Reflecting on Assessment Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reflecting on Assessment - Personal Statement Example I know that whenever we are trying to accomplish something, it is a group effort so you cannot have the results exactly as you had in mind because individual perceptions differ but on the whole it was still close to what I had wanted so I feel happy. Conflicts were common and most of the time, they were handled pretty well though it all depended on the individuals involved in the conflicts. Some of them were quite mature so they handled their issues with utmost sensitivity while others were a bit callous. But since in the end it was important to have them resolved, we refused to talk too much about them. Though it would have been better if we could discuss the way in which some of us handled conflicts. That way we can do better in future and understand our own limitations in much better way. Individual contribution was encouraged but some times some of us felt underappreciated. Though I feel that the contributions I made were acknowledged, I still feel that some of the members were acknowledged more than others. I am just not sure they really deserved it.

Incident response policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Incident response policy - Essay Example IRT Team Leader:Â  The IRT must have an individual in charge of its activities. The IRT Team Leader will generally be responsible for the activities of the IRT and will coordinate reviews of its actions. This might lead to changes in polices and procedures for dealing with future incidents. IRT Incident Lead: In the event of an incident, one individual responsible for coordinating the response is assigned. The IRT Incident Lead has ownership of the particular incident or set of related security incidents. IRT Incident Lead works as representative to the outside when an incident occurs IRT Associate Members:Â  Besides the core IRT team, you should have a number of specific individuals who handle and respond to particular incidents. Associate members will come from a variety of different departments in Gem Infosys. They should specialize in areas that are affected by security incidents but that are not dealt with directly by the core IRT. The following member can be appointed depending on the incident; Legal Representative: - Apart from accidental virus attack, intruders may also launch attacks. Legal representative comes in to action in such incidents. This member is a lawyer who is very familiar with established incident response policies. The Legal Representative determines how to proceed during an incident with minimal legal liability and maximum ability to prosecute offenders. To be able to recover effectively from an incident, it is needed to determine how seriously the systems have been compromised. This will determine how to further avoid and minimize the risk, how to recover, how quickly and to whom that should communicate the incident. Compare systems to previously conducted file/system integrity checks. This enables you to identify additions, deletions, modifications, and permission and control modifications to the file system and registry. 1. Protect

Morton and Frith Causal Model Dyslexia

Morton and Frith Causal Model Dyslexia Despite different definitions of dyslexia, expert views very largely agree on two basic points. First, dyslexia is identifiable as a developmental difficulty of language learning and cognition. Secondly, the long running debate about its existence should give way to building professional expertise in identifying dyslexia and developing effective ways to help learners overcome its effects(Rose, 2009: 9). There are many complex issues to consider in developing an appropriate definition of dyslexia. One of this is that there is no specific blood test or brain imaging result that can offer a diagnosis. There is a range of different assessments both written and performance actions which are based on the opportunity to compare performance of different formats (Mc Kendree et al., 2011). Firstly, elaboration of the influential causal modelling framework of Morton (1985) is a major tool as it analyses the learning difficulties from the perspective of biological causes, cognitive difficulties and behavioural influences. According to Morton (1985) these bio-psychosocial factors are interconnected and play an essential role towards the syndrome called dyslexia. Based on this model, I will specifically focus on various traditional and innovative assessments of reading comprehension and phonological awareness, including standardized tests, informal reading inventories, observations and retellings. Phonological awareness is a vital part in learning to read (Robelo, 2000). There are strong correlations between phonological awareness and initial reading, much replicated, and have been obviously affirmed (Gillam, McFadden, 1998 cited in Robelo, 2000). Because of the correlation that exists between reading and phonological awareness and the need to identify children at risk for reading failure, numerous tasks have been developed to assess a childs knowledge of phonological awareness (Robelo, 2000). Therefore, children need two significant skills in order to read successfully; ph onics and language comprehension. Regarding the issue of choice of assessments there are a lot of arguments. Indeed, there are some advantages and limitations as far as using these measures is concerned and we should examine these measures before reaching a conclusion. Also, before conclusion it is important to note that failure to identify and address dyslexia early, can have a cumulative effect. Mortons Model (Causal Model for dyslexia) According to the British Dyslexia Association (BDA, 1996): Dyslexia is a complex neurological condition which is constitutional in origin. The symptoms may affect many areas of learning and function and may be described as a specific difficulty in learning, spelling, and written language. One or more of these areas may be affected. Numeracy, notional skills (music), motor function and organizational skills may also be involved. However it is particularly related to mastering written language, although oral language may be affected to some degree (cited in Ott, 1993).Dyslexia as a precise developmental disorder raises interesting issues about the structure of the usually developing mind (Frith, 2009:191). Accordingly Morton and Frith(1995) the phrase causal model is used to describe the origins of a disorder (Krol et al., 2004). Causal model is related to the biological and cognitive origins of developmental disorders and in this way, records are being kept of the a range of levels of description -biological, cognitive, and behavioural. Morton and Frith (1995) distinguish