Summary of Why Leaves Turn Color in the Fall free essay sample

Why leaves turn color in the fall, she describes how the seasons give way to fall and how the leaves began to change color. She goes into detail on the chemical and scientific process of this change as well as the difference in color among the species of plants in many parts of the world. She even makes a metaphorical reference that the fall colors signal death and goes on to explain how death brings new life in the end. She gives us plenty of information on the chemical and scientific process of how the leaves began to change color. She explains that process of color change is directly controlled by the sun’s light. Towards the end of summer the trees start to pull the nutrients back into its trunk and starve off the leaves. As those leaves began to starve, they stop producing the pigment chlorophyll which gives the leaves their green color. We will write a custom essay sample on Summary of Why Leaves Turn Color in the Fall or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The leaves began to show yellow and red as the chlorophyll breaks down. With no pigment being produced, all the leaves will turn color over time. She tells us that there is a pigment called Anthocyanin, which causes the leaves to turn red. This pigment varies from year to year depending on the temperature and sunlight. She informs that us that this phenomenon occurs all over the world and explains that different trees and species of plants in other parts of the world change to different colors do to the climate. Where as in European maples don’t have the red coloring that the American maples have because it’s a warmer in part of the world then the other. So in Europe the warm, humid weather turns the leaves more of a brown or light yellow color. She gives many references to many different types of plants and the colors they change to. Elms and weeping willows turn a bright yellow, whereas Basswood turns bronze and birches a bright golden color. She makes reference to the sun as the cause of this change by explaining that one side of hill might have color and not the other cause of more sun exposure. She begins to get into the symbolic aspects of how the color change and fall of the leaves signal the coming of death and change. We see the beautiful colors and in our minds know what fate is next for the leaves. She tells us even though the leaves lose their green; they bloom with colors like aging, and fall dead and brittle. This is the ever repeating cycle of life and death, but with colors that signal that event of the plants life cycle. She refers to the way the leaves fall randomly in every which direction as a way to remind us that the end of a season is as unpredictable as is the end of life. When we see the changes of the colors in the leaves and the â€Å"magic† happening before our eyes, it can be compared to the cycle of life in general. Green like the start of new life, then the colors signifying age in that cycle, then finally the fall of the brittle leave that signals death. She hints at the tender shoots that are protected by the dead leaves that fell, and that thus new life is born from the leaves that fall.

Chingiz Aitmatov and Russias Reform

Chingiz Aitmatov and Russias Reform Free Online Research Papers If history was a man, his eyes would have stored countless feats of incredible sacrifice into his memory. He would have stood tirelessly to witness the sacrifices made by Jesus Christ and then thousands of years later the sacrifices made by Avdiy Kallistratov and Boston Urkunchiev. In Chingiz Aitmatov’s The Place of the Skull, these three characters never meet, but they are all caught in the same tempest of human morality. Aitmatov delivers his unique hybrid Christian and Kyrgyz message to the bereft Soviet people, utilizing the characters Boston, Jesus, and Avdiy as his vehicle, in order to expose and reform the national moral problems that were previously concealed in the post-Stalinist era. Chingiz Aitmatov was well versed in both Kyrgyz and Russian history and culture. In 1928, Aitmatov was born in Kyrgyzstan. He was raised in a large extended family, where he was educated, most notably by his grandmother, in the ways of his native Kyrgyz culture. His grandmother made him attend many local ceremonies and instilled in him the Kyrgyz’s love and respect of their land. As his grandparents gave him his education in his native cultural background, his parents gave him an education in Russian literature and culture. Aitmatov was not only bilingual, but quite learned in his own native and Russian culture. While explaining Aitmatov’s early history and success, one critic says â€Å"Chingiz Aitmatov achieved literary success in large part due to his ability to keep one foot in his own minority culture and the other in the ruling Soviet one,† (Haber 109). This fact helped to pave the way to his unique success as an author in touch with both the Russian popul ace’s moral failings and his own native land’s dilemmas. Aitmatov attempts to coincide with one of Gorbachev’s Perestroika reforms; a movement in the direction of capitalization. Boston Urkunchiev, a man who appears as the main character in the last third of the story, is the voice of this movement. His very name, the name of an American city, implies capitalism. Boston is envied by the local shepherds, especially Bazarbai Noigutov, for his productive farm and his voice in the local party. Good luck was not the key to his success, however, as he is the hardest of the workers on the state farm and produces the most to turn over to the government. All of the local workers, though assigned by the government, want to work on his farm. Boston and his workers produce the most and receive bonus pay, setting them apart yet again. Boston believes vaguely in capitalism and thought that man should reap the rewards of his labor. When discussing this issue with a friend he asks, â€Å"What sort of guest is going to break his back on someone else’s land?† (254). He attempts to claim the land for himself and his team so that work would be more efficient and more productive. He is met with cold opposition in the form of the Party Organizer Kochorbayev, who tells him that the claim is counter-intuitive to socialism and that the land belongs to the state and not the individual. While attempting to circumvent this man and the ideals he represents, Boston meets with the Director Ibraim Chotbaevich, an old friend. He tells him of the problems he has faced and of his plan to remedy the situation, but the director remains passive. The director has tried to make a change before, but doesn’t want to â€Å"stick my neck out again: I’ve learnt my lesson,† (254), a theme that all three of Aitm atov’s heroes face. Boston’s capitalist ideas clash with authorities, but as he practices the notion of more work more pay in his own life, his farm excels. His affinity for capitalism is not the only difference he shares with the shepherds around him. In Boston Aitmatov created not only a voice to broach capitalistic ideals, but a moral pillar as well. Boston’s opposite and nemesis, Bazarbai, is representative of the ethics Aitmatov attempts to dissolve. In his greed Bazarbai takes advantage of inexperienced visitors for easy money, robs a she-wolf’s lair, and beats his wife. These problems all stem from his alcoholism. He takes the naà ¯ve visitors’ money and steals the she-wolf’s cubs in order to fund his addiction. That leads him to beat his wife when she complains of his failings, which are themselves spawned by his laziness and alcohol abuse. Aitmatov does not only highlight the problem, but also produces the solution. Boston represents the answer to the problems plaguing Bazarbai and the people of many other Soviet nations. He does not drink, the reason never being explicitly cited, but assumed