can have liberty because no one is free to do all that is wanted. Everybody is subject to some superior power to live against personal wishes. In the following sub-headings let us take a deeper study of the word and its meaning. Immunity from Authority "He (Man) must have a master; but the master may be Nature or may be a fellow man. When he is under the impersonal coercion of Nature, we say that he is free; and when he is under the personal coercion of some one above him, we call him, according to the degree of his dependence, a slave, a serf, or a vassal." (Spencer, 1891) History has many instances showing that liberty was the cause for people of various countries to fight which eventually lead to the overthrow of their governments. Aristocrats have always been revolted against and the French revolution and the Russian revolution stand testimony to that. As a matter of fact, Jean Jacques Rousseau's French Revolution slogan, "Liberty, Equality and Fraternity" became the basic principles for democracy in the world. Even now many parts of the world struggle for liberty. In Pakistan and Myanmar, people are fighting for democracy against the military regimes. In this political sense, the restraint is in the form of anti-democratic rule. Such a government can be said to curb the people's freedom because the restraint imposed on them affects them, their country and prevents improvement on a global level. But at the same time, every country has a judiciary and the police, in order to protect the people from law offenders. The judicial laws are also restrictio ns laid down so that any action committed by common men does not go against the welfare of the nation. The judiciary has the power to punish offenders of the law. One may tend to opine that this affects the freedom of thought, belief and action of, say, a thief, or a murderer. Police could be wrongly thought of as ones who wipe out the liberty of a thief. Thus, it is

The Legacy of the Holocaust Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 5

The Legacy of the Holocaust - Essay Example The Holocaust damaged society. The consequence of the Jewish Holocaust had a great effect on society in Germany and the entire world. This devastating murder of the Jewish people in Germany left thousands in mental and physical pain, and affect current society in a negative manner. It is estimated that more than ten million people were killed by the authoritarian Nazi regime under the leadership of Hitler (Haran 25). The effects of Holocaust continue to haunt those people who were exposed to it. For instance, as children and other survivors started aging the terrifying past returns to their mind. In turn, insecurities start to control their physiologic mind. It is also significant to note that the holocaust did not only affect the survivors and those who died but it affected the entire world. For instance, the holocaust provides an example of how dictatorship and prejudice in our society can be costly or detrimental (Haran 36-39). Following liberation, many survivors, especially of J ewish ancestry, feared to go back to the former homes due to anti-Semitism that existed in some parts of Europe and the trauma they had experienced in the concentration camps. Some survivors who returned to their homes feared for their security. For instance, in Poland, the presence of pogroms or violent anti-Jewish protests in towns like Kielce in 1946 made the Jewish fearful to return home (Haran 47). The holocaust and its effects left million of Jewish and non-Jewish refugees who lost their families and property. They experienced relentless anti-Semitism in their home nations. This made many people not ready to return to their homes. Most displaced Jewish preferred to settle in Palestine.

Theories of women's relationship to public space in all their Research Paper

Theories of women's relationship to public space in all their complexity - Research Paper Example When we look at large scale events in global history like major exploration, war and colonization, it is the male ambition to conquer, control and exploit which characterizes them. Traditionally, males are active and operate in the public arena, while females are passive and are confined largely to private and domestic spaces. These stereotypes are evident in the system that we know as patriarchy, and they operate at the level of individuals within families, in different social and cultural groups, and in the way that nations and states relate to each other. Journeying out to capture and control a physical location is a classically patriarchal activity. We can detect this kind of influence when we look at the narratives of history that have been drawn up to make sense of human behaviour. The age of empire building, somewhat ironically under the leadership of a British Queen, as well as various kings and prime ministers across the globe was one of expansion for the conquerors and cult ural demolition for those who were colonized. Just as women in Victorian England were nominally revered and respected, but at the same time dominated and repressed by their husbands, so narratives of the â€Å"exotic† and the â€Å"primitive† were used to give a positive spin to the systematic exploitation of vast areas of Africa, India and Asia. Hierarchical Western systems were introduced to replace overlapping tribal and national structures and women found themselves on the bottom rung of all these new hierarchies. The position of former colonies was for many years to be trapped into an opposition to this dominance, rather than to develop freely in whichever direction they would themselves have chosen. It was only in the mid to late twentieth century that authors in former colonies began to theorize this bitter experience and emerge from the imposed binary opposition of colonialism into a more nuanced appreciation of power relations in the modern world. One such aut hor, Tayeb Salih, reflects on these matters in his novel Season of Migration to the North (Salih, 2009) and draws complex parallels between the subjugation of Sudan under colonialism and the subjugation of women under patriarchal systems. The novel revolves around themes of colonialization, a term which in feminist theory â€Å"almost invariably implies a relation of structural domination, and a discursive or political suppression of the heterogeneity of the subject(s) in question† (Mohanty, 1988, p. 61) and exploration of the complex and various types of male and female relations that exist in the post-colonial world. This makes the book at times complex, even ambiguous, but this quality ensures that it is true to situation, Unresolved issues that were paramount in the period immediately after independence was gained in the Sudan are presented as they were experienced, not least the evolving role of women and their gradual emergence into public life. The plot revolves around , as the title suggests, what happens when some of the residents of Sudan migrate back to where the colonial masters came from, before returning to their homeland having gained new and shocking knowledge which then contributes to the way that the

Speaking skill in teaching English as second language Essay

Speaking skill in teaching English as second language - Essay Example ational process focuses more on evaluation framework which is unlike Western process of education, and this instills fear of committing errors in Japanese EFL learners. Therefore, EFL teachers should focus on creating informal ambiance within the classroom and establishing positive relationship among students from different cultural backgrounds so that Japanese learners can shed their language anxiety in front of others. Today, English has become a common language to be taught in schools all over the world. For this purpose, schools are making broad use of technology in combination with second language theories. The idea is to adapt the best available practice that can enhance learning of English as second language. Any process that has been proved by previous research to yield best results is regarded as the best practice. It essentially includes â€Å"commitment of a teacher who is willing to use the knowledge and techniques at his or her disposal to ensure student success† (Li, 2013, p.218). Foreign language anxiety is increasingly becoming a common phenomenon among learners, and it is rapidly gaining attention among researchers for its significant impact on a learner’s ability to learn and retain a new language. This paper focuses on Japanese EFL learners’ fear of speaking English. Recommendations have been provided on how to overcome such fear. Although English has become a compulsory subject in most secondary and tertiary institutions in Japan, it is still an extremely common phenomenon that Japanese people exhibit poor English communication skills. Every year, millions of dollars are spent for making Japanese people proficient in English with the help of native or non-native English speaking teachers. Many Japanese students even travel to Western countries to learn English. There are many accepted theories that tend to explain poor English speaking skills among the Japanese. One such theory blames the geographical location of the country that isolates

Social Media and Loneliness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Social Media and Loneliness - Essay Example The irony of situation is that social media has isolated man from man. At one level it has brought strangers across the globe close together and at the same time the social media have dissociated people from their immediate environment. Young Internet users become so engrossed in their virtual social interactions that they are totally unaware of the people sitting around them. This behavior results in isolation and loneliness of the youth. The connection with social media disconnects them from their real life friends, family and other acquaintances. Many researchers, psychologists and educationist have showed concerned towards the heavy use of internet by teens and in this connection, they have, tried to find out the impact of this excessive use on the social life and education of adolescents. Subrahmanyam and SÃŒÅ'mahel cite a study conducted in Pittsburg which collected the data about teen internet users of 93 families and through questionnaires and interviews found out that â€Å" more heavy users of the internet showed a decline in social involvement ( communication within the family and size of people’s social networks) and increases in loneliness and depression† (131). Jordon while looking into educational implications of excessive use of social media by adolescents has also tried to connect it with loneliness and depression of the youth. He has suggested control of such activity by parents and teachers for the proper â€Å" health and development† of young persons (qtd. in Mcwhirter et al. 125). In March this year, the  NSPCC  published a detailed breakdown of calls made to ChildLine in the last five years. Though overall the number of calls from children and teenagers had risen by just 10%, calls about loneliness had nearly tripled, from 1,853 five years ago to 5,525 in 2009. Among boys, the number of calls about loneliness

The Tyger Symbol Analysis Essay Example for Free

The Tyger Symbol Analysis Essay The symbol of the Tyger is one of the two central mysteries of the poem (the other being the Tyger’s creator). It is unclear what it exactly symbolizes, the Tyger could be inspiration, the divine, artistic creation, history, the sublime (the big, mysterious, powerful and sometimes scary, or vision itself. Really, the list is almost infinite. The point is, the Tyger is important, and Blake’s poem barely limits the possibilities. Line 7: â€Å"Wings† are what the creator uses to aspire to the creation of the Tyger. Essentially, they are the power or inspiration that allows the creator to dare go about the task of creating the Tyger. Smith Tools (Hammer, chain, furnace, anvil) Stanza 4: In the poem, these tools make up an extended metaphor of the creator and his creation of the Tyger. A blacksmith uses these tools to make objects out of super-hot metal. The word forge – to create orform – is a smith term as well as another name for a smith’s furnace. The smith reference also ties into all the fire imagery associated with the Tyger, and heightens the energy and danger of the Tyger’s creation. If you don’t think forging metal is hot or dangerous, you might want to visit even a modern-day steel mill. Line 20: When you read the word lamb, always first think: symbol of Jesus Christ (the Lamb of God). As the tradition holds, animals such as lambs were sacrificed to God or gods in general until God offered his Son, Jesus Christ – his lamb – as the final sacrifice for the sins of mankind. In line 20, Blake references a version of Christianity that states that God created Jesus. Blake asks whether God, who created Jesus, also created the Tyger. Also, don’t forget that The Lamb is the title of another poem by Blake, from the Songs of Innocence. The body parts referenced in this poem – hands, eyes, shoulders, and feet – are examples of synecdoche. Synecdoche is when a part of something is used to refer to the whole thing. For example, when someone yells All hands on deck! he doesn’t actually mean that he wants a bunch of severed hands on the deck; rather, he wants the people and their hands to help with the ship. So, the phrase immortal hand references the whole being or person that the hand belongs to, while at the same time focusing on the hands as the means of creation. The eye is representative of the whole body and person, but lso focuses our attention on the faculty of sight. Also, by including only parts of the creator in the actually poem, Blake contributes to the mystery of who or what he actually is. It’s like having only a few extreme close-ups of a person: you can see the hands, shoulder, feet, and eyes, but you cant see the whole package, and that means you cant even tell who youre looking at. The fire serves multiple purposes as an extended metaphor. First, it’s often associated with the Tyger, which contributes to the Tyger’s ferocity and sublimity (the fact it’s big, powerful, and mysterious). Fire is also a source of energy, and since the Tyger seems to be filled with fire, then he must also be filled with energy. In another sense, the fire of the smith’s furnace is the fire of creation, the means by which the Tyger was formed. Setting An abstract setting; Forests of the night and distant deeps or skies The settings of â€Å"The Tyger,† or at least the worlds this poem seems to conjure up, are extremely varied. In general, though, it takes place in the abstract, without much more than Forests of the night, and distant deeps or skies, to give the reader any sense of location. However, the lack of a concrete setting is just as important as the presence. Think of watching a play in a theatre in which the whole stage is dark except for one spotlight. There is no setting in the sense of it taking place in a house or in a field – it’s abstract. The most important quality, then, is that it has no obvious setting, just like the poem. Blake has placed the spotlight on the Tyger, but where it is, or where the speaker is, are not part of the equation. Leaving the setting fluid keeps the themes fluid and abstract as well. It also highlights what setting is there, if fairly vague. The forests of the night are dark and mysterious, cloaking and hiding the fiery symbol of the Tyger. The distant deeps or skies bring to mind the notions of Hell being underground and Heaven being in the sky. Since the Tyger may have been created in either Hell (deeps) or Heaven (skies), it remains ambiguous as to whether the Tyger is good or bad. Regardless, it would seem to us that being in the forests of the night with a fearful, burning Tyger on the loose, is scary, whether abstract or not.