three levels of description, the biological level, the cognitive level and the behavioural level; there is a separate space for environmental influences which can interact at the three levels. Using the biological level, the genetic factors, the brain conditions, and causal links between the two can be described. In this level we can also include the influence of environmental factors, for example, birth complications on brain conditions (Krol et al., 2004). In the cognitive level, affective as well as cognitive factors, can be incorporated. An affective factor would be usually placed at the intermediate cognitive level, although Morton and Frith highlight that affect can also be defined at the biological level as a physiological reaction or defined at the behavioural level as the expression of the affect, such as the facial expression. On the other hand, due to the fact that the internal process which interprets feeling seems to be significant in explaining how affect can have meaning, affect processing is placed at the cognitive level. At the behavioural level, the behavioural descriptions of the disorders are also stated. These are the behaviours we can directly observe and where the causal flow of the model finally leads, e.g., poor reading. (Krol et al., 2004:729). By describing the behavioural level itself does not give a reason why an individual might have a certain problem, such as why a child has problems in reading. causal model includes explanation for a disorder which is a function of the interaction of factors at the cognitive and the biological levels and from the environment. Some of these factors will be of developmental significance, others will describe current processing. The cognitive level cannot be observed directly, but is in fact assessed at the behavioural level. UK Context Assessments of dyslexia Before the investigation of assessments methods, this piece of paper will explore the major perspectives and changes of special and inclusive education, literacy difficulties and how legislation is applied in the educational system of UK. In these changes, the significant Acts for the development of SEN are included, such as the Warnock Report(1978). The Warnock Report(1978) highlighted the commonality of educational aims for all children irrespective of their abilities or disabilities. Furthermore, it recognized disabled learners right to be educated in mainstream schools, thus opening the way to the idea of inclusion (Warnock, 2005). Some of the international conventions and statements that have asserted the principles of inclusive education which influenced the UK policy are stated below: the UN Convention on the Right of the Child (UNICEF,1989) which states that inclusive education should be the goal for the education of children with disabilities. The Salamanca Statement and Fra mework for action on Special Needs Education (UNESCO,1994) were also important steps for the development of SEN, which ensures that all their educational policies specify that disabled children could also attend their neighbourhood school which would be the same even if there were no disabilities. The Salamanca Statement(UNESCO,1994) has also been seen as something of a watershed in enhancing the prospects for inclusion throughout the world (Farell, 2001:6). The United Nations Convention on the Rights of persons with disabilities (UN, 2006) was ratified by the UK government in 2004 which requires state parties so that to have an inclusive education system at all levels. The problematic nature of integration coupled with the statements made at the World Conference in Special Education (UNESCO,1994) led to the emergence of inclusive education in England. Another significant development in high quality intervention for children with literacy and dyslexic difficulties was the Rose Review Report (2008). The childrens plan (DCSF,2007), made it clear that the government wants every child to succeed; the ability of each child to read well is a key to success in education and an essential life skill. Moreover reading and writing are two terms closely related and both on the development of childrens speaking and listening capabilities. According to Rose Review(2008), in order to overcome dyslexia and other developmental difficulties of language learning there must be highly quality provision for securing literacy for all children, especially in primary schools. In addition, in order to develop high quality interventions for children with literacy and dyslexic difficulties, well trained, knowledgeable teachers and support staff will be required (Rose Review, 2008). In England and Wales government policies have affected, in many ways for the better, dyslexic people who must learn: structured and phonic approaches are specified in the National Curriculum (Cooke, 2001). The rationale stressed the responsibility of the class teachers by identifying and meeting the individual childs needs in primary schools (Cooke, 2001). According to Gaynor et al., (2011:176 cited in Mckendree et al., 2007) a significant first move to helping children with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia was an accurate identification and after the identification there is a variety of different assessments both written and performance based opportunity to compare performance of different formats. As Paris Hoffman state (2004:6 cited in Oakley Barratt-Pugh,2007) assessments of reading in the early years can supply several purposes: it can identify children who need extra support; it can provide information for reporting  purposes; and it can inform teachers a s to the effectiveness of their teaching strategies and programs for meeting literacy outcomes. Assessments can be provided through a variety of assessments tools, techniques or data collection methods, often called assessments, instruments, tools or measures (Oakley Barratt-Pugh,2007). Phonological awareness The first part of assignment will be based on the question: How is phonological awareness (PA) best measured? Before examination on assessments methods of PA should begin with a definition. It is widely accepted that the lack of PA, the ability to detect and control the finer phonological units in either spoken or mentally recalled words, is the main shortage in developmental dyslexia (Seki et al., 2008). According to Muter et al., (2004:194 cited in Rose Review), PA is defined as the ability to recognize and manipulate the sounds in words, and is recognized as a key base skill for early word-level reading and spelling development. The Rose Report (2008) recommended that all children should be taught to read using phonics, taught discretely and systematically within a curriculum rich in language and literacy. After the Rose Review current implementation of phonics taught in English schools recommends systematic assessment of basic skills on a regular basis during the 3 years of instr uction. As Eisele and Jordan claim (2002:103 cited Oakley Barratt-Pugh, 2007) there are several ways in which to assess phonological awareness, and which method to employ will depend upon factors such as the number of children to be assessed, the amount of information the teacher already has about the child, and the amount of time available in which to carry out the assessments.  