Thursday, November 28, 2019

Campuses Essay Example Human sexuality beliefs

Human sexuality beliefs Masturbation causes impotency: Masturbation or Hand-practice is an artificial way of gaining sexual pleasure. It is a voluntary act that does not necessitate the presence of a companion and is usually a solo practice. It is common not only in men but also in women. Many people believe that masturbation is an unsafe act in that it causes impotency – a state in which an individual is no longer able to maintain a healthy sexual relationship because of deteriorated sexual health as a result of masturbation. It may so happen because of a decrease in the testosterone level as a result of the long-practiced ejaculation of semen by hand. It is believed that besides causing impotency, masturbation serves to weaken the lower abdomen muscles and adversely affects the human nervous system. Besides, it is commonly held responsible for various health disorders like dizziness, lost vision and loss of memory as identified by (Ahmad, 2004). Because of the widespread belief that masturbation causes impotency, many men are af raid of the after effects of the practice and are highly concerned about their sexual health. Masturbation is an extremely common practice. Despite their will, many men can never get rid of it. They are addicted to masturbation. Often, boys indulge in this practice in their teenage and later develop into men who are not sure if they would be able to maintain a healthy sexual life after their marriage. This inculcates a feeling of guilt in the men and often causes stress and anxiety. Men hold themselves responsible for any sexual disorders they might encounter later in their life. Conclusion: Despite the widespread notions of masturbation as a harmful practice, opposite beliefs do exist. Some people are of the view that an orgasm in real sex causes a much pronounced loss of semen than what is ejaculated by hand in masturbation. In a healthy sexual life, a couple undergoes sexual intercourse far as often as an individual would masturbate. Thus, if masturbation can cause impotency, real sex is far more likely to result into impotency because of much pronounced and more frequent ejaculations. At times, masturbation is referred to as a safe alternative for illegal physical relationship between two individuals. It is argued in (www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au, 2010) that masturbation is a healthy expression of human sexuality. In the same article, it is mentioned that masturbation serves to reduce stress and develop a healthy and efficient immune system in those who practice it. It is believed that masturbation tends to reduce stress especially in unmarried women and is the only o ption for singles who do not want to indulge in an unjust physical relationship. Besides, a vast majority of medical specialists are of the opinion that masturbation would never lead to impotency provided that the body is given enough time to regain the lost energy between adjacent masturbations. They view it as a means of preventing unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. The old visualization of masturbation as a cause of impotency is outshined by new beliefs of masturbation as a healthy expression of human sexuality. References: Ahmad, S., â€Å"Masturbation†. 2004. Web. 26 May 2010. www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au. â€Å"Masturbation†. 2010. Web. 26 May 2010. Take Our Help Now Now is the time to act. Reach us on phone or chat and type, â€Å"do my assignment for me.† We’ll help you with the whole process. Tell us what you need.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Goverment essays

Goverment essays Government, the term applied to the institutions and processes, whether formally established or not, by which individuals and groups within a state or society are controlled and regulated for various purposes, such as common defense, general welfare, or internal peace. Thus government is an agency of the state that embraces the organizations and procedures by which laws are enacted, applied, and adjudicated. The major questions and controversies associated with government are not definitional. Rather, they relate to the origins of government, the best way of classifying the various types of government, and, among other things, the distribution of authority among the institutions of government. They also include questions more philosophical in nature, such as: Why is government necessary? How far should government authority extend over individuals or groups? What is the best form of gove3rnment? A discussion of these interrelated questions is the subject of this article. Virtually all political theorists have regarded government in some form as indispensable for society. The doctrine of anarchism, however, holds that government is unnecessary because individuals possess an instinct for mutual cooperation that obviates the need for any direction or control by government. Many anarchists also view government as an instrument designed to protect private property and perpetuate inequalities of wealth. This aspect of anarchist thought is echoed in Marxist theory, which holds that the state and government will "wither away" once the institution of private property is eliminated. Most students of politics subscribe to a much broader view of government's functions and purposes. In The Federalist, a collection of essays interpreting the U.S. Constitution and promoting its ratification, James Madison points to one of the more traditional and widely accepted reasons for government. The differing opinions, passions, and interests of individua...

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Ivory Trail Analysis Essay Example

Ivory Trail Analysis Essay Example Ivory Trail Analysis Essay Ivory Trail Analysis Essay The front cover of The Ivory Trail, by Victor Kelleher, reveals quite a lot about what the novel is about. It also attracts the attention of the reader using color, images and text. The text reveals that the novel involves a long journey made by the protagonist. The main colors used are orange, red, and black. These colors suggest eeriness and mystery. The color red suggests anger and rage, which is possibly felt by the main character at some point in the novel. The four graphics on the cover are a sphinx, a pyramid, a temple and the close up of a man’s face. The sphinx and the pyramid immediately grasp hold of the reader’s attention because of the brightness and location of the images located right in the middle of the text. Also, these images show that the story is set in Egypt. The difference between the light and the dark gives a sense of mystery. The temples at the top of the page represent an Indian or Arabian culture. The man’s face at the bottom of the page looking up indicates a feeling of question and wonder. The text â€Å"Not all Journeys have an ending† adds more mystery to that the reader already acquires from the graphics. This phrase also leaves the reader wondering what it means. The reader can only assume that the journey that will be taken is not only going to be physical, but spiritual as well. The title â€Å"The Ivory Trail† immediately catches the reader’s eye against the black background. The word ‘Trail’ suggests a long and rough road that the protagonist must take on his Journey. The word ‘Ivory’ is related to elephants in Africa, and illegal trade of ivory. This also adds to the sense of mystery and abstruseness. In conclusion, the cover reveals a lot about the journey the main character is about to embark and the discoveries he is going to make.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Definition and Examples of Amphiboly in English

Definition and Examples of Amphiboly in English Amphiboly is a  fallacy  of relevance that relies on an ambiguous word or grammatical structure to confuse or mislead an audience. Adjective: amphibolous. Also known as  amphibology. More broadly, amphiboly may refer to a fallacy that results from a faulty sentence structure of any kind. Etymology From the Greek, irregular speech Pronunciation:  am-FIB-o-lee Examples and Observations [T]he 2003 election reform law demanded that politicians acknowledge in their own voices their responsibility for advertisements they run on public airwaves. But five years later, the I approved has become a pivotal device in commercials for Congress and the White House, a place for candidates to make a declaration of intent, summarize the message or take a parting shot. . . .A University of New Hampshire rhetoric professor, James Farrell, was irked as far back as the 2004 Democratic primary campaign, the first time the disclaimers were required. Then, as now, he said, advertisement writers were coming up with awkward non-sequiturs just to slip in something extra.Mr. Farrell noted a current commercial for Representative Don Cazayoux, Democrat of Louisiana, in which the candidate said, I’m Don Cazayoux and I approved this message because that’s who I’m fighting for. That, Mr. Farrell said, is an amphiboly, a logical confusion created by a grammatical ambiguity.Of course, if asked, the candidate will say he means he’s fighting for the middle class, said Mr. Farrell, of the spot’s theme. However, one could easily conclude that the disclaimer addition refers to the candidate himself, as in, I’m Don and that’s who I’m fighting for.(Steve Friess, Candidates ‘Approve’ Ads and Get a Bit Creative. The New York Times, Sep. 30, 2008) Humorous Amphibolies Amphiboly is usually so recognizable that it is rarely used in real-life situations to make a claim seem stronger than it is. Instead, it more often leads to humorous misunderstandings and confusions. Newspaper headlines are one common source of amphiboly. Here are a few examples: Prostitutes Appeal to Pope Farmer Bill Dies in House Dr. Ruth to Talk About Sex With Newspaper Editors Burglar  Gets Nine Months in Violin Case Juvenile  Court to Try Shooting Defendant Red Tape Holds Up New Bridge Marijuana Issues Sent to a Joint Committee Two Convicts Evade Noose: Jury Hung. . . . Most of these cases of amphiboly are the result of a poorly constructed sentence: I like chocolate cake better than you. Although we normally try to avoid them, intentional amphiboly may prove useful when we feel obligated to say something we would rather not have to say, yet want to avoid saying something that is patently not true. Here are lines from letters of recommendation: In my opinion, you will be very fortunate to get this person to work for you. I am pleased to say that this candidate is a former colleague of mine. From a professor on receiving a late paper from a student: I shall waste no time in reading this. (John Capps and Donald Capps, Youve Got To Be Kidding!: How Jokes Can Help You Think. Wiley-Blackwell, 2009) Amphiboly in a Classified Ad Sometimes the amphiboly is more subtle. Take this newspaper classified ad that appears under Furnished Apartments for Rent: 3 rooms, river view, private phone, bath, kitchen, utilities included Your interest is aroused. But when you visit the apartment, there is neither a bathroom nor a kitchen. You challenge the landlord. He remarks that there are common bathroom and kitchen facilities at the end of the hall. But what about the private bath and kitchen that the ad mentioned? you query. What are you talking about? the landlord replies. The ad didnt say anything about a private bath or a private kitchen. All the ad said was private phone. The advertisement was amphibolous. One cannot tell from the printed words whether private modifies only phone or whether it also modifies bath and kitchen. (Robert J. Gula, Nonsense: Red Herrings, Straw Men and Sacred Cows: How We Abuse Logic in Our Everyday Language. Axios, 2007) Characteristics of Amphibolies To become a skilled perpetrator of amphibolies you must acquire a certain nonchalance toward punctuation, especially commas. You must learn to toss off lines such as I heard cathedral bells tripping through the alleyways, as if it mattered not a whit whether you or the bells were doing the tripping. You should acquire a vocabulary of nouns which can be verbs and a grammatical style which easily accommodates misplaced pronouns and confusions over subject and predicate. The astrology columns in popular newspapers provide excellent source material. (Madsen Pirie, How to Win Every Argument: The Use and Abuse of Logic. Continuum, 2006) The Lighter Side of Amphiboly Some amphibolous sentences are not without their humorous aspects, as in posters urging us to Save Soap and Waste Paper, or when anthropology is defined as The science of man embracing woman. We should be mistaken if we inferred immodest dress on the woman described in a story: . . . loosely wrapped in a newspaper, she carried three dresses. Amphiboly is often exhibited by newspaper headings and brief items, as in The farmer blew out his brains after taking affectionate farewell of his family with a shotgun. (Richard E. Young, Alton L. Becker, and Kenneth L. Pike, Rhetoric: Discovery and Change. Harcourt, 1970)