that the trappings of alcohol are counter productive and a gateway to moral problems. Boston never abused wither of his wives, but instead communicated and respected her. He attempted to recover the cubs from Bazarbai in order to appease the spirit of the restless wolves. This nature respecting motif is one that ties back to Aitmatov’s own history in the Kyrgyz culture taught to him by his grandparents. These themes of morality and love of nature are expressed in Aitmatov’s other characters, though in different degrees. Aitmatov expresses his Christian beliefs in his rendition of the conversation between Pilate and Jesus, before He went to Golgotha. During this conversation, Jesus tells Pilate that God’s greatest gift to man is the power of reason. With this gift, He tells Pilate, we should use our â€Å"will to live according to our understanding,† (141). He explains that with this understanding we exist to spiritually improve and to strive for perfection. Only through the struggle to reach the pinnacle of humanity do we find purpose. To reach Heaven, we must succeed on Judgment Day, which is not years in the future, but now, every day. In order to reach the Kingdom of Heaven, men must work each day according to their reason. The achievement of this goal relies on mankind himself. Pilate does not believe that man could be responsible for this and in disbelief says â€Å"If men could, by an act of will, bring closer or put off such an event, why then, they would be like gods,† to which Jesus agrees (142). Aitmatov says that man’s greatest quality, produced from the gift of reason, is akin to God’s greatest quality, which is forgiveness. In this way, men are like God. The most similar divine quality that man shares with God, forgiveness, is the key to moving forward towards the perfection of existence. If man can but forgive himself and release the past, he may progress to perfection and the Kingdom of Heaven. Man needs but recognize this and reconcile what faults he possesses. Recognition and realization are where Aitmatov places himself in this scheme. The Place of the Skull is his instrument of recognition, a medium where he may identify the ills of society and aid in their remedy. In the story itself, there is a character that, inspired by Jesus’ message, mirrors Aitmatov’s own role and uncovers the problems facing Russian society. Avdiy Kallistratov is a character who more clearly echoes Aitmatov’s own view on Christianity and the Kyrgyz belief system. Avdiy attended a seminary but was excommunicated due to his attempted reformation of Christian dogma. Avdiy disregarded the traditional view of God and adopted the idea of a contemporary God. In this theory he is â€Å"offering the human spirit liberation in the knowledge of God as the highest essence of it own being,† a view that contrasted greatly with that of his opponent and representative of the Church, Co-Ordinator Father Dimitry (71). For this view he was to be removed from the Church. Avdiy’s own vision of God parallels what Jesus preached in his conversation with Pilate, as this scene occurred during Avdiy’s pain-induced hallucination. The contemporary God theory is not the only characteristic that Avdiy shares with Jesus. Avdiy and Jesus share both qualities of physicality and, more importantly, moral qualities that aid in the improvement of humanity. Two distinct physical traits they share are shoulder length hair and high foreheads. Just before Avdiy departs on the anasha collection, he takes work as a carpenter for a farmer. Apart from these simple similarities, the two share qualities of love and forgiveness. Ordained from God, Jesus sets out to reform the people and bring them closer to God. Avdiy forges a similar destiny for himself. When he leaves the Church, he knows he must spread Christ’s love in his own way. He attaches himself to the infamous drug smuggling ring because he know that there are youths their who were in desperate need of his message. Of the small group Avdiy he joins, he targets the sadly young and impressionable boy Lyonka. This boy was drawn by desperation to the drug running and Avdiy attempts the extract him from this life. He tells Lyonka and the other boy that he has come to save them and to prompt them to start â€Å"repenting before God and our fellow man,† to no avail (96). He encounters Grishan, the leader of the boy-smugglers. Just as Pilate offers Jesus a way out if just He relents, Grishan makes Avdiy the same offer. Both decline and refuse to betray the messages that they believed they were born to deliver. However, the situation end badly for Avdiy and he loses his opportunity to reform the smugglers. But this is not his last chance. In Avdiy’s next opportunity to deliver God’s word to a desperate group of miscreants, Aitmatov combines his Kyrgyz and Christian moral beliefs. Avdiy joins ‘Ober’ Kandalov and his company on an expedition to the mountains. Promised work and distraction from a depressing matter, Avdiy readily agrees. He soon discovers that the work entail the horrific slaughter of the saigak, a mountain antelope. He is appalled by the massacring and demands that they stop. He implored the men committing the killings to end their destruction and turn to God, begging for forgiveness. He was met with the same resistance the drug smugglers had dealt him. He received a beating and was thrown, hands and feet bound, onto the carcasses of the antelope he had tried to protect. In this episode, Aitmatov combines all of the problems, barring capitalism, that his story addresses. In the fashion of the Kyrgyz he cries out against the slaughter of the antelope and in the Christian manner he preaches repentance and forgiveness to the killers. Not only are both of his messages denied, but he is mock-crucified to imitate Jesus, with whom the killers associate Avdiy. Even more, the men who punish Avdiy do so under the influence of alcohol, yet another aspect of Aitmatov’s reform. The power and prestige of the government obstructs, directly and indirectly, all three of Aitmatov’s characters in their mission to restructure the world around them. Avdiy’s journalistic report concerning the underworld of anasha smuggling is not released. While he sees the exposure of the drug world as the first step in combating it, the paper he works for does not release its content to the public. The head of the paper, turning an ashamed cheek, fears that the critical content would invite the wrath of the government upon their heads. They fail to see that the publishing and the positive social effects it would have goes beyond their sake. They only think of themselves. Boston goes to the director of the farms, Ibraim Chotbaevich, to seek the land and reform he deems necessary for efficiency. Head lowered in shame, the director tell him that he had been punished already for attempting a change and would not risk another punishment. To this Boston replies â€Å"That ’s just it, every man thinks of himself first and foremost,† (254). The message of God’s love and justice is thwarted by the Jewish hegemony and the ruling Roman power. Pilate, though sympathetic to Jesus’ words, cannot release Him and lose face. Power and the image it protects will always oppose criticism. Aitmatov’s own Place of the Skull, though released in 1986 during the Glasnost, was cause for political unease because of its content and purpose. One critic questions the openness of this era and reports that the Glasnost â€Å"was a political tool different from freedom of the press and that Gorbachev preached reform but betrayed liberal principals when they came into conflict with his political agenda† (Becker 200). This is what the Characters in Aitmatov’s story went up against. The leaders abandon their principals in order to maintain positive public status and to retain and cultivate power. Aitmatov himself receives