According to Lancashire Primary Literacy (undated) childrens phoneme knowledge and ability to segment and blend are better to be measured individually, as their progress may not be adequate, or well ascertained in the group activities. As stated by Yopp (1988) a combination of PA measures will be the best recipe for validity and reliability. In my point of view, one of the most helpful measures assessing PA is the use of phonic phases. Teachers may have a variety of activities for each phonic phases, however teachers should use motivating activities each time to encourage children, in order to have a quick re ference and overview. According to The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) (2008) teachers are expected to track pupils progress through a series of developmental phonic phases, with each phase being quantified by a number of phonic-related skills. The phases move from sensitivity to rhyme and alliteration at Phase 1 to confident and flowing use of letter sound knowledge for reading and spelling unfamiliar words at Phase 6 (Snowling et al., 2011: 159). Activities that can support learning in Phase 1-5 are: storytelling, linking letter shapes with phonemes, blending and segmenting long vowel phonemes (given by Lancashire Primary Literacy). This measure had a number of strengths and limitations too. The variety of the phonics activities make the method more reliable and valid to the users, and there is a plenty of choices each time. An additional advantage of this method is the factor of time, because teachers have the ability to design their lesson plan by setting th e time limit themselves whereas at the same time this could be a disadvantage because it could also be time consuming. As Konza (2006) claims most of  the phonological awareness capabilities and skills can be assessed using informal assessments. However, if screening or informal assessment methods find difficulties, formal and diagnostic assessment, should be carried out (Oakley and Barratt-Pugh, 2007). An additional measure of assessing phonological awareness is the Yopp-Singer (1992) test; the purpose of this test is assessing phoneme segmentation abilities. This assessment is consisted of 22 single syllable words, which children are asked to segment into individual sounds. This assessment is not normed, but competency  benchmarks are suggested. It is quick to administer and they can provide important information on which instruction can be based (Oakley Barratt-Pugh, 2007). Reading Comprehension The second section of the essay will be referred to the next language and literacy difficulty that children may face from kindergarten and that is reading comprehension. During the period of the last 15 years, great progress has been made to the area of reading, and particularly in reading comprehension. But what is reading comprehension? How is reading comprehension best measured? According to Farr (1992 cited in Carver, 1972: 292) reading comprehension can be defined as thought communication process which involves two primary components, the rate at which the thoughts are received and the accuracy with which the thoughts are understood. The end product of these two components is the efficiency with which the thoughts are communicated. Reading comprehension is one of the most commonly assessment methods across all the stage of ages, when it comes to educational skills (Svetina et al., 2011). In order for someone to be an efficient reader they must have a set of phonemic awareness an d phonemic skills that allow for new words to unlock. According to National Centre for Learning Disabilities, children might face trouble when reading in the late grades if they lack phonemic awareness. In addition, childrens reading could be improved in identifying the phonemes in words by using simple techniques. In this piece of paper, various traditional and innovative reading comprehension assessment measures will be critically analyzed, including formal and informal methods such as standardized tests, observation and informal reading inventories. Each technique has its relative strengths and weaknesses. According to Gunning (2002) whatever the method of reading comprehension is the material which is given to students to be read, must be at their instructional level in order to be read with an adequate fluency. If the student cant read at least 95% of the words, they will have a lot of trouble when reading. The first technique of reading comprehension which will be explored is standardized tests. What is being measured by standardized tests to measure reading comprehension? Do these tests measure comprehension accuracy? What are the strengths and weakness of this technique? Standardized tests are planned in a way which, questions, conditions for directing process to set the scores are accurate and are scored in a fixed and standard way (Popham, 1999). Standardised tests are administered and scored in a structured, prescribed way to ensure consistency and reliability. Such tests often have scripts that are read out by the teacher / administrator. Standardised tests may be norm-referenced or criterion-referenced and they are always formal assessments. As suggested above, the use of  standardised tests needs careful consideration as many are based on the assumption that literacy is a set of skills that a child has or needs to acquire. In addition, because, they are normative they ar e often used as an indication of a childs overall ability rather than an indication of what is yet to be learned. Therefore the cost and the time are some of the strengths of standardized assessments. At the same time, most assessments are scored easily by computer and not by people. In my point of view, this is an assessments limitation, because tests should be scored by a human and not by a device. As mentioned above there is a number of variety of assessments of reading comprehension. The next reading comprehension method is the classroom assessment practises, that are specially informal reading assessments (observation). As Buhagiar states (2007 cited in Oakley Barratt-Pugh, 2007:10) informal assessments rely on skilful, knowledgeable teacher construction and interpretation and are often regarded as more authentic than standardised and or commercial