Capital Punishment On Drug Trafficking Criminology Essay

Capital Punishment On Drug Trafficking Criminology Essay With the capital punishment being carried out by China, issues on how it will affect the relations between the Philippines and China emerged. Moreover, there are calls of international organizations such as Amnesty International, International Harm Reduction Association and United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) to abolish death penalty for drug offences. As reiterated by Lines (2007), drug related crimes are not considered as most serious crimes in the International Human Rights Law, therefore, it should not be punishable by capital punishment. The study intends to analyze how capital punishment of OFWs affected the bilateral relations between the Philippines and China and how it violates the International Human Rights Law. Moreover, the study is to assess the policies, treaties and agreements made and signed between the Philippines and China in relation to capital punishment on OFWs. In addition, the study aims to examine why clemency was not granted by China to the OFWs on death row despite of the Philippines appeals and to analyze the effects to the political, economic and social factors between the two countries. Furthermore, the study will contribute to policy developments appropriate for the resolution of the problem. It is significant to engage in this topic for lessening, if not, preventing OFWs from being involved in future drug trafficking cases through the study of Chinese laws governing the execution of capital punishment to foreign drug traffickers. Theoretical Framework of the Study The paper attempts to define a deterrence theory of punishment framework by Cesare Beccaria (1764) and revised by Anthony Ellis (2004) for discussing the issue on capital punishment to overseas Filipino workers in China that are involved in drug related crimes in which within this paper, a better understanding will be cultivated in analyzing the existence of capital punishment on drug related crimes. Under this framework, it could be established that there are negative effects in the outlook of other nations towars countries that are still executing capital punishments. This framework would help justify the reasons why such punishments was formed and implemented. The theory discusses on the different ideas as to why these kind of punishments is being implemented in some states and one of the reasons is that it assumes that those crimes made needs equal sufferings in return and that of which is argued by Ellis that is not morally plausible. Ellis also argued that the deterrence theory is about a concept that crime gives some pleasure and because of that, there is a need for punishment in order to prevent individuals from committing criminal acts again. This theory also justifies the reason of those countries that has capital punishment in a way that criminals should be given heavier punishments like death penalty if the committed crime was grave and detrimental to the state and safety of the public. The deterrence theory of punishment could be defined in which it is the undertaking of punishments of those people who violated a law so that the crime committed will not be done again. In that context alone, it could be understood that deterrence is created to set limitations for people not to abuse its liberties and that is why countries like China who has capital punishment believes in making things right if it will teach law offenders, such as drug traffickers a lesson and to those who has intentions in doing crimes such as drug trafficking will fear of doing such act due to the punishment being given. 2.0 Review of Literature The Peoples Republic of China (PRC) is one of the countries in the world that performed the most executions of capital punishment on drug trafficking cases (Amnesty International Death Penalty Statistics, 2011). This statement is also supported by Hays (2008) by explaining how the PRC has executed many people already compared to other countries altogether. The PRC is categorized as an iron fist country that implements the laws equally towards its people, including foreign nationals (Criminal Law of the Peoples Republic of China, 1997). Drug trafficking is considered as a serious crime and is subjected to capital punishment (Guiang, 2012). It is characterized as an act which involves the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of substances, which are subject to drug prohibition laws (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime [UNODC], 2012). According to Bi (2012), there are different factors that need to be considered before the verdict of capital punishment could be decided. The one responsible for the decision and approval of capital punishment cases is given to the Supreme Peoples Court of the Peoples Republic of China, which is the highest judicial court in the country (The Supreme Peoples Court of the Peoples Republic of China, 2009). It is guided by the Criminal Law of the Peoples Republic of China (1997), which serves as the basis of crimes and the corresponding penalties, wherein it classifies drug trafficking as a crime deemed punishable by capital punishment. The Chinese Government believes that by executing drug traffickers, it would discourage others from committing the same crime, which they termed as the Strike Hard anti-crime campaign (Hays, 2008). At first, drug trafficking cases are not directly subjected to capital punishment, but due to the uniqueness of the Chinese legislation, the possibility of having a verdict of capital punishment becomes higher (Criminal Law of the Peoples Republic of China 1997). Bi (2012) reiterated that the Chinese legislation has two specific elements, it uses a quantitative model as a basis on estimating the seriousness of the drug trafficking case, and that if the drug trafficker who is caught is a repeated offender; as a result, there is a great chance for the Supreme Peoples Court to approve an execution contributed by previous minor cases, since offenses and penalties are being calculated cumulatively. The step-by-step processes that a drug trafficker go through before an execution, is provided under the Criminal Procedure Law (CPL) of the Peoples Republic of China, which is being handled by the procuratorate, an agency that is tasked to prosecute criminal cases (National Bureau of Corruption Prevention of China, 2009). In accordance with Belkin (2000), there are seven procedures to be observed under the CPL, which are the following: (1) Preliminary Investigation, under articles 84 and 85, the police and the procurate would take actions on a suspected drug trafficker; (2) Filing a Case, the police or the procurator would bring up a case against the drug trafficker that would declare that a crime is officially made; (3) Compelled Appearance, it requires the suspect to present himself to the police station for further questioning; (4) Detention, the part where the suspect is being arrested; (5)Formal Arrest, where the suspect is being held under custody which usually takes about two months or more; (6) Trial Procedures, a process involving three decision makers and the part where the evidences are presented to prove that the suspect is indeed guilty of drug trafficking, and lastly; (7) Sentencing, it is when the court would announce its verdict. It takes about two years a nd beyond for the whole process to be concluded and once the verdict has been made, the sentencing of capital punishment is then given; there is only one way of execution for foreign drug traffickers which is through lethal injection (Lu, 2008). Though, it usually results a verdict of capital punishment if the drug trafficker illegally possesses more than one kilogram of narcotic drugs (Hays, 2008). The Supreme Peoples Court of the Peoples Republic of China (2002) has reformed the capital punishment by conceptualizing distinctive features within the system. It stipulates that minors below 18 years old and pregnant women are automatically exempted from being executed (Criminal Law of the Peoples Republic of China, 1997). Lu (2008) explained that in the Chinese context, minors are exempted because their intellectual, mental and psychological capacity is not yet fully developed; as a result, minors are unaware of their actions. The capital punishment with a two-year reprieve of execution is one of the unique aspects within the capital punishment system of the Peoples Republic of China (Criminal Law of the Peoples Republic of China, 1997). Under Section 5, Article 48 of the Criminal Law of the Peoples Republic of China (1997), it states that there is a possibility of having a two-year reprieve for capital punishment on cases which needs not be punished immediately. Wang (2011) explained that the rationality behind this is for the reduction in use of the death penalty, cautious application of the death penalty, and tempering justice with mercy. It is because in the past years, the growing number of people sentenced with capital punishment has become alarming, and with this, the Chinese Government hopes that the imposition of the two-year reprieve would bring a decline to the number of cases (The Supreme Peoples Court of the Peoples Republic of China, 2002). According to Wang (2011), if the person observes goo d behavior during the two-year reprieve, there is a chance that his punishment would be reduced into life imprisonment. It also serves as a period where drug traffickers are subjected into forced labor, as a way of reforming them (Belkin 2000). The bilateral relations of the Philippines and China are weakened with the executions of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who were convicted of drug trafficking. Since 2011, China executed four OFWs with drug trafficking cases namely: Ramon Credo, Sally Villanueva and Elizabeth Batain in March 2011, and an unnamed 35-year old Filipino in December 2011 (Santos, 2011). It is reiterated by the Presidential Communications Operations Office [PCOO] (2011) that China carried out the execution despite of the Philippines appeal for clemency to commute capital punishment to life imprisonment. Clemency cannot be granted to the Filipinos on the death row because of the strict implementation of the Chinese laws. According to Guiang (2012), once a verdict of the Supreme Peoples Court of the Peoples Republic of China [SPA] has been made, pleads of the Philippine government will no longer change the decision. Philippine Vice President Jejomar Binay went to China on March 2011 to appeal for clemency to the three OFWs who were on the death row (PCOO, 2011). As stated by PIA (2011), in view with the diplomatic relations with the Philippines and in accordance to the Chinese laws, Chinese officials granted the postponement of the execution of the three OFWs to a month, from February to March. The Philippines appreciated the postponement of the execution and fully respected the final verdict of the SPA (PCOO, 2011). The execution of capital punishment to the four OFWs did not cause strains to bilateral relations, as reiterated by both countries. This argument is proved by the Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines [OGRP] (2011) that the executions of the OFWs produced stronger bilateral relations between China and the Philippines through the Joint Statement of both countries which aimed to promote and strengthen political cooperation between the two countries. In the political aspect, both countries advocated in combating transnational crimes, including drug trafficking, protection of nationals, negotiations for a treaty in relation to mutual legal assistance in criminal matters and transfer of sentenced persons are made, as reiterated by OGRP (2011). Moreover, a memorandum of understanding between the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) of the Philippines and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of China is signed to strengthen political cooperation between the two countries to pr event OFWs from being involved in future drug trafficking incidents (OGRP, 2011). The Capital punishment is considered a violation to the International Human Rights Law. The Capital punishment or popularly known as death penalty in China to drug offenders has been a great concern for the international community because it violates the International Human Rights Law and the most fundamental law which is the Right to life (Lines, 2007). There are three major international organizations that protects human rights because of Chinas procedure on execution and sentencing and making the death rate of executions a state secret and that is why organizations such as Amnesty International, International Harm Reduction Association and the United Nations are fighting to abolish it. According to the International Human Rights Law drug offenses is not applicable to what they refer as crimes that are punished with death it is only those persons that committed the considered most serious crimes should be given a punishment of death sentence in Article 6 (2). This law was also give n a resolution by the United Nations and that Drug trafficking is not recognized and considered by the International Human Rights Law as one of most serious crimes (Gallahue, 2011). There are major organizations that are taking substantive measures to stop the execution of capital punishment in some countries. The organizations are the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR), the International Harm Reduction Association (IHRA) and the Amnesty International (Lines, 2007). According to the International Harm Reduction Association (2007), the Chinese government violates the International Human Rights Law which is proved by Lines (2007) in a way that it doesnt consider drug offences a crime that is punishable with death sentence. In Chinas legal system, the law on death penalty on drug traffickers is stated in Article 347 of Chinas Criminal law, they have specific laws on the amount of grams of drugs that was being handled by the foreign national shall subjected to interrogation immediately without having a legal counsel to defend him and only after a certain period of time then he shall have a legal counsel but if the accused foreign national have witness ed that he did carry such drugs then he shall be on trial and sentenced with death penalty (Supreme Peoples Court of the Peoples Republic of China, 2002). Although the Chinese government have its system of investigating the prosecution in the trial, still, the foreign national could not defend himself because of the circumstance that the lawyer is not of which of his choice to defend him, that alone is bias, that fact is discriminating and is therefore a violation to the International Human Rights Law (Gallahue, 2011). The international community, as a whole, does not perceive drug offences as punishable by death sentence. According to Lines (2007) the approach of the countries that follows this practice does give rationale justification that drug offences are indeed punishable by death. It is viewed by China that a drug offences is a grave crime while in the International Human Rights Law, it is only when a crime against the state and a homicide should be considered a crime punishable by death (Bi, 2012). According to the International Harm Reduction Association [IHRC] (2007), there have been disproportionate execution and sentenced foreign nationals when it comes to drug trafficking because of the lack of due process in the procedure of determining if whether or not the assumed criminal is guilty of smuggling drugs or not because of discriminatory laws on drugs with foreign nationals. This is why drug cases in China pertaining to foreign nationals are very alarming to the people who are planning to visit China or work there perhaps (Lines, 2007). A retentionist state like China reasons that they are following this death penalty procedure to safe guard their country from hard drugs and according to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that countries that have death penalty punishment to drug trafficking should be abolished because they failed to give an adequate protection on due process (Gallahue, 2011). In Chinese law procedure, in Article 61, which states that those that will be given a punishment will be based upon the nature of the incident of when he was caught with the drugs and the circumstances of whether how harmed the society, But in drug trafficking they do not follow as such, they just determine a drug trafficker when he is caught with the drugs on his bag but they do not consider the other mitigating circumstances on whether it was planted by someone else and this makes it even contradicting to laws they have on their system (Supreme Peoples Court of the Peoples Republic of China, 2002). The Peoples Republic of China argues that executing capital punishment on drug offenders a grave offense and therefore is subject to death penalty. In accordance to this, the Human Rights Committee have also made it clear that in Article 14 which states that, including a right to a fair hearing by an independent tribunal, the presumption of innocence, the minimum guarantees for defense and the right to review by a higher tribunal and also the right to seek pardon on the sentence (International Harm Reduction Association, 2007). However, in Chinas legal system in punishing drug offenders, it is not stated there that they have the right to seek pardon and that alone is a violation in the International Human Rights Law. China as a retentionist argues with the fact that although drug related offences are non-violent crimes, it is still a grave crime because it is heinous, grievous and it destroys their traditional values and with these things it results to social harm (Supreme Peoples Co urt of the Peoples Republic of China, 2002). 3.0 Results and Discussion In 2001, four OFWs were sentenced with capital punishment in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) due to drug trafficking. Ramon Credo, Sally Villanueva and Elizabeth Batain were caught smuggling drugs weighing 1 kilogram in March; meanwhile an unnamed 35-year old Filipino in December was caught with 1.5 kilograms of drugs. With the application of the Chinese Criminal Law, these four OFWs were immediately subjected with capital punishment for illegally possessing more than one kilogram of narcotic drugs. Like any other criminal cases within the PRC, there were set of procedures being observed during the whole process of their trial. The Chinese and the Philippine governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on August 31, 2011 and made a Joint Statement on September 01, 2011 to prevent further future drug trafficking incidents that will involve OFWs (The Philippine Embassy in China, 2012). This is pursuance of the commitment of both countries to combat transnational crimes, which includes drug trafficking. Table 1 and 2 shows the data on the Philippine imports performance with the Peoples Republic of China from January to May 2012 and 2011 and the Philippine exports performance of May 2012 and 2011 with the said country. Table 1. Philippine Imports Performance with Peoples Republic of China: January to May 2012 and 2011 (in Million U.S. Dollars) Source: http://www.census.gov.ph/data/sectordata/2012/im120503.htm Table 2. Philippine Exports Performance with Peoples Republic of China: May 2012 and 2011 (in Million U.S. Dollars) Source: http://www.census.gov.ph/data/pressrelease/2012/ex1205tx.html The figures presented in Tables 1 and 2 show that there is no decline in the imports and exports between the Philippines and the Peoples Republic of China after the execution of capital punishment for drug trafficking of the three OFWs. Instead, the trade between the two countries strengthened as imports and exports increased. Table 3 presents the data on the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) Cash Remittances from the Peoples Republic of China on January to June 2012 and 2011. Table 3. Overseas Filipino Workers Cash Remittances January to June 2012 and 2011 (Landbased and Seabased) (in Thousand U.S. Dollars) Source: http://www.bsp.gov.ph/statistics/keystat/ofw.htm The data presented in Table 3 shows that there is no drop in the in the cash remittances sent by OFWs from China to the Philippines despite of the execution of the three OFWs in March. Instead, the cash remittances flow from China to the Philippines grew stronger in January to June 2012. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) [2012] that promulgated the International Human Rights law have strongly disprove on the capital punishment issues on some countries that are executing individuals that have committed crimes that are not considered as most serious crimes (UDHR, 2012). As all other human rights, the right to life is the first and foremost core value of the UDHR and that is what the Peoples Republic of China violated (Nowak, 2005). It does not only protect individuals against arbitrary interference by Government agents, but also obliges States to take positive measures in order to provide protection from arbitrary killings, enforced disappearances and similar violent acts committed by paramilitary forces, organized crime or any private individual (Nowak, 2005). Under the laws of the UDHR, the countries that have capital punishments should follow fair trial to give the accused person the opportunity to defend himself. States must therefore outlaw such act s as crimes, and must implement appropriate legislation (UDHR, 2012) According to the Article 5 of UDHR No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The moment that the declare to a person that he/she will be subjected to capital punishment such as death penalty through lethal injection is already a mental torture to a person. It is already causing mental pain for a person to have the agony of waiting for the time he/she will be killed (UDHR, 2012) A punishment such as lethal injection to foreign drug offenders in the Peoples Republic of China can be considered already as cruel punishment because it is killing of another individual and therefore it is inhume and a degrading punishment. (UNCHR, 2012) The International Covenant Commission on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR) [2007] is the covenant made by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights with regards to the protection of the individual rights of a person such as the Right to Life. According to Article 7 of CCPR No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific experimentation. The UDHR and the CCPR clearly has the same position with cruel punishments. The CCPR also is strongly fighting for its abolition. In Article 6 of CCPR, it stated Nothing in this article shall be invoked to delay or to prevent the abolition of capital punishment by any State Party to the present Covenant. Prior to this law, there are still retentionist countries that are passive to what these International Laws are advocating (CCPR, 2007). Moreover, since retentionist countries still do what they have practiced, the international law provides for procedural requirements applicable to all death penalty cases: fair trial guarantees, the possibility of appeal to a higher court, and clemency (Nowak, 2005). According to Article 6 (4) of CCPR, amnesty, pardon or commutation of a death sentence may be granted at all times. Clemency may postpone or set aside a death sentence for instance, by commuting it to life imprisonment and can be used to make up for errors, mitigate a harsh punishment or compensate for any criminal law provisions that may dis- allow consideration of relevant factors. The right of any death convict to seek clemency is clearly affirmed in international human rights law. However, the Peoples Republic of China rarely grants clemency to drug offenders in their country, they have a strong stand point in their laws on drug related crimes (Nowak, 2005). According to CCPR, the death penalty should constitute exceptional punishment, always meted out in accordance with the principle of proportionality. Article 6 of CCPR refers to the most serious crimes and, under the Safeguards, the definition of the most serious crimes punishable by death should not go beyond intentional crimes, with lethal or other extremely grave consequences. But this is not being applied to the Peoples Republic of China because they are executing death penalty on foreign drug offenders caught in their state (Nowak, 2005).

