Standardized Testing free essay sample

Standardized testing in the United States started in the mid- 1800’s (Standardized Tests ProCon. org). This kind of testing was originally created to measure students’ performance and progress in school (Standardized Tests ProCon. org). In recent years, the public school system has relied heavily on the information this test provides, in doing so creating controversy. Other than being a student myself, and participating in multiple standardized exams such as, CSAP, ACT, and SAT, I do not have much background knowledge on this debate. The debate over standardized testing has raised this inquiry question: What are the effects of standardized testing on the United States public education system? I believe that the effects that standardized testing has on the US public education system is good and bad. Within these articles if found common themes, including elements of objectivity and subjectivity, a rise in cheating, and measurement of student success. The different articles I used for my research were: â€Å"Why It’s Time to Get Rid of Standardized Tests†, by Noliwe M. We will write a custom essay sample on Standardized Testing or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Rooks, an associated professor at Cornell University, from Time Magazine, published on October 11, 2012 by The Time, Inc. The thesis of this article is â€Å"Standardized achievement tests unfairly advantage white and Asian students and disadvantage the rest† (Time, Ideas). The second article used was, â€Å"Is the Use of Standardized Test improving Education in America? † by ProCon. org, updated on October 15, 2013, published by Procon. org. The thesis of this article is, people who believe that standardized tests are good for the US believe that the tests are fair and objective. On the other hand, people who believe that standardized tests are not beneficial for the US believe that tests are not fair or objective. The third article I researched was â€Å"Do Standardized Tests Show an Accurate View of Student’s Abilities? †, by Concordia University in Oregon. The thesis of this article is standardized test could be beneficial to the US, but only if they are accurately showing results and â€Å"used to guide children in their learning† (Concordia University). The fourth article I used was, â€Å"Test Our Children Well†, by Ezekiel J. Emanuel, a vice provost and professor at the University of Pennsylvania, from The New Republic, created on October 7th, 2013, published by New Republic. The thesis of this article is if the US school systems used the â€Å"testing effect† (TNR) they would be able to used standardized tests effectively and without controversy. The last article I used for research was, â€Å"Are Exams Bad for Children? †, by Stephanie Schneider, a public school teacher in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Matt Christison, a high school principle, in the New Internationalist, in July/August 2013. The thesis of this article is both teachers arguing for and against standardized testing and the effects it has on students and education. Most of the articles I found acknowledged subjective risk in standardized testing. Source number one, â€Å"Why It’s Time to Get Rid of Standardized Tests†, states that because subjective testing has become a growing issue in standardized testing, if the US stopped â€Å"setting different educational benchmarks for groups based on race or income†, we would not have to â€Å"rely so heavily on standardized tests to begin with† (Rooks). Source number two, â€Å"Are Exams Bad for Children†, agrees that if the US was that interested in testing the success of all children, â€Å"then we would need to be clear that the current testing regime does nothing to address racial and economic inequalities and instead reinforces them† (Schneider 30). Source number three, â€Å"Is the Use of Standardized Test Improving Education in America† disagrees, stating that â€Å"standardized tests are inclusive and non-discriminatory because they ensure content is equivalent for all students† (Standardized Tests ProCon. org). Source number three also claims, if the US was to create alternative tests for minorities or students with disabilities we would only create â€Å"two, un-equal systems, one with accountability and one without† (Standardized Tests ProCon. org). Another theme presented in multiple articles was a rise in cheating. Source number one, â€Å"Do Standardized Tests Show an Accurate View of Students’ Abilities†, believes that because the push to do well on standardized tests is such a priority, â€Å"some institutions consider cheating† (Concordia University). Source number two, â€Å"Is the Use of Standardized Test Improving Education in America,† disagrees, explaining that cheating by administrators and students is not an issue, and not a reason to terminate standardized testing. This source also clarifies that â€Å"[i]t is likely that some cheating occurs, but some people cheat on their tax returns also, and the solution is not to abolish taxation† (Standardized Tests ProCon. org). Source number three, â€Å"Test Our Children Well†, proposes a solution that by using the â€Å"testing effect†, â€Å"teachers could develop new tests questions each week for each class†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Emanuel 10) and by doing so, will eliminate the opportunity for student to cheat on exams. The last theme I found presented in these sources is measurement of student success. Source number one, â€Å"Are Exams Bad for Children? †, explains that we can find better ways to measure a student’s learning abilities. Stephanie Schneider says, â€Å"More reliable methods of assessment can provide meaningful information that assist student learning, rather than a test that often serves as a punitive device† (30). The second source, â€Å"Test Our Children Well†, agrees that the â€Å"†¦right kind of assessments—frequent, short tests—can actually yield big educational benefits† (Emanuel 9). Source number three, â€Å"Is the Use of Standardized Test Improving Education in America? †, disagrees, and believes that the current standardized test system we use today â€Å"†¦[is] reliable and objective measures of student achievement† (Standardized Tests ProCon. org). Source three, also believes that â€Å"[s]tandardized tests provide a lot of useful information at a low cost†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Standardized Tests ProCon. org). Based on my findings and answering the question, what are the effects of standardized testing on the United States public education system? , the effects of standardized testing are both good and bad. Throughout the sources I researched and the common themes I found, some of the good effects presented were that standardized tests provided a good measurement of a student’s achievement, are objective, and hold students and teachers accountable. On the other hand I found that some believe that standardized tests only measure a fraction of a student’s abilities. They also believe that these types of tests cause a rise in cheating, so that the information they are supposed to provide is not even accurate. After my research I have concluded that the effects that standardized tests have on the United States public education system are more negative than positive. Since the 1800’s (Standardized Tests ProCon. org), standardized tests have been responsible to measure student success. In recent years, controversy has struck, asking, what are the effects of standardized testing on the United States Public Education system? Throughout my research I found common themes which include the following; elements of objectivity and subjectivity, a rise in cheating, and measurement of student success. Standardized Testing free essay sample So why do we still participate in something that has been given so much negative attention? On the one hand, perhaps, standardized testing provides a few key ingredients to successful education, and doesn’t deserve such negativity. For example, standardizing assessment eliminates testing bias, allowing every student the same opportunity to answer the same question. Students from Georgia learn and repeat the same historical â€Å"facts† as students from Utah. Students from poorer districts are judged by the exact same standards as those with greater socio-economic opportunities. In turn, this generates accountability both on the part of the teacher as well as the student, since academic success is measured by one carefully constructed variable. Teachers know exactly what they should teach, students know exactly what they should study, and school districts know exactly where their students should stand, and can compare that standing to the rest of America. If they find that their students are testing lower than students in Minnesota, or California, or Arizona, they can’t blame anyone but themselves—everyone follows the same standard. We will write a custom essay sample on Standardized Testing or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Everyone has access to the same materials. And yet, in our quest for standardizing a curriculum to limit testing bias and streamline the testing process, are we also limiting a student’s potential? I remember a high school teacher pulling me aside after I went â€Å"beyond the instructions† on a practice test in class. â€Å"You’re a great writer,† he said, but make sure you follow the directions no matter what. † And what if I thought I could answer the question without using the requisite road-map thesis statement? What if I wanted to subtly unveil my argument, unwrap it like an onion, rather than write my 1000th five-paragraph essay? â€Å"Just follow the directions,† I was told. â€Å"You’ll have plenty of time for creativity later. † The problem with brushing aside creativity for â€Å"following the directions† is that not every student tests well, not every student learns through the same teaching or studying methods, and not every student’s academic prowess can be judged by a streamlined platform. Some students go to college with artistic goals in mind; some need to be creative. And perhaps worst of all is that standardized testing inherently promotes the very bias it tries to eliminate: by making STEM classes (science, technology, engineering, math) the core for a standard curriculum, educators and legislators diminish the importance of liberal arts. Forcing teachers to teach to a standardized test, forcing students to take creative classes as electives (at best), creates a bias against the â€Å"value† of a liberal arts education. Still, standardizing tests for every student in America is efficient and cost-effective. It ensures that every student is at least learning something of value, and who’s to say that students can’t learn other ways of thinking? Maybe they’re artistically minded only because they haven’t really tried anything else? And