criticism concerning his message and its effectiveness. Many critics claim that he was simply in the right place at the right time, meaning the Glasnost’s diversity faà §ade was in need of a poster boy. Chingiz Aitmatov’s success in relating to Russians while maintaining the connection he had with this native culture was rare. Gorbachev was in dire need of someone to glue together some of the nations within the Soviet Union, and Aitmatov fit the bill. Despite this criticism, Chingiz Aitmatov persevered. His intention to expose and morally reform Russia did not go unnoticed. The blending of his native Kyrgyz culture and the Biblical references were effective in reaching into the hearts of some of the Russian people. Nina Kolesnikoff was impressed with the Biblical and Kyrgyz references and said that they were crucial in â€Å"Revealing the deeper meaning of present events and directing the reader’s attention to universal questions concerning the human condition and the purpose of life,† (Kolesnikoff 91-92). Regardless of his critics’ opinions either way, Aitmatov achieved at least part of his goal. The story of the anasha drug runners was implemental to the author’s goals of recognition and reformation. Though the idea that Aitmatov helped morally guide the people to a better understanding of God and existence is disputable, the fact that his story made an impact on Russian lives is not. This is an article explaining the police and crime reports during the Glasnost under Gorbachev’s rule. It details the drug epidemic and the effect that Chingiz Aitmatov’s attention has on this problem: The glasnost’ brought with it greater public preparedness to report crimes, which further increased the statistics. Perhaps the best case study is of drug abuse and drugs-related crime, given that the official figures for drug addiction had actually been falling, from 2700 registered addicts in 1980 to 2400 in 1984. Yet glasnost’, and in particular such keynote cultural events as the publication of Chingiz Aitmatov’s novel Plakha (The Place of the Skull) in 1986, led to their dramatic rise. By 1987 officials admitted to 123 000 drug abusers, including 46000 registered addicts; next year the figures were 131 000 and 50000, respectively; by 1990 they were 1 500 000 and 60,000, with an annual 25000-30000 drugs-related crimes. In part this increase reflected a genuine growth in the use of drugs, yet to a large extent it was a result both of greater official candour and, in the light of the new discussion of the issues, a new preparedness by addicts and users to regis ter and seek help. But the population at large only really noticed the headline figures, especially since one product of the decades of censorship and mendacity was media lacking the experience and often the will to cover such taboo topics without sensationalism. (Galeotti 775) Though Chingiz Aitmatov received criticism from all sides, he was still a major figure in Gorbachev’s Glasnost. His recognition and highlighting of taboo subjects like capitalism, drugs, and alcohol were both effective and prudent for the reformation of the Russian nation. The increase in drug reports are evidence of the impact that he made in the countries social understanding. With his unique cultural background mixed with his understanding of the Russian nation, Aitmatov began the reshaping of morality and understanding. In humanity’s journey towards its perfect existence in the Kingdom of Justice, he identified the moral dilemmas and supplied the reconciliatory remedy, establishing the first steps towards it achievement. Work Cited Aitmatov, Chingiz. The Place of the Skull. New York: Grove Press, 1989. Becker, Jonathan. â€Å"Author Review.† Rev. of Glasnost: The Soviet Media in the First Phase of Perestroika, by Joseph Gibbs. Slavic ReviewVol. 60, No. 1 (Spring, 2001), 199-200. Galeotti, Mark. â€Å"Perestroika, Perestrelka, Pereborka: Policing Russia in a Time of Change.† Europe-Asia Studies > Vol. 45, No. 5 (1993): 769-786. Haber, Erika. The Myth of the Non-Russian. New York: Lexington Books, 2003. Kolesnikoff, Nina. Myth in the Works of Chingiz Aitmatov. New York: University Press, 1999. Research Papers on Chingiz Aitmatov and Russia's ReformAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoWhere Wild and West MeetBringing Democracy to AfricaTwilight of the UAWQuebec and CanadaInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite ReligionAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaHip-Hop is Art

Jay Greenberg Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Jay Greenberg - Essay Example The musical prodigy was discovered in 2004 during a CBS 60 minute news segment and from there he grew into a professional and sought after composer. His first CD was released in 2006 by Sony Classical which featured the Symphony #5 and Quintet for Strings performed by the London Symphony Orchestra as well as the Juilliard String Quartet with Darrett Adkins respectively (â€Å"Jay Greenberg†). Some of Jay’s most famous works have been the Violin Concerto produced in 2007, the Four Scenes in 2008 with a double string quartet, and Concerto for Piano Trio and Orchestra. His beautiful works have been publicly performed both nationally and internationally by such renowned orchestras as the Pittsburgh Symphony, the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra and the Orchestra of St. Luke's (â€Å"Jay Greenberg†). In 2009 Jay’s work was even commissioned and premiered at Carnegie Hall for the youth orchestras, Skyline Dances (â€Å"Jay Greenberg†) . Jay produces most of his brilliant work on a computer using notation programs and feels that he hears the music taking shape inside his head. There is no doubt that this young and gifted composer will go a long way. Works Cited â€Å"Jay Greenberg.† schirmer.com. G. Schirmer Inc., Mach, 2011. Web. 26 Apr. 2011

AIDS is a Mass Murderer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

AIDS is a Mass Murderer - Essay Example It’s spokesperson says that the ad is intended to wake up young Germans to the reality of AIDS prevalence in the country – a subject that has faded of late in public discourse. The discouraging statistics pertaining to the spread o AIDS in Germany, is warrant enough for this bold provocation, the charitable group justifies. And there is some merit in their point of view. For example, â€Å"Germans need the encouragement - the facts about HIV rates in the country are alarming. Eight people become infected with HIV in Germany every day. Across the country, 60,000 people are living with HIV.† (Moore, www.time.com, 2009) This essay will assess if the campaign would be effective if it were to be run in the United Kingdom. While the image of Adolf Hitler generates lots of unpleasant feelings in Germans, it is more so in the United Kingdom. As part of the Allied forces, the UK bore the brunt of German aggression during the Second World War. Hence, the ad is bound to do better in the UK that what it did in Germany. Similarly, the image of Joseph Stalin and Saddam Hussein too does not sit well in the British audience’ mind, for the two were enemy personalities during the Cold War and the Iraq War respectively. Moreover, young people of UK are not immune to the threat of HIV infection. In the last few decades when over 28 million people have already succumbed to the disease - this includes a percentage of the British. Each passing day, 5,000 people succumb to the condition worldwide. In this respect it is not inappropriate to call AIDS a mass murderer of our times. (Moore, www.time.com, 2009) The campaign finds relevance in the British context for other reasons too. For example, awareness about the nature and modes of transmission of the disease is not properly understood by most young people. This is despite the fact that relevant information is made available in the Internet and other