Care About Children Essays - Dave Pelzer, Bullying, Abuse

Care About Children We who have been entrusted with the education and care of children are obligated to go "above and beyond" when it comes to looking out for their welfare. Educators and administrators have no recourse but to look beyond the surface, investigate if necessary, and protect the children to whom we have made ourselves responsible. Dave Pelzer, who is currently an advocate for abused children, has written a compelling three book series detailing his own life as an abused child and the aftereffects of his abuse. His case was the third worst case of child abuse on record in the state of California. (Pelzer, 1995, 168) Pelzer's mother was an alcoholic who was both physically and emotionally abusive to him. What made this a terrible situation more unique was that the mother did not abuse her other four children. Only Dave was the target of her hatred. Pelzer's father, also an alcoholic, who ignored his wife's abusive tendencies, even though he secretly indicated to his son that he did not condone it, compounded the abusive behavior. The father's silence served to validate the mother's actions. Pelzer's teachers and administrators also maintained silence, thus compounding his feeling of isolation. These events occurred during the 1960's and early 1970's, so the behavior of both Pelzer's father and his educators was not unusual. Physical discipline was more accepted during that time than it is now. Pelzer was rescued from his mother's cruelty in 1973 by a school nurse and counselor, after dealing with her extreme abuse for almost ten years. His teachers and administrators had for years seen him attend school in rags, unwashed, often with bruises and abrasions, but as stated earlier, these were different times. When the school nurse determined she could no longer stand by and accept this abusive behavior, she saw to it that county services was contacted. Pelzer goes on to relate how his emotional damage contributed to his moving often between foster homes. He never felt adequate, and these feelings of inadequacy compounded Pelzer's problems and anxieties that children in foster homes normally feel. Pelzer speaks of his first marriage ending in failure, due mostly to his lack of ability to trust and effectively communicate with his wife. His adult life has been built around raising his son in as healthy and environment as possible. He speaks repeatedly of wanting to ensure the cycle of abuse does not continue through him. His second marriage has been a close-knit partnership, with trust and open lines of communication. The purpose in recounting so much information in Pelzer's books is to remind us that we, as educators, must take our responsibilities as caretakers of children with the highest degree of importance. Even though child abuse is abhorrent, it can be stopped and, as in the case of Dave Pelzer, through discipline and hard work, the cycle of abuse can be broken. Although these abusive types of parents are thankfully in the minority, they do exist. It is therefore imperative that we maintain awareness of any unusual circumstances we may notice concerning our children. Reclusive behavior, unexplained bruises or other marks, unattended physical hygiene, or violent outbursts should be cause for concern. (Gestwicki, 435) This is not to say that we should become paranoid and report every child with a bruise as a victim of abuse. We should, however, be aware of unusual mannerisms or circumstances and act when we feel we have a right to be concerned. Documenting any suspicions and findings is essential. This can uncover any trends or patterns that may exist. Keep in mind that children will often cover up for and attempt to protect abusive parents. This is also a huge load for a child to bear; the responsibility of "taking care of" a parent who is abusive is an excessive burden. (Somers, 62) Valerie Bivens, a social worker in California, stresses that most of us are unaware of the extent of child abuse. Often instances of abuse go unreported, and the child may turn their anger against themselves or others, continuing the cycle of abuse. (Pelzer, 1995, 171) Over three million cases of child abuse were reported in 1996, and nearly one third of that number were substantiated cases. (Gestwicki, 435) Claudia Black stated that children who are abused would normally have feelings of low self-worth. Those who should be loved and trusted abuse them; therefore these children do not feel safe or protected. (Somers, 33) Compounding our concerns even more are studies that show that teachers, contract workers, and other school employees are