in the end, what’s driving America the most? Science or English? Technology or art? In other words, are standardized tests a necessary evil? Should we leave a school behind because it can’t catch up? Should we limit a school’s academic pace? Either way you look at it, what to do with our educational system is a complex issue that isn’t easily resolved. Standardized testing free essay sample Standardized testing has assumed a well-known role in recent efforts to advance the quality of education. Regardless of where they went to school or what curriculum they followed, students are tested on the same material, which can be loosely grouped into knowledge domains and skill sets that encompass; natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, reading, speaking, writing, and mathematics. National, state, and district tests, combined with minimum competency, special program, and special diploma evaluations, have resulted in a greatly expanded set of testing requirements for most schools. By definition, a standardized test is a test where the same test is given in the same manner to all test takers. It is administered and scored in a consistent or â€Å"standard† manner. It is designed in such a way that the questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures and interpretations are consistent, and are administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner. 3 Using standardized tests to perform assessments is beneficial for several reasons. We will write a custom essay sample on Standardized testing or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page First, because standardized tests yield quantifiable information (scores, proficiency levels, and so forth), and results can be used in screening programs. Second, standardized test results provide information regarding an examinees areas of strength and weakness. Third, standardized test results allow a student to be compared to age- or grade-peers. And lastly, standardized tests can be used to assess students progress over time (e. g. , re-administering tests after the application of an intervention or following the institution of a remedial program the most significant benefit of results from a test given in a standardized fashion is that the results can be documented and empirically verified. This then allows for the results to be interpreted and ideas about an individuals skills generalized. Although standardized testing is beneficial in some situations, the validity and value of traditional standardized tests are subjects of increasing debate. Recent studies raise questions about whether improvements in test score performance actually signal improvement in learning. Student’s performance on one particular day and does not take into account external factors. There are many people who simply do not perform well on tests. Many of these students are smart and understand the content, but it doesn’t show on the test. Many students also develop test anxiety which hinders performance. Finally, there are so many external factors that play into test performance. If a student has an argument with their parents the morning of the test, chances are their focus isn’t going to be where it should be. In elementary schools less time is being spent on sciences, social studies and the arts to make way for  preparing the students  to take the tests in math, reading and writing. Teachers feel strong pressure, especially from district administrators and the media, to improve their students test scores. With the stakes getting higher and higher for teachers, this practice will only continue to increase. The sad reality is that it fosters an atmosphere that is boring and lacks creativeness. Teachers have such pressure to get their students ready for these exams that they neglect to teach students skills that go beyond the tests. But despite criticisms of standardized testing, the proficient teachers of today do not accept that their students have limitations, or are incapable of learning any given concept. Instead these teacher work hard every day to make material relevant for their children and develop lesson plans that speak to individual lesson plans. While both critiques and proponents of standardized testing could debate their sides all day, the need to assess students to determine both their progress and the progress of their teachers and schools is undeniable. Standardized testing evaluates students early in their education on their readiness both scholastically and behaviorally Students and their parents are able to measure at least generally their progress and areas in which they need. Standardized test shape people’s futures, so they need to be created fairly, so everyone has an equal opportunity to have a successful future. While the jury is still out on whether or not there is a better method of determining individual student progress. The need for a common measure to compare students to bring about change is still more present than ever. Standardized Testing free essay sample You wake up in the morning belated for the bus because of sleeping late. You arrive in school, forgetting to brush your teeth and comb your hair. When you are confronted with the test, you are so tired and you get a pink eye. The next event you know is that you fail the test. Do you want to fail for just having an inadequate day? Standardized testing may cause you to stay in the same grade just for having an inadequate day, not getting enough sleep, etc. Standardized testing should not be about whether you’re smart or not for the next grade, it should be about if the student is learning or not. I believe that standardized testing should not be used to promote student to the next grade only if they accomplish a score of 225 or above. Due to the fact that a standardized test is mostly on language arts and math; some people may not focus on science and social studies. We will write a custom essay sample on Standardized Testing or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Science and social studies are essential subjects in schools and are needed throughout your life. Social studies are important because it teaches about geography, different cultures and history from the past. Social studies also teach students how to be well-informed, critically thinking adults of their world. On the other hand, science is also very important because that’s what makes us human. Science teaches the fields of mathematics, physics, chemistry and life sciences. It builds up wealth of knowledge, info and data. It solves many questions of life like how does it work, why is it happening and what if. Science and social studies are not subjects that students should avoid because they are very important in many different ways. By not focusing and concentrating on these subjects, you are losing half of your studies. One example of this is if he or she wants to be a scientist, they will have to focus on that subject and show a lot of interest, because you can’t just read it and automatically get it. On the other hand, they have to study hard to get a score of 225 or above. So, this makes them study more on math and language arts than science. So, there may not be a big chance to be a scientist. To sum it up, standardized test shouldn’t be the cause to make a student go to the next grade for having a score of 225 or above. Another thing to consider is homework. By making standardized test a way to romote a student to the next grade level, the student may not do their homework in other subjects. The teachers may not motivate the students to do their homework, because the student’s grade depends on what they get in standardized testing. This will make the students slack off by not doing their homework. Following that, students may concentrate on studying than doing their homewor k. Doing homework is very important because it helps you to remember the things you learned in class. Homework takes the learning experience and lets you apply the essential critical thinking skills. Also homework is important because it teaches children discipline. It helps you budget the time for your activities and homework. By doing homework you keep your brain functioning at a high level throughout the rest of the day and life. For example, if a student doesn’t do their homework, they might forget the information they learned in the class. This will affect them when they are adults because by doing homework it will exercise their brains, teach discipline and teaches you critical thinking skills. These aspects are needed when you are older and work. Even though, there are some disadvantages of homework, homework has a positive impact in education. Doing homework, will not waste your time, it will make you gain more knowledge about the subject. These reasons should be strong enough to persuade the educational researchers to not make standardized test the way to promote the students to the next grade. Even though, standardized test should not be a way to promote a student to the next grade there is also a positive impact in doing so. The advantage is that standardized test is a way to prepare you for more advanced tests in high school such as SATS and ACTS. By making this a way to promote a student to the next grade, this will make the students get better idea at writing essay and how the people will grade it. They also get an idea how to improve their skills in math and get an idea what question will be coming their way. Altogether, this will improve the student’s skills in language arts and math, which are important subjects during the tests. These subjects are important throughout our life. It will intact you to work harder and concentrate on the tests throughout the course of the year. For example, if you don’t study and don’t take the test seriously it will impact you when you take more advanced exams. You will have difficulty when studying and taking the test. Following that, standardized tests make you more independent. Since, throughout the year you have gotten your teachers help and this is the time that â€Å"you† use your knowledge that you learned in to the task. When taking the test you are all by yourself and you are the teacher for your own brain. There is no teachers help; it is just you and your brain during the test. By being more independent you will have an advantage that when you’re in college and studying for all the tests. Standardized test may not always be defective it may be affective in some cases. I believe to make standardized testing not a way to promote a student to the next grade. Students should focus on all subjects not only one or two. They should have motivation from the teachers to tell them to do all of their homework. However, standardized testing also has a positive impact in education. The students should be the next generation of adults and they have got good education to make this happen. Which side are you on?

