The Last Storyteller Essay Example for Free

The Last Storyteller Essay Before the Europeans colonized America different tribes of Native Americas appointed storytellers to keep the tribes history alive. In â€Å"This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona†, by Sherman Alexie an odd boy named Thomas Builds-the-Fire holds the title of storyteller. This short story is about a journey Thomas takes with his old friend Victor to claim Victor’s father’s ashes from Phoenix, Arizona and bring them back to their reservation in Spokane. The story ultimately portrays the strain between Victors and Thomas’s friendship. Alexie uses Thomas and his friendship with Victor to show that not everyone conforms to what we call the social norms. Thomas Builds-the-Fire is different from the other boys from his reservation. In the opening scene Victor is standing in line at the trading post. He has a hundred dollar check in hand to cover travel expenses to find his father when he notices Thomas at a magazine rack. When Thomas approaches Victor and they start a conversation about his father. All the Indians at the trading post are surprised Victor is actually talking with him. In â€Å"This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona† perspective is shown by â€Å"All the other Indians stared, surprised that Victor was even talking to Thomas. Nobody talked to Thomas anymore because he told the same damn stories over and over again† (Alexie 171). This is when we first find out that Thomas is not accepted by his by his own people and is considered an outsider. Thomas is not taken seriously and is not listened too because he enjoys recounting story’s of his tribes past. Thomas makes a proposition to Victor agreeing to help with expenses for his journey to reclaim his father’s ashes if he is allowed to come. Victor reluctantly agrees to Thomas’s terms. The boys sat next to each other on the flight along with a tiny white woman who had the window seat. Thomas begins a conversation with the woman despite Victor’s embarrassment. In â€Å"This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona† character is shown by â€Å"â€Å"Excuse me, miss,† Thomas asked. â€Å"Are you a gymnast or something†Ã¢â‚¬  (Alexie 173)? Thomas is out spoken and is not afraid of being embarrassed unlike Victor who is sitting quietly hoping Thomas will stop. Victor eventually chimes in at the end but it is Thomas’s outspokenness that started the conversation. In this scene not only does the author show that Thomas is different but that the gymnast is unusual as well. In â€Å"This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona† charact er is shown by â€Å"She was busy twisting her body into pretzels. She was flexible† (Alexie 173). Most people on an airplane would find it a bit uncomfortable to be sitting next to someone contorting their body! Once Thomas and Victor had reclaimed Victor’s dad’s ashes they drove to the bank and retrieved the three hundred-dollars from his fathers account. While on the road back to there hometown Spokane Victor recounts the story of when Thomas flew. In â€Å"This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona† perspective is shown when â€Å"Once, he jumped off the roof of the tribal school and flapped his arms like a crazy eagle. And he flew. For a second he hovered, suspended above all the other Indian boys, who were too smart or to scared to jump too† (Alexie 175). Thomas fell and broke his arm in two places, but Thomas did what no other boy would do, even though they all wished too. This is not something many people would do but the author uses this to show that Thomas is not swayed by other people’s opinions. While the boys drive through Nevada the landscape is described. In â€Å"This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona† setting is shown when â€Å"Thomas and Victor had been amazed at the lack of animal life, at the absence of water, of movement† (Alexie 176). The setting of Nevada is desolate and baron of life. There are rarely any animals that are seen during the day. Since Nevada is one big desert most of the animals are nocturnal they come out after the sun has set and the oppressive heat has resided. The symbol of the Nevada desert is used to describe the feeling of being alone. The setting is used to show the feeling of being alone and how both boys are experiencing it. Alexia succeeds in portraying a message about not conforming to social norms in her short story â€Å"This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona†. Through out the story Thomas shows that he is different and that he isn’t going to change for anybody. Thomas despite being faced with many hardships, judgments, torments and even being beat up never faltered in his beliefs. Being different and not conforming the social norms is not an easy thing for people to do and this is what Alexia was trying to portray.