media. The fact that many youth in the country do not und erstand how exactly HIV is transmitted is a cause of concern. They need to be educated about the many ways through which HIV could be transmitted from one human to another. Contact of mucous membrane during sexual intercourse is one of the common modes of transmission. Other modes include bloodstream contamination of HIV infected body fluids such as blood, vaginal fluid, semen, pre-seminal fluid, and breast milk. The infection can occur through conventional vaginal sexual intercourse or through anal, oral sexual acts. There are recorded cases of HIV infection being perpetrated through blood transfusion, transfer from mother to baby during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding, contaminated hypodermic needles, etc. It is only through thought provoking awareness campaigns such as the one conceived by the Rainbow group that young people (including those in Britain) will get to understand the nature of the AIDS threat fully. The spread of AIDS has now assumed pandemic proportions acro ss the world. When statistics were compiled last year, as many as thirty three million people worldwide were afflicted with this condition, of which close to ten percent eventually died. The more worrying aspect is the fact that a significant portion of AIDS patients are children. The region worst hit by the AIDS pandemic is sub-Saharan Africa, where economic and cultural progress is

Personal Opinion on the Palsgraf Case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Personal Opinion on the Palsgraf Case - Essay Example Therefore, Palsgraf brought forward a personal injury complaint against the Long Island Rail road that made an appeal to courts judgment that was in favour of the plaintiff. The ruling was avowed on the appeal, and the defendant appealed (Farlex, 2013). Therefore, to my opinion, the railroad guards were wrong in relation to the individual carrying the parcel but not in regards to Palsgraf who was standing at a far distance. Additionally, no one was aware that the packages had fireworks and that they could cause harm if they were to be dropped. No one could also have thought that Palsgraf who was standing at a far zone was out of danger and that he could be harmed. On the other hand, an issue of negligence was also mentioned by Palsgraf as he tried to sue the guards involved in the incidence (4LawSchool, 2001). Personally, to spot the act of negligence, there should be a discovery that an obligation was first owed and contravened and that the damage could have been shunned in the case where the defendant was following that particular duty. The course of the peril or rather the risk associated with the danger is the one which a rational person would have foreseen. On the other hand, even though the guard had taken the package and thrown it intentionally, it would have not caused a threat on Palsgraf safety looking at it from the appearance of the circumstance to a rational person. The liability of the Long Island Railroad towards an inadvertent action would have not been greater than it was especially on the case where the act was deliberate. There is tendacy to argue that each and every individual owes to the world a duty of abstaining from the actions that may threaten the wellbeing of other people in an unreasonable manner. In the attempt to determine the approximate cause of the incidence, the court must have asked whether there was a natural or an incessant series between the effect and the cause. The court had the same pressure of not to argue whether the a ct was reasonably expected to cause injury to any individual (Manz, 2005). Additionally, the court was expected to consider the fact that the greater the distance existing between the cause and effect in both space and time, the greater the probability that the other grounds intervene to cause an effect to the outcome. In this case there was no kind of remoteness in terms of time and space and therefore injury was meant to take place in some form. It is also to my view that the issue of proximate cause is just a practical politics, which is not founded on judgment. Proximate cause implies that due to expediency of the public strategy regarding to an uneven sense of impartiality, the law subjectively declines to hunt for a series of happenings beyond a given level (Lawnix, 2008). The natural and the foreseeable outcomes of the negligent deeds influence the determination of deciding whether a given act can be termed as a proximate cause of the damages. It is paramount to adopt the pri nciple that states that negligent behaviour that ends up in injury results into being a liability in the case where the actor had the chance to reasonably foresee that the behaviour could result to injury. In the Cardozo opinion, the court decided that the defendant’s guards could not have predicted the likelihood of the injury on Palsgraf and thus no duty to him was breached either. The obligation to practice care is owed to everyone and thus the acts of carelessness will definitely put the actor to accountability to each and every individual who is approximately injured by the incidence. Whether the harm is

Definition Of Parental Involvement

Definition Of Parental Involvement 2.0 Introduction Research is made in order to inform people with new knowledge or discovery. Jancowicz (2000:159) knowledge does not exist in a vacuum and you work only has value in relation to other peoples work. Thus for a research to be credible, it should be supported by other works that have spoken about the same topic; therein the importance of the literature review which Hart (1998) defines as: The selection of available documents (both published and unpublished) on the topic, which contain information, ideas, data and evidence written from a particular standpoint to fulfill certain aims or express certain views on the nature of the topic and how it is to be investigated, and the effective evaluation of these documents in relation to the research being proposed. The ability to carry out a literature review is an important skill for any researcher. It will provide the latter with a context in which to place the research with respect to what has already been researched about the topic whereby the researcher will get an up to date account and discussion of the research findings about the particular topic. 2.1 Parental Involvement 2.1.1 Definition of Parental Involvement Parental involvement is believed to be an important strategy in the advancement of the quality of education. Parental involvement as such may be defined in different ways. According to Althoff (2010) parental involvement refers to the amount of participation a parent has when it comes to schooling and her childs life. (Abdullah, Seedee, Alzaidiyeen, Al-Shabatat, Alzeydeen, Al-Awabdeh, 2011) define parental involvement as the activities occurring between a parent and a child or between a parent and teachers at school that may contribute to the childs educational outcomes and development. NCLB (2001) described parental involvement as regular participation of parents, a two-way process, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities including: Assisting their childs learning; (b) Being actively involved in their childs education at school; (c) Serving as full partners in their childs education and being included, as appropriate, in decision-making and on advisory committees to assist in the education of their child; and (d) The carrying out of other activities such as those described in section 1118 of the ESEA Section 9101(32). Liontos (1992) mentions recent beliefs about parents and families that schools should consider when involving themselves in the education to their children: 1) All families have strengths, 2) parents can learn new techniques, 3) parents have important perspectives about their children, 4) most parents really care about their children, 5) cultural differences are both valid and valuable, and 6) many family forms exist and are legitimate (pp. 30-31). 