The Gratefull Dead essays

The Gratefull Dead essays In San Francisco, on August 1, 1942, Jerome John Garcia was born. This marked the beginning of a long strange trip. Jose Garcia, Jeromes father named his son after his favorite Broadway musical composer, Jerome Kern. Tired of the name Jerome, Jose and his family began to call him Jerry. Garcia was surrounded by music as a child. His father would play him to sleep at night. His mother listened to opera and his maternal grandmother loved country music. Family gatherings tended to be musical, too, for his fathers side of the family would gather round and sing songs together. Young Jerry and his family took a trip to the Santa Cruz Mountains in California, when he was four; he and his brother were given the job of splitting firewood for the family that night. Horsing around, Jerry and Tiff were teasing each other while chopping the firewood. Jerry accidentally placed his hand in the way of the axe, lost half of his middle finger on his right hand. He screamed. I screamed. We both screamed. It was an accident. I didnt do it maliciously. I was a kid. I was eight and Jerry was four. We were little guys. Missing half a finger, Jerry had to press through life learning different types of instruments. He used his disability to his advantage by striving harder. A year after the loss of Jerrys finger, tragedy struck the Garcias again. Fly fishing in a river, Jose Garcia suddenly lost his footing and was swept away by the raging current. After his fathers death Garcias life changed forever. Moving in with his grandmother who had a strong passion for country music gave Jerry a huge influence for that style of music Turning fifteen, Jerry got turned on to marijuana. Me and a friend went up into the hills with two joints, and just got so high, laughed and roared and went skipping down the streets doing funny things and just having a helluva time, said Garcia. Garc...