Typical Family

Typical Family As society has evolved, so has the idea of the typical family.  Historically, the idea of family  consisted of one father (the King of the Castle, so to speak), one mother (often the family matriarch) and a child or children, all of whom are biologically related. The image painted around the All American Family  is one that includes a beautiful house with blue window panes and a white picket fence, set right in the middle of middle-class, suburban America. While families that do fit this stereotype continue to exist, many of todays typical American families have the roles of the parental units filled by not just one mother or one father. Parental roles are being filled by grandparents, aunts, uncles, elder siblings, adoptive parents, single parents, co-parents and/or step-parents. The children in these families may or may not be biologically related to the parents or caregivers; if the children are not biologically related they are usually adopted children, foster children, or step-children. Families such as these are often referred to as blended families . The term co-parenting  is sometimes used when two parents of a child are not married to each other. The same term is also used when referring to a family that has two lesbian mothers and/or two gay fathers. Although there is open opposition to gays and/or lesbians being parents or wanting to be parents (whether biologically, foster or adoptive), studies show that people around the world support and acknowledge these types of families. According to Gary Gates at the Urban Institute, as of May 30, 2003, the amount of lesbian mothers has grown to between one (1) and five (5) million; the amount of gay fathers has grown to between one (1) and three (3) million; and there are eight (8) to ten (10) million children who have one or more gay or lesbian parent.1 Mr. Gates further states that, 96% of all U.S. Countries have at least one same-sex couple with children under the age of 18  in their household.2 If one were to compare these numbers to the numbers that would be presented of tr aditional families, these numbers seem quite minimal; however, in the fight for gay and lesbian rights, these numbers are encouraging. Because the numbers continue to increase each day, they are also a testament to the desire of gay and lesbian parents to be seen as equivalent members within their communities, Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Transsexual (LGBT ) community or otherwise. Societys general outlook on gay and lesbian parenting is also changing. According to a poll conducted by the Wall Street Journal (1999), one-third of poll takers endorsed same-sex marriage and unions. These same people would most likely endorse same-sex parenting. Though there is acceptance and welcome for people in the LGBT community to openly parent and raise children, gay and lesbian couples and individuals still face many challenges from others who are not so open minded. Some people have argued that homosexuality is a mental disorder, therefore are of the opinion that members of the LGBT community should not be able to marry or have children. The American Psychiatric Association declared that homosexuality is NOT a mental illness [emphasis added] in 1973.3 The American Psychological Association adopted the same measure in 1975. As psychology was one of the first disciplines to study homosexuality in depth, psychologists have discovered that the fear of being gay (or homophobia ) has played a key role in anti-gay attitudes and behaviors of those who disagree with the gay lifestyle. Though this finding has helped people better understand the reasons certain people are uncomfortable or against the LGBT lifestyle, it has not completely neu tralized the unfounded fears that some people have. There have been some arguments that gay or lesbian parents will molest their children, biological or otherwise. The Child Welfare League of America studied and concluded that, the likelihood of homosexual adopters molesting children placed with them is no greater than it is for the general population. 4 Roland Summit, M.D. concludes that, the vast majority of offenders are heterosexual men. Male offenders who abuse young boys maintain adult heterosexual relationships. The habitual molester of boys is rarely attracted to adult males.5 The premise that ones sexual orientation defines that person as a pedophile has been proven false time and time again. This particular fear has propounded multiple studies, most, if not all, with the same generalized conclusion. The American Psychological Associations policy statement regarding placing prospective adoptive and foster children within gay or lesbian homes reads, in pertinent part: The picture that emerges from research is one of general engagement in social life with peers, parents, family members, and friends. Fears about children of lesbian or gay parents being sexually abused by adults, ostracized by peers, or isolated in single-sex lesbian or gay communities have received no scientific support. Overall, results of research suggest that the development, adjustment, and well-being of children with lesbian and gay parents do not differ markedly from that of children with heterosexual parents.6 This policy has generously helped LGBT parents to fulfill their dream of having a family through the adoption process.