2.1.2 Family Involvement Regardless of how they are able to demonstrate their investment, the notion that families play a very important role in creating a school that provides a nurturing and safe environment for their children is becoming widely accepted (Epstein et al., 1997). Families provide the social, cultural, and emotional supports that youth need to function well in school. Schools provide opportunities for childrens positive interactions with significant adults and other adolescents to enhance their home experiences and to support their continued development and related learning (Comer Haynes, 1991). According to Davies (1991) parental involvement shifts from parent focus to family focus, family to community agencies, school to home/neighborhood setting, eager parents to hard-to reach families, teachers/administrators agendas to family priorities, and deficit view of urban families to emphasis on inherent strengths of families. He further explains that even though non-traditional families are much more common nowadays than they were in the 1950s, alternative family structures are effective and should be recognised by the school. The paradigm Changing Definitions of Parental involvement according to Davies(1991) is as follows: from Parent Focus to Family Focus; from school to home or neighbourhood setting; from eager parents to hard to reach families; from teacher/administrator agenda to family priorities; from deficit view of urban families to emphasis on inherent strengths of families. Davies (1991) mentioned that non-traditional family units are getting more common, but the alternative family structures are effective and should be recognised as they do impact in the education and performance of students. 2.1.3 Types of parental involvement Fan and Chen (2001) in their meta-analysis found that researchers commonly conceptualised parental involvement as having multiple dimensions. Research conducted over a number of years have proved that there are numerous types of parenting practices associated with positive school-related academic and social competencies. These are: (a) parental participation in school-related activities, for instance monitoring homework and attending parent-teacher association meetings (Desimone, 1999; Keith et al., 1993; Steinberg, Lamborn, Dornbusch Darling, 1992); (b) parental encouragement of positive school behaviors (Atkinson Forehand, 1979; Barth, 1979; Kelley, 1952; Schumaker, Hovell, Sherman, 1977; Seginer, 1983); and (c) parental expectations for achievement and attainment (Ainley, Foreman, Sheret,1991; Fan Chen, 2001; Scott-Jones, 1995; Seginer). Similarly, Epstein (2001) has distinguished six types of parental involvement namely: parenting; communication; volunteering; home tutoring; involvement in decision-making; and, collaboration with the community. Epsteins model presents family, school and community as overlapping spheres of influence, the congruence of which is of considerable importance for the optimal development of children. 2.2 The effect of parental involvement on childrens achievements It is generally believed that the parents do play an important role in the education of their children and there is now an extensive research literature indicating that parental involvement is advantageous for children of all ages (Cox 2005; Desforges and Abouchaar 2003; Eccles and Harold 1993; Epstein 2001). Research has shown that one of the most promising ways to increase students achievement is to involve their families (Chavkin, 1993; Henderson Berla, 1994). Herbert Walberg (1984) found that family participation in education was twice as predictive of academic learning as family socioeconomic status. Establishing partnerships with families has many benefits for schools and families, but Epstein says, the main reason to create such partnerships is to help all youngsters succeed in school and in later life (1995, p. 701). When parents participate in their childrens schooling, students may experience more academic and social success. Epstein (2001) suggests that parents who are informed and involved in their childrens school can positively impact their childs attitude and performance. Drawing a causal link between parental involvement and student achievement is challenging; much of the research on parent involvement and student performance is therefore correlational (Scott Stein Thorkildsen, 1999). Although the impact of parental involvement is dependent on a number of contextual variables, there are many advantages attributed to parental involvement. Involvement at home, especially parents discussing school activities and helping children plan their programs, has the strongest impact on academic achievement (Sui-Chu Willms, 1996; VanVoorhis, 2003). Researchers have also found that parent-child discussion about school helps improve academic achievement and reduce problematic behavior (Epstein Sheldon, 2002; McNeal, 1999; Sheldon Epstein, 2005). McLaughlin and Shields (1986), for example, reported that parents can contribute to improved student achievement through their involvement in (a) the selection of appropriate reading materials, (b) targeting educational services, and (c) the use of particular pedagogical strategies. Clark (1983) found a correlation between achievement in reading and mathematics and the number of books at home. Parent involvement is absolutely essential to student achievement in school and in life say (Campbell Glasgow, 2010). The overwhelming studies and research indicate that there are indeed positive academic outcomes stemming from parental involvement with benefits beginning in the early childhood throughout adolescence and beyond (Henderson Mapp, 2002; Patrikakou, Weisberg, Redding, Walberg, 2005). Buchmann and Dalton (2002) suggest a possible linkage between differences in institutional contexts of educational system and variation in the effect of parental involvement on childrens educational outcomes while examining variation across 12 countries in the effect of mothers and peers attitudes toward academic performance on educational aspiration among middle-school (lower secondary school) students. The comparisons across 12 countries indicate significant variation in the influence of parental attitude on childrens educational aspiration across countries with different structural features of educational system. 2.3 Factors affecting Students Academic Achievements The students performance or academic achievement plays an important role in producing the good quality school leavers who will become good manpower for any country. There are actually numerous factors that affect the performance and achievement of students. Parents influence their childrens academic achievement (Spera, 2005). High family socioeconomic status, positive parenting practices, positive aspects of parents personality, and high marital quality are associated with school success (Harold, Aitken, Shelton, 2007; Heaven Newbury, 2004; Robertson Reynolds, 2010). Children whose parents who actively promote learning in the home more positively engage in relationships outside the home and in learning (Marchant, Paulson, Rothlisberg, 2001), perhaps because these parents help children approach learning environments more positively. The premise that home environment risks, such as negative parenting (Clark, Dogan, Akbar, 2003), a chaotic household (Brown Low, 2008), parents low educational attainment or income level (Davis-Kean, 2005), and single-parent family structure (Zill, 1996), are correlates of poor academic functioning is also well supported. According to a report on Monitoring Learning Achievement (1999) the Determinants of childs performance were identified to be as follows: Socio-economic status of the childs family had a very strong impact on achievement at school. (b) Parental education level and parents opinion about education were decisive factors affecting performance of the children at school. (c) The child who had access to learning through technology and through materials at home was more likely to do better at school. (d) Pupils who had a positive attitude to school and teachers as well as those who used English to communicate performed better on the tests. (e) Children who had more experienced teachers at school and who were more frequently assessed became better learners. 