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Peter Berger's heretical imperative Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Peter Berger's heretical imperative - Essay Example According to Berger, pluralism presents the crisis into which modernity has exposed religion (Woodhead Heelas & Martin, 2001). Berger focuses on modernity and its implications on religion. The contemporary society is characterized by plurality of institutions, consciousness and choices, which yield uncertainty. According to Berger, pluralism is â€Å"a situation in which there is competition in the institutional ordering of comprehensive meanings of everyday life† (Oldmeadow, 2010, p.33). Because of uncertainty, there are unsteady, inconsistent and erratic plausibility structures, particularly those of religion. Berger argues that religion becomes a matter of choice, which he best refers to as a â€Å"heretical imperative† (heresy). According to Peter Berger, there are three contemporary responses to the crisis that modernity thrusts religion into, which include deduction, reduction as well as induction. Berger denounces deduction, which entails the reaffirmation of inf luence of a sacred ritual against secular authority (Esposito, Fasching & Lewis, 2011). He also rejects reductionism, which reinterprets a sacred ritual on the basis of secular authority. In rejecting the two responses, Berger supports the third approach, which is induction. His belief is that the crisis facing religion is a product of the sterile antithesis of neo-orthodoxy and secularism (Woodhead Heelas & Martin, 2001). He believes that by shunning both deductive and reductive approaches and adopting inductive approach, the crisis can be triumphed. Berger explores the relationship between human religion and world-building. The society is presented as dialectic because it is considered as a human invention. Man cannot exist without society and without man, society cannot exist. This exhibits the dialectic nature of the society. Berger argues that pluralism undermines stable belief (Berger, 1979). Pluralism is the cause of secularisation. According to Berger, the basic dialectic pr ocess of society entails three steps. These include externalisation, objectivation as well as internalisation. The three moments are crucial for effective comprehension of empirical dimension society. Externalisation refers to â€Å"the ongoing outpouring of human being into the world, both in the physical and the mental activity of men† (Berger, 1979, p. 4). Objectivation refers to the achievement by the products of man’s activity of an authenticity that faces its initial makers. Internalisation on the other hand, refers to men’s manipulation of reality, in which they change the reality into structures of objective and subjective consciousness. Externalisation is a prerequisite for anthropology. It deals with the biological development of man, where he interacts with extra-organic surrounding of both physical human worlds. Human being must create his own world. As such, the world-building activity does not qualify as a biological superfluous occurrence, but a d irect product of man’s biological composure. Man creates his own world through biological means. This human world is characterized by uncertainty unlike animals’ world. Because humanly established structures tend to be unstable, man creates culture to ensure stable structure that cannot be attained biologically. However, culture needs to be progressively changed by man. The instability of cultural structures posses a significant challenge to man’

Market strector Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Market strector - Essay Example very difficult due to the strong hold of the said organization this type of market existence, in which the firm has the strongest hold over the industry, is called monopoly. (McConnell, Brue, 2006). There are two types of monopolies. Natural Monopoly exists when an organization possesses a strategic control over assets or production, operations and/or distribution systems pertaining its particular product or industry. (Brakman, Heijdra, 2004). For example, an organization providing the government with the nuclear power plant energy would have a natural monopoly since it is performing a task which is highly strategic in nature. On the other hand, Coercive Monopoly refers to any other type of monopoly that has been acquired deliberately. It includes erecting barriers for potential competitors to enter into the business, acquiring patents, mergers & acquisitions with the competitors to engulf competition, etc. (Brakman, Heijdra, 2004). Firms often tend to achieve monopoly through erecting barriers for potential competitors to enter the market. These barriers may be of three types. The â€Å"economic barriers† include economies of scale (largely reducing costs through mass, full scale production), large capital requirements, technological superiority and absence of close substitute products. The â€Å"legal barriers† refer to intellectual property rights including patents, trademarks, copyrights, etc. which provide an organization with a strong edge over the competitors. Firms may also indulge in â€Å"deliberate action† including lobbying the government and concerned parties, collusion, etc. to acquire monopoly. (McConnell, Brue, 2006). The barriers like high liquidation costs that make it difficult for a firm to leave a business may also keep them from entering it enhancing the monopolistic effect of the already existing firm in the market. (McConnell, Brue, 2006). Firms may acquire patents in order to secure their monopolistic presence. They may come up with any

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

The Epic of Gilgamesh Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Epic of Gilgamesh - Essay Example Different phenomena of our world not only attracted their attention but needed explanations. Their views were at the stage of developing, the explanations were not definite and many things were still explained by the existence of different gods. It is clear from the legend that the main goal of these people was to kill somebody and to conquer some territory (Dalley 34). The role of a woman is also represented vaguely. The attitudes towards women in the legend are very different. We can see that the positive and respectful attitude is represented mostly towards goddesses. Ishtar is one of them, she was the goddess of richness, love, and battle. Ishtar is represented in a great number of myths and legends and in every myth she has a different mission. Ishtar is usually portrayed as a strong, egoistic and proud woman. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, she represented as an enemy of the main hero. She is very ambitious in the Epic of Gilgamesh and it is not possible to define if she is positive or negative heroin. The readers can be shocked by her cruelness when she decides to kill Gilgamesh after he rejects her. The main goal of this woman is to satisfy her ambitions. This testifies that the people of that time saw women as strong, cruel and ambitions creatures (Dalley 56). They gave these features to a goddess and that means that in their opinion such charact eristics should have belonged to ideal women. Ishtar is also very sensual; she can’t and is not going to overcome her feeling to Gilgamesh, she demands an immediate satisfaction of her passion: â€Å"Come, Gilgamesh, be my lover! Give me the taste of your body. Would that you were my husband, and I was your wife! Id order harnessed for you a chariot of lapis lazuli and gold, its wheels of gold and its horns of precious amber. You will drive storm demons--powerful mules! Enter our House, into the sweet scent of cedarwood† (Tablet 6, col. I).

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Financial strength and developments of Lonmin Plc Essay

Financial strength and developments of Lonmin Plc - Essay Example Headquartered in Britain, Lonmin Plc’s selling is extended worldwide and the company’s flagship possessions is located in Marikana mine in South Africa. It has its effective operations in Canada and the group has total employees over 28,276 (Lonmin Plc Annual Report, 2014). The business also has joint ventures with Vakle and Walbridge. The company searches for PGM mineralization in Ontario and Northern Ireland project which is an initial stage exploration opportunity for the company (Lonmin Plc Annual Report, 2014). 1.3. Turnover of Lonmin Plc As indicated from Lonmin Plc’s annual report, the yearly turnover produced by the business in the year 2014 is observed to be 582.4 billion (Lonmin Plc Annual Report, 2014). The revenue of the company is observed to be decreasing over the past five years as the operating expense of the company is increasing. The platinum sales of the group accounted for 701,831 ounces and for PGM sales it was 1,383,945 ounces. Asset turnover of Lonmin Plc is found to be $4,384.5 Million which deceased over the past five years (Lonmin Plc Annual Report, 2014). The consensus forecast amongst 20 polled investments analysts who covers the company advised the investors to grip their position in the group. The forecasts of the analysts indicate that the company in the near future is expected to outperform the market. Lonmin Plc is listed in the London stock exchange and Johannesburg stock exchange and has been observed to major shares in the market.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Quality management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 5

Quality management - Assignment Example The team proposed the company to create two collaborative teams, which were quality control and quality assurance teams, to work for ensuring the quality of the products. â€Å"Quality control is concerned with examining the product or service — the end result† (Madison, 2014). The main aim of a quality control team is to examine and verify the products to ensure that the products meet the quality standards set by the company. On the other hand, â€Å"Quality assurance verifies that any customer offering, regardless whether it is new or evolved, is produced and offered with the best possible materials, in the most comprehensive way and with the highest standards† (Kietzman 1). The quality assurance team examines the product manufacturing process to ensure excellence in each stage of the process by identifying the defects and taking necessary steps to remove those defects. The quality management team used the fish bone diagram to sort out the issues that the company might have been facing. Given below is the step by step use of fish bone diagram which helped the team get into the causes for the problems concerning the company. The managers made the team aware about the issues related to the company. The problems identified and communicated to the team were steady growth, less customer preference, decreased customer satisfaction, decreased graph of sales, and less profits. The team summed all problems under the category of ‘poor company performance’. The quality management team went through the process of identifying the causes and came out with three main reasons which included less focus on quality by employees, less awareness in employees regarding the use of quality management system, and lack of any proper quality management system in the company. The team provided the company with a solution that was supposed to