Egans Law :: essays papers

Egans Law The purpose of Megans Law is to let the public know when a convicted sex offender is released into their community. Mr. Michael Chertoff, a former U.S. attorney has a curious question for our states corrections department. â€Å"How can members of the public be informed when dangerous predators have been released into their community, if the prosecutors, who are supposed to notify the public, have not been told either?† Mr. Chertoff did investigate this and found out that this isn’t just a small problem anymore. Take the Alves case for example. Raymond Alves, a convicted rapist was in jail for twenty-three years and was let out unannounced. Prosecutors were told days after the fact and were not ale to find him because he gave out false information about where he was living. Megans Law requires prosecutors to be notified thirty days or more ahead of time so they have sufficient time to file a challenge, or to see if he’s a threat to society. At a senate hearing, Jack Terhune, a corrections commissioner said he has not found any other case besides the Alves case where the prosecutors were not properly notified ahead of time. Meanwhile, they were getting a whole different story from Mr. Chertoff, who asked twenty one county prosecutors if they have been getting their proper Megans Law notifications on time. The prosecutors answer was between January 1, 1999 and March 1, 2000, they have received one hundred and fifty Megans Law notifications less than thirty days prior to an inmate being let out. More than ninety of those came less than seven days before the release or after. Chris Carden, a spokesperson for the corrections department made a comment that the numbers did not match up and said â€Å" that’s a far cry from saying there have been no other cases of improper notification. In the stir of the Alves mess, Mr. Terhune did take action and fired eight of his employees for errors, including two psychologists. Terhune is also making new rules like better training for all employees that come in so that this problem will not happen again. They also have a new web page up for the prosecutors to find out when any sex offenders are released in the area so that there is no question in anyone’s mind. In my opinion I believe in Megans Law 100%.

Womens Roles in the Military Essay -- Women in Military Essays

Women's Roles in the Military Before World War I, women assisted the military during wartime mainly as nurses and helpers. Some women, however, did become involved in battles. Molly Pitcher, a Revolutionary War water carrier, singlehandedly kept a cannon in action after a artillery crew had been disabled. During the Revolutionary and the Civil War, a few women disguised themselves as men and took part in hand-to-hand combat. The first enlisted women served in World War I as telephone and radio operators, translators, and clerks. But it was not until World War II that women became part of the regular military. Each service had its own women's corps commanded by female officers. The first of these units, the Women's Army Corps (WACs), enlisted 400,000 women during the war to work in jobs that freed men to fight. Following the war, the Women's Services Integration Act of 1948 established a permanent place for women in all branches of the military. But promotions for female officers were limited, and women were banned from ground combat jobs as well as from most Navy ships and Air Force aircraft. By the mid-1960s, about 70 percent of enlisted women worked in clerical and other office jobs. The Army and the other services at first resisted sending women to Vietnam fearing that they would notbe able to handle the stress of being in a war zone. But 7,500 military women, mainly nurses, eventually served in Vietnam. Several died in hostile action. When the all-volunteer military replaced the draft in 1973, the armed forces accelerated its recruitment of women. In 1977, a Department of Defense report clearly identified both the limitations and potential of female recruits at that time. *The average woman available to be recruited is smaller, weighs less, and is physically weaker than the vast majority of male recruits. She is also much brighter, better educated(a high school graduate), scores higher on the aptitude tests and is much less likely to become a disciplinary problem*. As the military modernized and weapons grew more sophisticated, education and technical skills became important. This development opened up more military jobs for women, including some combat-related jobs. For example, women became Army transport helicopter pilots and were assigned to nuclear missile sites. The rapid increase in military technology as well as changes in the whole concep... ... The General Accounting Office concluded in a hearing on May 8th 1999 that combat inclusion is the greatest impediment to women attaining higher military rank. Until qualified women are given access to assignments that are central to the militaries mission, they will be marginalized. Sexual harassment is a huge problem in the military today. Over 42 percent of all enlisted women say they have sexual harassed by they*re male colleges. There have been major scandals ranging from the rape of 3 women at Annapolis to General Wayne Regis getting court marshaled for his part in the sexual harassment of 7 women throughout his career. What do you think of when you look at Americas Armed services? When I began writing this paper I believed it was an equal opportunity employer that stands for the very basis of liberty and equality. Women are excluded from a number of jobs for no other reason than stereotyping, ideas of the inferiority of women in combat, and the chauvinistic thought of if their not there it wont happen. Remember none of the reason that I listed above would be sufficient for a government employer to legally close jobs to women so why is it different in our Armed Service?