Conflict Resolution Bedtime Stories English Literature Essay

Conflict Resolution Bedtime Stories English Literature Essay In this story, it tells how much young people are innocent and are easy to trust others by telling them the actual truths which may even get them into big troubles. The one greatest conflict in this story is that trusting a stranger who asks a lot of information from the little red riding hood and her being unaware of the dangers, letting the stranger know about the information being asked. Thus, it tells how people should not just trust anyone who tries to be too nice when they actually their intention is to dig out their desired information and facts. But it is true that having such conflicts and trusting others is inevitable. Therefore, it has to be practiced and slowly get used to solving these kinds of conflicts. People in conflict pursue goals and also wonders what each person does, and who they are in relationship to each other during the interaction. The little red riding hoods goal was just to go and give the food, being asked by her mother to the grandmother who is sick and lives in the woods. She was somehow using the collaborative goal when answering back to the wolf who was asking her too much information about her. It was simple and a clear goal, but it was not for the wolf whose goal was different from the girls. Its intention was to get as many information as possible it can get and to try to go and eat the old lady in the woods and even try to eat the little girl up too. Therefore, we can see that when we come across many different people, they all come with their own different goals and in order to achieve the various goals they do things and find different ways to gain whatever they want. The do not try to give way to others and try understanding others which may lead to selfishness. They also try to gain power and sometimes the most powerful behavior is to appear to be able to accept but also resist, or even act in a nonresistant way. There are different types of power, namely; reward power, punishment, legitimate, charisma and expert. The person who is in conflict and the style of solving it would differ from that of who is not involved in it, since the styles develop over a lifetime based experiences. The girl in this story should rather forgive the wolf for being this cunning because it has already happened and no one can actually rewind the past and change whatever it has happened. And forgiveness is not a sign of weakness too and requires movement, which helps a person to shift from the situation and even forget about it. In this case, it also invites the reconciliation process to gain back the cooperation and a sense of harmony. If the girl did not trust a stranger like the wolf, this would not have caused the unnecessary danger to her grandmother, and her and the hunter to appear in the picture to have helped them. Top 2: Three Little Pigs In the story of the three little pigs, the conflicts are that the big bad wolfs mindset of trying to destroy the little pigs and eat them up. As all the conflicts are about two issues; power and self-esteem, the big bad wolfs intention is to gain power by trying to show others that he is possible of destroying anything that he wants to. Also, in order to get a higher level of self-esteem for him by doing such things. Power in accustoming relationships is not finite; it is an expansive commodity. Power is something that does not stay constant and something that keeps on changing. The more you try to escape, ignore and resent against someone, the less power you are to show upon or have with that person. Collaboration is also almost always possible in order to solve a conflict and the misunderstandings among the two parties or more. The interest of the wolf in this story was to show the little pigs what he is capable of and how much power he has by blowing the houses that the little pig s have built. From my point of view, showing power was the main source of intention from the wolf rather than its hunger and interest of eating up the little pigs. This story gives the children a lesson to always be in harmony, united and be alert all the time to overcome the unexpected dangers and that one should try again and again until you succeed without thinking of giving up. And to create a different ending from the given story, the little pigs could have built the house in bricks from the very first time they were brought down or blown away by the wolf to prevent from being in danger again and again. Top 3: Pinocchio From the story Pinocchio by the Walt Disney, the little children could learn it is bad to go around and tell lies which bring no benefit to self and only brings ones own image down. From what I can think is the conflict with Pinocchio and the storyline is that the conflict within himself and covering up what he actually is rather than telling the truth, he might also be afraid of being judged by people of him being made of wood and also the desire to become a real human being, travel around all he wants and join a puppet show. For Pinocchio to transform into a normal human being, just like all of us, he is required to prove that he is a brave and a boy who is truthful and does not tell lies, but what he actually doing was lying around when he travels on his own. He knows that he has to be truthful to people for him to become fully human being, but that was not what he was doing. Therefore, it does not help him to achieve his goal of becoming a human being. The solutions become inclear and even unrecognized if one does not know what they want, which means that the only clear goals can be attained. Clear goals can also be altered even more easily rather the unclear goals and the clear goals are reached more often than the unclear or vague goals. And also, people often create difficulties by thinking on their own that their goals can never be achieved and tend to think that the other party will stand in their way. From the five types of power, Pinocchio seems to have been in punishment since his father, who c reated him as a puppet from wood was swallowed by a whale, as he was the one who was lying to people. The conflict styles are also designed responses, or even a group of styles of behavior that people use in conflict. And tactics are the moves made by people and their individuality which brings out their general approach. Top 4: Jack and the Beanstalk From this story of Jack, who gave his cow in exchange of five seeds that would grow and become a tall stalk of beans learns to get a great deal which has its own time and catch for when it is about time. Thus, it also tells or conveys a message to people that one should not be too impatient and worry too much about something that is not going to happen any soon. Worrying or being impatient about