Beowulf Essay Questions Example For Students

Beowulf Essay Questions A hero is defined in classical mythology as a man, especially the son of a god and a mortal, who is famous for possessing some extraordinary gift. Beowulf, the title character of an epic poem and Superman, a more modern day hero are both prime examples. Beowulf and Superman exhibit several differences, but they also share some similar qualities. Beowulf possessed great strength that separated him from other men. Being able to use a sword that no ordinary man was able to carry gives the feeling that Beowulf is something more than a human being. It makes him special and causes him to stand out from all other men. Fame is something that makes a hero more noted. Beowulfs popularity had spread all over the world. He never let this go to his head and he never thought that he was better than everyone else because of it. By engaging in this foolish contest, Beowulf nearly got himself killed trying to prove he was better than Brecca. Jealousy is never a good trait, especially for a hero. Reve nge is never a trait of a true hero. A hero has no scores to settle. A true hero should fight only to protect others and not out of his own rage. Also, with Beowulf being a human being, he was not invincible. Beowulf didnt realize this until he fought the dragon. He knew nothing of the dragon, its strengths, weaknesses or powers. Beowulf found out what the dragon was capable of and what its powers were. He knew that it could breathe fire, so he got a shield that would protect him. He planned his attack and thought it trough carefully. He was doubtful about himself and knew that this battle would be his last. Superman, also known as Clark Kent, is one of the most popular modern day hero(not as cool as Batman mind you but relates better to Beowulf). Superman spent most of his time saving people from natural disasters and corrupt businessmen. He would level slums to force the city to build decent housing, and he would use his powers to terrorize munitions makers and evil monsters. When Superman encounters Kryptonite for the first time it first appears as a green glowing substance, which Superman uses his powers on to trace its origin. Superman then pays for his discovery of Kryptonite when Luthor learns to synthesize it, causing it to be a very dangerous threat to superman. Gravity of Earth did not prove to be a good enough reason for Supermans powers, thus they attributed his super-senses to the yellow sun radiation, and his muscular strength, speed, and flight due to the Earths gravity. Due to the new explanation of his powers, Superman no longer had super powers on a world without a yellow sun. Lex Luthor and other villains began to create weapons that used red sun radiation which made Supermans life miserable. During the course of the battle for Truth and Justice, man and sword came together at last. Holding the sword, Superman found himself expanding, spreading across the winds of the universe. The entire history of creation flooded his mind, and his consciousness expanded as he became and all-seeing and all knowing protector. He then released the sword. The sword told him of his greatness, and then headed back into space waiting for him to retrieve it and fulfill his destiny. He had gone from being just one of many super-beings from a super-planet, to being one of the best heroes of the human race (Batman is the best). Beowulf and Superman exhibit several differences, but they also share some similar qualities. In our time, they are both considered to be extraordinary heroes.

Health economics Charles e phelps,, Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Health economics Charles e phelps,, - Essay Example A risk premium is the average expected loss. Ua represents the utility function of an averse person showing the level of satisfaction at income level Ia. X is the risk premium. The graph above represents the levels of satisfaction of two individuals with different levels of income. Io is the expected value. From the graph, Ia is less than Io meaning that the averse person receive a low income and consequently has a utility level that is lower than the expected utility. In the expected benefit calculation, where â€Å"m† is the medical treatment, Pm is its price, f is the probability that an event will occur and C is the co-payment rate, why does it matter that M depends on C? This is because co-payment helps in the reduction of medical care consumption costs. Without copayment, an individual may not be able to access and afford medical treatment. Copayment is also important when it comes to covers relating to medical services since it helps an individual to prevent unwanted expenses. Therefore, when calculating an individual’s expected benefit, all expenses and benefits incurred or gained on medical services have to be considered. Copayment has to be considered since it covers an individual’s medical expenses and that is why M depends on C during calculation of expected benefit. This is the trend of individuals with risky lifestyles or jobs to acquire life insurance. It can make the insurance company face screening and signaling problems. Insurance is always more likely bought by individuals who are prone to higher risks than those with low risks. Insurance firms try to reduce the adverse selection problems of having those who insure big risk buying their product. They do this through adjusting prices and measuring risk. Consequently, life insurance firms need medical documents and will not give policies to individuals who have long term illness.

The American food stamp program should continue and the World Food Term Paper

The American food stamp program should continue and the World Food Program should continue supporting and funding it - Term Paper Example erly people or the disabled.   In contrast with other means-tested initiatives that are specific to certain groups of low-income families/individuals, almost all low-income households can benefit from the program. This paper will attempt to explore and divulge the benefits of the program and why it deserves to be funded long-term; all this while the aim will be to defend and support the enthymeme that has been stated above. 1.0 Introduction According to Ohls & Beebout (2009), the food stamp program is an initiative of the American government that was initiated in 1989. Since then it has become a central component of America’s public assistance system that serves over 30 million participants of low income families and has outlays of over $25 billion. It is primarily meant to offer some form of assistance to low income families and low income households on the sole basis that they require financial aid to have meals and eat irrespective of age, race, creed, sex and disability (Ohls & Beebout, 2009). It is also viewed as the cornerstone of almost all nutrition aid programs initiated by the federal government, as well as being the core line of defense against poor nutrition, hunger and if necessary, starvation. The program helps s lower-income families acquire a variety of food products at retail (Slomba, 2008). It is also referred to (officially) as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and there are two key aspects that are examined in order to determine one’s eligibility. These are assets and income (Ronald, 2007). The other criterion applied is the gross income redline, which is set at a certain percentage of the poverty level (usually 130%). In 2009, federal taxpayers contributed $56 billion towards the program, more than three times the $18... According to the research findings the food stamp program is an initiative of the American government that was initiated in 1989. Since then it has become a central component of America’s public assistance system that serves over 30 million participants of low income families and has outlays of over $25 billion. It is primarily meant to offer some form of assistance to low income families and low income households on the sole basis that they require financial aid to have meals and eat irrespective of age, race, creed, sex and disability. It is also viewed as the cornerstone of almost all nutrition aid programs initiated by the federal government, as well as being the core line of defense against poor nutrition, hunger and if necessary, starvation. The program helps s lower-income families acquire a variety of food products at retail. It is also referred to (officially) as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and there are two key aspects that are examined in o rder to determine one’s eligibility. These are assets and income. The other criterion applied is the gross income redline, which is set at a certain percentage of the poverty level (usually 130%). In 2009, federal taxpayers contributed $56 billion towards the program, more than three times the $18 billion it cost them in 2000. Also in 2009, a household of four was guaranteed a maximum monthly stipend of $668. Currently, the number of beneficiaries is almost 30 million, marking a huge rise since the 17 million recorded in the year 2000.