assessments. Most informal assessments of reading comprehension take place in school or classroom as teachers and assessment specialists select or construct methods to estimate and summarize student performance (Leslie Caldwell, 2008). Teachers use a variety of methods to assess student learning at quite a few points in any semester using common techniques for instance end-of unit tests, quizzes of various types but some alternative classroom assessment are less obvious (Snow, Grifà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ n, Burns, 2005). There are some infor mal and different assessments options which are considered to be the core for the successful assessments of learning, such as student observations, self reporting measures, performance inventories, group work, interviews and they usually provide converging indication over time for the appropriate total assessment at the end of the school year (Snow et al., 2005). Each general type of informal assessment category can be carried out by means of several precise tasks and in different formats. Teachers and administrators have the responsibility to concentrate on appropriate tasks and interpretations of tasks outcomes so that students are not assessed unfairly, despite the informal assessment method used (Snow et al., 2005). In my point of view, the use of informal assessments methods of reading comprehension is more reliable and realistic than using the stereotypic testing formats like standardized assessment methods. There is a range of advantages using informal methods, for instance, they are fairly simple and straightforward using these methods by teachers, and they can gain a lot of important information about childrens progress (Snow et al., 2005). Furthermore, informal tests should function in a way which provides more objective assessment than after-the-fact judgment or overall subjective assessment (Snow et al., 2005). As claimed by Moss (2003:9 cited in Leslie Caldwell, 2008) evidence for the validity of classroom assessments include the match between instructional objectives and classroom instruction as well as the extent to which an assessment contributes successfully to the teaching and learning process .Additionally, the reliability of assessments methods responds to the stage of, which assessment creates reliable measurement with regards to different scorers or contexts (Salinger, 2003 cited Leslie Caldwell, 2008). Classroom assessments permit a much wider range of tasks and student observations (Snow et al., 2005). Observation has an advantage over verbal reports in that they supply the observer with proof of what children actually do (Baker, 2000 cited in Klinger, 2004). Students might be observed during independent reading time or while they are in smaller groups, peer or cross age tutoring or cooperative learning activities (Klinger, 2004). Teachers value the observation as a useful instrument and feel that district assessments are less helpful than examining students written work, listening, asking questions and talking anecdotal records (cited in Leslie Caldwell, 2008). On the other hand as, Snow et al., (2005) assert, that in a classroom assessment, students may feel that they do not achieve well, therefore teachers may be disappointed by a specific performance by a student. An additional limitation of using observation method is that they can be time-consuming (Klinger, 2004). Furthermo re, it can be complicated to find out what is causing a child to behave in a certain way. It is significant to exercise caution when taking observation notes and to identify that there can be many alternative explanations for a childs action (Klinger, 2004). Another promising practise for examining reading comprehension is the use of oral retelling. Retelling a story requires a student to sequence and restructure events and major sources presented in text (Hanse, 1978). In addition, retelling assesses a students ability to rely on memory for accurate details and to relate them to some organized significant model (Klinger, 2004). Burns and Roe (2002) suggest that asking students to recall and retell text is a precious measurement tool. An advantage of retelling is that the teacher is able to know what the student understands. However, a disadvantage is that retelling must be conducted individually and therefore are time-consuming to score. The above elements illustrate that by using a combination of different measures such as: observation, retelling, informal reading inventories, think-aloud and standardized tests might be the best way to assess reading comprehension and phonological awareness (Klinger, 2004). However, due to concerns about the low level of validity and reliability of  informal assessment types, in some circumstances, teachers may need to triangulate results with other assessment types to ensure as high a degree of  veracity as possible (Oakley Barratt-Pugh, 2007:11). Through combinations of approaches, we can learn more than just identifying whether students can read a passage or reply to reading comprehension questions accurately. Conclusion This essay enabled me to obtain valuable insights with regards to the assessments methods of phonological awareness and reading comprehension. As mentioned above, these two skills are significant in order to read successfully and there is a strong correlation between these skills. Due to this correlation, numerous assessments methods have been developed to assess a childs knowledge of phonological awareness and reading comprehension (Robelo, 2000). Each technique has its relative strengths and weakness. The point is that assessment, no matter the context, is serious business and must be handled with care, purpose, and exercise (Snow et al., 2005: 363). Taking this into account, I assume that teachers must be very careful with the choice of methods for reading comprehension and phonological awareness, and each assessment method should be examined cautiously and the needs of each child, should be considered thoughtfully. In my point of view, classroom assessments and especially informa l methods of reading comprehensions have more advantages than using formal assessment methods such as, standardized tests. With classroom assessment methods, teachers have an overall view for the childs progress; on the other hand I think that standardized tests are not so reliable and may have impact on the childs life, as a mother stated. As mentioned above, in order to assess young childrens reading in a fair, valid, comprehensive, educative and explicit way (Curriculum Council, 1998), it is necessary to assess children by multiple methods, in multiple contexts, on an ongoing, cumulative basis, preferably as a part of the normal teaching and learning context (Oakley Barratt-Pugh, 2007:99).