Advocating anti-genocide movement in Darfur Essay Example for Free

Advocating anti-genocide movement in Darfur Essay The United Nations defines genocide as â€Å"acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group. † In Darfur the Arab janjaweed militias have killed an estimated 100,000 non- Arab people, burned their villages, and sought to destroy their way of life. On September 9, 2004 U. S. Secretary of State Collin Powell told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that â€Å"genocide has been committed in Darfur and that the Government of Sudan and the [janjaweed] bear responsibility – and that genocide may still be occurring. (DiPiazza) People sometimes get the wrong idea of what genocide means. It is assumed that it is a hopeless case, impossible to stop for it is driven by millenniums of racial or ethnic conflicts. But looking back at history, genocide has mostly been created through calculated, intended decision by national leaders used as the most convenient way to solve a problem or to keep their power and destroy a person or group. And Darfur is not an exception to this. Mr. Bashir and Musa Hilal are not motivated by ancient hatred but of greed to power and influence. They are not extremists but rather coldblooded, amoral opportunists (Kristof). Drought, famine and civil war represent the interactive array of ecological, socio-economic, and political factors at play. Hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) were created from 2003 through 2005 (Arsdale). Competition over scarce resources – such as water and fertile land – had long challenged Darfur. The beginning of an oil industry in Durfur added to the tension. Claiming to represent non-Arab Africans in Darfur, rebel protested decades of government neglect. They demanded full economic, political, and social rights for Darfur. They also wanted oil wealth from the region to be shared equally. To combat the rebels, the government armed local Arab militias called janjaweeds. The Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA) arose in response to grievances bring expressed by citizens of Darfur. The SLA’s founding manifesto included its vehement protests against the central government’s â€Å"policies of marginalization, racial discrimination, exclusion, exploitation, and divisiveness. The Janjaweeds, on the other hand, traced their origin with raiders and bandits of various types in Sudan for centuries. In recent decades, so-called Arab cattle raiders occasionally would sweep into a non-Arab village and abscond with a few head (Arsdale). Since 2003, the government of Sudan and its Janjaweed militias has executed a systematic campaign of mass murder, rape, and starvation against the black African tribes of Darfur. As of today, more than 500,000 Darfuris have died, and more than 2. 5 million have been driven from their homes. It goes without saying that other measures have to be undertaken simultaneously to reach a sustainable peace in Darfur. So, the international community should strongly support the Abuja talks between the Sudan government and the main insurgent groups to help them reach a peace agreement, which could be a foundation for equity and good governance in Darfur. And since the negotiation of a lasting peace in Darfur unfortunately could take months, if not years, humanitarian assistance should be provided. Democracy is a first step in the struggle against totalitarian forces that resort to inhuman practices to impose their whim on others, including ethnocide and genocide (Hoeven et al. ). It is important to create the conditions of security that will allow for a safe and voluntary return. A political solution reached in the Abuja talks is a priority to help bring peace to the region. At the same time, there is a strong sense in Darfur that an inclusive, credible and grass roots process of inter-communal dialogue is needed to re-establish peaceful inter-communal relations and re-weave the social fabric of the region. Specific measures to address property and land usage rights will be indispensable to achieve peace and restore relationships between nomadic herders and sedentary agriculturalist tribes (Hoeven et al. ). The African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) evolved as the African Union has authorized the incremental deployment of thousands of personnel to carry out its responsibilities in Darfur. The African Union Peace and Security Council provided AMIS II with the following specific mandate for its peace support efforts: (1) to monitor and observe compliance with the 2004 humanitarian cease-fire agreement; (2) to assist in the process of confidence building; and (3) to contribute to a secure environment for the delivery of humanitarian relief and, beyond that, the return of IDPs and refugees to their homes, and to contribute to the improvement of the security situation throughout Darfur (Darfur Crisis: Progress in Aid Peace Monitoring Threatened by Ongoing Violence and Operational Challenges). President Bush had made his statement regarding the issue at the Diplomatic Reception Room, White Palace: Americas commitment is clear. Since this conflict began we have provided more than $1. 7 billion in humanitarian and peacekeeping assistance for Darfur. We are the worlds largest single donor to the people of Darfur. Were working for the day when the families of this troubled region are allowed to return safely to their homes and rebuild their lives in peace. The people of Darfur are crying out for help, and they deserve it. I urge the United Nations Security Council, the African Union, and all members of the international community to reject any efforts to obstruct implementation of the agreements that would bring peace to Darfur and Sudan. I call on President Bashir to stop his obstruction, and to allow the peacekeepers in, and to end the campaign of violence that continues to target innocent men, women and children. And I promise this to the people of Darfur: The United States will not avert our eyes from a crisis that challenges the conscience of the world (Bush). Today, there are a lot of anti-genocide movements, recruiting thousands of people around the world advocating justice and human rights for the casualties and victims of this national turmoil. Politicians, Hollywood stars and even fellow citizens have been voicing out their concern and extending their help over the matter. Works Cited Arsdale, Peter W. Van. Forced to Flee: Human Rights and Human Wrongs in Refugee Homelands. Lexington Books, 2006. Bush, President George. President Bush Discusses Genocide in Darfur, Implements Sanctions 29 May 2007 The White House. 2 December 2007. http://www. whitehouse. gov/news/releases/2007/05/20070529. html Darfur Crisis: Progress in Aid Peace Monitoring Threatened by Ongoing Violence and Operational Challenges. Ed. United States Government Accountability Office: DIANE Publishing, 2006. DiPiazza, Francesca Davis. Sudan in Pictures. Twenty-First Century Books, 2006. Hoeven, Agnes van Ardenne-van der, et al. Explaining Darfur: Four Lectures on the Ongoing Genocide. Amsterdam University Press, 2006. Kristof, Nick. Darfur: Driving up the Price of Blood. Coalition for Darfur, 2007.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Critical thinking | Analysis