Common Ground on Child Beauty Pageants Essay Example for Free

Common Ground on Child Beauty Pageants Essay I’m sure you all have seen the TV show â€Å"Toddlers in Tiaras.† It is a show about young children competing in beauty pageants to win a place in a higher ranked pageant, money, and the ownership of a winning title. Many people think differently about the show and the pageants. Some are all for the pageants and some are against them. People who are against the pageants complain that they should be eliminated because they exploit children and place them in harm’s way. They claim because of major dangers; no one under the age of eighteen should be placed in a beauty pageant. The children who are in the pageants are dressed up in adult’s clothing, have piles of make up on, and are harming their bodies. They are harming their bodies by putting the make up on and tanning. By putting make up on at such young of an age, their face ages faster. By tanning, they begin to get that urge that some adults have to tan, which makes their skin age and have wrinkles early. It also puts them at the risk of having skin cancer at an early age. They say it also appeals the children to sexual predators. When a child is half naked on stage and sometimes on TV, these sexual predators see them and may even try to meet them. Sexual predators are only part of the problem. Studies show that every child who may benefit from the competition, hundreds of others suffer damage to their self-esteem and have warped self-vision of themselves and their bodies. Many times, they use JonBenet, a young child who competed in these pageants at the age of six. She was murdered in the basement of her home by a sexual predator. The suspect claimed he became aware of her by the pageants being on television. People who are for the pageants and the TV shows claim that it brings their children fame and confidence. When a child has worked hard on a routine and they get on stage and accomplish it, there is no better reward than the applause and praise from the audience and family. Some also say that the tanning and make up does not harm their skin, it just makes them feel prettier. Someone once told me that when a person looks at themselves in the mirror, and they have their hair and make-up done, they feel better about themselves. That is what many moms claim their children feel whenever they have their make-up done, outfits on, and hair done. Moms of pageant children say that when their child has worked hard, and they have their name called on stage for a winning title, there is no happier feeling. They have worked and accomplished their goal. Call it what you want, but people have their own opinions. Some people think pageants hurt a child, and some think they help a child. Both of them could be right, depending on the child’s standpoint. If a child’s dream is to be in pageants, I would let that child fulfill their dream. What would you do? Works Cited Page Hilboldt-Stolley, Lise. Pretty Babies. Good Housekeeping 228.2 (1999): 102. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 10 Dec. 2012.

A Government Older Than Its Country Essay -- Greek and Roman democracy

Although almost everything in American architecture, language, military concepts, and ideals can be traced back to both Roman and Greek cultures, the single most influential concept that has been retained from Rome and Greece is government set-up. Either the direct democracy of Greece or the elective democracy of Rome can be seen in modern America. Although seen more and more rarely in the United States, direct democracy still exists today. Direct democracy means that each person votes on decisions individually, as opposed to representative democracy in which an elected individual makes, or helps make decisions. This can be traced back to ancient Athens. When farmers and the working class became angered by the laws passed by Greece's wealthy, Great Council, they pleaded for demos kratia, which translates to democracy in English, and can be defined as; government by the people, " Gradually, Athenian leaders agreed that more Greeks should be allowed to participate in the Great Council's decision-making process"( dsusd.k12.ca.us). Currently, this form of government, which was admonished by the founders of the United States Constitution, is not seen frequently in the United States. Few examples can be seen, such as town meetings, voting in parent teacher associations, or other small town decisions where the amount of votes are abl e to be counted by hand in a short meeting. However, since many believe that The concept of democracy was started in ancient Greece, but the system held what one may even relate to the checks and balances of modern America. One of the most notable of these was The Boule, " The boule was a group of 500 men, 50 from each of ten Athenian tribes, who served on the Council for one year"( history.com). This ... ...ent/>. The Editors of Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica. "Roman Republic (ancient state [509 BC-27 BC])." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Dec. 2013. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. . History.com, Staff. "Ancient Greek Democracy." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 1 Jan. 1996. Web. 1 May 2014. . "Sources of Ideas That Shaped The American Plan of Government." . Desert Sands Unified School District, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. . Trueman, Chris. "How was Rome governed." How was Rome governed. N.p., 1 Jan. 2000. Web. 1 May 2014. .