Dont Concentrate on Camps Essay -- essays research papers

Don’t Concentrate on Camps   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A concentration camp can be defined as a camp were particular people are confined or detained for a period of time, although ironically the term death camp is commonly used as a synonym. Between the years of 1942 and 1945 the German Nazi Party initiated concentration camps for all Jews and other peoples that were considered by Adolf Hitler to be inferior. This is a commonly known fact, although extensive knowledge is limited to most people. The majority of concentration camps established have been used for the containing and eventual extermination of its prisoners. Camps have been located all over the world for many different reasons. Survivors (though rare) do exist and always have gruesome, life altering stories kept away in there souls. Undoubtedly Auschwitz in Poland is the most well known camp, but the future existence of concentration camps in the United States has even been discussed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although one of the first uses of concentration camps was by Britain in 1899 against the Boerevolk people, Adold Hitler took them to extreme during World War II (Berwick 85). The first concentration camps of the 1930’s were simply meant to hold political enemy’s of the Nazi state such as Communists and Socialists, but eventually, bigger camps were created for the extermination of inferior groups and races (Swiebocka 1). The original intention of concentration camps was not specifically to murder mass numbers of people although that was though of as a plus side. In his raging insanity Adolf Hitler molded the concept of concentration camps from containment to extermination. Hitler located his primary concentration extermination camps in Poland focusing on six main camps, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Belzec, Chelmno, Majdanek-Lublin, Sobibor, and Treblinka (Sheehan 6). In these camps alone over 2,700,000 Jews were murdered, along with tens of thousands of Gypsies, Soviet prisoners of war, Poles, and others (Sheehan7). The prisoners in these camps died from many different causes. Some simply died from starvation and illness, others were told to â€Å"dig a hole† and then when they finished were shot only to fall inside there own grave. Most were sent to gas chambers to be chemically destroyed. Nazi guards would give the prisoners a small piece of soap and tell them to go into a designated room and â€Å"s... ...exico border, they would immediately be under containment. Supposedly there intention is strictly precautionary, but could the United States actually be considering using them in the future? After all, the government has showed in the past its ability to imprison a group of peoples. During World War II the United States Government demanded that all Japanese Americans be put into concentration camps for holding until the end of the war. They did not intend to kill anyone, although some did die, the U.S. was simply attempting to protect itself against any further Japanese attacks. Concentration camps were used then, and if necessary they could be used again. The origin of concentration camps was simply to hold a group of dangerous peoples. Adolf Hitler obliterated this idea and created his own version of concentration camps to exterminate the Jews and all other inferior people. Auschwitz will remain in infamy as the most horrifying place on earth, and its survivors will forever be scarred. Unfortunately the future might hold concentration camps for American again if it becomes necessary, but honestly, the world will be a better place when concentration upon camps desists forever.

When It All Began

When I began kindergarten I was able to print my name in large letters. But the school was teaching me to write from scratch. I was put into advanced writing because the school linked writing to reading, and I was an advanced reader. I was not an advanced writer. At that age, I lacked the small-muscle control for precise penmanship, and I usually found my writing lessons an unpleasant, frustrating struggle. I squeaked through without being singled out as a poor student, but I began to dislike and feel anxious about writing. In my first and last week of first grade, I learned what it meant to fall behind. We were no longer in reading and writing groups. Before recess one day, everyone in class was assigned to write their name ten times. With my usual care and diligence, I began to work. When it was time for recess, I was the only student who hadn’t finished. Doing a half-ass job just to be done on time had never occurred to me. In my six-year-old view of life, doing something meant doing it as best as I could, there were no other options. Seeing my unfinished work, my teacher jumped to the worse conclusion. While the other kids went out for brief chance to play, she and her aide kept me inside for a lecture on how I needed to work harder. They assumed I had no finished because I had not tried, and when I told them I couldn’t work faster, the ignored this as if it must be a lie. As so often happens to student in schools, I was presumed to be lazy, dishonest, and driven by the worst intentions. At age six, all I understood from my teacher’s lecture was that I had done very badly on my assignment and should have been able to do much better. She and her aide even made me promise that I would finish all my future assignments on time, a promise that, as I told them and they wouldn’t believe, I didn’t think I could keep. Their intense disapproval and this need to make false promise upset me deeply, and made me doubt my own abilities in a way that I never had before. If they were so certain that only lazy people write as badly as I did, yet I knew I wasn’t lazy, I could only conclude something was wrong with me. It must be that I’m no good at writing. And since my deficiency had earned me such disapproval, I was ashamed of it. My parents took me out of school that week, but my belief that I was a bad writer lasted for years after my last school day. I was afraid to write because I was sure I would fail. With most of what I did, I had no concept of failure, only of needing to improve or try again or take a different approach. Being out of school, with its flexibility and lack of external judgments, rarely involves failure. Someone out of school who doesn’t understand a math concept has no more failed than a baby who falls down while trying to walk, she simply hasn’t learned it yet. As my family began homeschooling, writing was the only subject I wanted to avoid. Through my school lessons and failure had only been with penmanship, I also feared composition, it was all writing, and I had developed a mental block against anything under that name. My mother worried, she could see that all other aspects of homeschooling were going smoothly, but what about this one important life skill