2.3.1 Student Demographics and Students Achievement Students from ethnic minority backgrounds and low income families are more at risk for poor school outcomes and are becoming an increasing share of the student population. Many studies have linked the educational disadvantage of minority students to a combination of out-of-school factors, many of which center on family characteristics, such as poverty and parents education. Linn (2005) says that prior achievement or other relevant characteristics of the student body may help to explain current levels of achievement while (Carlson, 2002; Ponisciak Bryk, 2005) point out that when large scale assessments are used as the sole measure of accountability, the characteristics of the schools clientele are confounded with change that is directly attributable to the effectiveness of the school producing biased estimates of school effects. Children coming from middle-class family may have a head start given their higher social position and income may lead to better quality housing, more availability of books and study facilities at home such as their own room, internet access facility as well as the ability to afford private tuition. According to the University of Mauritius study on private tuition (1989), children from better off families take more tuition than students from poor families and they tend to perform better. A better measure of a schools effect on student achievement should account for the nature of students in the schools as well as the characteristics of the schools themselves. For example the correlation according to Sirin (2005) between socio-economic status and achievement tends to be approximately 0.30 at the student level. When aggregated to the school level, the correlation between socio-economic and academic achievement is approximately 0.60 (Sirin, 2005), though that correlation has been estimated to be even higher (0.73) in an earlier meta-analysis (White, 1982). 2.3.2 School Leadership and Students Achievement Studies have revealed that strong leaders are critical to successful learning environments (Briggs Wohlstetter, 2003; Hallinger, Bickman, Davis, 1996; Haycock, Jerald, Huang, 2001; Jesse, Davis, Pokorny, 2004; McGee, 2004; Muijs, Harris, Chapman, Stoll, Russ, 2004; Murphy, 2004; Scribner Scribner, 2001; Snipes, 2004; Yau, 2002). There are different characteristics of strong leaders that have been mentioned in the literature: Leaders have a clear vision for their schools that is continuously communicated to school staff and parents (Cole-Henderson, 2000; EdSource, 2006; Jesse et al., 2004); they have high expectations for all students (Cole-Henderson, 2000; EdSource, 2006; McGee, 2004; Scribner et al., 2001); and they are able to translate their vision and expectations into concrete goals for teachers by aligning curriculum with state standards and standardized tests (EdSource, 2006; Education Trust, 2003). 2.3.3 School Systems and Students Achievement In many countries, including Mauritius to some extent, school systems are tracked where students are assigned to different school types based on their prior performance. These tracks range from purely academic tracks to vocational tracks and prepare students for different educational and labor market destinations (Marks, Cresswell, Ainley, 2006; Reyes, 2010). In general most secondary school systems maintain a distinction between academic and vocational education. The specifics may be different from place to place, but in most countries academic education prepares students for college or for a university whereas vocational education prepares them for immediate entry into the labor market (Shavit, Blossfeld 1993). Schools may be involved in the socio-economic inequalities in education in a number of ways. Wealthy families can afford a superior education for their children by sending them to fee-paying private schools. In countries with tracked school systems, the allocation of stude nts to the more academic school tracks may be biased towards students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds. 2.3.5 Parental Involvement and Students Achievement Studies on the influence of parenting on school outcomes have mainly focused on specific parental practices such as involvement in their childs education, mostly in relation to academic achievement and rarely in relation to school dropout (McNeal, 1999; Rumherger, 1995). Studies conducted among specific grades and subject areas support the contention that parental involvement can influence students academic achievement regardless of the students age or subject. For example, Stegelin (2003), Wirtz Schumacher (2003), and Hertz-Lazarowitz Horovitz (2002) focused on early childhood education and literacy, noting a link between families who engage in literacy activities at home and their childrens success with reading and writing. Henderson and Berla (1994) say that the most accurate predictor of a students achievement in school is not income or social status but the extent to which that students family is able to create a home environment that encourages learning; express high but not unrealistic expectations for their childrens achievement and future careers and become involved in their childrens education at school and in the community. There exists an extensive research literature indicating that Parental Involvement is advantageous for children. This includes home-based Parental involvement such as listening to children read and supervision of homework as well as school-based Parental Involvement such as attending parent education workshops and parent-teacher meetings. The effectiveness of both home-based and school-based Parental Involvement in facilitating academic achievement has been reported by several reviews and meta-analyses of the literature (Fan and Chen 2001; Henderson and Mapp 2002; Jeynes 2005, 2007; Pomerantz, Moorman, and Litwack 2007). Mariaye (2008) has found that higher levels of education of parents are often related to better provision of financial resources, thus leading to achievement of children. 2.4 Barriers to parental involvement Though there is much importance attached to parental involvement it is still being ignored in many schools. Lazar and Slostad (1999) believe that parents are willing to get involved in the education of their children, but the negative perceptions of parents persist because teacher education programs do not educate teachers to work with parents. Foster and Loven (1992) also shared that the major explanation for this, according to researchers, is the fact that very little attention is given to preparing teachers to work with parents and other adults (Lazar, 1999, p. 207). According to Lazar and Slostad, (1999) the way parents viewed their roles was shaped by the circumstances and norms of particular cultures and their beliefs about their own effectiveness as teachers or tutors. Epstein (1991) found out that teachers had doubts whether they could motivate parents to become more involved even though they thought that parental involvement would improve students achievement. Teachers lack the attitudes, knowledge, skills, and strategies needed to collaborate with families leading to a weak school-family partnership (De Acosta, 1996; Epstein Dauber, 1991; Foster Loven, 1992; Greenwood Hickman, 1991; Midkiff Lawler-Prince, 1992; Williams,1992). Major barriers to parental involvement in schools include the school environment, school culture, time constraint, changing demographics and employment patterns, and the lack of teacher preparation in involving parents in their childrens schooling (New Skills for Schools, 1997; National PTA, 1997). 