The Issue of Student Preparedness

The article titled â€Å"Teaching Responsibility† deals with the issue of student preparedness after high school. The article brings up the recent case of Jonathan Govias who is suing his private high school stating that the school did not prepare him for university. The article goes on to give two examples, one in Virginia and one in Ontario of how these types of problems are being dealt with. The editor agrees s that the school system should be held more responsible for its graduates, but makes it clear that lawyers only complicate matters. I believe that Jonathan Govias† case should be heard in a court of law due to the fact that schools have a certain responsibility and if it is not met then something needs to be done about it. I am in total disagreement with the Ontario†s school plan to get rid of this problem and am a total fan of the Virginia pilot project, because unlike the Ontario plan they are actually looking to help the students and not their own pockets. After dropping out of his first year engineering program at the university of Alberta, Jonathan Govias decided to sue his alma mater for a total of $140,000 claiming that the school failed to fully prepare him for what university had in store for him. Jonathan attended a private school, and as we all know private schools charge a large amount of money in order to provide a better education for its students. That is why parents enroll their children in private schools. Jonathan after graduating got accepted in the engineering program, which is a hard program to get into since a high average is necessary. Private education costs money, therefore making it a business that provides services and like any other business should be held responsible if their services fail, or does not meet the standard that the school promises to meet. I believe that the school is very much responsible for Jonathan†s post secondary education. Private schools take pride in the fact that they can provide a better education than public schools and that they prepare their students with the tools they need to survive in the university world. It is also important to note that this case has not yet been decided in favor of Jonathan and that Jonathan should be given a chance to prove himself. The fact that this action against the private school is taking place shows that Jonathan has just cause for his decision to take his case before the judge. The next area the editor deals with is what Ontario is doing to solve the problem of student preparedness. A key performance indicator review will soon be in effect. This review will look at the employment rate of the former students as well as a survey of what employers think of the quality of the graduates. In the end it is said that up to six percent of a college†s provincial government funding will be affected by these results. This way the schools with successful students will get more funding, where as the schools who do not do well will be faced with cutbacks. Cutbacks in any way shape or form are a bad thing. We are already facing cutbacks in the elementary, junior high and high school levels. These cutbacks are the direct reason for the lack of student preparedness, and now community colleges are in for it. It is interesting that Ontario is going to enforce these rules to community colleges and not to universities. I would like to know why. I do not see how cutbacks are going to help a college that already is not doing well. You might as well shut the school down because with these cutbacks that Ontario has in store for the colleges, the school might as well close its doors. On the other hand Virginia has come up with an idea that will help its students. In order for the schools to be held accountable they have come up with a pilot project that provides its students with educational warranties. This way if a student requires remedial education within two years, the school board will cover the costs. This is how Virginia is dealing with the graduate†s lack of basic skills. This plan by Virginia seems to me to be a better way to make a difference, and shows that they are putting their students first. First thing I would like to point out is that the plan by Virginia is a pilot project, meaning that it is currently at its test phase, therefore we must wait for the results to see if it is a plan to be adopted by all school board districts. With that in mind the pilot project is still a great idea. For one it holds the schools responsible for their actions and keeps a close eye on the schools performance but does not have cut backs in mind. Students are now given a second chance to make things right. It is known that the high school years are hard on adolescence and that many find it hard to cope with the changes that are constantly taking place. Unlike the Ontario plan this projects does not close any doors on its students. The pilot project undertaken in Virginia gets the thumbs; up because it puts the students first by providing them with a chance at a good education, which in the end is the soul purpose of an educational institution. â€Å"Study hard† parents tell you. All your life you hear that in order to succeed in life you must study hard, get a good education and make something of yourself. One must not forget that the school is also responsible for its actions and responsible for providing a usable education. Unfortunately these days the high school diploma does not matter much to people, it is the post-secondary piece of paper that counts. Well obviously one needs a proper high school education in order to be able to survive in the post-secondary world. We as a society need to be concerned with the lack of student preparedness. These students lacking basic skills are going to run the future world. We need to nip this problem through the use of projects such as the one introduced in Virginia. As we enter the millenium, we need to understand that investments in our future are crucial. By providing a better education we prepare our children for all the advancements that we are headed for.