Critical thinking | Analysis Critical thinking Nowadays, critical thinking is an interest, important and vital topic in whole modern educations. Modern Education meant that all education tailored to the needs of this age because Modern education is a tool used to learn how to survive in this era. Because of that, all educators are interested to teach their students to think critically. Many academic of departments hope that the teacher, lecturers, professors and instructors will be teaching an information about the strategies of critical thinking skills and identifying areas in persons as a great place to emphasize, to develop, to improve and to use some of the problems in the tests or exams that test their critical thinking skills. The purpose of this paper is to explain the definition, the way to master, the advantages, and all about critical thinking. Manuals of critical thinking and all information have been prepared and provided shortly and clearly so that the reader will have the time and opportunity to read and follow the advice that contained in this paper and help other peoples to achieve the goal of this paper. The explanations will be emphasized in student life. DEFINITION Ennis (in the Costa, 1985) introduced critical thinking as reflective thinking that is focused on making decisions about what is believed or done. Critical thinking actually is the ability and willingness to assess claims and make objective assessments based on well-supported reasons. This is the ability to find defects in the arguments and reject the claim that doesnt have supporting evidence. However, critical thinking isnt just same as negative thinking, it also encourages the ability to be creative and constructive to generate possible explanations for the findings, think about the implications, and apply new knowledge to the variety of social and personal problems. In truth critical thinking cannot completely separate from the creative thinking, because it is only when you question what is that you can begin to imagine what could. (Wade and Tavris, pp.4-5) The best meaning of critical thinking is as the ability of thinkers to take over their own thoughts. The specific purpose of teaching this critical thinking in science or in other discipline is to improve the skills of someones thinking for better prepared to succeed in the world.And then the critical thinker is someone who can use or even master critical thinking. They can think critically and creatively, to distinguish between facts and opinions, ask questions, make detailed observations, uncovering assumptions and define their terms, and make statements based on logic sound and solid evidence. The ideal critical thinker has a sense of great curiosity, Actual, his reason can be trusted, open minded, flexible, balanced in the evaluation, honest in facing personal prejudices, be careful in making decisions, willing to reconsider, the issue of transparency, smart in finding relevant information, reasonable in choosing the criteria, the focus in inquiry, and persistent in seeking discovery. In the form of simple, critical thinking is based on the values of the universal intellectual, namely: clarity, accur acy, precision (precision), consistency, relevance, the facts are reliable, for reasons good, deep, broad, and according to (Scriven and Paul, 2007). CHARACTERISTICS OF CRITICAL THINKER To find the people who have the ability of critical thinking, there are 27 characteristics of critical thinking developed by Ennis (in Costa, 1985), namely: (1) They are looking for a clear question and a question of theory;(2) they are looking for a reason; (3) they are trying to be an Actual; (4) they are using the resources that can be trusted and express; (5) they explain the entire situation; (6) they are trying to stay relevant with the main idea; (7) they are keeping the basic and original idea in the mind;(8) they are looking for an alternative; (9) they are open-minded; (10) they are taking a position (and change the position) when the evidence and possible reasons to do so; (11) they are searching for documents with precision; (12) they agreed in an orderly manner with the parts of the whole complex; (13) they are sensitive to the feelings, knowledge, and intelligence of others; (14) they ask relevant questions; (15) they may admit a lack of understanding or information; (16) they are curious; (17) they are interested in finding new solutions; (18) they can clearly; (19) they define a set of criteria for analyzing ideas; (20) t hey are willing to examine beliefs, assumptions, and opinions and consider them against the facts; (21) they are listening carefully to others and is; (9) they are able to provide feedback; (22) they see that Critical thinking is a lifelong process of self assessment; (23) they suspend judgments until all the facts have been gathered and considered; (24) they find evidence to support assumptions and beliefs; (25) they can adjust opinions when new facts are discovered; (26) they examined the problem closely; (27) they are able to reject information that is untrue or irrelevant.[1] In addition, there are 12 indicators of critical thinking skills that are divided into five major groups below: (1) Provides a simple explanation: a) focus on the question, b) analyze the arguments, c) asking and answering of an explanation or challenge; (2) build basic skills: d) to consider the credibility of the source, e) observed and considered a report of observations; (3)concluded: f) deduce and consider the results of deduction, g) induces and consider the results of induction, h) to make and determine the value of the consideration; (4) further explanation: i) define the term and consider the definition, j) identifying assumptions; (5) setting the strategy and tactics: k) determines the action, l) to interact with others. ASPECTS OF CRITICAL THINKING Critical thinking is a manner that can influence people. That influence is called Aspects of Critical thinking and that aspects are divided by the critical thinking process which has five phases. A full cycle of critical thinking, as described below, usually leads to another triggering event and another journey through the critical thinking process. New assumptions may be challenged, new information gathered and new approaches developed. As they pass through these phases, critical thinkers will engage the four components of critical thinking. At every point they identify and challenge old assumptions, analyze context, look for bias and seek alternatives. These phases lay as follow: Phase 1: Trigger Event. Most people are motivated to start thinking critically by some kind of external event or ideal. This is usually unexpected and causes some kind of inner discomfort or confusion. Trigger events can be both positive and negative. Phase 2: Appraisal. After the triggering event, an uncomfortable period of doubt may follow. This phase can involve an attempt to make light of a concern. Others may keep worrying through this stage, and decide they need to find another approach to dealing with the issue. Phase 3: Exploration. In this phase, people accept that they are moving toward some kind of change or transformation. They ask questions, develop options and make discoveries. They find out about other people who are dealing with similar things. They gather more information. Phase 4: Finding Alternatives. This phase can also be called the transition stage when old ideas are either left behind, or clarified, and new ways of thinking or acting are started. Decisions are made about how far change should go, and how fast. Phase 5: Integration. This phase involves finding ways to fit new ideas and information into everyday lives. In some cases this means making major changes. In other cases, it means confirming the old ideas. STAGES OF CRITICAL THINKER Critical thinking skill also has stages. These stages is a phase that Critical thinker will master the skills. There are 6 stages of Critical thinking laid out are as follows: Stage One: The Unreflective Thinker. Unreflective thinkers most are unaware of the role of determining that the thinking is to play in their lives and the many ways in thinking that the problems that caused the problem in their lives. Unreflective thinkers lack the ability to explicitly assess their thinking and improve it. Stage Two: The Challenged Thinker. Thinkers move to the â€Å"challenged† stage when they become initially aware of the determining role that thinking is playing in their lives, and of the fact that problems in their thinking are causing them serious and significant problems. Stage Three: The Beginning Thinker. Those who move to the beginning thinker stage are actively taking up the challenge to begin to take explicit command of their thinking across multiple domains of their lives. Thinkers at this stage recognize that they have basic problems in their thinking and make initial attempts to better understand how they can take charge of and improve it. Based on this initial understanding, beginning thinkers begin to modify some of their thinking, but have limited insight into deeper levels of the trouble inherent in their thinking. Most importantly, they lack a systematic plan for improving their thinking, they hence their efforts are hit and miss. Stage Four: The Practicing Thinker. Thinkers at this stage have a sense of the habits they need to develop to take charge of their thinking. They are not only recognizing that problems exist in their thinking, but they are also recognizing the need to attack these problems globally and systematically. Based on their sense of the need to practice regularly, they are actively analyzing their thinking in a number of domains. However, since practicing thinkers are only beginning to approach the improvement of their thinking in a systematic way, they still have limited insight into deeper levels of thought, and thus into deeper levels of the problems embedded in thinking. Principal Challenge is to begin to develop awareness of the need for systematic practice in thinking. Stage Five: The Advanced Thinker. Thinkers at this stage have now established good habits of thought which are â€Å"paying off.† Based on these habits, advanced thinkers not only actively analyze their thinking in all the significant domains of their lives, but also have significant insight into problems at deeper levels of thought. While advanced thinkers are able to think well across the important dimensions of their lives, they are not yet able to think at a consistently high level across all of these dimensions. Advanced thinkers have good general command over their egocentric nature. They continually strive to be fair-minded. Of course, they sometimes lapse into egocentrism and reason in a one-sided way. Stage Six: The Master Thinker. Master thinkers not only have systematically taken charge of their thinking, but are also continually monitoring, revising, and re-thinking strategies for continual improvement of their thinking. They have deeply internalized the basic skills of thought, so that critical thinking is, for them, both conscious and highly intuitive. As Piaget would put it, they regularly raise their thinking to the level of conscious realization. Through extensive experience and practice in engaging in self-assessment, master thinkers are not only actively analyzing their thinking in all the significant domains of their lives, but are also continually developing new insights into problems at deeper levels of thought. Master thinkers are deeply committed to fair-minded thinking, and have a high level of, but not perfect, control over their egocentric nature. TYPES OF CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS As explained before, critical thinking is a process of thinking about an idea or ideas in a methodical way and from a variety of angles. One method of thinking critically involves a series of questions to be applied to the idea under consideration. These questions can be broken down into three categories: (1) Questions which help us observe a text; (2) Questions which help us evaluate the text; (3) Questions which help us respond to and use (or apply) the text critically. First skill: Observation skills. Observation skills are the skill of someone to observe the case with given question. The question of observation can be divided into a two subcategories: (1) Those relating to the immediately sated assertion, reasoning, evidence, and conclusion; (2) Those relation to the derived meaning for the reader. Observational questioning includes the personal response of the reader since the reader constructs and in therefore part of the text. Here are some observation-based questions, those which help us identify the assertions, line of reasoning, and systematic explanations: 1. What are the meanings of the special terms in this text? 2. What is the point of the text, namely the authors conclusion (thesis)? 3. What evidence does the author give? 4. What is the actual path of reasoning offered? Second skill: Evaluation Skills. Evaluation Skills is evaluating the stated text in relation to the history of its ideas and imbedded beliefs and looking at contextual elements such as the method of gathering, evidence, the mode of presentation, the assumption behind the logic of the reasoning, and the events which led to the methods, presentational form, and assumptions. In other words, in evaluation questions, we historicize the stated text. Here are some examples of evaluation skill questions: 1. Are the meanings of the special terms ambiguous in any way? How so? 2. Does the evidence make sense? Why or why not? 3. Does evidence match the conclusions? If not, what might explain the mismatch? 4. Does the reasoning lead well from assertion through evidence to conclusion or are there gaps in the sequencing or ambiguity in the language? 5. What other conclusions might be drawn? 6. What other evidence might be brought to bear on the reasoning? 