that I hated and feared. Believing that she had to keep me from falling behind, she tried making me do writing assignments. She didn’t give them to me often, for they were miserable ordeals for the both of us. But every few months or so she would start worrying that she wasn’t teaching her daughter to write, and would try giving me an assignment or a series of them. Sometimes she tried to find ways to make writing fun. She had me practice penmanship by writing favorite phrases in pretty colors. She asked me to write short stories twice, I never finished either one, and fo r a while she had me keep a journal. None of it worked. Even the fun assignments were only fun for a few minutes, then the fun wore off and fear, frustration, and resentment took over. When I did other projects, I was enthusiastic and full of ideas, but whenever I had to write, I became listless, uninspired, and uncreative. I brought nothing to the assignment, she had to lead me, or drag me all the way because I was only working toward her expectations, not my own ideas. I wrote badly. I could tell how poor my work was, which reinforced my belief that I couldn’t write. My style and content were unrelentingly dull and generic. I was too afraid of writing to be able to put my imagination or my identity into it. I did not progress. To progress, one has to analyze what one is doing and look for ways to improve, and I was frozen in the glare of my knowledge that I was a bad writer. Since every writing assignment only made matters worse, my mother tried the only other possibility. She allowed me no to write, she neglected the subject. She let me fall behind a grade level. She removed the pressure and gave me a chance to outgrow and forget my fear. Except for thank-you notes, I wrote nothing at all. When I was almost twelve, after some years of no writing, Mom again suggested that I try keeping a journal. Unlike the previous journal, which had been an assignment for educational purposes, she made it clear that this one was entirely my decision and that writing skills wouldn’t be an issue. If I wanted to do it at all, I would be free to scribble any old illegible and incomprehensible mess I chose. Furthermore, she wouldn’t expect to see any more of it than I felt like showing her, a few years earlier, I wouldn’t even had consider taking such a suggestion without being pushed into it, but my time away from the dreaded subject had taken the edge off of my fear. I was intrigued by the idea of keeping a record of my life that I could look back on later. This idea was safe enough, with its complete lack of outside pressure and no need to even think about whether my writing was correct, that I felt comfortable giving it a try. I wrote in my journal daily, enjoyed it, and put no effort at all into the quality of my writing. Nearly the whole journal consists of two kinds of sentences, the short, simple kind I had use in my assigned writing, and long monotonous run-ons that I had never used before. The run-ons, some of which went on for pages, came from my completely ignoring the technical side of writing and, for the first time in my life, simply rambling unselfconsciously. Then I decided to write a book. I had been keeping the journal for a year when I had the idea. My inspiration was TV, light reading, and daydreams. For the first time in my life, I was planning a serious writing project that I eagerly wanted to work on. It arose from my own ideas and interest, which was on overwhelmingly important aspect that has to occur at its own moment. Giving children assignments tied to their interests is a poor substitute for letting them follow those interests into whatever learning comes naturally. My mom had tried giving me writing assignments on things that interested me. But being interested in the subject doesn’t mean I want to write about them, so such attempts to tie assignments to interests are often ineffective. When I started writing, I worked slowly, carefully, and well. No one minded, no one checked up on me to see what I was accomplishing. My parents showed friendly interest, as they would if I had a new toy or a new playmate, but they never expressed interest. Motivated wholly by desire to express my ideas, I was energetic and creative. Instead of captive forced to struggle with a hated duty, I became an artist at work, passionate, inspired, striving toward an ideal that had come from my own thoughts. At last I opened my mind and let myself be influenced by all the good writing I had seen. I had, after all, been reading profusely for nearly my whole life. All those years, I had seen and enjoyed good writing again and again yet never imitated it. Now with me writing my book, I considered style for the first time and followed the examples of the authors I had read. As I gathered my observations together and used them without fear, I gained my first solid evidence that I had been wrong for seven years, I could write. I worked on my book on and off for several months before I got absorbed in other things and lost interest. When I wrote, I was very slow, because, with my lack of experience, it took a long time to do the sophisticated work I wanted to do. In the end, I only wrote a total of three pages. But however little I had put down on paper, I had learned a tremendous amount and found confidence in my ability to write. After abandoning the book, I did not write seriously for the next three years or even continue with the journal. This was very different from my old no writing days, though, I was only uninterested, not afraid. Writing a thank-you note or an occasional letter to Grandma was now pleasant and non-threatening. I wasn’t writing compositions every week, but who cares. I had already gained as much as a student needs to, adequate writing skills, confidence in my ability, and knowledge that I would be able to learn more about writing anytime I chose. At age sixteen, at an outdoor concert, I picked up a political flier urging people to write to Congress in opposition to welfare. I felt strongly about this issue and wanted to influence the outcome, so I quickly decided to write. I let ideas for what to say in the letter float through my mind for a couple of days. I was writing because I had an idea that I wanted to express, and again, I drew on my reading experience as I attempted to express myself well. This time I used the writing style I had seen in the political commentary pieces I read in the magazines and newspapers. With that letter, I found that I loved the process of writing. I developed a passion for putting words together to express my thoughts and feelings, and I been writing ever since. After the welfare letter, I began to write profusely on a variety of topics. I was starting fresh, seeing my college writing assignments simply as what they were, a set of requirements that I voluntarily agreed to so I could get help with my work, instead of linking them to my grade-school nightmare.