History of football Essay

Football (as well as rugby and soccer) are believed to have descended from the ancient Greek game of harpaston. Harpaston is mentioned frequently in classical literature, where it is often referred to as a â€Å"very rough and brutal gameâ€Å". The rules of this ancient sport were quite simple: Points were awarded when a player would cross a goal line by either kicking the ball, running with it across the goal line, or throwing it across the line to another player. The other team’s objective was simply to stop them by any means possible. There was no specific field length, no side line boundaries, no specified number of players per team, only a glaring lack of rules. Harpaston: Luckily (for everyone) uniforms & equipment have improved dramatically. Most modern versions of football are believed to have originated from England in the twelfth century. The game became so popular in England that the kings of that time (Henry II and Henry IV) actually banned football. They believed that football was taking away interest from the traditional sports of England, such as fencing and archery. Evolution and the Beginnings of Standardization. Football didn’t really begin to take on any consistency of rules and boundaries until it was picked up as a sport in the seven major public schools of England in the early 1800’s. Six of the seven schools were largely playing the same game (including Eton, Harrow and Winchester) – while the seventh, Rugby School (founded in 1567) was playing a markedly different version of football. The other schools moved ahead refining their rules and eventually their game became known as â€Å"association football† – or soccer, which was played back then much as it is today. Rugby School went in a different direction. How and why the game developed differently at Rugby School appears to have been lost in history, but what is known is that by the 1830’s, running with the ball at Rugby School was in common use and 18 foot goal posts had been added with a cross-bar at 10 feet above the ground. The inclusion of the cross-bar was accompanied by a rule that a goal could only be scored by the ball passing over the bar from a place kick or drop kick. Apparently this was done to make scoring easier from further out and also to avoid the horde of defenders standing in and blocking the mouth of the goal. Players who were able to â€Å"touch down† the ball behind the opponents goal line were awarded a â€Å"try-at-goal† – the player would make a mark on the goal line and then walk back onto the field of play to a point where a place kick at the goal was possible (a conversion). There was also an â€Å"off-your-side† rule used to keep the teams apart. Passing the ball forward was not allowed. By the mid-1860s British schools and universities had taken up Rugby’s game and honored the school by giving the â€Å"new football† the name of rugby. The game soon went trans-Atlantic to America and landed on fertile soil. Roots of American Football The birth date of football in the United States is generally regarded by football historians as November 6, 1869, when teams from Rutgers and Princeton Universities met for the first intercollegiate football game. In those early games, there were 20 players to a team and football still more closely resembled rugby than modern football. The game of football has a history of constant rule changes. Rule changes have been implemented to bolster the excitement of the game of football and  to increase the game’s safety. In 1873, representatives from Columbia, Rutgers, Princeton, and Yale Universities met in New York City to formulate the first intercollegiate football rules for the increasingly popular game. These four teams established the Intercollegiate Football Association (IFA) and set 15 as the number of players allowed on each team. Walter Camp, the coach at Yale and a dissenter from the IFA over his desire for an eleven man team, helped begin the final step in the evolution from rugby-style play to the modern game of American football. The IFA’s rules committee, led by Camp, soon cut the number of players from fifteen to eleven, and also instituted the size of the playing field, at one hundred ten yards. In 1882 Camp also introduced the system of downs. After first allowing three attempts to advance the ball five yards, in 1906 the distance was changed to ten yards. The fourth down was added in 1912. Within a decade, concern over the increasing brutality of the game led to its ban by some colleges. Nearly 180 players had suffered serious injuries, and eighteen deaths had been reported from the brutal mass plays that had become common practice. So in 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt called upon Harvard, Princeton, and Yale to help save the sport from demise. At a meeting between the schools, reform was agreed upon, and at a second meeting, attended by more than sixty other schools, the group appointed a seven member Rules Committee and set up what would later become known as the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or the NCAA. From this committee came the legalization of the forward pass, which resulted in a redesign of the ball and a more open style of play on the field. The rough mass plays, which once caused so many serious injuries, were prohibited by the committee. Also prohibited was the locking of arms by teammates in an effort to clear the way for their ball carriers. The length of the game was shortened, from seventy to sixty minutes, and the neutral zone, which separates the teams by the length of the ball before each play begins, was also established. Though refinements to the game would continue to the present day, the modern game of American football had arrived.   