The Merger of Womens and Mens Sports will Benefit Women :: Argumentative Persuasive Argument Essays

The Merger of Women's and Men's Sports will Benefit Women Every sports fan hates to admit the fact that sports are simply business, but it is undeniable that sports are one of the most lucrative businesses in the U.S. Right now the market for women's professional sports is growing rapidly. The best way for women's sporting organizations to promote and sell this market is to align with previously established organizations such as the NBA, NCAA and the USOIC. Although joining with men's organizations is a difficult process that involves compromise, merging with these organizations helps to land big television contracts, gives greater publicity, and brings in endorsements, advertisers and investors. The lack of these benefits was among the key factors in the failure of the ABL. Inversely, these are the reasons for the successes of the WNBA and women's sports in the Olympics. Throughout the history of female athletics merging with male sports organizations has not always been a pleasant experience. In 1982 the AIAW merged with the NCAA, despite the NCAA fighting tooth and nail to try and find ways out of Title IX, an act of Congress that required Universities to provide equal funding for women's athletics. The NCAA did everything they could to stop the equal funding but finally gave in during the 1990's. Right now the NCAA embraces its women's sports programs and has had many women represented on the executive committee roster and even has a committee on women's athletics. Also, the NCAA has worked out television contracts with ESPN, FOX sports and CBS. This has lead to not only coverage of women's sports but publicity. Women's games are talked about on Sports Center and College Hoops Tonight everyday during the season. The addition of the women's to the Olympics did a lot more to promote commercial secures and the advancement of women's The Women's Olympic Games went out of business shortly after the Olympics allowed women to participate. Women lost a lot with this merger at first due to the fact that women were prohibited from many Olympic events that they could have participated in as part of the Women's Olympics. These restrictions weren't lifted until 1984. However in the long run co-ed Olympics are beneficial for women's sports. At the 2002 Olympics at Salt Lake City there was only two sports that USA women did not compete in, ski jumping and the Nordic combined.

Why the Us Does Not Have an Official Language

Kelly Setters September 12, 2012 ENG 122 Teresa Plummer English Composition 2 Why the United States doesn’t have a Designated Language ? Why the United States doesn’t have a Designated Language Why the United States does not have an official language has been an ongoing debate for a long time. A lot of people are for it and a lot of people are against it. While conducting my research I learned that if the United States made English the official language of the country it would be going against the first amendment, Freedom of speech. Regardless of going against the constitution 27 states have made English their official language.Why is it so important to so many people that the United States have an official language? Would it aid immigrants in the assimilation process and make it more likely for them to succeed? Can other languages be used in the country for certain official purposes, if English is the sole official language? Does official English offend the idea of Ame rican diversity? Does it discriminate against non-native speakers? Does an adequate incentive exist to learn English without it being official? Is there anything wrong with the status quo? Do most countries in the world have an official language? Is it important for any tangible and practical reasons?Do English only laws threaten or enhance public safety? Is official English good public policy? (Debate 2010) These are questions that rise in everyone’s mind when the topic of designating an official language in the US comes up. The 27 states of the United States of America that have an official langiage are, â€Å"Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Wyoming. (Us constitution net 1995-2010) Many people think it’s unconstitutional f or the United States to have an official language because it’s America. America is where freedom rings. References No Author Cited Does the United States need an official language Retrieved from: http://maxweber. hunter. cuny. edu/pub/eres/GSR716A_KUECHLER/monique. htm No Author cited (2010) Debate: English as US official language Retrieved from: http://debatepedia. idebate. org/en/index. php/Debate:_English_as_US_official_language Walenta, C. (1995-2010) Constitutional Topic: Official Language Retrieved from: http://www. usconstitution. net/consttop_lang. html

Senior Picture Day

Y. C. English 2301 Gibson 09/23/10 Self-Consciousness We’ve all been self-conscious about something we can’t change about ourselves at least once in our lives. It’s an instinct to want other people to see you as the best you can be, or more- regardless of whether it’s the real you or not. In the story Senior Picture Day by Michael Serros, a girl feels her appearance categorizes her in the eyes of the public. In her case she looks Indian, and she considers this a negative physical trait to have inherited.It never bothered her until her selfish friend, Terri, used her Indian appearance against her in order to make someone dislike her. If this would’ve happened to me in the fifth grade, I would be pinching my nose until senior year too. The reason I find this work meaningful is why other people would also find it meaningful. It’s something we can all relate to. As a common example, height seems to be a common issue with males whenever theyâ€⠄¢re short. In middle school this may not be a problem, but in high school this tends to become an issue when most boys have had their growth spurt when some are just not going to grow anymore.A guy is expected to be tall in some societies, probably because it is seen as more attractive and well let’s face it; we girls want to wear heels. From the story, having an Indian nose, I don’t think it should bother anyone. It’s not a disability so it won’t affect your life. If the narrator had done anything more than just squeeze her nose because she felt uncomfortable, I wouldn’t approve. I understand why she did it. Being betrayed by her best friend wasn’t the shock. The real eye opener for her was the fact that she could be disliked for such a facial feature.I personally don’t like my chubby cheeks, so if anyone mentioned them I would probably be self-conscious for a few years or until someone told me otherwise and I actually believed them . Another way people can relate to the story is the part about being betrayed by a friend. This happens to everyone, with anything. It’s just how we are; we like to make ourselves better by hurting others. Personally it’s not my past time, but I’ve felt the effects. Just think about that time in gym class when you couldn’t run as fast or weren’t so good at a sport so your peers made fun of you.There are also circumstances when a different culture mixes in to a group of all the same. Like someone who always lived as â€Å"high class† but then gets relocated to a â€Å"lower class† neighborhood. The way they dress can change but where they come from doesn’t change so they are discriminated against. Just like the narrator in the story, where you come from is something you can’t change, no matter what. You really have to love yourself the way you are and not think too much about what other people think, if you don’t y ou’ll find yourself squeezing your nose every day from the fifth grade to senior year picture day.