2.5 Overcoming barriers to parental involvement Strategies for overcoming barriers to parental involvement in schools include overcoming time and resource constraints, providing information and training to parents and school staff, restructuring schools to support family involvement, bridging school-family differences, getting external supports for partnerships, meeting families basic needs, providing flexible times and places for parental involvement, and helping staff communication with parents (The U.S. Department of Education, 2004; Family Involvement in Childrens Education October 1997). The various barriers to Parental involvement can be categorised by adapting Epsteins (2001) framework of overlapping spheres of influence focused on the three areas of family, school and community. 2.5.1 Parents beliefs about Parental Involvement Parents beliefs about various issues can act as barriers to effective parental involvement. Firstly, the way that parents view their role in the education of their children is crucial. Parents who believe that their role is only to get children to school, which then takes over responsibility for their education, will not be willing to be actively involved in either school-based or home-based parental involvement. Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler (1997) reported that this attitude is more prevalent in some communities and national cultures than others, but that there is considerable variation within these. For example, Clark (1983), in his research on high achieving students from low-income black families, found that what distinguished the parents of these students from others at the school was that they believed that they should be involved in their childrens education, by both supporting their learning at home and interacting constructively with schools. Clark found that parents of high a chieving students had a greater belief than the other parents that they could effectively help their children to do better at school. 2.5.2 Parents perceptions of invitations for involvement One other potential barrier to parental involvement is parents perceptions of the level of explicit and implicit invitations for involvement. According to Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler (1997) when parents think that Parental Involvement is not valued by teachers or schools they are less likely to get involved. Thus, parents perceptions of invitations from schools are considered crucial in developing effective parental involvement. Epstein (2001) has found that parents are most effectively involved when teachers actively encourage them to get involved. Eccles and Harold (1993) believe that teachers with positive, facilitating attitudes toward involving parents encourage more parents to become involved and increase the effectiveness of parental involvement. When parents perceive that teachers are not open to involve them, there tends to be a major barrier to parental involvement. Similarly, when schools are welcoming to parents and make it clear that they value parental involvement, the s chools develop more effective parental involvement than schools that do not appear inviting to parents. Secondary schools are often seen by parents as large bureaucratic organisations which are not welcoming to parents, which is considered to be one of the reasons why there is a tendency for higher levels of parental involvement in primary than secondary schools (Eccles and Harold 1993). 2.5.3 Parents Level of Education Parents level of education will influence their views on whether they have sufficient skills and knowledge to engage in different aspects of parental involvement (Green et al. 2007). For example, parents who have not completed secondary school themselves may be diffident about helping their children with homework once the latter get to secondary school. Also, parents who do not have a university degree may feel in some ways inferior to teachers who they know are better qualified than them and therefore be reluctant to work closely with the teachers. In general, children of parents with higher levels of education perform better, on average, on assessments of student achievement. 2.5.4 Parent current life status Family circumstances can be major barriers to parental involvement. For example, single parents and those with young families or large families may find it difficult to get involved in education of their children because of their responsibilities. Parents work situations can also be a factor. When parents are unemployed money could be an issue as they may not be able to afford a car or to pay babysitters in order to get to school meetings. For parents with jobs, whether both parents work and the kind of jobs they have may be issues. When both parents work they will have less time to devote for both home-based and school-based parental involvement. Similarly while some jobs allow little flexibility for taking time off for school-based parental involvement, other jobs may leave parents too tired at the end of the day to help children with homework (Catsambis 2001; Green et al. 2007). 2.5.5 Class, ethnicity and gender There exist also barriers regarding to class, ethnicity and gender of parents that account for the difference between rhetoric and reality in parental involvement. Reay (1998) suggests that it is those parents who possess cultural capital which matches that generally valued by schools. In contrast, working-class parents, although they possess their own undervalued cultural capital, are aware of the difference between the cultural capital they possess and that of teachers. Reay (1998) concludes that, for working-class families, home-school relationships are about separateness, whereas for middle-class families they are about interconnectedness, and this difference shapes their respective attitudes towards parental involvement. The barriers related to ethnicity and culture also play an important role. According to a report by Koki and Lee (1998) some of the issues involved in parental involvement for parents in New Zealand who have come from the Pacific Islands. They make the point that it is impossible to understand these issues outside of the context of the history of Pacific education and cultural tradition, but the reality is that parental involvement programmes typically pay scant regard to these issues. 2.5.6 Learning difficulties and disabilities The performance of at school can be both a barrier or facilitating factor for parental involvement. According to Eccles and Harold (1993) when children are struggling with their school work, due to learning difficulties or disabilities, then parents are generally more inclined to be active in parental involvement activities. Many authorities on special needs education consider that involving parents is an essential aspect of effective education for children with disabilities or learning difficulties (Hornby 1995; Seligman 2000). The involvement of parents is required for the process of implementing individual education programmes and this facilitates parental involvement for many parents whose children have learning difficulties or disabilities. But this is not always the case as there are many possible areas for disagreement between schools and parents of children with learning difficulties or disabilities, which can then act as barriers to effective parental involvement. For instan ce, when parents consider that their children can achieve more academically or when teachers want more support from parents in backing up at home what children are working on at school (Seligman 2000). 