Leading marines

Identify the author's mission (task and purpose) in writing this book. The author's purpose in writing this book was to explain the role of the ‘leader' in the Marine Corps. To accomplish this the author used examples of corps values, ethos, individual courage and unit spirit. 2. What part of the book was the most effective in accomplishing the author's mission? What part of the book was the least effective? The part of the book that I think is most effective at accomplishing the author's mission is chapter three: Challenges. Friction dominates war, it makes simple tasks hard'. The author touches on how friction affects us anywhere from the marine-air- ground task force down to the most forward fghting positions and how getting over the brick wall that is adversity is key to being able to lead marines. 3. What does the author assume to be true in order to accomplish his mission? Does the author validate these assumptions in the book? The author really shows the importance of th e lessons we learned in boot camp and OCS as the basis of what is needed to accomplish any mission.The author validates these assumptions as he goes back to what we learned in training as xamples of how we should carry ourselves as leaders and Marines. 4. The part of the book that is most relevant to what I / we do is: The part of the book that is most relevant to what â€Å"we do is chapter three. The author talks about Friction and overcoming challenges in everyday life such as physical challenge and the importance of being combat effective. This is relevant to me because I think physical fitness is key to anyone in the Marine Corps who wants to be a leader. . Identify the author's specific and implied conclusions. What I took as an implied conclusion was that there's a bigger purpose for veryone and you won't know what that purpose is unless you take risks to find that purpose. What part ot the book was the most ettective in accomplishing the author's The part of the book that i s most relevant to what l/we do is chapter three. The ground task torce down to the most torward tgnting positions and now getting over purpose. 1.Identify the author's mission (task and purpose) in writing this book. ground task force down to the most forward fighting positions and how getting over The part ot the book that is most relevant to what I / we do is: 6a. With respect to the author's conclusions (either specified or implied), I / we ccept or agree with the following: I agree with the implied conclusion that the fundamentals of leading marines is engraved in each of us as marines in boot camp or OCS and that those fundamentals are the basis of being a leader and a Marine. b. With respect to the author's conclusions (either specified or implied), I / we reject or do not agree with the following: There was nothing that I did not agree with. 7a. This book made a favorable impression on me and it will change the way I approach: This book will definitely make me think back to the basics when I am approached with adversity.

No-Till Farming and Agriculture Practices Term Paper - 1

No-Till Farming and Agriculture Practices - Term Paper Example The organic matter residues which are left by the previous crop, water, the microbes present in the soil, and other living organisms like fungi, earthworms etc are disturbed. All such happens in the traditional methods of crop cultivation. In the methodology applied in No-till farming, the farmers use such machines which only makes hole in the soil where the seed is to be planted. The area surrounding that hole is not disturbed thus the seed is provided with sufficient organic materials, water, minerals and certain symbionts which may enhance the growth and yield (No-Tillage Farming. 2012). The concept of no-till farming was introduced by Edward Faulkner in the 1940’s but it did not gain attention until after the World War II. With the synthesis of new chemicals after the World War II, many scientists and researchers stepped out to look for newer ideas. With the advent in the modern technology, no-till farming is rapidly being adopted by most farmers in the developed countries. It is known as the best practice in agriculture because of its efficiency and feasibility. The method of no-till farming gives more and much better yield as compared to the conventional methods. It is less laborious and more economical. It requires less fuel, chemicals, and fertilizers in contrast to the traditional method in which the fertilizers were added to the entire field for enrichment. As no-tillage method disturbs as little soil as possible, it keeps the soil integrity intact thus prevents soil erosion and the organic residues form the previous crops are not removed. This enhance s the organic matter in the soil and thus the seed is encircled inside it. In the traditional methods of farming, the soil was rigorously disturbed which increased the surface area of the superficial organic matter to the soil microbes. The microbes rapidly decomposed all the organic matter which then became unavailable for the

Reflections on Learning Related to Information Systems Research Paper

Reflections on Learning Related to Information Systems - Research Paper Example OOP is also quite responsive to changes undertaken and the changes may be implemented to the individual objects which do not call for a system overhaul. Through encapsulation there is simplicity and effectiveness in object interaction and communication thus testing, debugging and system maintenance is simplified. Easier to manage because of the fact that code can be reused and also because the functionality is modeled using objects and classes. It is possible to use code which has been written before. There is code re-use. With object oriented programming, there is a lot of flexibility because it is possible to get code which performs the same function for a given functionality. Computer science is a field in science hich deals with computer theory while that of I have learnt many things in this course. Systems development is a new branch in information and communications technology. Developing information systems is an important process that should be taken into consideration. Syste ms development is becoming an important aspect in information and communication technology. Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is a process used to monitor and manage the development of a software. SDLC is an important model that is used to manage the whole process. It is important in developing a software output which is reliable and valid. It therefore acts as a guide when developing a software product (Schneider 2010). The development process of a software product entails a lot of steps. All these steps should be followed up in its entirety to ensure that all the processes are captured in the development process. For a good software to be developed, there is need to ensure that all the steps are followed extensively so that the occurrence of bugs can be minimized. SDLC also helps as a guide in collecting data that is used to design the software. In the design of a software, it is imperative that the software meets the requirements of the users so that their needs are met. I h ave learnt that there are various stages that systems development will undergo in order to have acomplete system. Systems design undergoes a lot of processes and stages. This is taken so that all the processes that are required have been made. This is the reason there is a need to have a thorough system analysis process when creating a system. System analysis entails having a thorough understanding of the system and what will need to be integrated and also looking at the possible bugs that might be introduced in the system. It is therefore important to have a physical representation of the system so that it becomes clear what needs to be achieved. In terms of systems theory, I have learnt that systems theory is an important theory that needs to be followed when developing information systems. Systems theory was developed from unified data modeling. Use cases on the other hand describe the behavior of the system in the event of stimulation by any of the actors. The behavior is then d ocumented or described textually. It describes the inputs and outputs from the actors the process of conversion of the inputs to produce the outputs and the effects of the outputs to the other actors of the system. A use case also describes errors that can be encountered in the process of conversion of input to output and explains the possible mitigation