7. What other assertions might have been made? 8. Why might the author have left out evidence which changes the meaning of the text? Third skill: Critical Response and Application skills. To further reveal the mosaic of idea, evidence, and intention, the critical thinker will usually include him/her in some way part of the context, using a third set of questions. The following response/application questions lead to a critical understanding of the readers relationship to a text: 1. What is it about this text that interests me? 2. Did I agree or disagree strongly with the author any time during the course of reading the text? What is the precise language I disagree with? 3. Does the idea under consideration relate in any way to my own life or lives of people I know? How so? 4. Why I am interested in this text? 5. Is there something I might gain or lose by accepting the conclusion of the author? What is the gain or loss? 6. Do the values and beliefs of the author appear to match my own? If not, is this mismatch responsible for my judgment of the idea? The response/application questions, like evaluation questions, are â€Å"why† questions. They dig into the casual factors shaping ideas, evidence, methods, and presentational forms of thought. As such, they are the foundation of thoughtful critique and argumentation. HOW TO BE A GOOD CRITICAL THINKER Furthermore, the next topic is the way to be a good critical thinker. Here are the steps that can be followed by someone who wants to be critical thinkers. The questions related to each other following allows people to evaluate their own thoughts and ideas of others. If people use these questions with organized to assess their thoughts on various topics or evaluate ideas they find in articles, books, conversations and other places, they will come to the conclusion that an independent and credible. By using these questions on a regular basis, people learn to examine assumptions, facing prejudice, recognize different points of view, considering the meaning of the word, noting the implications of the conclusions and evaluate evidence.Each person can learn to think critically because the human brain is constantly trying to understand the experience. In continuing quest for meaning, the brain connects abstract ideas with real-world context.The following steps are presented in the form of a question. Because by answering questions, people involved in mental activities that they need to obtain a deep understanding. These questions are presented in the order thoroughly examine each problem, issue, project, or the decisions faced by the people especially the students in the face of learning in the classroom or personal experience.The steps of critical thinking are as follows: Ask questions; be willing to wonder. Always be on the lookout for questions that have not been answered in the textbooks, by the experts in the field or by the media. Be willing to ask whats wrong here? and/or Why is this way it is, and how did it come to be that way? Define the problem. An inadequate formulation of question can produce misleading or incomplete answers. Ask neutral questions that dont presuppose answers. Examine the evidence. Ask yourself, What evidence supports or refutes this argument and its opposition? Just because many people believe, including so-called experts, it doesnt make it so. Analyze assumptions and biases. All of us are subject to biases, beliefs that prevent us from being impartial. Evaluate the assumptions and biases that lie behind arguments, including your own. Avoid emotional reasoning: If I feel this way, it must be true. Passionate commitment to a view can motivate a person to think boldly without fear of what others will say, but when gut feelings replace clear thinking, the results can be disastrous. Dont oversimplify. Look beyond the obvious, rest easy generalizations, reject either/or thinking. Dont argue by anecdote. Consider other interpretations. Formulate hypotheses that offer reasonable explanations of characteristics, behavior, and events. Tolerate uncertainty. Sometimes the evidence merely allows us to draw tentative conclusions. Dont be afraid to say I dont know. Dont demand the answer. REQUIREMENTS TO BE A CRITICAL THINKER If there is a way, there is also a requirement. This matter also occurred in Critical thinking. These are 16 requirements to be Critical Thinker that must be fulfilled to reach the goal: (1) state and explain goals and purposes; (2) clarify the questions they need to answer and the problems they need to solve; (3) gather and organize information and data; (4) explicitly assess the meaning and significance of information you give them; (5) demonstrate that they understand concepts; (6) identify assumptions;( 7) consider implications and consequences; (8) examine things from more than one point of view; (9) state what they say clearly; (10) test and check for accuracy; (11) stick to questions, issues, or problems; and not wander in their thinking; (12) express themselves precisely and exactly; (13) deal with complexities in problems and issues; (14) consider the point of view of others (15) express their thinking logically; (16) Distinguish significant matters from insignificant ones.[2] APPLYING CRITICAL THINKING In peoples life there are many types of Critical thinking can be applied, but in this explanation will be focused just on two Applications. They are Application Critical thinking in Reading and American History. Apply to Reading (Critical Reading). One alternative to increase students critical thinking skills is to become familiar with critical reading. Habituation is not only done by teachers or Lecturers language (more specifically the faculty to read) but also by all teachers of all disciplines. Is not the modern learning process, in the field / discipline of any kind, theres always reading.There are equal parts between the activities of critical thinking with reading activities. Both require the brain works. The core activities of critical thinking are the use of reason in judging the truth of something. Similarly, reading activities, in which there is a process of reasoning to understand the meaning of written symbols. Thus, the process of learning and habituation to read is essentially a process of learning and habituation to think too. One type of reading activity in which obviously requires the ability to think critically is a critical reading. Critical Reading is the ability and willingness to assess claims and make objective assessments based on well-supported reason in the reading. These seven critical reading strategies can be learned readily and then applied not only to reading selections in a Literature class, but also to your other college reading. Mastering these strategies will help to handle difficult material with confidence. Annotating. Annotating is an important skill to employ if you want to read critically. Successful critical readers read with a pencil in their hand, making notes in the text as they read. Instead of reading passively, they create an active relationship with what they are reading by talking back to the text in its margins. And annotation is a key component of close reading. Since we will annotate texts all year, you need to develop a system Effective annotating is both economical and consistent. The techniques are almost limitless. Use any combination of the following: (1) Make a brief comments in the margins. Use any white space available inside cover, random blank pages; (2) make brief comments between or within lines of the text. Do not be afraid to mark within the text itself; (3) circle or put boxes, triangles, or clouds around words or phrases; (4) use abbreviations or symbols brackets, stars, exclamation points, question marks, numbers, etc; (5)Connect words, phrases, ideas, circles, boxes, etc. with lines or arrows; (6) underline (CAUTION: Use this method sparingly). Underline only a few words. Always combine with another method such as comment. Never underline an entire passage. Doing so takes too much time and loses effectiveness. If you wish to mark an entire paragraph or passage, draw a line down the margin or use brackets; (7) highlight See underline. You cannot write with a highlighter anyway; (8) create your own code. (9) Use post-it notes only if you have exhausted all available space (unlikely). Previewing. Previewing is learning about a text before really reading it. Previewing enables readers to get a sense of what the text is about and how it is organized before reading it closely. This simple strategy includes seeing what you can learn from the headnotes or other introductory material, skimming to get an overview of the content and organization, and identifying the rhetorical situation. Previewing is especially useful for getting a general idea of heavy reading like long magazine or newspaper articles, business reports, and non-fiction books.It can give you as much as half the comprehension in as little as on tenth the time. For example, you should be able to preview eight or ten 100-page reports in an hour. After previewing, youll be able to decide which reports (or which parts of which reports) are worth a closer look.Heres how to preview: Read the entire first two paragraphs of whatever youve chosen. Next read only the first sentence of each successive paragraph. Then read the entire last two paragraphs.Previewing doesnt give you all the details. But it does keep you from spending time on things you dont really want-or need-to read.Notice that the previewing gives you a quick, overall view of long, unfamiliar material. For short, light reading, theres a better technique. Contextualizing. The contextualizing is the way to placing a text in its historical, biographical, and cultural contexts. When you read a text, you read it through the lens of your own experience. Your understanding of the words on the page and their significance is informed by what you have come to know and value from living in a particular time and place. But the texts you read were all written in the past, sometimes in a radically different time and place. To read critically, you need to contextualize, to recognize the differences between your contemporary values and attitudes and those represented in the text. Questioning. Questioning is about understanding and remembering by asking questions about the content. Questions are designed to help you understand a reading and respond to it more fully, and often this technique works. When you need to understand and use new information though it is most beneficial if you write the questions, as you read the text for the first time. With this strategy, you can write questions any time, but in difficult academic readings, you will understand the material better and remember it longer if you write a question for every paragraph or brief section. Each question should focus on a main idea, not on illustrations or details, and each should be expressed in your own words, not just copied from parts of the paragraph. Reflecting. It means that reflecting on challenges to your beliefs and values by examining your personal responses. The reading that you do for this class might challenge your attitudes, your unconsciously held beliefs, or your positions on current issues. The steps are bellow: (1) As you read a text for the first time, mark an X in the margin at each point where you fell a personal challenge to your attitudes, beliefs, or status. (2) Make a brief note in the margin about what you feel or about what in the text created the challenge. (3) Now look again at the places you marked in the text where you felt personally challenged. (4) Then check the patterns that you see. Outlining and summarizing. Outlining and summarizing is identifying the main ideas and restating them in your own words. Outlining and summarizing are especially helpful strategies for understanding the content and structure of a reading selection. Whereas outlining reveals the basic structure of the text, summarizing synopsizes a selections main argument in brief. Outlining may be part of the annotating process, or it may be done separately (as it is in this class). The key to both outlining and summarizing is being able to distinguish between the main ideas and the supporting ideas and examples. The main ideas form the backbone, the strand that holds the various parts and pieces of the text together. Outlining the main ideas helps you to discover this structure. When you make an outline, dont use the texts exact words. Summarizing. Summarizing begins with outlining, but instead of merely listing the main ideas, a summary recomposes them to form a new text. Whereas outlining depends on a close analysis of each paragraph, summarizing also requires creative synthesis. Putting ideas together again in your own words and in a condensed form shows how reading critically can lead to deeper understanding of any text. Evaluating an argument. Evaluating an argument means testing the logic of a text as well as its credibility and emotional impact. All writers make assertions that want you to accept as true. As a critical reader, you should not accept anything on face value but to recognize every assertion as an argument that must be carefully evaluated. An argument has two essential parts: a claim and support. The claim asserts a conclusion an idea, an opinion, a judgment, or a point of view that the writer wants you to accept. The support includes reasons (shared beliefs, assumptions, and values) and evidence (facts, examples, statistics, and authorities) that give readers the basis for accepting the conclusion. When you assess an argument, you are concerned with the process of reasoning as well as its truthfulness (these are not the same thing). At the most basic level, in order for an argument to be acceptable, the support must be appropriate to the claim and the statements must be consistent w ith one another. Comparing and contrasting related readings. Comparing and contrasting related readings means Exploring likenesses and differences between texts to understand them better. Many of the authors on the subject of thinking critically approach the topic in different ways. Fitting a text into an ongoing dialectic helps increase understanding of why an author approached a particular issue or question in the way he or she did. Apply to American History. Being able to distinguish between a statement of fact, an opinion or an inference is an important skill to critical thinking. It involves knowing what can be proven directly, what is a legitimate implication derived from the facts, and what is fair to conclude from the historical record. Historians typically interweave statements of fact, inferences they derive from the facts, and statements of their own opinion into a seamless historical narrative. Critical thinkers must be able to distinguish among these three types of communication. (1) FACT: reports information that can be directly observed or can be verified or checked for accuracy. (2) OPINION: expresses an evaluation based on a personal judgment or belief which may or may not be verifiable. (3) INFERENCE: a logical conclusion or a legitimate implication based on factual information. Generally, facts are constants in historical study. But a compendium of facts is inevitably incomplete and deathly dull to read. Historians construct history by closing the gaps in their knowledge about the past, enlarge our under- standing, and enliven their narrative by drawing logical inferences from their assembled facts. Often, they then use their expertise to arrive at a considered judgment about the wisdom or significance of past decisions and events. ADVANTAGES BECOME CRITICAL THINKER Each good manner must have its advantages. If people have succeeded mastering Critical Thinker, he/she will get big advantages. Many advantages that they can get, ten of them is: (1) They will learn content at a deeper and more permanent level; (2) They will be are better able to explain and apply what they learn; (2) They will be better able to connect what they are learning in one class with what they are learning in other classes; (3) They will ask more and better questions in class; (4)They will understand the textbook better; (5) They will follow directions better; (6)of course, they will understand more of what you present in class; (7) They will write better; (8) They will apply more of what they are learning to their everyday life; (9)They will become more motivated learners in general; (10) They will become progressively easier to teach. Advantages in education Some research in education was indicated that critical thinking can prepare students to think in different disciplines, and can be used to fulfill the intellectual needs and development of potential students, because it can prepare students for careers in real lives (Liliasari, 1996; Adams, 2003). Furthermore, Chiras (1992, in Kurniati, 2001) explains that critical thinking that is learned in science class also affects the lives of students long after they leave their formal education by providing a tool where they can analyze a large number of issues they will face in their daily lives days. Unfortunately, the education system does not teach how to think. Education system more focused on delivering information rather than developing the ability to think. And yet the information into knowledge to analy