2.6 Strategies to involve parents To achieve more parental involvement, the school or teachers can help to adjust to parents work schedules, interests, and special abilities to involve them in their childs education 2.6.1 Parenting Parents can be involved in their childs schooling in many ways. One way teachers can get these parents involved is by providing them information about parenting practices. Parents with children with behavior problems are interested in learning about specialised reinforcement and discipline techniques that can be applied in their home. Research has shown that students who are disruptive in schools are also disruptive at home (Walker et al., 1995). Teachers can be useful by providing suggestions on how to teach specific skills at home. Parents who learn new parenting skills and teach their child at home are making positive contributions to their childs education. 2.6.2 Communication Encouraging parents to communicate with the school about important information about their child is another way parents can be involved. Darch, Craig, Miao, Yu, Shippen, and Peggy(2004) recommend that teachers ask parents to discuss their childs behaviour at home, his or her attitudes about school and learning, and whether there are home problems impacting the childs behavior at school. It is helpful if teachers ask parents about their expectations about their childs performance. 2.6.3 Volunteering Darch et al.,(2004) also suggest that one role that some parents can play is to provide instructional or management support in the classroom. For example, parents can be tutors for their own child or other students in the classroom. Also, parents can serve by grading papers, participating in field trips, and reading to groups of students. The advantages of including parents in these activities are many. Parents visibility in the classroom can be helpful in managing children. Also, if parents can provide instructional support, the improved learning performances of students will have a positive impact on their classroom behavior. 2.6.4 Instruction According to Darch et al, (2004) parents can also be involved in their childs school program by providing instructional and management support in their homes. Teachers may ask parents to allocate time for their childs homework, provide instructional support for academic assignments, and carry out home-based reinforcement programs. For parents to effectively take this role, they must be willing to participate and must have skills to implement home-based programs. However, as Hoover-Demsey and Sandler (1997) point out, many parents do not see the importance of taking an active role in their childs education. Thus, teachers must provide parents with clear guidelines on how they can be helpful at home and, if necessary, information on how to implement instructional and management strategies at home. An advantage of these activities is that the child is provided extra instruction at home that leads to more successful learning and motivation in the classroom. 2.6.5 School-Wide Involvement Teachers can suggest to parents that they be involved in school-wide activities. (Darch et al., 2004). The goal is to link parents to activities beyond their childs classroom: parents can be involved in PTA meetings, school-wide parent advisory councils, volunteer to work in the school office, and participate on a school-wide discipline committee. The advantages of linking parents into school wide activities are obvious. The presence of parents throughout the school is related to higher levels of student achievement and decreases school-wide disruptive behaviors. Parents involved with school-wide activities become more supportive of teachers and school policy. 2.7 How do schools involve parents? According to Hanke (2006) lack of parental involvement is due to lack of helpful information to parents. Emails, phone, letters, newsletters and personal contacts can be made by schools to reach out to parents. If schools communicate with parents regularly and consistently using the various means, the gap between school and parental involvement will be reduced. Based on the recent report on the Commonwealth conference on education (2012) the technology is available for ICT to be the foundation for change in education provisioning: from the classroom to the ministerial committee room; from the way teachers relate to their students, to the increasing of parental involvement in schools. Students expectations and achievement will increase if involvement are identified by Epstein and associate (1997): parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision making, and collaborating with the community. Reenay and Vivian (2007) have explained that even though the invention of new technologies has made it easier for schools to reach out to parents (through emails, cell phones and internet websites), the use of traditional methods in communication has been found to be an effective way for schools to communicate with parents, but this has been limited in use b

The US Embargo on Cuba Essay -- Essays Papers

The US Embargo on Cuba I. Introduction In 1959, Cubareceived 74 percent of its imports from the US, and the US received 65 percentof Cuba’s exports. On February 3, 1962, the United States imposed a fulltrade embargo on Cuba, completely ending any type of trade between the twocountries. This embargo remains in effect today, more than four decades later,and has grown ! to be a huge center of debate and controversy (DeVarona 8).Opponents to the embargo argue that the embargo does nothing more than hurt theCuban people, while proponents argue that the embargo places pressure on Castroto repair Cuba’s mismanaged and corrupt government. Both the supportersand the opponents of this embargo have strong arguments and evidence to supportthese arguments. Without adoubt, Cuba’s current government is guilty of human rights violations,housing fugitives and terrorist groups, and robbing the Cuban people of wageswith its corrupt state-run economy. While it is inarguable that some actionagainst Cuba is warranted, and that the US economic embargo on Cuba haspositive intentions, the negative repercussions to the Cuban people andthird-party investors and countries greatly outweigh these positive intentions.! Therefore, it would be greatly ineffective for the embargo to remain in placeas the sole tool in promoting change in Cuba. II. Reasons that action toward Cuba iswarranted. There are a fewreasons that action towards Cuba was and is warranted. Since the beginning ofthe Castro regime, the Cuban government has stripped many Cubans of their basicrights and freedoms. According to Amnesty International’s 2002 report,Cuba is guilty of multiple human rights violations. Cuban people are beingimprisoned for peaceful exercises of their fundam... ...ristian Science Monitor. Online. 25 Sept. 1997. â€Å"LiftCuba Embargo, Carter Tells US.† BBC News Online. Online. 15 May2002. Officeof the United States Trade Representative. 1996 National Trade Estimate: TheArab League Boycott of Israel. http://www.ustr.gov Parodi,Francisco. â€Å"US Should Reestablish Relations With Cuba.† DailyBeacon. Online. 5 Sept. 1995. Roy,Joaquin. Cuba, the United States, and the Helm! s-Burton Doctrine:International Reactions. Florida: Univ. Press, 2000. Sierra,J.A. â€Å"The Timetable: History of Cuba.† Online. Aug 2002. http://www.historyofcuba.com Trump,Donald. â€Å"A Choice for Human Rights.† Miami Herald. Online. 25 June1999. UnitedStates. Dept. of State. International Information Programs. Cuban Libertyand Democratic Solidarity Act of 1996. â€Å"USEmbargo Towards Cuba.† No Castro. Online. http://www.nocastro.com/embargo/embargo.htm