Literature and culture Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Literature and culture - Research Paper Example The theme affects and is affected by the motive of the writer; thus one can say that the end a writer seeks to attain is what forms the theme of the literary work. One can imagine that there have been so many ends that have been achieved by writers throug literature. The theme therefore has an effect on the extent to which one can market his or her books to readers. Background of Authors Leon Uris was born in the United States and he moved to Israel after serving in the US Marine and in Israel, he worked as a journalist and reporter (Lambert 50). In a biography, Nadel (93) examined that Uris sought to revive his Jewish identity and that is what made him take on research into the founding of the State of Israel and most of those findings influenced his book, Exodus. Khaled Hosseini on the other hand was born in Afghanistan to an aristocratic Pusthun family around the time that the protagonist of his Kite Runner, Amir was born. Hosseini’s family had to leave Afghanistan for Euro pe during the Soviet invasion. They returned briefly and then went back to the United States where he has lived to this very day (Hosseini Personal Website) This therefore suggests that both writers had an inherent interest in the history of their nations and they were therefore influenced by the history and culture of their countries. Elements of History & Non-Fiction in Theme The narrations employed in the works of these authors make a person wonder if the work was actually non-fiction or fiction. Leon Uris states in the opening page that â€Å"Many events in The Exodus are a matter of history and public records. Many of the scenes were created around historical incidents and used as a backdrop for the purpose of fiction† (Uris 1). This shows evidence that Uris uses characters of fiction to portray elements of the founding of the nation of Israel, its culture and history through fiction and art. The hint that Hosseini gives in his book about the role of history in his narra tion is found in the opening statement he makes in Kite Runner saying â€Å"I became what I am today at the age of twelve on a frigid overcast day, in the Winter of 1975†¦ that was a long time ago but it is wrong what they say about the past I’ve heard, about how you bury it because it claws its way out† (K. Hosseini 4). This suggests that Hosseini was using elements of narration to present a historical point of view of his people and community. Afghanistan & Israel through the Writers Khalid Hosseini & Leon Uris both bring out the historical injustices meted out to their peoples through the individual experiences of their characters to express the collective suffering and elements of their peoples’ history and culture. This is done through fast paced narrations and very rigourous and clear pictures presented by these writers. In Kite Runner, Hosseini presents Amir as a young member of the well-to-do Pushtun family who has all the privileges and luxuries an d is seen to be righteous and innocent. Amir’s father, Baba is presented as a very rich aristocratic Pushtun merchant who was ready to face to advancing Soviets with courage. On the other hand, Hassan and his father, the

Effective Learning Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Effective Learning Environment - Essay Example In this area, there are cushions and stools where the children can read independently. Independent reading includes rules like â€Å"no talking,† and basically, just reading to oneself. The reading corner also features books of authors they are currently studying as a class. Through this reading corner and through the rules of â€Å"no talking,† a learning environment is established. This corner is therefore highly beneficial to all the children. Most importantly, the teacher has established a comfortable environment in placing the cushions and stools. However as this reading corner has its own routine, and as it focuses on an author or a theme, the English outcomes are still being accomplished based on the English Syllabus. Under these conditions, the class is working at Stage 2, Learning to Read- Reading and Viewing Texts (Board of Studies, 2007, pg 29). The way in which Mrs. Daniels has designed the corner for reading is bound to attract the children’s attention as the space is exclusively for the children. The corner will encourage them to read, and have moments to read to themselves. Hence, attracting children’s attention and getting them excited to read links to their literacy as declared by Radcliffe (2007) in her article about literacy in the classroom. She states that â€Å"acknowledging students’ attitudes and beliefs has become (the) first step toward the literacy divide† (Radcliffe, 2007). The teacher has accomplished this by encouraging the students to read the reading materials that Mrs. Daniel uses and the activities that are related to literacy. In addition, an overall effort in organising the ‘library’ and choosing books children are interested in reveals that reading for the students’ learning is very important. More importantly, as the class may have different abilities, Mrs. Daniels adjusts to pedagogical practice (Winch, Johnston, Holliday, Lijungdhal & March, 2010);