My Philosophy of Education Essay -- Teaching Careers Teachers Essays

My Philosophy of Education There are all different kinds of students and each of them deserve the chance at a fulfilling education that improves their self - esteem and self - efficiency in the world. Every child deserves a teacher that is fair and understanding of the different ability levels of each student in their classroom. This is my philosophy of education. In preparing to become a teacher who truly tries to understand the vast differences between children, I want to address the nature of students, the nature of knowledge, the purposes of public education, the methods of teaching, and the curriculum area that I am studying. First, I believe Rousseau?s theory of people being born with a blank slate. Children are not good or bad by nature. They are brought up in different households by different groups of people. I have noticed in my observing that there are shy children, rambunctious, leaders, followers, those who do neither they just play by themselves, the ones that talk all the time and those who only speak when they are called upon. These characteristics are not determined always at birth they are learned behavior. Some children are not allowed to talk at home unless they are spoken to, and you can tell when a child does not get much attention at home because they crave your attention in school. But, above all, children want to learn. When children enter elementary school, most of them are so open and creative, and these students need a teacher who will use that openness to keep that child interested in school. Secondly, the nature of knowledge. I believe that knowledge is relative and absolute. There are some people who can learn from experience and others that need to learn from memorization. I be... ...mentary school. And finally, I would have never passed literature in high school or college without learning what character, setting, and plot were in elementary school. The basics have never really changed since the beginning of public education and the time of reading, writing, and arithmetic. Teaching is probably the most important field a person could ever go into. I hope that I am a teacher who will not only benefit the overall education of the students who come into my classroom and make them better students, but that I will benefit and learn from each one of those students so that I can become a better person and teacher. With all the different types of students in the world, there is not one way to teach. I hope that I can learn to adapt myself to meet the educational needs of every student. If I did not do that, what kind of a teacher would I be?

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

A Torrential Downpour in the South Essay -- Descriptive Essay, Descript

What causes fascination? Perhaps it is our inherent curiosity of the unknown. Why then, do we often marvel at the most mundane of phenomena? Wherein lies the secret to this sensation of phenomenal wonder - the ability to perceive the ordinary with a unique sensual acuity? I cannot claim to have this aforementioned acuity, but I have endeavored on many occasions to hunt for the intriguing in what is plain - to experience ‘phenomenal wonder’. There are experiences which do not require acuity to fascinate us - the mystical. I have encountered much that is mystical, but the torrential downpoor will forever amaze me. I pity those who have not bathed in the torrential downpoors of the southern states, for such a shower cannot be found in the most elaborate of spas. Many northern states are deprived of the torrential downpoor, and for me to explain its splendor, I must first describe the atmosphere prior to it. During the summer, the south is like a clay pot in an oven. The land is dry, hot, and dusty. The heat convinces you that the mouth of hell is opening, with flames licking your feat as you walk. Entire communities pray for a miracle hailstorm to extinguish this incredible heat. It is apparent that no amount of praying will result in a hailstorm in the middle of July; rain, on the other hand, is quite possible. Meteorologists argue it is the natural order of things; poets and romanticists claim it is the will of thirsty land that prompts the sudden showers of the downpoors. I am not concerned with the cause of this heavenly precipitation, only interested in its result. The first torrential downpoor is like tasting a sip of water after days in the desert. The mouth of hell is closed and the flames smothered. You can smell ... ... looked innocent and tranquil. As the ferocity of the downpour would end, we would begin to open the windows. Chilly breezes would sweep magnificently through our house, almost as if the wind had a mind of its own. I swear that I have, on more than one occasion, touched the wind. Physicists may label my claim as impossible; others envy me. The wind is a spirit; it is like a hand that strokes the earth to soothe it; and if you were to use an innate acuity (which we all possess) the spirit in the wind will surely touch you. For me, the torrential southern downpoors have never lasted long enough. The cold dry winter would always come too early, and the downpoors begin too late. Perhaps that is why I savor every rain drop. I have tried to search for such ‘phenomenal wonder’, but I have yet to succeed in finding an experience more astounding than that of rain.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