How Socioeconomic Status of Parents Affects Kids

How socioeconomic status of Parents affects their Children’s Development in Academics It is obvious that most people have set beliefs on when they see a family of a low socioeconomic class that their children will grow up to be the same as their parents. People believe that they will not be as likely to do well in school or even in the real world. Many psychologists have done studies that have proven that this assumption is right for the most part. Children that have parents, family and neighbors of lower socioeconomic status tend to not do as well in school as their peers of a middle or upper socioeconomic status. Duncan, Kato, Brooks-Gunn & Klebanov, 1993) (Duncan, Kato, Brooks-Gunn & Klebanov 1993) conducted a study to determine whether a child’s socioeconomic status had any correlation with their academic development, ethnicity and if they were raised by a single parent. (Duncan, Kato, Brooks-Gunn & Klebanov 1994) They hypothesized that children of a lower socioecon omic, status and neighborhood would have a direct relation to lower IQ of the children they measured at age 5. They measured each child in their study at age 5 from all of the different socioeconomic, ethnic, and parental backgrounds. They found a strong correlation of a person’s economic status and economic status of the people around them to their IQ. (Barry 2005) also did a study that involved whether or not socioeconomic status had any relevance on whether a child would have better or worse test scores in 10th grade on a standardized test based on the child’s economic status. He hypothesized that children of a lower economic status or of a Hispanic, African American, or Indian will tend to have lower Scores than children of white children with a higher socioeconomic status. His results show that the strongest predictor of student test scores is socioeconomic status. (Barry 2005) He states that ethnicity combined with economic status plays a large factor in how well the students did on the SAT standardized test. For example, in 1991-1992 African American students placed significantly lower on the SAT than White students. (Barry 2005) Janet Currie and Joshua Goodman have also done a study in that they were looking for a correlation between socioeconomic status of a child and how well they would perform on certain standardized tests. Their results have shown the same positive correlation as in the other two articles. (Investments in education pay off in the form of higher future earnings, and differences in educational attainments explain a significant fraction of the adult variation in wages, incomes, and other outcomes. But what determines a child’s educational success? Most studies point to family background as the primary factor. But why does background matter? While many aspects are no doubt important, research increasingly implicates health as a potentially major factor. The importance of health for education and earnings suggests that if family background affects child health, then poor child health may in turn affect education and future economic status. ) (Currie, Goodman) After reviewing both ideas of ethnicity and socioeconomic status having or not having a measurable outcome on academic proficiency, psychologists are able to determine that while not 100% of lower economic status students and ethnic students performed worse an overwhelming majority didn’t perform as well as their upper economic status or white peers. References Barry (1994) The effect of socioeconomic status of academic Acheviement Wichita State University, Thesis Paper Duncan, Kato, Brooks-Gunn & Klebanov (1993) Economic deprivation and Early childhood development Currie, Goodman (ND) Parental socioeconomic status, Child Health, and Human Capital