things not only takes away your present precious moments, it also drains your energy from thinking and worrying about unnecessary things. The conflict that Jack has is that he has to be afraid of the ogre and try his best not to be caught by that ogre, and on the other hand, he has to get all the riches from the ogres house too, which has a golden harp and also a chicken which can lay golden eggs. Jack seems to have been in desperate need for all these rich things in order for him to escape and get out of his poor and filthy lifestyle. He also has to manage the conflict well to be able to get all the things he wants from the ogres house. Effective conflict management is one aspect of interpersonal therapy, which also is a well-researched counseling technique for dealing with depression. People in conflict may be fearful, resentful, angry, hopeless or even stressed. It is abruptly normal and usual for people who are in conflict to have disagreements. But for Jack, who was trying to get the valuable things from the ogre had to manage himself. In addition, conflict exists whenever incompatible activities occur an action w hich prevents, obstructs, interferes with, injures, or in some way makes resolution less likely or less effective. But in the end, what matters the most is the perception of the person who is in or to be in conflict and the ways of seeing things from a different perspective. Goals are also perceived as incompatible usually because the parties want either the same things or different. People usually tend to engage in conflict over goals that are important to them. They would not really care about these goals if they had no concerns, interests, or importance to them. No one actually cares about something that does not interest or bores them. This story could not end better even if it were to be given a new ending, since it has shown the children that Jack was smart enough to remember to cut the bean stalk to prevent the ogre from being able to follow him. Top 5: Cinderella Cinderella is a well-known fairy tale from the Walt Disney ever since a very long time ago. It has become one of the most amazing and interesting tale that children long to watch, listen to, or be exposed to. From this renowned fairy tale of children, the Cinderella; everyone who has watched, seen or heard about this fairy tale knows that she was actually being brought up with one stepmother who does no good to her and only gives her hard times, treats her very unfairly, bullies her for so many times, and makes her life even more miserable and harder despite the fact of having to stay with not only just a stepmother but with also two other daughters of hers. Those two daughters of her stepmother do not do any good to her too and all they do or wish is for her to disappear from their lives and bullies her to the extent of being unable even to explain what she has been going through and how she feels about herself to have a life where she has been locked up like a maid or servant to th e stepmother and the two sisters. The conflict between these two sisters and the stepmother was that of being unable to see some other people being better than them or being able to carry out things that they are unable to. This can also be called as the self-conflict which lies, comes or happens only within their self. It is something that has to be solved by them, which cannot be done by others. These two sisters and the stepmother actually know and believe that the Cinderella was way better than in appearance, abilities and even charm that they cannot make up to. But, on the other hand, they have issues in accepting that the little Cinderella is better than them. Therefore, all they try doing is to bring the poor Cinderella down from every possible angle they could rather than thinking or planning how to be like the little princess. In addition, being unable to accept what has been said, written or what actually is, is the main reason and the source of all the envies and jealousies for people to get hurt, being hurt by others, or self-inflicting and depressing state of mind, which can even be related to psychological terms like being in the self-defense-mechanism mode, where one tries to polish or cover up what he/she actually is and try pointing at others faults in order to outshine others charms instead of being kind, humble and simple by trying hard by themselves. According to the story, Cinderella is seen as a very simple, gentle, kind and polite and even forgiving to others since she is the one who has a great and an amazing set of mind even though she has been mistreated for all these while her whole life. Since forgiving is a state of moving out from the usual unpleasant moments of life, Cinderella forgave those who has mistreated her for good and also in order for herself to move on to another pleasant l evel of her own life. Top 6: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs From another tale of Walt Disney; The Snow white and the seven dwarfs, many lessons are being given to the little children who are more likely to be addicted to the Disney cartoons and fairy tales. Snow Whites life turned upside down when her dad remarried with a woman who was known as the most famous and the most beautiful woman in town, who turned out to be the most evil queen of all kingdoms. From the moment the little Snow Whites father; the kings passing away; she was left with this evil Queen, who was also her stepmother. The queens conflict within herself was her own insecurity from comparing herself with the little snow white, because she believed that she has to be the only fair and the most beautiful woman of the entire entire kingdom. She could not accept that the little snow white was as white as snow and as pure as pearls. The evil queen did not want to give the power of the kingdom to the little snow white too. She was already getting old and her health was already deteriorating. She has always had tough times accepting all these and just giving the kingdom to the little princess. From all this unfortunate fortunes, the little snow white somehow escaped from the miserable jealous queen and came to live with the seven hardworking dwarfs who helped and loved her truly and took care of her. But as to the queens persistence, she turns herself into an old lady and offered snow white a poisonous apple. As soon as snow white consumed a bite of the apple, she instantly fell unconscious. But due to her being kind-hearted to people and staying simple, good fortune looked upon the poor snow white that the seven dwarfs chased the queen to the top of the mountains, the thunders and lightning stroke the place and to the little princesss luck, the queen ended her life. Even though the little snow white fell unconscious, her prince charming came and gave her the loves first kiss