How effectively does Shakespeare use scene 1 Essay

‘A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life’ this immediately tells the audience the tragic fate of the ‘lovers’ mentioned in the first 6lines of the prologue. Warning the audience of the sorrow and heartbreak that the play will lead to. Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is based on the hatred between two families, the Montague’s and The Capulet’s and how their anger and passion towards each other lead to the death of a beloved child from each family. Shakespeare uses Act 1, scene1 to introduce many of the main themes that appear throughout the play, these main themes are; Disorder, fate, light and Darkness, love and passion. Using this prologue Shakespeare is able to tell the audience the entire story line without them even watching the play. The line of the prologue beginning ‘A pair of star-crossed lover†¦. ‘ tells the audience straight away of the fate of the two characters involved. This set the scene for an inevitable ending whilst warning the audience what to expect, this is also back up throughout the play because as soon as one good thing beings disasters follows closely behind. Using prologues at the beginning of his plays, Shakespeare was able to capture and engage the audience’s attention and quieten them down before any of the main characters are introduced. The takes place in the form of a sonnet, this would have contained the classic characteristics of love poetry, this would have been a very successful way to introduce the play because not only would it have captured the audience’s attention and quietened them down, but Shakespeare would have used this prologue to give the audience vital information that they would have needed to understand the rest of the play. Shakespeare would have also been able to give the audience some idea of what to expect throughout the rest of the play. This was very effective as it used tight rhythm and rhyme designed to draw the audience in. The prologue at the beginning of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ beings ‘ Two House-holds, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona (where we lay our scene)’ and continues â€Å"Whose misadventured piteous overthrows, Do with their death bury their parents strife†¦ † so in these two short lines Shakespeare has told his audience who the characters are going to be and where the play is set. ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is set in Verona, Italy. Shakespeare chose this location because in the 16th century, Italy was regarded as a beautiful country, known for it wealth and romance, using these images and scene he had created in his head Shakespeare thought Verona would be the perfect place for ‘extravagant lovers’ Verona was one of the 4 most important states in Italy. Each of these states has its own ruler; these rulers would have been very competitive, trying to gain superiority over others. Shakespeare used this key theme in the play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ in the form of the Prince. The ‘Prince’ would have ruled the state and overseen all activities that take place, this would include quarrelling and feuding between any families that live in the state. Shakespeare picked this up in his version of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ making the Prince the ruler and the Montague’s and the Capulet’s the two feuding families. Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ was not a piece of William Shakespeare’s direct work; he had based all the ideas and storylines on a book he had read by Arthur Brooke, entitled ‘ The Tragic History and Romeus and Juliet’ written in 1562. The History of this particular story goes back even further, to a Greek author names Xenophon. Whilst re-writing this particular storyline Shakespeare decided he was writing the play for different reasons to the ones Brook had used. Arthur Brook wrote the poem to ‘warn young people of the dangers of physical attraction’ Shakespeare wrote his version because he was ‘more interested in considering the validity of true love’. Although Shakespeare had ‘copied’ the story from two other people he had changed it and added pieces to make it his own. For example, Marcutio, Benvolio and the nurse were not featured in Xenophon version or Arthur Brook’s version. Shakespeare had to do this because his audience would have known the original storyline and may have thought of Shakespeare as a fake, audience’s in this time period would not have ‘held back’ if they did not like the play they were being shown they would leave and cause havoc in the theatre. Not only did Shakespeare add characters, he added little parts of scenes to give the play more of an impact and reinforce the storyline. For example he added; a street fight, domestic scenes of food preparation, an incident with the musicians, Tybalt’s challenge to Romeo and the killing of Paris in Act5 scene 3. Act 1, Scene 1 opens with Capulet servants, Sampson and Gregory talking aggressively and violently in a busy market place looking for trouble, â€Å"†¦ and therefore women being the weaker vessels are ever thrust to the wall, therefore I will push Montague’s men from the wall, and thrust his maids to the wall†. The two servants them speak of the hatred and bitterness between to two families whilst discussing violent and crude images. This section also represents the high-lightered issue of violence, which occurs in different sections of the play. Not only is this section crude and vulgar, it shows how violent these men maybe towards women and man. It’s not long before a servant from the Montague family enters the scene, an argument sparks and the two ‘sides’ are soon shouting at each other. This shows the audience of the loyalty that the servants have towards their households. When the argument/ fight continue the audience are shown that everyone is willing to put their life on the line for the sake of their family name. This is also observed later on in the play when Romeo and Juliet realise for the first time they are from 2 different, arguing families. This argument prepares the audience for other quarrels and brawls further on in the play. â€Å"What, drawn and talk peace? I hate the word, As I hate hell, all Montague’s, and thee. Have at thee, coward† this particular dialogue spoken by Tybalt not only reflects the aggressiveness of his personality but tell the audience of the hate and bitterness between the two families. Shortly following these events Benvolio enters, † Part, fools! Put up you swords, you know not what you do† this shows the audience the peacekeeper in the play, the man that attempts to separate the two families and stop the brewing fight/argument. When this does not work Lord and Lady Capulet enter, followed by Lord and Lady Montague. Both the Capulet and Montague Lords want to join in the fight but are stopped by their wives, who tell them that they are too old. As the wives hold the pair back the Prince enters with his ‘men’. The Prince is seen as the figure of authority in the play; the person who controls all problems and is seen as someone who is capable of sorting out any feuding and arguments. He uses this ‘power’ in a long speech where he talks of past quarrels between the Montague’s and the Capulet’s and how it cannot continue. He does this to tell his audience that these ‘arguments’ are not a one off thing and happen regularly disrupting the people of Verona. The two families recognise the figure of authority and part, this shows the audience that the Prince is superior to all other characters. The Prince continues, † If ever you disturb our streets again, your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace† this is the only time that the Prince is seen as a threatening figure in the play, warning all members of the Capulet and the Montague household that if ever a fight breaks out again someone will pay the price with their life. The Princes language in this section is firm but at the same time, Shakespeare makes sure his audience wont view him as a threat to any of the other characters although he is. The Prince speaks in blank verse, to show he is superior and powerful and emphasises his intelligence. All the characters understand the Princes speech, but Romeo goes on the break the rule and is later banished from Verona although Romeo himself is not present when the fighting breaks out. This separates him from the rest of the characters making him seem detached from the families feuding and willing to carry on with his life without starting trouble every time he sees a member of the Capulet household. The scene continues, the Montague’s leave with the Prince and the Capulet’s are instructed to return to their homes, Montague, Lady Montague and Benvolio are left in the market place, here a conversation takes place about Romeo and how he seems withdrawn from all goings on. Benvolio is asked to investigate into why Romeo is behaving like this and the rest of the Montague’s leave. This is the first time the audience are introduced to Romeo when he begins his conversation with Benvolio. This is where the themes of love and passion are brought into the play. † With Cupid’s arrow, she hath Dian’s wit; And in strong proof of chastity well armed, From Love’s weak childish bow she lives uncharmed† Romeo is speaking in verse to tell the audience about his love for Rosaline but Benvolio is not convinced that Romeo is actually in love, Romeo complains because the woman he claims to love will not marry nor love him back. Benvolio tells Romeo that other women will come along and he should try hard to forget about her, Romeo listens to this although really he is not convinced. Romeo uses and elaborate way of speaking â€Å"†¦ Why then, O brawling love, O loving hate, O any thing of nothing first create! † but this indicates to the audience his emotions are artificial, not coming from the heart. The audience would now know that Romeo is truly infatuated with Rosalind and that it was not just a fling or something he wasn’t taking seriously. Throughout Romeo’s long speech to Benvolio he uses many oxymorons to emphasise what he thinks he is feeling. â€Å"Loving hate† and â€Å"cold fire† are perfect examples of when Romeo confuses himself with the overwhelming emotions he claims to have. The line â€Å"love sickness,† indicates to the audience that Romeo is almost infected with love for Rosaline and this may not be such a good thing. This would be showing the audience that love can to do terrible things to normal people, confusing the mind and turning and normal life chaotic. The light and Dark imagery is shown in the speech between Benvolio and Romeo but this is not mentioned until the audience is introduced to Juliet, Juliet is seen to be the light and Rosaline is seen to be the darkness that fills and confuses Romeo’s heart. This is where Shakespeare cleverly uses imagery to represent the two female characters in Romeo’s point of view. The other themes are continued throughout the play, from when Romeo and Juliet meet to when the both die together in the chapel of rest, where Juliet’s body has been placed. The theme of love however is resisted in Act 1 scene 5, when Romeo and Juliet fall in love and know they shouldn’t. The idea of courtly love is present through most of this scene, although Romeo and Juliet are not experiences this, the theme and ides is the same. The idea of courtly love originally came from a European tradition from the middle ages but still known in Elizabethan times. This was basically a set of rules/ expectations of people who fall in love. These rules stated a number of things this included â€Å"her coldness inflames the passion. He is consumed with melancholy and makes up verses about love† this is present in Romeo and Juliet towards the end when Romeo is desperate to see Juliet and in his last hours makes up several verses to calm himself and prepare himself to meet his wife, Juliet in heaven. The idea of marriage also originated in Europe and is also present in the play, this theme is only mentioned by Capulet once, when he is talking to Paris about his arranged marriage to Juliet. Juliet was pleased and honoured to have been asked to marry Paris until she meet Romeo, this is when she began to resent the arranged marriage. Capulet tells Paris the way to win his daughters heart, the themes of love and passion, light and dark and violence are continued throughout. Shakespeare very cleverly uses Act 1 Scene 1 to introduce these theme either through the prologue, what the first characters say or the actions and imagery that are used. Shakespeare was able to take all of this into account and still produce his own version of Brooks poem â€Å"The Tragic History and Romeus and Juliet.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Are sports hurting kids? Essay