Back to school icebreakers Essay

1. OPENING-DAY LETTER. WRITE A LETTER TO YOUR STUDENTS. IN THAT LETTER, INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO STUDENTS. TELL THEM ABOUT YOUR HOPES FOR THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR AND SOME OF THE FUN THINGS YOU’LL BE DOING IN CLASS. IN ADDITION, TELL STUDENTS A FEW PERSONAL THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF; FOR EXAMPLE, YOUR LIKES AND DISLIKES, WHAT YOU DID OVER THE SUMMER, AND YOUR HOBBIES. ASK QUESTIONS THROUGHOUT THE LETTER. YOU MIGHT ASK WHAT THEY LIKE MOST ABOUT SCHOOL, WHAT THEY DID DURING THE SUMMER, WHAT THEIR GOALS FOR THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR ARE, OR WHAT THEY ARE REALLY GOOD AT. (IN YOUR LETTER, BE SURE TO MODEL THE CORRECT PARTS OF A FRIENDLY LETTER! ) ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, DISPLAY YOUR LETTER ON AN OVERHEAD PROJECTOR. THEN PASS EACH STUDENT A SHEET OF NICE STATIONERY. HAVE THE STUDENTS WRITE A RETURN LETTER TO YOU. IN THIS LETTER, THEY WILL NEED TO ANSWER SOME OF YOUR QUESTIONS AND TELL YOU ABOUT THEMSELVES. THIS IS A GREAT WAY TO GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER IN A PERSONAL WAY! VARIATION: MAIL THE LETTER TO STUDENTS BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS, AND ENCLOSE A SHEET OF STATIONERY FOR KIDS TO WRITE YOU BACK. 2. STRINGING TOGETHER CONVERSATION. CUT STRING OR YARN INTO PIECES OF DIFFERENT LENGTHS. (EACH PIECE SHOULD HAVE A MATCHING PIECE OF THE SAME LENGTH. THERE SHOULD BE ENOUGH PIECES SO THAT EACH STUDENT WILL HAVE ONE. ) THEN GIVE EACH STUDENT ONE PIECE OF STRING, AND CHALLENGE EACH STUDENT TO FIND THE OTHER STUDENT WHO HAS A STRING OF THE EXACT SAME LENGTH. AFTER STUDENTS HAVE FOUND THEIR MATCHES, THEY CAN TAKE TURNS INTRODUCING THEMSELVES TO EACH OTHER. YOU CAN PROVIDE A LIST OF QUESTIONS TO HELP STUDENTS â€Å"BREAK THE ICE,† OR STUDENTS CAN COME UP WITH THEIR OWN. YOU MIGHT EXTEND THE ACTIVITY BY HAVING EACH STUDENT INTRODUCE HIS OR HER PARTNER TO THE CLASS. 3. ANIMAL GROUPS. ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, GATHER ALL THE STUDENTS FROM A GRADE LEVEL IN A LARGE COMMON AREA. GIVE EACH STUDENT A  SLIP OF PAPER WITH THE NAME OF AN ANIMAL ON IT. THEN GIVE STUDENTS INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE ACTIVITY: THEY MUST LOCATE THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THEIR ANIMAL GROUP BY IMITATING THAT ANIMAL’S SOUND ONLY. NO TALKING IS ALLOWED. THE STUDENTS MIGHT HESITATE INITIALLY, BUT THAT HESITATION SOON GIVES WAY TO A CACOPHONY OF SOUND AS THE KIDS MOO, SNORT, AND GIGGLE THEIR WAY INTO GROUPS. THE END RESULT IS THAT STUDENTS HAVE FOUND THEIR WAY INTO THEIR HOMEROOMS OR ADVISORY GROUPS FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR, AND THE INITIAL BARRIERS TO GOOD TEAMWORK HAVE ALREADY BEEN BROKEN. 4. A TANGLED WEB. GATHER STUDENTS IN A CIRCLE SITTING AROUND YOU ON THE FLOOR. HOLD A LARGE BALL OF YARN. START BY TELLING THE STUDENTS SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF. THEN ROLL THE BALL OF YARN TO A STUDENT WITHOUT LETTING GO OF THE END OF THE YARN. THE STUDENT WHO GETS THE BALL OF YARN TELLS HIS OR HER NAME AND SOMETHING GOOD ABOUT HIMSELF OR HERSELF. THEN THE STUDENT ROLLS THE YARN TO SOMEBODY ELSE, HOLDING ON TO THE STRAND OF YARN. SOON STUDENTS HAVE CREATED A GIANT WEB. AFTER EVERYONE HAS SPOKEN, YOU AND ALL THE STUDENTS STAND UP, CONTINUING TO HOLD THE YARN. START A DISCUSSION OF HOW THIS ACTIVITY RELATES TO THE IDEA OF TEAMWORK (FOR EXAMPLE, THE STUDENTS NEED TO  WORK TOGETHER AND NOT LET OTHERS DOWN). TO DRIVE HOME YOUR POINT ABOUT TEAMWORK, HAVE ONE STUDENT DROP HIS OR HER STRAND OF YARN; THAT WILL DEMONSTRATE TO STUDENTS HOW THE WEB WEAKENS IF THE CLASS ISN’T WORKING TOGETHER. 5. STUDENT DICTIONARY. WRITE FIVE QUESTIONS ON THE BOARD. QUESTIONS MIGHT INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING: WHAT IS YOUR NAME? WHERE WERE YOU BORN? HOW MANY BROTHERS OR SISTERS DO YOU HAVE? WHAT ARE THEIR NAMES? DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS? TELL STUDENTS TO WRITE THOSE QUESTIONS ON A PIECE OF PAPER AND TO ADD TO THAT PAPER FIVE MORE QUESTIONS THEY COULD ASK SOMEONE THEY DON’T KNOW. PAIR STUDENTS, AND  HAVE EACH STUDENT INTERVIEW HIS OR HER PARTNER AND RECORD THE RESPONSES. THEN HAVE EACH STUDENT USE THE INTERVIEW RESPONSES TO WRITE A â€Å"DICTIONARY DEFINITION† OF HIS OR HER PARTNER TO INCLUDE IN A STUDENT DICTIONARY. YOU MIGHT MODEL THIS ACTIVITY BY CREATING A SAMPLE DICTIONARY DEFINITION ABOUT YOURSELF. FOR EXAMPLE: REYNOLDS, KIM. PROPER NOUN. 1. BORN IN RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA. 2. NO BROTHERS OR SISTERS. †¦ HAVE STUDENTS BRING IN SMALL PICTURES OF THEMSELVES TO PASTE NEXT TO THEIR ENTRIES IN THE STUDENT DICTIONARY. BIND THE DEFINITIONS INTO A BOOK, AND DISPLAY IT AT BACK-TO-SCHOOL NIGHT. 6. CLASSMATE SCAVENGER HUNT. PROVIDE EACH STUDENT WITH TWO INDEX CARDS. ASK EACH STUDENT TO WRITE A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF HIS OR HER PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS ON ONE INDEX CARD AND HIS OR HER NAME ON THE OTHER. (PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS USUALLY DO NOT INCLUDE CLOTHING, BUT IF YOU TEACH THE PRIMARY GRADES, YOU MIGHT ALLOW STUDENTS TO INCLUDE CLOTHING IN THEIR DESCRIPTIONS. ) PUT ALL THE PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTIC INDEX CARDS IN A SHOE BOX, MIX THEM UP, AND DISTRIBUTE ONE CARD TO EACH STUDENT (MAKING SURE THAT NO STUDENT GETS HIS OR HER OWN CARD). GIVE STUDENTS TEN MINUTES TO SEARCH FOR THE PERSON WHO FITS THE DESCRIPTION ON THE CARD THEY HOLD. (THERE IS NO TALKING DURING THIS ACTIVITY, BUT STUDENTS CAN WALK AROUND THE ROOM. ) AT THE END OF THE ACTIVITY, TELL STUDENTS TO WRITE ON THE CARD THE NAME OF THE STUDENT WHO BEST MATCHES THE DESCRIPTION. THEN HAVE STUDENTS SHARE THEIR RESULTS. HOW MANY STUDENTS GUESSED CORRECTLY? http://www. ToLearnEnglish. com – http://www. ToLearnFrench. com – Spanish : http://www. espagnolfacile. com/english – German: http://www. allemandfacile. com/english 7. COOPERATIVE MUSICAL CHAIRS. THIS ACTIVITY IS A TAKEOFF ON THE FAMILIAR MUSICAL CHAIRS GAME. SET A CIRCLE OF CHAIRS WITH ONE LESS CHAIR THAN THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS IN THE CLASS. PLAY MUSIC AS THE STUDENTS CIRCLE AROUND THE CHAIRS. WHEN THE MUSIC STOPS, THE STUDENTS MUST SIT IN A SEAT. UNLIKE THE TRADITIONAL GAME, THE PERSON WITHOUT A SEAT IS NOT OUT. INSTEAD, SOMEONE MUST MAKE ROOM FOR THAT PERSON. THEN REMOVE ANOTHER SEAT AND START THE MUSIC AGAIN. THE KIDS END UP ON ONE ANOTHER’S LAPS AND SHARING CHAIRS! YOU CAN PLAY THIS GAME OUTSIDE, AND YOU CAN END IT WHENEVER YOU WISH. AFTERWARD, STRESS THE TEAMWORK AND COOPERATION THE GAME TOOK, AND HOW STUDENTS NEEDED TO ACCEPT ONE ANOTHER TO BE SUCCESSFUL. REINFORCE THAT IDEA BY REPEATING THIS GAME THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. 8. HANDS-ON ACTIVITY. HAVE STUDENTS BEGIN THIS ACTIVITY BY LISTING AT LEAST 25 WORDS THAT DESCRIBE THEM AND THE THINGS THEY LIKE. (NO SENTENCES ALLOWED, JUST WORDS! ) THEN ASK EACH STUDENT TO USE A DARK PEN TO TRACE THE PATTERN OF HIS OR HER HAND WITH THE FINGERS SPREAD APART. PROVIDE ANOTHER SHEET OF PAPER THAT THE STUDENT CAN PLACE ON TOP OF THE TRACING. (SINCE THE TRACING WAS DONE WITH A DARK PEN, THE OUTLINE SHOULD BE VISIBLE ON THE SHEET BELOW. ) DIRECT STUDENTS TO USE THE OUTLINES AS GUIDES AND TO WRITE THEIR WORDS AROUND IT. PROVIDE STUDENTS A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT COLORED PENCILS OR MARKERS TO USE AS THEY WRITE. THEN INVITE STUDENTS TO SHARE THEIR WORK WITH THE CLASS. THEY MIGHT CUT OUT THE HAND OUTLINES AND MOUNT THEM ON CONSTRUCTION PAPER SO YOU CAN DISPLAY THE HANDS FOR OPEN HOUSE. CHALLENGE EACH PARENT TO IDENTIFY HIS OR HER CHILD’S HAND. 9. CHAIN GANG. BEGIN BY ASKING STUDENTS, â€Å"WHO CAN DO SOMETHING REALLY WELL? † AFTER A BRIEF DISCUSSION ABOUT SOME OF THE STUDENTS’ TALENTS, PASS OUT PAPER AND ASK STUDENTS TO WRITE DOWN FIVE THINGS THEY DO WELL. THEN PROVIDE EACH STUDENT WITH FIVE DIFFERENT COLORED PAPER STRIPS. HAVE EACH STUDENT WRITE A DIFFERENT TALENT ON SEPARATE PAPER STRIPS, THEN CREATE A MINI PAPER CHAIN WITH THE STRIPS BY  LINKING THE FIVE TALENTS TOGETHER. AS STUDENTS COMPLETE THEIR MINI CHAINS, USE EXTRA STRIPS OF PAPER TO LINK THE MINI CHAINS TOGETHER TO CREATE ONE LONG CLASS CHAIN. HAVE STUDENTS STAND AND HOLD THE GROWING CHAIN AS YOU LINK THE PIECES TOGETHER. ONCE THE ENTIRE CHAIN IS CONSTRUCTED AND LINKED, LEAD A DISCUSSION ABOUT WHAT THE CHAIN DEMONSTRATES (FOR EXAMPLE, ALL THE STUDENTS HAVE TALENTS; ALL THE STUDENTS HAVE THINGS THEY DO WELL; TOGETHER, THE STUDENTS HAVE MANY TALENTS; IF THEY WORK TOGETHER, CLASSMATES CAN ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING; AND THE  CLASS IS STRONGER WHEN STUDENTS WORK TOGETHER THAN WHEN INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS WORK ON THEIR OWN). HANG THE CHAIN IN THE ROOM AS A CONSTANT REMINDER TO STUDENTS OF THE TALENTS THEY POSSESS AND THE BENEFITS OF TEAMWORK. 