Injustice in the Education System Essay

Educational inequality takes place where the worth of education accessible to pupils is directly related to their class. Unequal allocation of resources to children with different socioeconomic status backgrounds has been linked to lower test scores and low college enrolment rates. However re cent researched proved that as of the moment there are three preeminent educational injustices that infects almost all kinds of education systems, and these are: Educational promotion inequalities (or) Arbitrary tracking systems, racial categorization (gender, geographic, institutional) and Displacement of control (misallocation, disproportion, unresponsive. ) In the U. S. , school quality and availability of resources are determined by the amount of funding that schools receive. The amount of funding schools receive is determined to a large extent by property taxes paid by homeowners; close to half of property taxes go to nearby school districts( Braddock,1990). Property tax dilemma The more affluent a neighborhood, the higher the property taxes, and the higher the funding for that school district is. Although this situation seems favorable, the problem emerges when the equation is reversed. In neighborhoods inhabited by predominantly working and lower class families, properties are less expensive, and so property taxes are much lower than those in affluent neighborhoods. Consequently, funding for the schools districts that working and lower class children are assigned to is also significantly lower than the funding for the school districts that children of affluent families are assigned to. Thus, students in working and lower class schools do not receive the same quality of education and access to resources as do students from affluent families. The reality of the situation is that distribution of resources for schools is based on the socioeconomic status of the parents of the students. As a result, the U. S. educational system significantly aids in widening the gap between the rich and the poor, a gap that has increased, rather than decreased, over the past few decades due to lack of social mobility (Haycock,1987). Wage gaps Wage gaps for paid work-one form of disadvantage and oppression based on gender- though slowly shrinking, persist in the united States and across the globe. Social mobility Social mobility refers to the movement in class status from one generation to another. It is related to the â€Å"rags to riches† notion that anyone, with hard work and determination, has the ability to move upward no matter what background they come from. Contrary to that notion, however, sociologists and economists have concluded that although exceptions are heard of, social mobility has remained stagnant and even decreased over the past thirty years (NEA, 1990). Some of the decrease in social mobility may be explained by the stratified educational system. Since the educational system forces low-income families to place their children into less-than-ideal school systems, those children are typically not presented with the same opportunities and educational motivation as are students from well-off families, resulting in patterns of repeated intergenerational educational choices for parent and child, also known as decreased or stagnant social mobility(Lareau, 2003). Other factors Social immobility expresses itself in lower class children who follow in the same footsteps as their parents, mainly not obtaining higher education. The result of such choices is that the poor remains poor and the rich go to college. Reasons for poor children opting to not pursue college range from a variety of different explanation. Lower class children have not grown up with the same expectations of life because these have not been instilled in them by their parents, or most importantly, by the educational system. The U. S. educational system fails its lower-income students by not providing them with the same access to resources and opportunities as it does to its more affluent students. Furthermore, several studies have shown that programs such as gifted education and tracking (education) further manage to separate those with higher level skills from those with lower level skills, which often happens to be the rich from the poor. In fact, the vast majority of children in gifted student programs happen to be middle-class Caucasian. This is not to say that poor students are not as smart as rich students, but it does imply that they have not received the same opportunities in childhood to develop certain skills. Middle and upper class students grow up with parents who foster their intellectual and educational development by engaging in a child raising approach known as concerted cultivation. This approach values education and learning, and parents engaged in this form of parenting value visits to the museum, extracurricular activities, homework, tutoring, and reading to their children. Furthermore, middle and upper-class parents can afford to place their children in significantly better childcare centers before they enter grade school. As the Carolina Abecedarian Project (below) found, these are essential elements in future educational and life successes. Evidence for the unequal distribution of college students’ socioeconomic status can be seen by examining college enrollment rates and demographics. One study examined the top 146 colleges in America and found that the average student representation on the colleges was the following: 75% of students came from socioeconomic backgrounds consistent with the richest 25% of the population. Less than 5% of students came from the poorest 25% of the population (Leonhardt, & Scott,2005). Zoning as a new injustice PS 194, the Countee Cullen School, is nestled in the heart of Harlem in Community School District Five, one of the poorer districts in New York City. On March 20, it was the scene of a tense hearing. The full school auditorium was fiercely divided into two camps — on the one side, parents of PS 194 students fighting to keep their neighborhood school open, and on the other side, Eva Moskowitz and her supporters demanding that the entire building be turned over to her Harlem Success Academies. Behind that conflict was the New York City Department of Education — and not just because it was the DOE which was planning to replace PS 194 entirely with one of Moskowitz’s schools. There is a long and sordid record of DOE neglect and underfunding of PS 194 — it had one of the largest class sizes in CSD 5 and on average 7 more students per class than Moskowitz’s schools — and of the imposition of a series of ineffectual principals — five over the last five years. Yet despite all that, PS 194 was a school that had met its Annual Yearly Progress Benchmarks under No Child Left Behind and was in good standing with the New York State Education Department until last school year. And still the DOE has decided to close it down based solely on the school’s failing grade on the city’s School Progress Reports. One can not help but wonder if that is a decision being made not on academic merit, but out of a desire to create new space for the schools of a politically powerful former city councilwoman (Gootman, E. & Gebeloff, 2008). On March 17 of this week, parents of students from PS 194, together with parents of students from two other New York City public schools — PS 241 in Harlem and PS 150 in Ocean Hill-Brownsville — joined representatives of the Community Education Councils for those schools, the New York Civil Liberties Union and the UFT in filing suit against the Department of Education over its plans to close all three schools and replace them entirely with charter schools. The law suit charges that by closing these three schools and not replacing them with new district schools, the DOE is illegally eliminating the school attendance zone for the three schools. All zoning changes must, by statute, go through the Community Education Councils for the district. PS 194, PS 241 and PS 150 have a few things in common. First, they serve a significantly poorer student body than the rest of their district and the city as a whole — one of the schools, PS 150, has 97% of its students receiving free lunches. Second, they have significant numbers of English Language Learners in their student population — one of the schools has as many as 1 in 5 students in that category. And lastly, two of the three schools —PS 150 as well as PS 194 — were meeting their Annual Yearly Benchmarks under No Child Left and were in good standing with the State Education Department through 07-08. The third school — PS 241 — went from a ‘B’ on its NYC School Progress Report last year to a ‘D’ this year, meaning that the decision to close it was based on a single year’s drop in test scores. These schools and their neighborhoods need additional supports and resources, not the abolition of the neighborhood school (Walker, 1986). So what can be done to create this open contest? First I say we need to educate teachers on the cultures of the children they will teach, and to break down old stereotypes and biases. Teachers need to believe that all students can learn in order to make a difference; student motivation isn’t the only factor. Tracking needs to be reworked into something that takes advantage of its strengths, such as offering a faster pace for those who can handle it, but doesn’t limit those who fall into lower tracks. Most important is that schools need to mix students of different races and abilities. By mixing races in classrooms, the schools will help educate students about each other’s cultures and reduce racial tension in society, and by mixing students of different abilities lower tracks will keep up with upper tracks. Black students have been held behind for too long, and this is what needs to be done to let them back into the open contest (Epps, 1970). Privileges are preserved Why are students from privileged backgrounds more successful in schooling, and why do these advantages persist over time? WCER researcher Adam Gamoran says economic, cultural, and social differences combine to preserve privilege across generations. Signs of change in economic inequalities affecting schooling are modest. Policymakers increasingly recognize that unequal school financing across school districts is unfair, and some are taking steps to reduce these inequalities. But this trend will do little to reduce the major advantages students from families with more economic resources have over students from families with fewer resources. The most important resources tend to operate at the individual level, so they are unaffected by changes in the redistribution of collective funds for education (Gamoran, 2001). Gamoran says it’s difficult to predict how a rigorous system of testing on a national scale will affect trends in educational equity. In the short term, using a standardized test as the sole criterion for high school graduation would drastically reduce rates of high school completion among Blacks of all social classes. Why? Because among Whites and Blacks of the same social class, Whites tend to have higher test scores. Economically disadvantaged students would also be adversely affected. In the long run, however, assessments incorporating higher standards could further reduce educational inequality between Blacks and Whites if †¢ the tests were used to (a) bring about a more standardized curriculum, (b) foster a greater emphasis on learning opportunities as well as outcomes, and (c) increase incentives for schools to support minority student learning by heightening awareness of, and accountability for, unequal outcomes; and †¢ the tests did not serve as the sole criterion for high school graduation. (Gamoran, 2001). The pressure for testing and accountability is strong. If implemented in such a way as to enhance rather than restrict opportunity, testing may accelerate the trend toward the equalization of educational outcomes across racial groups. (Gamoran, 2001). Bibliography Braddock, J. (1990). â€Å"Tracking: Implications for Student Race-Ethnic Subgroups† Feb 1990, Microfiche ED 325 600 Epps, E. (1970). â€Å"Race, Intelligence, and Learning: Some Consequence of the Misuse of Test Results† Aug 1970, Microfiche ED 048 423 Gamoran, A. (2001). Sociology of Education, Extra Issue (2001), pp. 135–153 Gootman, E. & Gebeloff, R. (2008). Gifted programs are less diverse. New York Times Haycock, K. (1987). â€Å"Promising Practices: Equality, Relevance, and Race† Nov 87, Microfiche ED 294 950 Kenyon, D. A. (2007). The property tax school funding dilemma. Policy Focus Report, The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. http://www. lincolninst. edu/pubs/pubdetail. aspx? pubid=1308 Kuydendall, C. (1989). â€Å"Improving Black Student Achievement by Enhancing Students’ Self Image† 1989, Microfiche ED 325 594 Lareau, A. (2003). Unequal childhoods: Class, race, and family life. University of California Press: Berkley Leonhardt, D. & Scott, J. (2005). Class matters: Shadowy lines that still divide. New York Times. http://www. nytimes. com/2005/05/15/national/class/OVERVIEW-FINAL. html NEA. (1990). â€Å"Academic Tracking: Report of the NEA Executive Committee/ Subcommittee on Academic Tracking†Microfiche ED 322 642 Sizemore, B. (1987). â€Å"Developing Effective Instructional Programs† Nov 1987, Microfiche ED 294 950 Walker, E. (1986). â€Å"The Impact of Schooling on Minority Adolescents’ Mobility Aspirations† Apr 1986, Microfiche ED 270 535