Organized sports have a lot of effects on children, whether they be positive or negative. Children are still finding out who they are and what the world is like. I chose this topic because I wanted to know childrens’ motives to do organized sports, and what effects the sports have on the them. I wanted to know the reasons kids start playing sports and, while it may be different for every child, they all had to have had some say in it. Every sport has skills that benefit children such as learning leadership, creating realistic goals they can achieve and learning to get along with others. Children also learn about personal discipline. â€Å"What’s even more interesting is that kids derive those benefits whether or not they excel at their chosen sport† (Mary Forgione). When I first saw this quote I was really surprised over the fact that children learn these important life lessons even if they aren’t good at their sport. Ever since I had the chance, I played baseball. Why? I don’t really remember, but I do remember I enjoyed playing the entire time. Now, with my part-time job at Encore Gymnastics, I get to see kids clearly enjoying themselves while learning gymnastics So now I question my own reason for starting sports. So I want to know: What effects sports have on children physically, mentally and socially? In a lot of situations, parents force their children to do sports. They do this for a variety of reasons, including, learning to cope with defeat and staying humble with victories, making new friends, and gaining self-confidence. Or, for a less appropriate reason, perhaps hoping the child will get a scholarship so they won’t have to pay for college. Parents figure â€Å"My child will be a better person because of sports,† which most of the time is true. But if a child doesn’t enjoy their sport, in a lot of situations the child will become miserable. In some cases the child will go to extremes to make their parents happy, because the child thinks the parent only loves them because they play the sport their parent wants. When the child gets to choose that they want to start playing a sport, this is the best case scenario for a child to get all of the benefits that sports can provide for them. Sports also have an effect on the mindsets of children. â€Å"Youth who participate in organized sports during middle and high school do better academically and are offered greater job prospects than children who do not partake in sports activities†(Marilyn Price-Mitchell). As stated in this quote, children in sports usually do better in school and get better jobs. There are three main psychological aspects that affect children in sports. The intensity of child active in sports has a mental effect on them. The amount of time children spend doing sports each week is particularly important to whether they get positive or negative developmental outcomes from their participation in sports. Kids who spend more time in organized sports have greater benefits than children who participate at lower levels or not at all. With greater time commitment, children develop better mastery of skills and stronger knowledge of tactics and strategy than other children. This can lead to the development of strategic thinking which is helpful in all aspects of life, including the ability to find and excel in getting a job. No one can tell anyone how many hours of sports per week is the perfect amount. The important thing is that children who make a commitment to regular practice receive greater developmental benefits (Price-Mitchell). Another mental effect of sports on children is continuity. The stability and length of how children participate, both in practice and competition, across their adolescent years is also important. Studies suggest that intermittent participation during the middle and high school years is not as beneficial as continuous dedication. Making a commitment over time increases the likelihood that children will overcome challenges and obstacles in their performance. They also have greater opportunities to interact with teammates, learning to cope with the interpersonal challenges of working with others. This is an important aspect of developing an internal strength that lasts a lifetime (Price-Mitchell). The last main mental effect and possibly the most important aspect is balance. Achieving a balance between sports and other activities is what makes sports participation healthy. Studies show that greater developmental outcomes are obtained by children who spend time in activities other than their main sport interests. It’s not necessarily the numbers of activities in which youth participate but rather that they have activities other than sports. For example, one study found children who participated in sports and school clubs had lower rates of depression than kids who focused exclusively on sports. Other studies suggest that children who participate in activities that present real-world challenges, like volunteering in their communities, achieve greater developmental benefits. These activities encourage children to develop an identity and see a world beyond a game of winning and losing (Price-Mitchell). For parents and children to get desired effects from the child participating in sports, it requires the parent and the child to come to a middle ground of what they both want from the sport. Using this strategy allows the child to get the most out of the sport and stay close to their parents. If the child is only or mostly pleasing their parents with the choice to play sports, the child will not get all of the psychological effects explained above. On the other hand, if the child is only pleasing themselves with sports and their parents are disapproving. The parents may decide to stop financially supporting the child’s participation in sports, which will once again, stop the child of getting the most of the positive psychological effects explained above (Forgione). Children on teams find it easier to make friends with one another because of the camaraderie that occurs within the team. They also work together better when the kids on a team become friends, because they feel better when working with one another. Children on a team who also bond with one another will almost always play better. It you take a team with a lot of individual skill but not a lot of teamwork skills and place it against a team with less individual skill, but more teamwork skills. The team with teamwork will almost always come out on top. The reason for this, is the team with little teamwork won’t know how to work with one another and in turn, play worse than the other team (Development). Children in sports will more often adhere to rules compared to kids who don’t play sports. Kids in sports tend to follow rules because sports have fairly strict rules and people always watching to enforce the rules. Kids are more careful to follow the rules so the don’t get in trouble or get caught (Development). Parents should also be careful when signing their children up for sports; they should know their children’s attentiveness and physical readiness for such activities (Hughes). Sports should also not replace current free play activities of the child. For some children, informal play is much better for them. Not having set rules and harsh practice schedules is much better for these children. They flourish off of this kind of activity and putting these types of children into organized sports can actually harm them or cause depression. As I walked over to talk to Byron Beckes, my baseball coach from five years ago, he had just finished practice with his little league majors baseball team. I enjoyed the scenery with a bright blue sky and trees all around, and when I walked over to Byron he told the story to his team of when he was coaching me. We were in the finals of the in-house tournament. I walked up to bat with a man on second base and we were down one run in the bottom final inning with one out. First pitch came a little high and outside but I chose to swing anyway, As I ran to first base I saw the right fielder start to back up as fast as he could. But then he just turned around, stopped running and just stared at the ball as it flew over the fence. Coach Beckes still tells that story to some of the teams he coaches. I think it’s awesome that he still remembers me; he always says â€Å"How could I forget? † Then we started the questioning. Beckes proceeded to tell me that he has had many experiences with children fro the past 40 years or so and the one with me is one of the most memorable. â€Å"I love to help the kids develop skills that they can use to get to the next level,† he said. Beckes also told me that after being a coach for over 40 years, the aggressive competitive levels kids can get to can get really dangerous. â€Å"To the point where kids that are good friends off of the baseball diamond, could be very hostile toward each other on the diamond. † Beckes then explained that he definitely enjoys having a positive effect on kids while coaching them. He also thinks that being a good supportive coach that also makes the kids play their hardest is the best kind of coach one could be. He finished with saying â€Å"All kids can get their desired effects from sports as long as they exert themselves equally as hard,† Beckes explained. Kids can reduce their chances of become obese by playing youth sports. Youth sports promotes healthy habits that could last a lifetime. Staying active throughout their younger years can teach kids to stay active the rest of their life. Not only can they reduce body fat, but they can also build some muscles and boost metabolism (Morris). Participation in sports also get positive health effects like decreasing risks of high blood pressure, heart disease diabetes and some types of cancer. Kids who are successful usually go into more rigorous programs for sports which require long practice hours and pushing their bodies to the limit. The kids also, almost never realize the amount of stress they are putting on their bodies. Often when kids commit too much time into their sport then they are usually the ones who suffer from not being able to compete anymore. As long as kids are dedicated but don’t put their whole lives into their sport, the sport should be beneficial to the child and they should get the most out of their sport. Having children be overly intense in their sport at too young of an age can have bad effects on them for their adult lives and even not allow them to participate in their sport anymore (Ashley). Studies show sports have benefits in keeping kids positive, focused and in school. Kids in sports are less likely to use drugs, smoke and alcohol compared to kids who don’t participate in sports. Teenage girls in sports are also less likely to become pregnant. Sports and other physical activities activate the release of endorphins in the brain which boost mood and relieve depression. So children in sports are less likely to develop depression than kids not in sports. Sports also relieves anxiety. Girls who participate in sports have increased confidence and healthier bodies than girls who don’t. Children in sports develop better hand-eye coordination and balance than kids who don’t play sports. Better coordination leads to less problems with tendon and ligament injuries. Children who develop a strong core are less-likely to have injuries during their youth years. No matter how much athletes prepare for more serious injuries, such as fractures, dislocations and concussions, they can still happen. These injuries can all cause permanent damage and maybe even cause the athlete to have to stop playing sports. According to The Center For Kids First’s survey of 20,000 kids, 65 percent of them joined sports to spend more time with their friends and only 20% of kids said they joined sports to get better (Wilson). Professional sports has a lot of effects on the mindsets of children. Children get to thinking that professional sports is the way to the good life and how to get to riches and fame. In schools, sports are highly appreciated especially in high school. High school kids in sports are usually considered the â€Å"cool kids† and are considered that just because they play sports (Griffin). Well functioned recesses at schools can give more instructional time for the teachers because less recess-related problems between kids carry over into the classroom. Children with recesses that are longer than 15 minutes have less problems during class time and they behave better in class than kids that have shorter recesses. A well-functioning recess can support strong relationships among students, teach conflict resolution and other life skills. School principals are in a position of power for allowing students to have a strong and effective recess. â€Å"8 in 10 principals reported that recess has a positive impact on academic success†(Johnson) And â€Å"two-thirds of principals reported that students listen better after recess and are more focused in class†(Johnson). It has also been found that almost all principals say that recess has a positive impact on social development and general well-being. Even though recess has led to success, some schools cut recess time to meet testing requirements. Recess is linked to good student behavior but, most principals still take recess away for bad behavior. â€Å"When asked what would improve recess at their schools, they prioritized an increase in the number of staff to monitor recess, better equipment, and playground management training, in that order† (Johnson). This just shows how people just don’t realize how effective letting kids have physical activity time is. Recess time at schools is, in almost all cases, beneficial to the students. Schools should make recess time during school just as important as instructional time. Recess is the single biggest source of student disciplinary problems, But all it takes to fix that is to have the school manage their recess more effectively. There are simple steps in making sure children are kept healthy and flourishing off of sports and physical activities. When the parents and children are on the same page for what they want from the sport, the child will gain more from it. It is also proven that physical activity prevents some diseases and keep a child’s mind healthy. A child will also perform better in school if they do sports or have had a beneficial recess. As long as children enjoy their sport and keep free play activities alongside the sport, the child will mature efficiently and effectively.

Misunderstood Adolescents

Stereotypes of a group of people can affect the way society views them, and change society’s expectations of them. And with enough exposure to a certain type of stereotype, society may come to view the stereotypes more of the reality, rather than it being a â€Å"chosen representation,† which can cause a misunderstanding between people. The public’s perception of today’s teenagers, stereotypes them in such a way that portrays teenagers as â€Å"bad. † Teenagers are believed to be obnoxious and ignorant (moody, insecure, argumentative, impulsive, etc. because of how society sees the majority of teenagers. People believe that teens are rebellious, immature, and trouble for their parents. People tend to think teens are violent, reckless, and lazy. Many people do believe that strict eye should be kept around teenagers, especially those who tend to create problems or those who misbehaves. However we all do realize and know that not all teenagers are like that. Some may fall into the mentioned criteria, while others do not. I do understand, there are teenagers whose overall, general idea during their adolescence, is to have fun and â€Å"explore† during their younger years (like how many people say to enjoy your teenage years), but there are also teenagers who focus on more serious aspects of life. We cannot classify teenagers as adults when in reality, there are some who act like children, but at the same time, we cannot and or shouldn’t classify them as children either for the few of those who do act like adults. In my opinion, society bases their stereotypes on the teens they come into contact with as well as the ones that stand out from the rest. These portrayals trigger the â€Å"involuntary response† that all teenagers must be that way—a false assumption of both parents and teenagers. The negative stereotypes not only affect how adults see teenagers, but they also influence how teenagers see themselves. Knowing the feeling that the majority of the world doesn’t respect or understand teenagers does little when trying to encourage a positive sense of self-worth in themself. Believing in a stereotype has its disadvantages. I believe that it is in partly because of the misinterpretation and hugely overstated way teenagers are depicted through he media (in movies, television, etc. ) First of all, nobody likes being judged because of a stereotype. Nobody wants to be known as someone their not. Adults insist on stereotyping teenagers because they often act in stereotypical ways. For example, making generalizations that adults think they are no good and will do bad things just because they don't agree with them on a particular issue. Teenagers want their voice heard and with these stereotypes, however nobody’ willing to listen to their perspective or side of the story. So teenagers appear to be rebellious, when they get stubborn in attempting to get their point of view across. These stereotypes about teenagers are so common that, now teens do re-question about themself, in general, if they are bad. A personal experience that I had with how people viewed me in comparison with other teenagers on school campus, was just recently when I was a new student to Mclane High School. Coming from Clovis Unified, and knowing what I hear about McLane, I already knew that McLane wasn’t the best school or was in the best neighborhood as well. I would often hear stories about how students would ditch their classes and not even come to school, probably like come to school every other school days. And sadly, some not even able to graduate with their high school diploma. My first day on the McLane campus, I was especially shocked when I met up with a counselor and was ask if I was â€Å"planning to drop out of school, or attend college. † Obviously, I wanted to go to college, but knowing about how some of the students in McLane aren’t eligible to go to college, I took that more of a concerned question rather than a put-down comment. It’s true that teenage is characterized by having mood swings and or abrupt behavior due to â€Å"hormonal† changes, but yet it is the same for every teen in the world. Teenagers are more intelligent and skilled than what society â€Å"assumes† they are. During our adolescence, it is simply more of a phase transition into adulthood, where there are various reasons why we do and act the way we do, to be able to understand us, society should let teenagers themselves explain the stories behind the stories that people assume about them, and let people listen. Stereotyping teenagers (and or for any other group of people) doesn’t seem unjust, but yet it happens in society. Groups are misunderstood because people aren’t willing to listen to what one another has to say about their view, which causes confusion or we just start to assume based on what we know only (which is only one side of the full story).