Essay on Plant and Animals

Essay on Plant and Animals Essay on Plant and Animals Around the world the talk of cloning animals has increased significantly. Because of the need for food or human selfishness ,many animals have become extinct. Whoever acquires a disease or virus usually gets the virus from another person or from the original host usually a animal. Because the main cause of many disease is still embedded in the corpse of the extinct animal, we need to bring back extinct animals. If we bring back animals we would enable the power to make special proteins which are better for the body. These animals could rapidly improve the production of animal by-products and livestock. Because people are cloning animals ,our comprehension of the pasts species is very massive.Whoever clones animals will become more advanced in medicine and science. Many animals that are extinct may have traces of deadly disease in there petrified bone marrow. Because we are cloning animals, the process of finding the origin of a disease will be reduced significantly. Whenever somebody clones a animal there is a big chance that the latest species will carry the same disease if the DNA they have made it from has tested positive they could test the animal and observe symptoms that take place du ring the sickness. When we test on animals it could kill them but if made a clone we could do multiple tests with clones and we wouldn't have to kill the animal population n. Dorsey, a clone for a horse, was apparently the vaccine for many diseases in the future. Bringing back animals would mend for our ancestors ways. In the past over hundreds of thousands even millions of species. Whoever has a bear pellet in there garage or a place which they own is a main cause of extinction. Because of all the DNA we have a dodo bird which went extinct hundreds of years ago if we were to clone them we could be the first generation to perform de-extinction. Running out of time to mate, tigers are beginning to die,

Regional Politics (Africa, Middle East or East Asia) Essay - 1

Regional Politics (Africa, Middle East or East Asia) - Essay Example Culture is defined as a people’s way of thinking, behaving and handling different situations both common and common, all of which influences the ability of people within a country to accept different situations created by democracy. Democratic institutions are governmental and nongovernmental units created to operate with complete autonomy to deliver different needs to the people. Institutions in a country include the judiciary, the police services, the armed forces, aid organisations and other units created for the wellbeing of the society. In this paper, I will highlight how the development of democratic and dependent institutions of a country is influenced by cultural maturity. The different cultural environments within a number of countries in the middle east, Africa and other developing economies will be compared with the cultural environments found in first world countries (Hadenius & Teorell, 2005). Cultural maturity and progress differ in different countries and this h as enabled some regions to develop as compared to others for example the socialist Asia and former soviet and the capitalist west. The level of democratization of institution in these countries differs and this has been attributed to the way of life found among the different countries. Culture is a multifaceted domain that cannot be highlighted as a block in trying to determine its impacts of democratization of different institutions in different countries. According to Tabellini (2005), culture’s casual effect results from its ability to affect development in a country endogenously. This measure of impacts on economic development is similar to the impacts it can produce on the democratization of institutions and organs of a country’s governance system (Tabellini, 2005). A number of questions have however arose about these differences and authors have attempted to explain why this is not the case in African and other countries in the Middle East. The United Kingdom and the United States experienced political transformation in the early 18th to 20th century, a fact that is attributed to the development of these countries into republic and democratic countries. With the French revolution leading to the abolition of the monarch system, the French cultural practices changed with the embracement of democratic governance. This affected other institutions in the country that led to significant independence and democratization of these arms of government (Ichino, Bornhorst, Schlag & Winter, 2004). In contrast, the independence and democratization of institutions in china and other Asian and African countries has remained significantly below pace. This can be explained to the prevalent government control, coercion, intimidation and interference in the operations of these institutions. When the French revolution led to the replacement of the monarch system with a more democratic governance system, the continuous revolts in china led to the replacement of o ne monarch with the other. The monarchs were operated from one ideological principle that had no variation from the previous regimes, a process that further weakens the democratization process of the countries (Diermeier & Krehbiel, 2003). The African situation is fluid as compared to other

International Country study of Germany Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

International Country study of Germany - Essay Example There are certain exceptions, like the specific sectors of agriculture and coal mining, which are regulated and specially subsidized. The gross domestic product of Germany (purchasing power parity) in 2008 was $2.863 trillion (CIA, World Factbook, 2009), with the official currency being the euro. In order to seriously comprehend the economic framework within which Germany functions, it is imperative to be cognizant of the basic features and structural facets of the banking and the financial system of Germany. The banking network in the country of Germany comprises of different private and public credit institutions (Banks and Banking, n.d.). Though the types of activities that are allowed to each variety of the credit institutions are not bounded, yet specific distinctions in the characteristic range of bank customers or transactions do prominently exist (Baums and Gruson, 1993, p.4). The variegated credit institutions in Germany are – (1) commercial banks that come under the private sector (private Geschaftsbanken); (2) banks that exclusively deal in savings (Sparkssen) and related credit operations with their central institutions (Landesbanken und Girozentralen); and, (3) the agricultural and the industrial credit co-operatives (Raiffeiseibanken and Volksbanken), th e regional institutions of these banks (Genossenschaftliche Zentralbanken), and their strong central institution (Deustche Genossenschaftsbank ) (Baums and Gruson, 1993, p.4). The savings banks which had previously solely focused on the amount of savings deposits and the long term loans, have diversified their activities a more prolific manner, and with their central institutions which is the regional Landesbank, are functional in spheres of lending in large scale, financing in the industrial sector, and mobilizing capital in the securities business. With a parallel context, the club of commercial banks has penetrated the field of