Upgrade Your Essay Writing Process Say NO to Multitasking

Upgrade Your Essay Writing Process Say NO to Multitasking Upgrade Your Essay Writing Process: Say NO to Multitasking If you want to improve your essay writing process, you should avoid multitasking. This is an important thing to stress because what most people think of multitasking is incorrect. First of all, there is no such thing as multi-tasking. Instead, there is task switching. Your mind is not able to focus all of its attention on two things at once. What it can do instead is switch faster and faster between the two or more tasks. This is an important distinction because it means that if you are trying to do two things at once, your mind will constantly switch between the two and this means time wasted during the switch. If you choose, instead, to focus on just one thing at a time until that one task is done, you can save time and avoid the need to switch tasks. In fact, studies indicate that your IQ drops by 15 points when you are trying to task switch, because it reduces the brain power you can apply to any given task. That being said, in order to improve the process by which you produce your top notch essays, you should cover all of the key components in a linear fashion, one after the other: Develop Your Thesis Your thesis is the main idea warming argument that you are presenting. It must encapsulate your response to the prompt. To strongly express your overall response to whatever the main question is, you want to avoid having a thesis statement which is far too simplistic. Your goal here is to show that you actually put thought into the complexities behind your prompt. Remember too that the thesis serves as the backbone for your writing assignment and therefore it must be stated within the introduction. It is also the one idea which is referred to multiple times throughout the remainder of your content and all of the work you complete in the remainder of your content is designed to demonstrate how you prove your thesis. Write Your Introduction The introduction is where you not only introduce your thesis but when you open up your discussion. You want to indicate to the reader how the question or the prompt is going to be answered and engage the reader. Create the Main Body When you write the main body of your writing, you want to make sure that each new point has its own paragraph. You should use words or phrases at the onset of every paragraph to indicate to the reader how it relates to the content you presented previously such as nevertheless, in addition, or however. You should start each of your body paragraphs with a topic sentence which clearly links it to the remainder of your written content. Make a Conclusion When you sit down to write your conclusion you want to summarize the key ideas and demonstrate how the information you presented proves your thesis. You should finish with a thought-provoking or interesting comment. Overall, trying to multitask is not going to help you get anything done faster. What will help is doing things in a proper order and sticking to that order whenever you are working. Essay writing can be improved with organization and focus. At you can also get professional essay writing help on any topic.

Describe legal system incentives for social responsibility Essay

Describe legal system incentives for social responsibility - Essay Example It is therefore very essential that such matters are create that can prompt people to act in a responsible way. This can be done through the process of legal incentives. What this essentially means is that you give people certain advantages for doing something for the welfare of the society and the general public. These incentives can vary in their shape and form (Ibrahim 1993). An example can be taken from the field of Architecture, in many of the projects in New York City; legal incentives were given to developers in the form of added flow space. However, what was required from them was to give public spaces in the form of plazas; which can act as breathing spaces in the urban jungle of concrete. Other incentives can be given in the form of honorary titles, awards and bonuses depending upon the nature of activity. Generally it is not very favourable to give volunteers financial gifts, just to respect the nature of volunteering, which is based on good will rather than expectations of a monetary gain. Apart from the proceeds in from of intangibles gained by the organizations that practice CSR, monetary returns are also of great value, which are derived from the good will created by inculcating the socially responsible behaviour in the system. Further incentives can be given to people who work with the law enforcement agencies for curbing the ever increasing crime rates of the cities. Some of these incentives can be in the form of providing people support in the latter stage of their lives that may include putting them up in old ages/retirement homes which can be facilitated by the government (Karake-Shalhoub 1999). On a personal level unemployed young individuals can gain a lot from fulfilling their social responsibility. This will enable them to acquire confidence, self-esteem and they will be able to develop or enhance certain skills, which will eventually prepare them

Persuasive speech; Motivated sequence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Persuasive speech; Motivated sequence - Essay Example With countries like Angola, Burundi, Lesotho, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia and many others always experiencing perennial food shortages caused by different factors. Some of these factors include prolonged conflict, drought, poor governance and over dependence on cash crops. According to Catherine Bragg the United Nations deputy humanitarian chief, in Zimbabwe alone 1.6 million people require food aid. Across other eight African countries 5.5 million people are in need of food aid. She notes that this figures show an increase of 40% percent in terms of food shortage compared to the previous year 2011. This is a sign that the problem of food shortage is getting worse despite the increased campaign and aid to Africa. On Global Hunger Index sub Saharan Africa continue to face the highest level of hunger, Burundi leading among these countries with an index of 79 with Eritrea and Haiti following closely. Many farmers across Africa are forced to sell their possession and livestock to buy food. As already assumed this can only be a temporary measure (Otieno, 56). There is danger of severe hunger or starvation endangering, the elderly, children, pregnant and nursing mothers. This in return demands for a quick but lasting solution. The best solution is the promotion of a â€Å"Green economy† across Africa and other areas experiencing perennial food shortages. This will help in planning for the future and managing the present risks of food shortages (Collins, 30). It involves investing in small scale food producers, protecting the rights of their lands, natural resources and finally giving them support to cope with changing climate and other shocks that they may encounter. Green economy provides the solution needed to tackle food shortage by encompassing income generation, sustainable value chains and food security working on the ecosystem to support agriculture (John, 23). The food production practice of green economy is a program