which woke her up and rescued her. Thus, we all can learn that how much ever you are being in deep tragedies, or your life has not been good in any situation, you just have to hold on, keep your mind simple and all the positive good fortunes will come to you all at once. Top 7: The Hare and the Tortoise This old story of the hare and the tortoise can give all the children who usually dreams of becoming somebody that is famous and powerful a great lesson to be humble all along in life. It is not being famous and powerful that matters, but it is of being humble. If you are being too ignorant and arrogant just because you get to be famous, the fame surely will not last for long. As it is the natures phenomenon that everything comes back down once it gets way higher up where it has a limit, and the same thing will happen for those who become too ignorant of things around you by getting powerful. In the story, due to the hares over-confidence and being too arrogant, it lost to the tortoise in a race, which also is ridiculous for a fast-running hare to lose to a small-speeded tortoise in a race. This proved that the hare was trying to overpower the tortoise which was already slower than it is in doing things. It was also trying to show the power it has upon this tortoise and believed itself that it would definitely be the winner of the race. Power is something that has to do with the social relationship rather than a quality of the individual and that is not owned by any individuals but is a main product of any social relationships in which certain qualities become more important and valuable to others. A person who think or take themselves and tries to show that they are the most powerful to outsiders are usually and often are people with less power than they appear. As we all could see from the hare and its over-confidence, it took itself way too high and fell asleep under a tree in the middle of the race thinking the tortoise would never make it to the stop. This was the act of looking down at someone who is already in lower power than you. Being humble takes account in this case and reminds not to look down on anyone and to stop being too proud of ones self. Top 8: The Ant and the grasshopper This story is a great piece that can be shared to both the little ones and the youngsters who are on the path of spending money and looking for pleasure. The point of spending money lavishly only lasts for a certain period of time but it never lasts longer than the short while. It can only give you pleasure just for a little while that you would not even get to taste what it feels like to actually gain pleasure and be happy about spending a large amount of money. According to this story of the ant and the grasshopper, the grasshopper was the one who always spent a lot more than the ant, enjoyed life, had fun and used up all it had. But on the other hand, the ant was being thrifty and hardworking. It also saved up for its own good and looked far way ahead of the future to be able to face any unexpected terms, just like the saying, expect the unexpected. This is the only way and the most important fact to bear in mind to overcome any unexpected when you are to really face them on the hand. The grasshopper then died of being cold and also due to starvation when the winter came while the ant survived the season from being prepared and saved up the corns during summer for it to be able to cope with the weather and face the natural danger of the changes of the seasons. We can also say that the ant survived due its avoidance of the grasshopper from persuading it to join itself from happily enjoying life, wasting time and spending all it has without putting a tiny bit of effort in the lifesaving strategy. If the grasshopper were to work hard just like the ant did and save up what is needed to protect it from the unexpected, it would not have ended its own life to the unbearable weather and its coldness. Top 9: The Ugly Duckling From one of the best bedtime stories, the ugly duckling story was also a great one to be shared with the children for them to learn from the storyline which expresses that the mere physical appearance do not matter all the time and only appreciating ones inner beauty brings out the best in others and in yourself in every possible and positive ways. It is about self-esteem and confidence when dealing with others and improving ones life rather than just on the basic looks of a person. Someone only with the appealing appearance and without any charismatic or inner beauty leads to nowhere. The most important thing in life is to appreciate every little thing and be grateful of things that happen around you for those brings you the best in you and teach from falling apart or prevent you from feeling like a failure when everyone elses perception is that you would never be able to hold on to when it comes to a certain point where life brings you down for different reasons. This ugly duckling was being ostracized from its fellow fowls just because of its unpleasant appearance. But then when the turning point of this ugly ducklings life comes, it finally grows into a beautiful swan, and that is the moment when the others who abandoned this beautiful swan from being a part of them are to look at it in awe. Thus, this story stresses young children and even the adults who read these stories for the little ones to appreciate the inner beauty and the talents that shows the importance and the mindset of someone, rather than just the physical appearance. Top 10: The Boy who cried wolf This fable of the boy who cried wolf is a very good example for those youngsters who amuse them by scaring others and seeking for attention and making fun of the elders. This story is also known as the Shepherd boy and the wolf, in which the bored shepherd boy calls out people as if a wolf was coming to attack the village. When all the villagers slowly stopped trusting him when they found out to their disappointment and that it was just a false alarm whenever he cried out as a wolf was coming to attack, they all stopped paying attention to him. The boy lost his life one day when the wolf really did come to attack even though he cried out for help, not even one villager paid attention to what hes been crying out help for. This teaches a great lesson for all the youngsters who just amuse themselves by scaring others and giving false alarms on dangers and things that are important to be notified. This great piece of story also tells people to always tell the truth. Once you start lying about something and see people being satisfied with your lies, you continue without even realizing or noticing yourself. But when it comes to a point where they no longer believe in your lies, and start finding out the truth, they start loathing you and decide never to trust you again.