Literature Review: Play Work in Education

Literature Review: Play Work in Education Weisberg, D. S., Kittredge, A. K., Hirsh-Pasek, K., Golinkoff, R. M., Klahr, D. (2015). Making play work for education. Phi Delta Kappan, 96(8), 8-13. doi:10.1177/0031721715583955 The article encapsulates that in comparison to other forms of play, guided play is the most effective in enhancing the learning skills of children from a range of ages. Guided play incorporates play into education without compromising learning goals or suppressing childrens exploration, as its blend of child-directed play within an adult-initiated environment enables them to become in control of their own learning. This allows them to develop autonomy by forming their own decisions in regards to their upcoming actions and gaining skills to attain information. The balance between freedom and structure in guided-play is more effective than direct teaching or free play, as adults harness a childs appeal to play in the service of learning through scaffolding their actions. This in turn promotes the acceleration of long-term development and encourages better learning outcomes. Weisberg et al have utilised evidence to strengthen their claims and formulate a convincing argument to readers. The citations displayedenable readers to access the resources cited to confirm if the evidence is accurate and to investigate and delve deeper into the topic. This provides the opportunity for readers to gain a deeper understanding of the authors claim, which makes their argument more convincing. The multiple citations also suggest that the authors engaged in an in-depth research, depicting that they share a thorough understanding of play, creating a convincing argument. The citations further suggest that other academic scholars share the same perspective about guided-play as Weisberg et al, making the article more potent. Additionally, multiple examples of studies strengthen the claim of the authors as they provide evidence of how ideas translate into practice. For example, one of the studies provided portrayed that children engaging in guided-play outperformed those who engaged in free-play, whilst learning vocabulary (Dickinson et al., 2013), thus validating the argument of the authors. Moreover, the use of direct quotations emphasise the point of the authors in a concise manner whilst providing strong supporting evidence, making a stronger claim. Majority of the arguments presented are highly convincing as the findings used to support them do not have alternative explanations. However, few cases within the article can be interpreted in another manner, weakening the authors claim. For example Weisberg (2015) claims that the relationship between learning and play is intrinsically linked through guided play. Although factual, this finding could also support a different argument such as the link between learning and free-play, as all play acts as a catalyst of learning. A comparison of the article to alternative readings enables the audience to articulate the strength of the claims made by Weisberg et al. Both Barblett (2010) and Weisberg et al (2015) propose the significance of adults preparing different environments in which child-initiated play can take place. Barblett (2010) explores how creating an intellectual environment prompts children to question activities they are partaking in, which extends their knowledge. This relates to Weisbergs notion of scaffolding, which like an intellectual environment, enables children to assimilate information at their own pace. Weisberg also suggests the importance of preparing a physical environment as it assists children in self-directed exploration and learning. Likewise, Barblett conveys that physical environments provoke and encourage children to engage in exploration and learning during play. Additionally, Brock (2013) exhibits the importance of adults creating rich learning environments as they enable children to fulfil their learning potential. Weisberg and others (2015) explore the significance of children becoming the driving force of their upcoming actions as well as what they desire to explore and how. This is similar to Goldschmeid (1987) theory of heuristic play as it involves self-exploration, which like Weisbergs concept, enables children to become in control of their upcoming actions and decide how they want to utilise the object. Furthermore, Weisberg et al (2015) suggest that elements of guided-play accompanied by direct teaching was the most productive strategy for children to learn. Including direct-teaching in guided-play diminishes the sense of child-directed play, thus becoming unenjoyable. This is supported by (Fisher, 2002) who claims that when adults continually drive learning experiences, golden opportunities for learning are missed. Moreover, Weisbergs perspective differs to Follaris (2013) concept of project work as children are in control of their learning process as they investigate areas of their own choosing. As a result, children are able to formulate concepts and engage in creative thinking which is essential for learning. Like Follari, Touhill (2012) presents the importance of project work as it enables children to exercise their growing sense of agency and autonomy and promote inquiry, curiosity and exploration.