Marilyn Manson and His Impact on Sub-culture Essay

Marilyn Manson has been pushing the envelope of the right to freedom of expression since his controversial â€Å"shock rock† antics began in the early 1990’s. His methods are strange and rejected by most of society, as it cannot understand what he is trying to achieve. Many people believe that Marilyn Manson is bizarre, seeing him wearing women’s clothing, applying heavy facial makeup, and covering himself with jewelry. His success can be attributed not only to his entertainment abilities, but even more so to the incredible marketing campaign organized to promote himself and his crazy actions. His actions give the media a scapegoat to fall back on and a figure which they can blame all of society’s problems. He has amassed a large following throughout the 1990’s and even today as the self-proclaimed Anti-Christ Marilyn Manson. His fans understand where he has come from, what he has been through and are familiar with rejection from society. The Marilyn Manson’s following is normally associated with the Gothic or â€Å"Goth† subculture. At first examination, this seems to be the case as Manson followers and those of the Goth community share remarkable similarities; although true Goths label Manson follows as merely â€Å"Spooks† or â€Å"Mall Goths†, and not real members of the Gothic following. The similarities have been exploited by the media and have linked his music to violent acts against society. â€Å"It was following the Columbine incident that the media began routinely tagging Marilyn Manson as ‘goth rock’ despite the fact that Manson’s music had little relation to gothic music or sub-culture.† (Marilyn, Wikipedia) This essay will explore the reasons why Marilyn Manson is who he is today, why he has such an influence over a particular subculture, and if these followers are actually part of the Gothic community. Who Is Marilyn Manson? Marilyn Manson, the alias and alter-ego of Brian Warner, was created using Marilyn Monroe and serial killer Charles Manson – two opposites in society. (Marilyn, MTVe.com) â€Å"Brian Warner, who formed the band in 1989 and whose apparent business savvy and flair for controversy turned them into a success. Using androgyny, satanic images and themes of rebellion and death, Manson irked bystanders and proved that outrageous rock was still a viable form of entertainment.† (Marilyn, Answers.com) The band originally started in South Florida as a small industrial Goth band, and by 1990, Marilyn Manson, along with four other musicians became Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids. They opened for Nine Inch Nails (NIN), and Trent Reznor was very impressed with them and would help them in the future in many different ways. They got a contract from Trent Reznor’s new label â€Å"Nothing† and got a spot on Nine Inch Nails’ 94 tours. Manson got to meet Dr. Anton Szandor LaVey. He is the founder of the Church of Satan. Dr. LaVey named Manson as a priest of the Church of Satan. Hence, the title Reverend was given to Manson. (Stanton, Bizarre) Manson’s interest in Satanism began when he as a young boy. He spent most of his childhood at his grandparent’s home. Manson and his friend didn’t have anything to do except explore his grandfather’s (Jack Warner) basement. They find out that his grandfather is a cross-dresser and a user of explicit pornographic material such as bestiality. This is where Manson was first introduced to perversity. He attended a Christian school and had Christian beliefs forced upon him even though he was Episcopalian. He was teased and ridiculed because of this. This aside, he always knew that their was something different about him. After being detested by his peers, he gradually began to hate his school and take exception to everything that he was told. He turned to music to free him of the troubles that exist in his life, and instead finds out who he really is. He becomes the exact kind of person that he was once scared of as a youth. (Long, Manson and Strauss) Manson began his teenage years in public school where sex, drugs, rock, and the occult were laid in front of him and he began embrace them. Here he meets many people with the same interests as he has. Manson also begins to experience his sexuality with women. From his school experiences to his  involvement with sexuality, Manson begins terrorizing the people who have mistreated him. He started to experiment with black magic, began an enduring drug habit, and displayed his disgust for mainstream citizens by stealing from stores. All of this is what Brian Warner was, and who Marilyn Manson was to become. (Long, Manson and Strauss) As Manson’s reputation developed, so did the disturbance surrounding him and his actions. His concerts were regularly protested by civil rights groups, and his music was the target attacks from religious and more specifically, Christian groups. This image was created using Manson’s genius for marketing. At the peak of this controversy, Manson had a cover story in Rolling Stone Magazine as well as a best selling autobiography: The Long Hard Road Out of Hell. Why Does He Have Such A Following? â€Å"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.† (Bill of Rights) Manson, along with many other artists, fully embraces their first amendment right to free speech to get their message across. This message mainly appeals to younger generations who can relate to Manson’s songs. Younger audiences are more accepting of his attitude and beliefs, partly due to the fact that teens are more susceptible to mass influence and are easily confused. His communication and identification through music allowed him to amass a loyal following of discontented teens, also know as â€Å"Mansonites.† â€Å"Mansonite can also be used to refer to anyone who has chosen to identify with the Goth subculture without having any idea of its actual nature or composition. Generally, an overnight Goth, or Spooky Kid, will adopt certain aspects of the Goth aesthetic (predominantly black clothing, copious amounts of eyeliner) and loudly proclaim themselves Goth.† (Mansonite, Wikipedia.com) Older generations are quick to assume that it is Manson’s antics which appeals to his followers. But, if no attention was paid to Manson, and his songs and actions didn’t receive the attention that they do, there wouldn’t be such controversy over his religious beliefs or whether he is actually influencing delinquent teens. Teens that are labeled as outcasts can identify with Manson because the media portrays him as an outcast. He dresses differently, often in women’s clothing and he pretends to be a homosexual – something which is a hot topic of acceptance in today’s society. Teenagers these days have very short attention spans and turn to someone like Manson to entertain them by doing extreme things. The Emergence of â€Å"Spooky Kids† goth (g th) n. A style of rock music that often evokes bleak, lugubrious imagery. A performer or follower of this style of music – Courtesy of Dictionary.com â€Å"Mall Goth or Spooky Kid is a disparaging term for someone not supposed to be a real Goth, whose commitment to the Gothic is seen as shallow, pretentious, or dependent on shopping mall-purchased Goth clothes. Their taste is narrowly subjective to mallcore/nu-metal. There have been accusations that (some of, at least) those who listen to the music of Marilyn Manson, Korn, and Slipknot are mall goths. Many mall goths shop at the popular clothing store Hot Topic.