Essay example --

Emotions and the physiological stress reaction can affect the everyday life? It is a way of expressing oneself in life. Positive emotions can open the door to learning for you. Negative emotions-especially overwhelming stress-can literally make to impossible to do well. This is subject that I know too well. The emotional state of mind also has a big part in our success. (Why Learning Is Not All in Your Head), Neurophysiologist Carla Hannaford writes: â€Å"Our mind/body system learns through experiencing life in context, in relationship to everything else, and it is our emotions, our feelings that mediate that context. In order to learn, think or create, learners must have an emotional commitment.† Becoming more aware on the state of mind a person is in makes a difference on how a person can be more proactive on a better quality of life. I’ve always want to be a better person too! I am challenged with many problems that makes performing my best difficult. We have to work to develop the right mindset and attitude that it takes in order to create the lifestyle that we all truly want. Change...

Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number Essay -- Essays Papers

Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number During the last thirty years, there has been an increase in violent crimes committed by minors. In many of these cases, the minors are faced with harsher charges than what the law declares, such as being charged as adults. The majority of the United States justifies the age 18 as when an individual is no longer considered a minor. Yet, in the past ten years, the United States has seen the age of individuals being charged as adults drop. For example, in 1993, Nathan Dunlap a seventeen year-old from my hometown Aurora, Colorado was sentenced to the death penalty and eight years later, twelve year-old Lionel Tate of Fort Lauderdale, Florida was charged with life in prison. Currently the United States government has established age requirements for a minor to be charged as an adult because it is a â€Å"quick and ready pragmatic definition† (Overton 109). However, a simple age limit is not the proper method in determining charges against an individual. Since each American has a different mindset due to their experiences, upbringings, and morals, our laws should reflect that diversity. The court system of the United States should replace the method of using the chronological age of a minor to their mental age when determining the charges against an individual, because it is the state of one’s mentality that leads them to commit a crime. During the late eighteen-hundreds, the U.S. added a branch of law that specifically focused on juveniles. The location of the nation’s first juvenile court for children under the age of 16 opened in 1899 in Chicago, Illinois. The purpose of the juvenile court was to rehabilitate criminals instead of prosecuting them as adults. The social reformers that propos... ...rd ed. New York: Arnold Publishers, 1999. 16-53. - â€Å"History of Intelligence Testing†. IQTest. Google. 4 Feb. 2005 . - â€Å"Interview with Deborah Yurgelum-Todd†. Frontline: Inside the Teenage Brain. 2002. PBS.org. 6 Feb. 2005 . - â€Å"Interview with Jay Giedd, M.D.†. Frontline: Inside the Teenage Brain. 2002. PBS.org. 6 Feb 2005 . - McKibben, Ginny. â€Å"Court Files Hold Details of Slayings Accounts of Dunlap’s ‘Confession’.† The Denver Post. 1 Jan. 1996. ProQuest. 28 Jan. 2005 . - Overton, Willis F. â€Å"Chapter 3: Developmental Psychology: Philosophy, Concepts, and Methodology†. Handbook of Children Psychology. 5th ed. Ed. William Damon. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1998. 109. Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number Essay -- Essays Papers Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number During the last thirty years, there has been an increase in violent crimes committed by minors. In many of these cases, the minors are faced with harsher charges than what the law declares, such as being charged as adults. The majority of the United States justifies the age 18 as when an individual is no longer considered a minor. Yet, in the past ten years, the United States has seen the age of individuals being charged as adults drop. For example, in 1993, Nathan Dunlap a seventeen year-old from my hometown Aurora, Colorado was sentenced to the death penalty and eight years later, twelve year-old Lionel Tate of Fort Lauderdale, Florida was charged with life in prison. Currently the United States government has established age requirements for a minor to be charged as an adult because it is a â€Å"quick and ready pragmatic definition† (Overton 109). However, a simple age limit is not the proper method in determining charges against an individual. Since each American has a different mindset due to their experiences, upbringings, and morals, our laws should reflect that diversity. The court system of the United States should replace the method of using the chronological age of a minor to their mental age when determining the charges against an individual, because it is the state of one’s mentality that leads them to commit a crime. During the late eighteen-hundreds, the U.S. added a branch of law that specifically focused on juveniles. The location of the nation’s first juvenile court for children under the age of 16 opened in 1899 in Chicago, Illinois. The purpose of the juvenile court was to rehabilitate criminals instead of prosecuting them as adults. The social reformers that propos... ...rd ed. New York: Arnold Publishers, 1999. 16-53. - â€Å"History of Intelligence Testing†. IQTest. Google. 4 Feb. 2005 . - â€Å"Interview with Deborah Yurgelum-Todd†. Frontline: Inside the Teenage Brain. 2002. PBS.org. 6 Feb. 2005 . - â€Å"Interview with Jay Giedd, M.D.†. Frontline: Inside the Teenage Brain. 2002. PBS.org. 6 Feb 2005 . - McKibben, Ginny. â€Å"Court Files Hold Details of Slayings Accounts of Dunlap’s ‘Confession’.† The Denver Post. 1 Jan. 1996. ProQuest. 28 Jan. 2005 . - Overton, Willis F. â€Å"Chapter 3: Developmental Psychology: Philosophy, Concepts, and Methodology†. Handbook of Children Psychology. 5th ed. Ed. William Damon. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1998. 109.