My Favorite Place to Vacation

Attitude/Point: Others will feel the same way about their favorite place to visit for their own specific reasons. and I have noticed that most people visit places because of the weather, and the stress relief you get when you take a vacation.Audience: Individuals or families who are looking for a serene place to vacation to or visit. People who vacation frequently or retirees would benefit from this.Purpose: I will be sharing this opinion to inform the reader of fond memories that can be obtained by visiting Southport and the pleasurable atmosphere.Topic Sentence: My favorite place to visit is Southport, North Carolina because it has relaxing beaches, great weather, and the people there are friendly.Brainstorm List of Possible Examples:Able to read booksClear mind by gazing out into the waterCool breeze throughout the day and nightLocals speak each time you come into contactSentence Outline:My favorite place to visit is Southport, North Carolina because it has relaxing beaches, great weather, and the people there are friendly. To start with, Southport has one of the most relaxing beaches; it helps people relieve stress and focus. For instance, during the school year I am living in the mountains of North Carolina, which can be a very stressful and demanding of me; nonetheless during my summer break I can be found in Southport at the beach.When I finally get to Southport, on the beach, I just lie out in the sun and gaze out at the water and read books, without a care or thought entering my brain. Southport is also my favorite place to  visit because of the weather being so pleasant; it is not to hot but also not to cold.For example, each day during the summer though it is rather warm there is always a cool breeze that will change your entire attitude about the day and the temperature. Lastly, I like to visit Southport because the people are so welcoming, which makes it so much more enjoyable and serene.Each and every time I go on a walk or bike ride, everyone i s continuously speaking to you and have a word or two more to say. The locals are always walking around with a smile willing to engage in any way to help. In a nutshell, even though I only visit Southport during the summer this is why it is my favorite place to vacation.

A Book Report on Irene Hunt’s

Irene Hunt’s No Promises in the Wind (1975) is a story about the plight of fifteen-year-old Josh and his brother Joey, set in the desperate state of the U.S. during the Great Depression of the ‘30s.The two boys hailed from Chicago, born from a middle class family. The Stock market crashed signaling the start of the Depression (Great Depression, 2005). This has been â€Å"particularly severe in Chicago because of the city's reliance on manufacturing, the hardest hit sector nationally† (Deutsch, 2005).   More than half of the workforce lost their jobs (Deutsch, 2005), including their father, Stephan. When this happened their father changed from someone who is kindhearted into a bitter, angry man.Those times were ridden with problems and he takes his anger out on his oldest son Josh. But rather, it could be supposed that he is angrier with himself for being helpless in their situation, what with the pressures of providing for his family.Desperate times necessitate that kids those days mature early, and even though Josh is a mere boy, he leaves his family with his best friend Howie with dreams of being musicians, his little brother Joey tagging along.The brothers experience a devastating blow when Howie got run over by a train. When they continued to venture forth, they realize how hard to make it out in the real world. They were cold and hungry, at times even resorting to begging for food.They meet a lot of interesting and endearing people along the way and saw how people from different parts of the country, such as Louisiana and Nebraska, were being affected by the Depression. Such people like Lonnie, a generous trucker who tries to help them whenever he can despite tough times, and Emily, a beautiful and attractive a circus clown.Hunt paints a harrowing portrait of that period and how desperate times change people, emotionally and psychologically. She shows that when the going gets tough, man’s instincts for survival take over, even at the sake of common goodness and humanity. On the other side of the coin, it is also a testament that kindness still endures.The story is largely character driven, and the author makes good use of her skill in portraying emotions, especially how the Depression changed people. With deft descriptions and stirring language, she conjures a moving image of a desperate America, and what people do in order to survive. Some parts could seem too unrealistic, such as Josh’s illogical ambitions and the brothers’ seemingly continuous luck, but in the end it is successful in providing us a glimpse of the general populace’s real state of living during that period.ReferencesDeutsch, T. (2005).   Great Depression. In The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago. Retrieved November 22, 2005, from http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/542.htmlGreat Depression. (2005). In Wikipedia. Retrieved November 23, 2005, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_DepressionHunt, I. (1 975). No Promises in the Wind.   Chicago: Follet Publishing.