† (Mall Goths, Wikipedia.com) Real Gothists would refer to Mansonites as â€Å"posers†, who pretend to know about a particular subculture, but in reality only know a few choice buzz-words and what style of clothes to wear. The Real Goth Subculture How do you define Goth? Goth is short for Gothic, and we typically associate Goth with people that wear black or blood-red coloured clothing . These clothes are often made of leather, lace, and fishnet, and are adorned with spikes, studs, or other shiny metal objects. Sometimes metallic, black, or dark makeup is worn by both the male and females. Some go so far as  permanent body modifications such as full body tattoos, tongue splitting, or vampire teeth implants. â€Å"Those in the Goth scene tend to view the Goth concept rather as an expression of individuality, something they take part in because it seems comfortable and natural for them to do so, rather than because it’s something they want to be. And as such, Goth is a state of mind. Goth is not about being cool-hip, up-to-date. Goth is more about being cool-chilly as in unemotional, detached, unmoved†¦ at least on the surface. There’s an inner calmness, tranquility to it. A need for being given and giving the others space to be at one with themselves. Respect towards the individual – at least as long as it is a fellow Goth.† (Goth, BBC) After conducting a thorough research of the particular subculture, it really is difficult to define Goth. It is ambiguous and open for interpretation. If Marilyn Manson followers acts or dresses a certain way because of their expression for individuality, then they could be considered Goth. If a Marilyn Manson follower acts or dresses a certain way just to follow the crowd or fit in with this subculture, then, based on the quote above, they would not be considered Goth. Works Cited: The Long Hard Road Out of Hell: Marilyn Manson & Neil Strauss Regan Books (April 1, 1999) Goth – A Lifestyle, BBC Available via HTTP: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A473924 Marilyn Manson, Wikipedia.com, the free encyclopedia. Available via HTTP: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_Manson Mall Goth Wikipedia.com, the free encyclopedia. Available via HTTP: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mall_Goth Mansonite, Wikipedia.com, the free encyclopedia. Available via HTTP: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mansonite Marilyn Manson, MTVe.com Available via HTTP: http://www.mtve.com/artist.php?ArtistId=276 Marilyn Manson, Answers.com Available via HTTP: http://www.answers.com/topic/marilyn-manson Stanton Lavey, Bizarre Magazine Available via HTTP: http://www.bizarremag.com/bizarre_lives.php?id=1809 The Bill of Rights, US Department of State Available via HTTP: http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/funddocs/billeng.htm

How to Write a Deep Exploratory Essay on “What’s in a Name”

How to Write a Deep Exploratory Essay on â€Å"What’s in a Name† In the previous two guides, you learned 10 facts for an exploratory essay on â€Å"What’s in a Name?† and 20 topics for an exploratory essay on â€Å"What’s in a Name?†. In this final guide, how to write a deep exploratory essay on â€Å"What’s in a Name?†, you’ll learn how to write an exploratory essay. This will help you tremendously since it provides tips and tactics on how to effortlessly write a liberal exploratory essay. Unlike other essays, an exploratory essay is something that should be liberal with an exceptional structure, and everything that is written on paper must be clear, concise and to the point. Although it’s challenging to write a perfect exploratory essay, the practice in itself, is worthwhile. How do you write a perfect exploratory essay without making mistakes? Here’s how: Choose a Topic Before you start writing an exploratory essay, you should first choose a topic on which you’re highly knowledgeable. The topic you chose should have credible sources to back up your argument, otherwise it won’t be as remarkable as it can be. A good topic is one where questions begged to be asked, the facts are hard to find, has a multitude of different perspectives to make for a compelling argument and links to a hard-pressing issue. Introduction The introduction should include everything you plan to discuss in your exploratory essay. This is why the first paragraph is always written in the end so that you know what you’ve written, rather than what you are going to write. An introduction is what catches the eye of the reader and persuades him/her to read further. The introduction should include the following: A problem you’ve found in a particular subject People or institutions involved in creating that problem The solution to that problem or sources that lead to the solution Your overall point of view on the problem Body The body includes arguments related to the problem. These arguments are supported by strong evidence and credible sources which give your point of view density so that readers are persuaded relate to your perspective – this is exactly what an exploratory essay is all about. However, discussing different perspectives all the while is highly recommended. When you start to discuss different perspectives, even if they oppose your arguments, you are in a better position to attract the audience’s attention. This way, it becomes easier to skew your audience’s   perspective towards your own and convince them that your argument is a positive one. Conclusion Don’t mix up the conclusion and summary. While the conclusion includes a portion of what you’ve written in the article/essay, it’s merely a paragraph which highlights important parts of your work; for example, the problems and its solutions. It is important to write why you’ve taken a keen personal interest in the topic first and then conclude it with convincing evidence and credible sources, so the reader knows you’ve done your homework. Before Submitting Your Assignment Here are some things you should do first: Proofread: Everyone makes mistakes, you cannot simply write a marvellous essay without making a few blunders. It’s only natural. However, proofreading will effectively eliminate the ‘little blunders’ and make your writing virtually flawless. Preview: Make everything is laid out as it should be: fonts, paragraphs, headings, title, margin, page size, etc. Now you are ready to submit your assignment. We are certain that you’ll receive admiration and highly positive feedback from your professor because every student who has read our guides, has always succeeded in writing a liberal and beautiful essay.