The Right To A Free Trial :: essays research papers

The Right To A Free Trial   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the most important freedoms in the American judicial system is the right to a jury trial. This allows a minimum of six Americans, chosen from a list of registered voters, to determine a person's guilt or innocence through deliberations. They have the power to express the conscious of society as well as interpret and judge the laws themselves. If they feel that a law is unconstitutional, evil, or even unfair they can void it for the circumstance by declaring the defendant not-guilty. The power of the jury is enormous and through time has become more equitable by decreasing the limitations to become a juror including race and sex. Part of the reasoning behind the right to a jury trial is to limit government power. Although judges should be fair and just, total power is too strong, and could be used to aid some people while harming others. As someone once said, â€Å"Power corrupts sometimes, but absolute power corrupts absolutely.† Many people thought anarchy would form through the use of a jury system, but no such thing has occurred. It has produced a feeling of involvement in the judicial system and government itself. Throughout this essay, a comparison of a real jury, a simulated jury, and Hollywood's perception of a jury will be discussed. The television special, Inside the Jury Room, showed a videotaping of a real life jury as seen in a small criminal courtroom. The case was Wisconsin v. Leroy Reed, a criminal trial for the possession of a firearm by an ex-convict. The simulated jury concerned an ex-military man who shot two police officers, killing one and seriously injuring another. The police had broken into his house because there was probable cause to believe he had drugs. The man shot the officers because he thought they were robbing his house. The Hollywood version, titled 12 Angry Men, revolved around a teenage boy who was accused of murdering his father and could possibly lose his life if found guilty. The topics of jury selection and appearance, the jurors understanding of their significance, and the deliberation and verdict will be examined for the three juries.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The actual jury itself, has much bearing on how a verdict will result. Are the members compassionate? Rigid? Black? White? Rich? or Poor? All of these factors can influence a jury; this is why lawyers are so critical when making their decisions. In the past, juries only admitted white males, as in 12 Angry Men. Discrimination against blacks has always existed; and until the fifteenth amendment was passed, and the Grandfather Clause, White Primaries, and

Lack of Connection between Educational Research and Practice Essay

Educational research is conducted on the premise that an expansion of knowledge in the area of classroom teaching should automatically lead to improvements in the classroom, not only with respect to teaching styles but also the academic progress of students. All the same, this enhancement of knowledge is not always welcomed by teachers (Kennedy, The Connection). According to Mary M.  Kennedy, the author of â€Å"The Connection between Research and Practice,† teachers may fail to apply new knowledge based on research for the following reasons: (1) The research is not authoritative or convincing enough to move teachers to alter their practices; (2) The teachers find it difficult to directly apply the new knowledge because they consider it irrelevant to their particular concerns or questions on the subject of teaching; (3) The research findings may not have been communicated in an understandable way; and (4) It is impossible for the educational system to accept the changes entailed by new research-based knowledge (Kennedy, The Connection). G.  Reid Lyon, the Chief of the Child Development and Behavior Branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, expresses dismay at the lack of connection between educational research and practice: Scientific research can inform beginning reading instruction. We know from research that reading is a language-based activity. Reading does not develop naturally, and for many children, specific decoding, word recognition, and reading comprehension skills must be taught directly and systematically. We have also learned that preschool children benefit significantly from being read to. The evidence suggests strongly that educators can foster reading development by providing kindergarten children with instruction that develops print concepts, familiarity with the purposes of reading and writing, age-appropriate vocabulary and language comprehension skills, and familiarity with the language structure. †¦One hopes that scientific research informs beginning reading instruction, but it is not always so. Unfortunately, many teachers and administrators who could benefit from research to guide reading instructional practices do not yet trust the idea that research can inform their teaching (Lyon). The lack of connection between educational research and practice astounds many