10. SILHOUETTE COLLAGE. STOCK UP ON OLD MAGAZINES. (YOUR SCHOOL LIBRARIAN MIGHT HAVE A DISCARD PILE YOU CAN DRAW FROM. ) INVITE STUDENTS TO SEARCH THROUGH THE MAGAZINES FOR PICTURES, WORDS, OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT MIGHT BE USED TO DESCRIBE THEM. THEN USE AN OVERHEAD PROJECTOR OR ANOTHER SOURCE OF BRIGHT LIGHT TO CREATE A SILHOUETTE OF EACH STUDENT’S PROFILE; HAVE EACH STUDENT SIT IN FRONT OF THE  LIGHT SOURCE AS YOU OR ANOTHER STUDENT TRACES THE OUTLINE OF THE SILHOUETTE ON A SHEET OF 11- BY 17-INCH PAPER TAPED TO THE WALL. HAVE STUDENTS CUT OUT THEIR SILHOUETTES, THEN FILL THEM WITH A COLLAGE OF PICTURES AND WORDS THAT EXPRESS THEIR IDENTITY. THEN GIVE EACH STUDENT AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE HIS OR HER SILHOUETTE WITH THE GROUP AND TALK ABOUT WHY HE OR SHE CHOSE SOME OF THE ELEMENTS IN THE COLLAGE. POST THE SILHOUETTES TO CREATE A SENSE OF â€Å"OUR HOMEROOM. † 11. HEADLINES. AS PART OF THE NORMAL FIRST-DAY ROUTINE, MANY TEACHERS HAVE EACH STUDENT FILL OUT A CARD WITH SUCH INFORMATION AS NAME,  ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER, PARENTS’ NAMES AND WORK NUMBERS, AND SO ON. YOU CAN USE SUCH CARDS TO GATHER OTHER INFORMATION TOO, SUCH AS SCHOOL SCHEDULE, WHY THE STUDENT SIGNED UP FOR THE CLASS, WHETHER THE STUDENT HAS A PART-TIME JOB, AND WHETHER HE OR SHE HAS ACCESS TO THE INTERNET AT HOME. AS A FINAL BIT OF INFORMATION, ASK THE STUDENT TO WRITE A HEADLINE THAT BEST DESCRIBES HIM OR HER! THIS HEADLINE MIGHT BE A QUOTE, A FAMILIAR EXPRESSION, OR ANYTHING ELSE. WHEN STUDENTS HAVE COMPLETED FILLING OUT THE CARDS, GIVE A LITTLE QUIZ. ASK STUDENTS TO NUMBER A SHEET OF PAPER FROM 1 TO __, DEPENDING ON HOW MANY STUDENTS ARE IN THE CLASS. THEN READ ALOUD THE HEADLINES ONE AT A TIME. ASK STUDENTS TO WRITE THE NAME OF THE PERSON THEY THINK EACH HEADLINE BEST DESCRIBES. WHO GOT THE HIGHEST SCORE? (BONUS! IT SEEMS AS IF PARENTS ARE CONTACTED ONLY IF THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH STUDENTS. AT THE END OF EACH GRADING PERIOD, USE THE HOME ADDRESS INFORMATION TO SEND A POSTCARD TO A HANDFUL OF PARENTS TO INFORM THEM ABOUT HOW WELL THEIR CHILD IS DOING. THIS MIGHT TAKE A LITTLE TIME, BUT IT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED! ) 12. POP QUIZ. AHEAD OF TIME, WRITE A SERIES OF GETTING-TO-KNOW-YOU QUESTIONS ON SLIPS OF PAPER — ONE QUESTION TO A SLIP. (YOU CAN REPEAT SOME OF THE QUESTIONS. ) THEN FOLD UP THE SLIPS, AND TUCK EACH SLIP INSIDE A DIFFERENT BALLOON. BLOW UP THE BALLOONS. GIVE EACH STUDENT A BALLOON, AND LET STUDENTS TAKE TURNS POPPING THEIR BALLOONS AND ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS INSIDE. 13. FACT OR FIB? THIS IS A GOOD ACTIVITY FOR DETERMINING YOUR STUDENTS’ NOTE-TAKING ABILITIES. TELL STUDENTS THAT YOU ARE GOING TO SHARE SOME INFORMATION ABOUT YOURSELF. THEY’LL LEARN ABOUT SOME OF YOUR BACKGROUND, HOBBIES, AND INTERESTS FROM THE 60-SECOND ORAL â€Å"BIOGRAPHY† THAT YOU WILL PRESENT. SUGGEST THAT STUDENTS TAKE NOTES; AS YOU SPEAK, THEY SHOULD RECORD WHAT THEY THINK ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTS YOU SHARE. WHEN YOU HAVE COMPLETED YOUR PRESENTATION, TELL STUDENTS THAT YOU ARE GOING TO TELL FIVE THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF. FOUR OF YOUR STATEMENTS SHOULD TELL THINGS THAT ARE TRUE AND THAT WERE PART OF YOUR PRESENTATION; ONE OF THE FIVE STATEMENTS IS A TOTAL FIB. (THIS ACTIVITY IS MOST FUN IF SOME OF THE TRUE FACTS ARE SOME OF THE MOST SURPRISING THINGS ABOUT YOU AND IF THE â€Å"FIB† SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING THAT COULD VERY WELL BE TRUE. ) TELL STUDENTS THEY MAY REFER TO THEIR NOTES TO TELL WHICH STATEMENT IS THE FIB. NEXT, INVITE EACH STUDENT TO CREATE A BIOGRAPHY AND A LIST OF FIVE STATEMENTS — FOUR FACTS AND ONE FIB — ABOUT HIMSELF OR HERSELF. THEN PROVIDE EACH STUDENT A CHANCE TO PRESENT THE 60-SECOND ORAL BIOGRAPHY AND TO TEST THE OTHERS’ NOTE-TAKING ABILITIES BY PRESENTING HIS OR HER OWN â€Å"FACT OR FIB QUIZ. â€Å" YOU CAN HAVE STUDENTS DO THIS PART OF THE ACTIVITY IN SMALL GROUPS. 14. CIRCULAR FACT OR FIB? HERE’S A VARIATION ON THE PREVIOUS ACTIVITY: DIVIDE THE CLASS INTO TWO GROUPS OF EQUAL SIZE. ONE GROUP FORMS A http://www. ToLearnEnglish. com – http://www. ToLearnFrench. com – Spanish : http://www. espagnolfacile. com/english – German: http://www. allemandfacile. com/english CIRCLE EQUALLY SPACED AROUND THE PERIMETER OF THE CLASSROOM. (THERE WILL BE QUITE A BIT OF SPACE BETWEEN STUDENTS. ) THE OTHER GROUP OF STUDENTS FORMS A CIRCLE INSIDE THE FIRST CIRCLE; EACH STUDENT FACES ONE OF THE STUDENTS IN THE FIRST GROUP. GIVE THE FACING PAIRS OF STUDENTS TWO MINUTES TO SHARE THEIR 60-SECOND ORAL â€Å"BIOGRAPHIES. â€Å" WHILE EACH STUDENT IS TALKING, THE PARTNER TAKES NOTES. AFTER EACH PAIR COMPLETES THE ACTIVITY, THE STUDENTS ON THE INSIDE CIRCLE MOVE CLOCKWISE TO FACE THE NEXT STUDENT IN THE OUTER CIRCLE. (STUDENTS IN THE  OUTER CIRCLE REMAIN STATIONARY THROUGHOUT THE ACTIVITY. ) WHEN ALL STUDENTS HAVE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THEIR BIOGRAPHIES WITH ONE ANOTHER, ASK STUDENTS TO TAKE TURNS EACH SHARING HIS OR HER FACTS AND FIB WITH THE CLASS. THE OTHER STUDENTS REFER TO THEIR NOTES OR TRY TO RECALL WHICH FACT IS REALLY A FIB. 15. PEOPLE POEMS. HAVE EACH CHILD USE THE LETTERS IN HIS OR HER NAME TO CREATE AN ACROSTIC POEM. FOR EXAMPLE, BILL COULD TAKE HIS NAME AND WRITE BIG INTELLIGENT LAUGHING LOVING. TELL STUDENTS THEY MUST INCLUDE WORDS THAT TELL SOMETHING ABOUT THEMSELVES — FOR EXAMPLE, SOMETHING THEY LIKE TO DO OR A PERSONALITY  OR PHYSICAL TRAIT. INVITE STUDENTS TO SHARE THEIR POEMS WITH THE CLASS. THIS ACTIVITY IS A FUN ONE THAT ENABLES YOU TO LEARN HOW YOUR STUDENTS VIEW THEMSELVES. ALLOW OLDER STUDENTS TO USE A DICTIONARY OR THESAURUS. YOU MIGHT ALSO VARY THE NUMBER OF WORDS FOR EACH LETTER, ACCORDING TO THE STUDENTS’ GRADE LEVELS. 16. ANOTHER POETIC INTRODUCTION. ASK STUDENTS TO USE THE FORM BELOW TO CREATE POEMS THAT DESCRIBE THEM. NAME ______________________ TITLE (OF POEM)_______________ I WILL NEVER _______________; I WILL NEVER ________________; AND I WILL NEVER ______________. BUT I WILL ALWAYS ______________. THIS ACTIVITY IS ANOTHER THAT LENDS ITSELF TO BEING DONE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR AND AGAIN AT THE END OF THE YEAR. YOU AND YOUR STUDENTS WILL HAVE FUN COMPARING THEIR RESPONSES AND SEEING HOW THE STUDENTS AND THE RESPONSES HAVE CHANGED. 17. FOOD FOR THOUGHT. TO GET TO KNOW STUDENTS AND TO HELP THEM GET TO KNOW ONE ANOTHER, HAVE EACH STUDENT STATE HIS OR HER NAME AND A FAVORITE FOOD THAT BEGINS WITH THE SAME FIRST LETTER AS THE NAME. FOR EXAMPLE: â€Å"HI, MY NAME IS LATRECE, AND I LIKE LIVER. † AS EACH STUDENT INTRODUCES HIMSELF OR HERSELF, HE OR SHE MUST REPEAT THE NAMES AND FAVORITE FOODS OF THE STUDENTS WHO CAME BEFORE. WATCH OUT; IT GETS TRICKY FOR THE LAST PERSON WHO HAS TO RECITE ALL THE NAMES AND FOODS! 18. I AM NOT! HERE’S A CHALLENGING ACTIVITY THAT MIGHT HELP HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS LEARN ABOUT STUDENTS’ ABILITIES TO THINK CRITICALLY. SEND STUDENTS INTO THE SCHOOL HALLWAYS OR SCHOOLYARD, AND ASK EACH TO FIND SOMETHING THAT â€Å"IS COMPLETELY THE OPPOSITE OF YOURSELF. â€Å" (OPTION: TO WIDEN THE AREA TO BE EXPLORED, PROVIDE THIS ACTIVITY AS HOMEWORK ON THE FIRST NIGHT OF SCHOOL. ) WHEN STUDENTS BRING THEIR ITEMS BACK TO CLASS, ASK EACH TO DESCRIBE WHY THE ITEM IS NOT LIKE HE OR SHE. YOU’LL GET A LOT OF FLOWERS, OF COURSE, AND STUDENTS WILL  DESCRIBE HOW THOSE FLOWERS ARE FRAGRANT OR SOFT (OR OTHERWISE UNLIKE THEMSELVES). BUT YOU MIGHT ALSO GET SOME CLEVER RESPONSES SUCH AS THE ONE FROM A YOUNG MAN WHO BROUGHT IN THE FLIP-TOP FROM A DISCARDED CAN; HE TALKED ABOUT ITS DECAYING OUTWARD APPEARANCE AND ITS INABILITY TO SERVE A PURPOSE WITHOUT BEING MANIPULATED BY SOME OTHER FORCE (AND HOW HE WAS ABLE TO SERVE A PURPOSE ON HIS OWN). 19. PERSONAL BOXES. IN THIS ACTIVITY, EACH STUDENT SELECTS A CONTAINER OF A REASONABLE SIZE THAT REPRESENTS SOME ASPECT OF HIS OR HER PERSONALITY OR PERSONAL INTERESTS (SUCH AS A FOOTBALL HELMET OR A SAUCEPAN). ASK STUDENTS TO FILL THAT OBJECT WITH OTHER ITEMS THAT REPRESENT THEMSELVES — FOR EXAMPLE, FAMILY PHOTOS, CDS, DIRTY SOCKS (BECAUSE THEIR ROOM AT HOME IS ALWAYS A MESS), OR A BALLET SHOE — AND BRING THEIR CONTAINERS BACK TO SCHOOL. STUDENTS CAN USE THE OBJECTS IN THE CONTAINERS AS PROPS AS THEY GIVE A THREE-MINUTE PRESENTATION ABOUT THEMSELVES. (THE TEACHER WHO PROVIDED THIS IDEA SUGGESTS THAT YOU MODEL THE ACTIVITY AND ENCOURAGE CREATIVITY BY GOING FIRST — IT’S IMPORTANT FOR THEM TO SEE YOU AS HUMAN TOO! SHE INCLUDED IN HER CONTAINER A WOODEN SPOON BECAUSE SHE LOVES TO  COOK, A JAR OF DIRT BECAUSE SHE LOVES TO GARDEN, HER SON’S FIRST COWBOY BOOT, A POEM SHE WROTE, A ROCK FROM ITALY BECAUSE SHE LOVES TO TRAVEL, AND SO ON. ) YOU’LL LEARN MUCH ABOUT EACH STUDENT WITH THIS ACTIVITY, AND IT WILL CREATE A BOND AMONG STUDENTS. AS EACH STUDENT GIVES THE PRESENTATION, YOU MIGHT WRITE A BRIEF THANK-YOU NOTE THAT MENTIONS SOMETHING SPECIFIC ABOUT THE PRESENTATION SO THAT EACH http://www. ToLearnEnglish. com – http://www. ToLearnFrench. com – Spanish : http://www. espagnolfacile. com/english – German: http://www. allemandfacile. com/english STUDENT CAN TAKE HOME A SPECIAL NOTE TO SHARE WITH PARENTS. IT MIGHT TAKE A FEW DAYS TO GIVE EVERY STUDENT THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE. 20. FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS. HOW WELL DO YOUR STUDENTS FOLLOW DIRECTIONS? PROVIDE INSTRUCTIONS FOR FOLDING A DRINKING CUP FROM A PIECE OF PAPER, AND SEE HOW MANY STUDENTS CAN MAKE A CUP. YOU CAN USE THE PRINTABLE TEMPLATE AND INSTRUCTIONS AT THE ORIGAMI JAPANESE PAPER FOLDING WEB PAGE. FILL EACH COMPLETE CUP WITH APPLE JUICE TO SEE HOW MANY STUDENTS CORRECTLY FOLLOWED THE DIRECTIONS! (YOU MIGHT WANT TO CONDUCT THIS PARTICULAR ASSESSMENT ON THE PLAYGROUND, HOWEVER! ) 21. LEARNING STYLES SURVEY. HOW DO THE STUDENTS IN YOUR CLASS LEARN BEST? DO THEY LEARN BY SEEING, HEARING, OR DOING? INVITE STUDENTS TO DISCOVER THEIR MOST SUCCESSFUL LEARNING STRATEGIES BY TAKING THE MODALITY QUESTIONNAIRE PROVIDED BY THE CENTER FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING AT OHIO’S MUSKINGUM COLLEGE. 22. A WORLD OF CHANGE. ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH AN 11-INCH BY 17-INCH PIECE OF DRAWING PAPER. CHALLENGE STUDENTS TO DRAW A MAP OF THE WORLD AND LABEL AS MANY COUNTRIES AND BODIES OF WATER AS THEY CAN. COLLECT THE MAPS AND PUT THEM AWAY. AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, REPEAT THE ACTIVITY. HAS A YEAR OF LESSONS FOCUSED ON WORLD GEOGRAPHY AND CURRENT EVENTS INCREASED YOUR  STUDENTS’ KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORLD? (IF THIS ACTIVITY ISN’T APPROPRIATE FOR YOU, WHY NOT SHARE IT WITH A SOCIAL STUDIES OR HISTORY TEACHER IN YOUR SCHOOL? ) 23. TIME CAPSULE. TURN EMPTY PRINGLES CANS OR PAPER TOWEL TUBES INTO MINIATURE TIME CAPSULES. ASK EACH CHILD TO CREATE A TIME CAPSULE THAT INCLUDES SUCH ITEMS AS A HANDWRITING SAMPLE, A HAND TRACING, A SELF PORTRAIT, AND SO ON. AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, COMPARE SAMPLES FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR WITH NEW SAMPLES. 24. A VIDEO KEEPSAKE. AT THE START OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, OR BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS, IF POSSIBLE, PROVIDE PARENTS WITH A LIST OF SUPPLIES TO SEND TO SCHOOL WITH THEIR CHILDREN. INCLUDE ON THE LIST A BLANK VIDEOTAPE FOR EACH STUDENT. AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH, INVITE A PARENT VOLUNTEER TO COME IN AND VIDEOTAPE EACH STUDENT READING ALOUD FROM A FAVORITE BOOK. SEND THE VIDEOTAPES HOME AT THE END OF THE YEAR AS A MEMENTO AND AS A REMINDER OF THE READING GROWTH THAT HAPPENED DURING THE COURSE OF THE YEAR. 25. STICKS AND STONES†¦ THIS SIMPLE ACTIVITY HAS BEEN MAKING THE ROUNDS OF MAILING LISTS RECENTLY: PROVIDE EACH STUDENT WITH A SMALL PAPER CUTOUT IN THE SHAPE OF A HUMAN, OR HAVE STUDENTS CUT OUT THEIR OWN PAPER FIGURES. ASK EACH STUDENT TO WRITE HIS OR HER NAME ON THE CUTOUT. HAVE STUDENTS FORM A CIRCLE. THEN TELL STUDENTS TO PASS THE CUTOUTS TO THE PERSON ON THEIR RIGHT. AS THE CUTOUTS ARE PASSED AROUND THE CIRCLE, HAVE EACH PERSON MAKE A SMALL CRUMPLE OR TEAR IN THE CUTOUT OR ADD A PENCIL MARK. WHEN THE CUTOUTS HAVE MADE THEIR WAY AROUND THE ENTIRE CIRCLE, HAVE STUDENTS TRY TO REPAIR THEIR OWN CUTOUTS BY FLATTENING, ERASING, OR TAPING. AFTER THE CUTOUTS ARE REPAIRED, DISCUSS THE ACTIVITY. TALK ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF UNKIND WORDS AND HURT FEELINGS. YOU MIGHT DISPLAY THE CUTOUTS ON A CLASSROOM BULLETIN BOARD AS A CONSTANT REMINDER OF THE EFFECTS OF HURTFUL ACTIONS. 26. ILLUSTRATED STUDENT REFLECTIONS. STUDENTS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL AND ABOVE CAN REFLECT ON THEIR DREAMS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS WITH THIS FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL ACTIVITY PROVIDED BY AN INDIANA TEACHER. A SIMPLE ILLUSTRATION PROVIDES A BACKDROP STUDENTS CAN USE TO SHARE THEIR DREAMS, THEIR INTERESTS, AND THE HIGH AND LOW POINTS IN THEIR LIVES. THE ACTIVITY CAN PROVIDE TEACHERS WITH IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT STUDENTS’ INTERESTS, CONCERNS, AND GOALS; TEACHERS CAN USE THE INFORMATION TO DETERMINE HOW BEST TO DIRECT STUDENTS AND PROVIDE FOR THEIR INDIVIDUAL NEEDS. I Wish I Were a Butterfly. Students across the grades will enjoy this book, written by James Howe and illustrated by Ed Young. A CRICKET LONGS TO BE A PRETTY BUTTERFLY UNTIL A SPIDER TEACHES HER THAT ALL FRIENDS ARE BEAUTIFUL. READ THE BOOK ALOUD, AND THEN DISCUSS THE STORY’S MESSAGE. 27. SURVEYS AND GRAPHS. START THE YEAR WITH A SURVEY ACTIVITY IN WHICH STUDENTS GET TO KNOW ONE ANOTHER AS THEY CREATE SIMPLE BAR OR PICTURE GRAPHS. STUDENTS WORK IN PAIRS OR SMALL GROUPS TO COLLECT RESPONSES TO A CLASS SURVEY, AND THEN THEY GRAPH THE RESULTS. OLDER STUDENTS CAN DEVELOP THEIR OWN SURVEY QUESTIONS; YOUNGER STUDENTS MIGHT COLLECT DATA IN RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS PROVIDED BY THE TEACHER. QUESTIONS MIGHT INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING: †¢ WHEN YOU BRING LUNCH TO SCHOOL, HOW DO YOU CARRY IT? †¢ IF YOU WERE TO CARRY A THERMOS BOTTLE TO SCHOOL, WHAT WOULD BE IN IT? †¢ WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SANDWICH? †¢ HOW DO YOU GET TO SCHOOL MOST DAYS? †¢ WHAT IS YOUR BEST SUBJECT IN SCHOOL? †¢ HOW MANY MILES DO YOU LIVE FROM SCHOOL? †¢ WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SNACK? http://www. ToLearnEnglish. com – http://www. ToLearnFrench. com – Spanish : http://www. espagnolfacile. com/english – German: http://www. allemandfacile. com/english †¢ WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE SUMMER MOVIE? AFTER STUDENTS COLLECT THE DATA, THEY CREATE A SIMPLE GRAPH TO DISPLAY THE RESULTS OF THEIR SURVEY. ONE STUDENT IN EACH PAIR OR GROUP CAN THEN REPORT THE FINDINGS WHILE ANOTHER EXPLAINS THE GRAPH. DISPLAY THE GRAPHS ON A BULLETIN BOARD FOR ALL TO SEE! 28. AN AVERAGE DAY. CHALLENGE STUDENTS TO COMPUTE CLASS â€Å"AVERAGES. † HAVE STUDENTS WORK IN PAIRS OR SMALL GROUPS TO COLLECT, CALCULATE, AND REPORT ON THE AVERAGE AGE, SHOE SIZE, HEIGHT, FAMILY SIZE (AND SO ON! ) OF THE STUDENTS IN YOUR CLASS. 29. PERSONALIZED CLASSROOM CALENDAR. EVERY CLASSROOM HAS A CALENDAR. WHY NOT PERSONALIZE YOUR CLASSROOM CALENDAR WITH PHOTOGRAPHS OF YOUR STUDENTS? FIRST, MAKE A CALENDAR POCKET CHART WITH SEVEN COLUMNS (ONE FOR EACH DAY OF THE WEEK) AND FIVE ROWS  (SO THE CHART CAN HANDLE MONTHS WITH FIVE WEEKS). THEN HAVE STUDENTS MAKE SIGNS WITH THE NUMBERS 1 TO 31 ON THEM. THE NUMBERS SHOULD BE LARGE ENOUGH TO BE CLEARLY SEEN FROM A DISTANCE. USE A DISPOSABLE CAMERA TO TAKE A PICTURE OF EACH STUDENT HOLDING ONE OF THE NUMBERED SIGNS. SLIP THE PHOTOGRAPHS INTO THE POCKETS ON THE CALENDAR. CHANGE THE CALENDAR EACH MONTH! BACK-TO-SCHOOL ABC BOOK. THIS IS AN ACTIVITY THAT CAN BE DONE ACROSS THE GRADES! SHARE WITH STUDENTS SOME ABC BOOKS FROM THE SCHOOL OR TOWN LIBRARY AND TELL THEM THAT THEY WILL BE WORKING TOGETHER TO CREATE A BACK-TO-SCHOOL ABC BOOK. ASSIGN A LETTER OF THE ALPHABET TO EACH STUDENT. BRAINSTORM WITH STUDENTS POSSIBLE WORDS FOR EACH LETTER OR ALLOW EACH STUDENT TO CHOOSE HIS OR HER OWN WORD. EXPLAIN THAT THE WORDS MUST BE RELATED TO ACTIVITIES ASSOCIATED WITH SCHOOL. OF COURSE, THE DIFFICULTY OF THE WORDS WILL VARY, DEPENDING ON THE GRADE LEVEL OF THE STUDENTS. FOR EXAMPLE, A MIGHT BE REPRESENTED BY THE WORDS ART, ABACUS, ATTENDANCE, ALGEBRA, ADDITION, ADVISOR, ATHLETICS, AUDITORIUM, ALPHABET, ANSWER KEY, APPLE, ARITHMETIC, ANNOUNCEMENT, AWARD, A-V, AIDE, OR ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL. FINALLY, HAVE EACH STUDENT ILLUSTRATE HIS OR HER WORD. COMBINE THE PICTURES TO CREATE A BOOK. DISPLAY THE BOOK IN THE CLASSROOM OR SCHOOL LIBRARY. AS AN EXTRA CHALLENGE, YOU MIGHT LIMIT OLDER STUDENTS TO CHOOSING ADJECTIVES; NO NOUNS ALLOWED! BACK-TO-SCHOOL WORD SEARCH. PRINT A BACK-TO-SCHOOL WORD SEARCH AND CHALLENGE STUDENTS TO FIND THE SCHOOL-RELATED WORDS HIDDEN IN THE PUZZLE. OR CREATE YOUR OWN WORD SEARCH PUZZLE CONTAINING THE FIRST NAMES OF ALL THE STUDENTS IN YOUR CLASS. GO TO PUZZLEMAKER. COM’S WORD SEARCH PUZZLEMAKER TO CREATE YOUR PUZZLE. 