researchers. Even so, this lack of connection is sometimes approved by researchers. In the case of reading, for example, there are researchers who perceive that theories are â€Å"neither practical nor profitable† given that reading is â€Å"a complex phenomenon (Calfee and Drum 183). † These researchers even assume that â€Å"theoretical analysis is unnecessary, if not impossible† in this area (Calfee and Drum 183). Thus, there appears confusion with regards to applying educational research in the classroom. Seeing that the educational researchers do not always agree amongst themselves, it is unsurprising that teachers find it hard to understand new research-based knowledge before they can apply it. Teachers may not only disagree with educational researchers, but they also disagree with education reformers that base their ideals on current educational research after sifting through the disagreements among researchers (Kennedy, Reform Ideals). Research suggests that the teaching practice is strongly influenced by the values of the teachers themselves (Aguirre and Speer; Brickhouse). In other words, teachers may simply disagree with educational research that blatantly conflicts with their beliefs about their practice. According to Argyris and Schon, such is the difference between â€Å"espoused theories† and â€Å"theories in use. † Despite the advice of researchers as well as reformers, teachers may simply find it impossible to apply educational research in the classroom when their own beliefs conflict with the ideals of others. Kennedy has experienced the conflict between teacher practice and expectations while teaching in a different culture. Working in Thailand, without immediately appreciating the practice of teaching expected in the new culture, she was rather confused about the method of teaching that she was expected to adopt. She believed that she was right in her teaching style; however, the expectations of the Thai school administrators and students differed. â€Å"It took me a long time to adjust my practice to accommodate their expectations,† she wrote later (Kennedy, Learning to Teach). Of course, if she had failed to adjust, she would have found it difficult to succeed in the new culture as a teacher. Educational research is meant to influence teacher practice (Kennedy, Means and Ends). Nevertheless, resistance to change is a reality that must be confronted by all organizations, whether they are academic in nature or purely for profit. Teachers may believe that a certain educational finding is irrelevant to their concerns or questions about teaching. Still, the real reason why teachers do not always apply current educational research in the classroom is that they believe that their own practices are correct at any given time. In spite of Kennedy’s focus on the connection between educational research and practice, it took her a â€Å"long time to adjust† to a new culture of schooling. Given that educational research is growing by leaps and bounds nowadays, it is but natural for other teachers also to take a long time to adjust to new knowledge in the classroom. Change may sometimes be imposed upon the teachers, as in the case of new technologies that must be adopted in our times in a large number of schools around the globe (Bell, Codde and Bell). When change is not imposed upon the teachers, it is difficult for them to decide on the kinds of changes to adopt and disregard. According to a website on education: Educational research is potentially a great resource for supporting learner-centered practices, but there is a disjuncture between the worlds of the educational researcher and the practitioner (whether faculty member, instructional technologist, or learning designer). A few ears ago at the International Conference on Learning Sciences held in Ann Arbor, keynote speaker Linda Roberts commented on a 500+ page proceeding, saying â€Å"This is fabulous, relevant, and meaningful work†¦ the only problem is: no one who needs it is going to read it. † That is, there is not much of a bridge between research and practice (â€Å"Bridging Teaching and Learning Research and Practice†). Educational research has consistently focused on student-centered practices. Nonetheless, the constantly growing amount of research is expected to bewilder teachers about the appropriate teaching styles to adopt at any given time. The adoption of new technologies was considered necessary change. In cases where change is not considered urgent, however, there is bound to remain a wide gap between educational research and teacher practice. As mentioned previously, even educational researchers disagree about the kinds of changes that must be considered relevant or irrelevant. Hence, teachers are left with no choice but to take â€Å"a long time to adjust. † Teachers may additionally choose not to adjust to new knowledge. This is because the teacher’s values are imperative in the classroom. His or her belief system may not concede to a certain change in teaching style. Besides, change is often very difficult to adjust to. Hence, the lack of connection between educational research and practice is unavoidable in reality.