30. Making An Important Book †¦ ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL I READ THE IMPORTANT BOOK BY MARGARET WISE BROWN. I REVIEW PARAGRAPH WRITING AND INSTRUCT THEM TO WRITE A PARAGRAPH FOLLOWING THE SAME FORMAT AS THE BOOK ABOUT THEMSELVES. I ALSO DO THE SAME. AFTER THE ROUGH DRAFTS ARE WRITTEN THEY ARE TO DO A FINAL DRAFT AND ATTACH IT TO A WHITE PIECE OF PAPER, WHERE THEY ADD AN ILLUSTRATION. ALL THE PAGES ARE LAMINATED AND BOUND INTO A BOOK. STUDENTS REREAD THIS BOOK THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. IT EASILY BECOMES A FAVORITE. STUDENTS ALSO ENJOY READING THE BOOK FROM THE PREVIOUS YEARS CLASSES. 31. Names Word Search †¦ IN ORDER FOR MY STUDENTS TO GET TO KNOW THEIR CLASSMATES, I CREATE A WORD SEARCH WITH THE NAMES OF MY STUDENTS. AFTER ALL THE NAMES ARE FOUND THE REMAINING LETTERS REVEAL THE HIDDEN MESSAGE â€Å"WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL. † THIS WEBSITE IS GREAT FOR CREATING VARIOUS TYPES OF PUZZLES HTTP://WWW. PUZZLEMAKER. COM 32. â€Å"Me† Puppets†¦ ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL (UNLIKE THE REMAINING DAYS OF THE SCHOOL YEAR), THE CHILDREN ARE USUALLY RELUCTANT TO TALK ABOUT THEMSELVES. WE MAKE â€Å"ME† PUPPETS USING PAPER PLATES FOR THE HEAD, YARN FOR THE HAIR, AND CONSTRUCTION PAPER FACIAL FEATURES, WITH A POPSCICLE STICK FOR A HANDLE. UPON COMPLETION, WE STAGE A PUPPET SHOW. THE CHILDREN HIDE THEIR FACES WITH THE PUPPETS AND TELL THEIR CLASSMATES ALL  ABOUT THEIR FAMILIES, HOBBIES, PETS, ETC. 33. First Day Name Puzzle†¦ ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, I LIKE TO MAKE A NAME PUZZLE WITH MY STUDENTS. I TAKE A LARGE PIECE OF POSTER BOARD, AND MARK OUT LINES THAT CAN BE CUT INTO PIECES. MAKE SURE THAT THE PUZZLE WILL HAVE ENOUGH PIECES FOR EACH STUDENT TO HAVE ONE. WE ALL GATHER ON THE FLOOR TO WRITE OUR NAME ON THE BLANK SIDE OF THE POSTER BOARD. I WRITE MY NAME IN THE MIDDLE, AND THE STUDENTS WRITE THEIR NAME IN ALL DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS. WHEN I HAVE FREE TIME, I CUT THE BOARD INTO PUZZLE PIECES. AS A CLASS WE EACH FIND THE SPOT WHERE OUR PUZZLE PIECE BELONGS. TAPE THE PUZZLE TOGETHER AFTER SCHOOL, AND POST IT ON THE WALL IN THE CLASSROOM. WHEN THE STUDENTS RETURN THE NEXT DAY, THE WILL BE EXCITED TO SEE THE PUZZLE, AND TO SHOW OFF THEIR NAME. MY KIDS HAVE FUN TALKING AND, WORKING TO PUT THE PUZZLE TOGETHER. 34. First day (or week) of school–Family Wreath†¦ I COLLECTED FAMILY PICTURES OF EACH OF MY STUDENTS DURING OUR INTRODUCTION DAY. I TOLD THE FAMILY I WOULD PROBABLY NOT RETURN THESE PICTURES. I THEN TOOK THE PICTURES AND MADE A â€Å"FAMILY WREATH†, FOR THE LONELY DAYS OR WHEN THE STUDENTS JUST MISSED HOME. THIS WAS A  HUGE HIT WITH ALL THE FAMILIES AND THE CHILDREN. I PLACED THE WREATH IN THE HOME LIVING AREA, AND WAS AMAZED TO SEE THE STUDENTS, ALL YEAR http://www. ToLearnEnglish. com – http://www. ToLearnFrench. com – Spanish : http://www. espagnolfacile. com/english – German: http://www. allemandfacile. com/english LONG, GO OVER TO THE WREATH AND TAKE TIME TO ADMIRE IT AND THEIR FAMILY. (SOME FAMILIES INCLUDED PET PICTURES TO PUT ON THE WREATH). ON THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL I AUCTIONED IT OFF TO A FAMILY AND BOUGHT SUPPLIES FOR THE CLASS ROOM. ALL MY PARENTS WANTED THIS â€Å"KEEPSAKE†. 35. Getting Acquainted.. I LIKE TO HAVE SOME GET ACQUAINTED PROJECTS FOR THE FIRST FEW DAYS. ONE THING I DO IS WHEN I SEND MY PARENTS A WELCOMING LETTER, I ASK THAT THE CHILDREN BRING IN A SMALL BAG OF PICTURES AND OTHER SMALL OBJECTS THAT COULD BE PART OF A â€Å"ME† COLLAGE. THESE COLLAGES ARE A GOOD SPRINGBOARD FOR THE CHILDREN TO DISCUSS THEIR UNIQUE QUALITIES, AND AT THE END OF THE YEAR, THEY ENJOY SEEING HOW THEY HAVE CHANGED. WE ALSO MAKE SCHOOLHOUSE PICTURE FRAMES FOR THEIR FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL PHOTOS. I CUT SCHOOLHOUSES OUT OF OAKTAG, AND THE CHILDREN GLUE PASTA ON THE FRAMES. I SPRAY PAINT THE PASTA FRAMES GOLD. THE PARENTS LOVE HAVING THIS MEMENTO OF THEIR CHILD’S FIRST DAY WHEN I GIVE IT TO THEM ON BACK-TO-SCHOOL NIGHT. 36. Getting to Know Each Other .. ON THE FIRAT DAY OF SCHOOL DO AN ACTIVITY TO BRING THE CLASS TOGETHER SUCH AS A CLASSROOM SURVEY. THE STUDENTS WALK AROUND AND TALK TO THE OTHER STUDENTS AND FILL OUT A QUESTIONAIRRE. AT THE SAME TIME THEY ARE GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER. 37. Fun First Day Activity .. ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL I HAVE PLENTY OF PRE-CUT LETTERS IN LOTS OF DIFFERENT COLORS ON A TABLE. AS THE CHILDREN COME IN THEY FIND THE LETTERS TO SPELL THEIR NAMES AND GLUE THEM TOGETHER. I HANG THESE FROM THE CEILING! THEY REALLY BRIGHTEN UP THE ROOM AND LOOK GREAT FOR OPEN HOUSE! USUALLY THIS IS THE FIRST THING THEY POINT OUT TO THEIR PARENTS. 38. What are your expectations? ASK FOR THEIR EXPECTATIONS. TELL THEM YOU’RE INTERESTED IN THEIR OPINIONS AND YOU’RE ASKING THEM THESE QUESTIONS AS A WAY OF FINDING OUT ABOUT THEIR LEARNING STYLES AND PREFERENCES. ASK THEM TO WRITE, USING AS MUCH DETAIL AS POSSIBLE, THEIR RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS, SUCH AS †¢ NOW THAT I’VE TOLD YOU MY EXPECTATIONS OF A GOOD STUDENT, WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS OF A GOOD TEACHER? †¢ TELL ME ABOUT THE BEST TEACHER YOU’VE EVER HAD. WHAT MADE THAT PERSON SUCH A GOOD TEACHER? †¢ NOW THAT I’VE TOLD YOU SOME OF MY IDEAS ABOUT HOW WE WILL GO ABOUT LEARNING THIS YEAR’S MATERIAL, TELL ME ABOUT HOW YOU LEARN BEST. GIVE ME AN EXAMPLE OF A PROJECT OR UNIT WHERE YOU LEARNED A LOT. DESCRIBE THE PROJECT IN DETAIL. 39. TIME CAPSULES: A TIME-PROVEN YEAR OPENER I GIVE EACH STUDENT A SHEET WITH QUESTIONS SUCH AS WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW? WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE SONG? AND WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE BOOK? ON IT. THERE’S A SPACE FOR STUDENTS TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR AND ANOTHER SPACE FOR THEM TO ANSWER THE SAME QUESTIONS AT THE END OF THE YEAR. â€Å"AFTER STUDENTS PUT THEIR ANSWERS IN THE FIRST BLANK, I TIE ALL THE SHEETS TOGETHER AND PUT THEM IN MY FILE CABINET,† BRIGHT TOLD EDUCATION WORLD. â€Å"IT’S ALWAYS FUNNY AT THE END OF THE YEAR TO HEAR THEM LAUGHING AND SCREECHING OVER THEIR ANSWERS FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR. THEY ALWAYS CHANGE THEIR MINDS BY THE END OF THE YEAR! † BEGINNING-OF-THE-YEAR TIME CAPSULES CAN INCLUDE MANY OTHER ITEMS TOO. IN ADDITION TO STUDENTS’ QUESTION SHEETS, THEIR INDIVIDUAL TIME CAPSULES MIGHT ALSO INCLUDE A. TRACING OF THEIR HAND, A PIECE OF YARN CUT TO MEASURE THEIR HEIGHT, AND A WRITING SAMPLE. SEALED THE ITEMS IN ENVELOPES, AND OPEN THEM AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR. STUDENTS WILL SURELY BE AMAZED AT THEIR GROWTH — PHYSICALLY AND ACADEMICALLY! FOR THAT TIME CAPSULE WRITING SAMPLE, YOU MIGHT USE ANOTHER OF BRIGHT’S FAVORITE BEGINNING-OF-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES. â€Å"I HAVE STUDENTS INTERVIEW EACH OTHER LIKE NEWSPAPER REPORTERS SOMETIME DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL,† BRIGHT EXPLAINED. â€Å"THEY HAVE TO ASK A PARTNER FIVE QUESTIONS AND USE THOSE ANSWERS TO WRITE A PARAGRAPH ABOUT THEIR PARTNER. THEN THEY INTRODUCE THEIR PARTNER TO THE CLASS BY READING THE INTERVIEWS. † 40. THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS INVITING STUDENTS TO SHARE A FEW OF THEIR FAVORITE THINGS IS A GREAT WAY TO BREAK THE ICE! INTRODUCE AN OVERHEAD TRANSPARENCY ON WHICH YOU HAVE ALL KINDS OF PICTURES THAT â€Å"DESCRIBE† YOURSELF. THERE’S A PLANE, LOTS OF BOOKS, A HILL, AND MORE. INVITE YOUR STUDENTS TO GUESS FROM THE DRAWINGS WHAT YOUR FAVORITE OUTSIDE INTERESTS MIGHT BE. (DID YOU GUESS TRAVELING, READING, AND HIKING? ). GIVE EACH STUDENT A SHEET OF DRAWING PAPER AND ASK THEM TO TELL ME ABOUT THEMSELVES — USING ONLY  PICTURES. BREAK INTO SMALL COOPERATIVE GROUPS, AND EACH GROUP TRIES TO TELL ABOUT THE PEOPLE IN THEIR GROUP. OF COURSE, WALK AROUND AND INTERACT WITH EACH GROUP TO KNOW THEM TOO. † 41. MAKE A LARGE CHART TITLED GETTING TO KNOW YOU. LAMINATE THE CHART AND HANG IT ON A WALL IN YOUR CLASSROOM. THE CHART HAS SECTIONS FOR EACH STUDENT’S NAME AND INTERESTING FACTS, SUCH AS HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE IN THEIR FAMILY, HOW MANY PETS THEY HAVE, THEIR FAVORITE http://www. ToLearnEnglish. com – http://www. ToLearnFrench. com – Spanish : http://www. espagnolfacile. com/english – German: