The Role of Labor in American History Essay -- Labor Historical US Ess

This brief history of more than 100 years of the modern trade union movement in the United States can only touch the high spots of activity and identify the principal trends of a "century of achievement." In such a condensation of history, episodes of importance and of great human drama must necessarily be discussed far too briefly, or in some cases relegated to a mere mention. What is clearly evident, however, is that the working people of America have had to unite in struggle to achieve the gains that they have accumulated during this century. Improvements did not come easily. Organizing unions, winning the right to representation, using the collective bargaining process as the core of their activities, struggling against bias and discrimination, the working men and women of America have built a trade union movement of formidable proportions. Labor in America has correctly been described as a stabilizing force in the national economy and a bulwark of our democratic society. Furthermore, the gains that unions have been able to achieve have brought benefits, direct and indirect, to the public as a whole. It was labor, for example, that spearheaded the drive for public education for every child. The labor movement, indeed, has served as a force for American progress. American Labor's Second Century Now, in the 1980s, as the American trade union movement looks toward its second century, it takes pride in its first "century of achievement" as it recognizes a substantial list of goals yet to be achieved. In this past century, American labor has played a central role in the elevation of the American standard of living. The benefits which unions have negotiated for their members are, in most cases, widespread in the eco... ...en excluded from the legal protections afforded to most workers in industry and commerce. Suffering from low pay, abominable temporary housing, lack of access to decent schools for their children, and often deprived of adequate medical care or safety protection measures, the migrant farm workers have been too often the "forgotten people" of the American economy. In recent years, the Farm Workers union-in the face of great difficulties-has been able to organize some of them, principally in California, and bring them the benefits of collective bargaining. Public response, in the form of consumer boycotts of grapes and lettuce at various times, has helped their cause. The beginnings of legislation, both federal and state, and attention to their plight in the press and on television, have brought some relief to the farm workers. But much remains to be done.

The Human Genome Project Essay -- Science Scientific Research Papers

The Human Genome Project Introduction The Human Genome Project (HGP) is a plan to develop a detailed genetic and physical map of the human genome. As a result of this project, it is predicted that vast increases in technology and biological approaches to the molecular world will occur. It was speculated that this project would take two decades. Some scientist did not even think it could be done because the technology was not ready for this kind of project. Multiple issues have arisen since the original concept for this genome project was introduced. Never before had mankind faced such issues in one project. These issues include such topics as biotechnology, ethical dilemmas, social and individual implications, health and medical care, and scientific research. When the project was started in 1990, technology could only sequence 300 base pairs at a time. This made mapping (location of genes) and sequencing (the number and pattern of "letters") of the entire 3 billion base pairs seems like an insurmountable task (Collins & Jegalian, 1999). Limited technology drew critics of the project with doubt that a complete map could be accomplished. Development of technology proved to be the least controversial issue. Ethical issues often became the center of concern. Also, the fear of attempting to clone a genetically superior race became a key issue. Many of the other issues stemmed from ethical concerns. Health and medical care implications could have a profound effect on society and individuals through prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of genetic diseases. Thanks to the HGP things like insight into basic biology, development of new technology, and medicine may be increased drastically. History The official start of t... ...Human Genome Project: where did it come from, where is it going? American Journal of Human Genetics, 51, 1-6. - Spengler, S. (1997). Emerging technologies from the Human Genome Project for understanding susceptibility and risk. Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology, 4, 235-238 - van Ommen, G., Bakker, E., & den Dunnen, J. (1999). The human genome project and the future of diagnostics, treatment, and prevention. The Lancet, 354 (suppl 1), 5-10. - Young, D. & Leonard, D. (1999). Issues in genetic testing. Clinical Chemistry, 45(6), 915-926. Websites - http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2000/genome/ - http://www.celera.com/ - http://www.nih.gov/ - http://www.nhgri.nih.gov/NEWS/about_HGP.html - http://www.nhgri.nih.gov/HGP/ - http://www.ornl.gov/TechResources/Human_Genome/home.html - http://www.sciencemag.org

Heart of Darkness Critical Paper Essay

Joseph Conrad’s novel, Heart of Darkness, is a work of complexity. â€Å"His stories often represent and suggest more than they say† (Skinner). Conrad gives the novel a perplex side through his tactfully written words. This unique language that Conrad uses gives a sense of duality to many phrases in the novel. The double meanings of much of the language that Conrad uses contribute to a reoccurring aspect of the novel, which is that often times there is far more substance to something than appears on the surface. This theme is played out in the novel through the setting and through the two main characters, Marlow and Mr. Kurtz. The novel takes place right in the heart of Africa, down the long and windy Congo River. The river in the setting is a crucial component of the novel because it brings a sense of darkness. â€Å"Conrad manages to hint at the darkness beyond the senses and to represent the experience of struggling with the impossibility of existential revelation in various ways, in terms of both content and form,† because not only does he describe the river’s topography, but also describes the river as having a mind of its own (Skinner). When describing the river, Conrad writes, â€Å"the long stretches of the waterway ran on, deserted, into the gloom of overshadowed distances†(Conrad). This description of the river creates an image of a vast and gloomy river. However, Conrad’s use of personification gives the river a personality, as if it is vulnerable to the dark surroundings that it’s engorged within. In the novel, Marlow’s spoken words also possess a sense of duality. On the outside, Marlow seems like a composed gentleman, who takes little regard for emotions. He speaks in a matter of fact manner, describing everything that he sees in its purest form. When conveying his thoughts about Kurtz he says ,â€Å"He was just a word for me. I did not see the man in the name any more than you do†(Conrad). Marlow’s description of Kurtz at first seems merely a factual statement, but it means more than that because â€Å"there is what is not said because it is merely left unstated (Skinner). The understated nature of his words suggests that Marlow is struggling to compress everything that he feels about Kurtz into a sentence. Furthermore, when Marlow says, â€Å"I will be loyal to the nightmare of my choice†, the reader obtains two meanings from his words (Conrad). On the exterior, Marlow simply means that he will not betray Mr. Kurtz, but on the interior, he is trying to express that he will not let go of the desire that he had to meet Mr. Kurtz, even though the experience strayed far away from his original expectations. Conrad also uses Mr. Kurtz to showcase his way of writing phrases that contain different depths of meaning. Mr. Kurtz is an individual who unknowingly lost sight of his own self because of the heart of darkness in which he is enwrapped. He is unable to blatantly express how his greed and feelings of superiority over the natives have tarnished his character. Therefore, Conrad gives depth to the words that Kurtz speaks, to allow the reader a glimpse into Kurtz’s heart, without needing to have Kurtz deliver his personal sentiments. Towards the end of the novel when Kurtz cries, â€Å"save me!† he literally is pleading for the salvation of his ivory, but figuratively, it’s a plea for someone to save his soul. â€Å"The Horror! The Horror!† are Mr. Kurtz’s notorious last spoken words. On the surface, these words may appear to be describing the face of death, but it seems plausible that Kurtz’s is instead horrified with himself for the way he has so cruelly treated the natives, and that abominable images of the native’s oppression are flashing before his eyes. The duality in meaning of Conrad’s words not only contributes to the complexity of the novel, but also helps to develop the setting and the characters. Conrad’s â€Å"unsaid dialogue and narrative hint at layers of meaning beyond what is read, and Conrad’s explicit and implicit insistence on mysteries beyond words emphasize the unsayable†(Skinner). These techniques that Conrad uses allows the novel to transcend past a simple narrative.(Singer)

Antony and Cleopatra Essay

Octavius Caesar has a pivotal role to play in Antony and Cleopatra: as a member of the triumvirate (the ruling council of the Roman Empire, composed of three members, the others being Lepidus and Antony), he has the responsibility to run part of Empire, he also has a long-standing rivalry with Antony, and dislike Antony’s relaxed mood, especially his affair with Cleopatra.  We first see Caesar towards the end of scene one, where he is criticising Antony for spending too much time with Cleopatra. Two common habits of Caesar are shown in the first few lines of this scene: It is not Caesar’s natural vice to hate our great competitor  [Antony] †¦ he fishes, drinks and wastes the lamps of night in revel.  (I.iv.2-3a, 4b-5a)  Not only does Caesar like to himself in the third person (â€Å"Caesar’s natural vice†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ) he also has a tendency to criticises anyone who likes to enjoy themselves; this is seen again at the feast on Pompey’s ship. Caesar then goes on to list more of Antony’s faults, as Lepidus, ever eager to stop any arguing, tries in vain to excuse Antony, and calm Caesar down: Lepidus: I must not think that there are  Evils enough to darken all his [Antony’s] goodness.  Caesar: Let’s grant that it is not  Amiss to tumble on the bed of Ptolemy,  [To] keep the turn of tippling with a slave †¦ and stand the buffet  With knaves that smells of sweat.  (I.iv.10b-11, 16b-17, 19, 20b-21a)  Caesar again complaints that both Antony and Cleopatra are committing adultery, and then says that Antony has been drinking too much, and fighting with â€Å"knaves,† which means that he is not focusing on running the Empire, as he should be, and also that it gives a bad impression of the triumvirate and Caesar especially – something that Caesar himself is very worried about, as is seen later. However, Caesar changes tack later on, after his messengers bring word that Pompey is growing in strength, and also that two famous pirates, Menecrates and Menas, are also acting on Pompey’s behalf. Caesar apostrophises Antony, in a scene that is thought by many to be highly significant, as it one of the very few times that Caesar is seen, in the play, to pay a genuine complement to someone. Caesar remembers a time when Antony â€Å"slew’st Hirtius and Pansa, consuls [of Rome.]† Although the imagery that Caesar uses is not particularly pleasant, (â€Å"stale of horses† and â€Å"eat strange flesh,†) it is the fact that Caesar praises someone, especially a person that he does not particularly like, which is important. At the end of scene four, Lepidus and Caesar are talking about getting more information about what is going on in the world, giving the current problems that t they are having: Lepidus: What you shall know meantime  Of stirs abroad, I shall beseech you, sir,  To let me be partaker.  Caesar: Doubt not, sir, I knew it for my bond.  (I.iv.83b-86)  This short dialogue, containing some quite harsh-sounding phrases for people are that are meant to be friends, shows that there might be a small rift growing between these two men, in addition to the disagreements between Antony and Caesar. Lepidus asking for information about what is going on, from Caesar shows that there might be an issue of a lack of trust developing, whilst Caesar’s rebuttal of â€Å"doubt not, sir, I knew it for my bond,† shows that Caesar could be losing patience with Lepidus, who is always portrayed as being quite a weak and unimportant character anyway.

Deschooling Society Essay

Introduction: This term paper is about De schooling Society which is a book written by Ivan Illich. The book is more than a critique – it contains suggestions for changes to learning in society and individual lifetimes. Particularly striking is his call for the use of advanced technology to support â€Å"learning webs†. In this paper, we will first see what is meant by de schooling society and then what is the need for de schooling and is it necessary to disestablish a school. After seeing the reasons for de schooling, we look at the phenomenology of school which gives the phenomenon of school. Then we will see the rituals in the current school system and discuss about them. Later we look at the model for evaluating institutions and then propose the idea of learning webs and thus conclude with the requirements of a good education system and what an educated person should be able to do. What is De schooling Society? The process of receiving education or training especially done at School is called Schooling. The main goal of Schooling is to learn things from what is taught by teachers in the school. Here learning, education, training, guidance or discipline is derived from experiences and through lessons taught by teachers. De schooling society is a critical discourse on education as practised in modern economics. It is replacing school with natural learning. It specifically refers to that period of adjustment experienced by children removed from school settings. It is the initial stage where one gets rid of schoolish thoughts about learning and life in general. If one is given time to adjust to the freedom of no school routines and not being told what to do every minute of the day, then they have lots of time to relax, try new things, to discover their interests and rediscover the joy of learning. This is the idea of de schooling. It is like a child recovering from school damage. â€Å"SCHOOL ING IS THE SYSTEM DESIGNED FOR TEACHING†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. DE SCHOOLING IS THE SYSTEM DESIGNED FOR LEARNING.† Why we must disestablish a school (why de schooling) Ivan Illich feels that there is a need to disestablish school by giving examples of ineffectual nature of institutionalized education. According to Illich â€Å"Universal education through schooling is not feasible. It would be no more feasible if it were attempted by means of alternative institutions built on the style of present schools. Neither new attitudes of teachers toward their pupils nor proliferation of educational hardware or software, nor the attempt to expand teacher’s responsibility will deliver universal education. The current search for new educational funnels must be reversed into the search for their institutional inverse: educational webs which heighten the opportunity for each one to transform each moment of his living into one of learning, sharing and caring. â€Å" The present school system believes that more the treatment, better are results and leads to success. It confuses teaching with learning, grade advancement with education, a diploma with competence and fluency with ability to say something new. Medical treatment is mistaken for health care, social work for the improvement of community life, police protection for safety, military poise for national security, the rat race for productive work. Illich shows that institutionalization of values leads inevitably to physical pollution, social polarization, and psychological impotence and most of the research now going on further increases in the institutionalization of values and we must define conditions which would permit precisely the contrary to happen. He believes that care only makes students dependent on more treatment and renders them increasingly incapable of organising their own lives around their own experiences and resources within their own communities. With the present system poor children lack most of the educational opportunities which are casually available to middleclass people. To solve this they started a program â€Å"Title One† which is the most expensive compensatory program ever attempted anywhere in education, yet no significant improvement can be detected in learning of these disadvantaged children. Special curricula, separate classes or longer hours only constitute more discrimination of poor. Thus this system has failed to improve the education of the poor. Advantages of rich over poor range from conversation and books in the home to vacation travel and a different sense of oneself and apply for the child who enjoys them both in and out of school. So a poor student will generally fall behind so long as he depends on the school for advancement or learning. Poor needs funds to enable them to learn. Neither in North America nor in Latin America do the poor get equality from obligatory schools but in both the places, the mere existence of school discourages and disables the poor from taking control of their own learning. All over the world, school has an anti educational effect on society: school is recognized as the institution which specializes in education. The failures of school are taken by most people as proof that education is very costly, very complex, always mysterious and almost impossible task. Education disadvantage cannot be cured by relying on education within school. Neither learning nor justice is promoted by schooling because educators insist on packaging instruction with certification. Learning and assignment of social rules are melted into schooling. The major illusion on which the school system rests is that most learning is the result of teaching. Teaching only contributes to certain kinds of learning under certain circumstances. But most people acquire most of their knowledge outside school. Most learning happens casually, and even most intentional learning is not the result of programmed instruction. For example, normal children learn their first language (mother tongue) casually, although faster if their parents pay attention to them. But the fact that a great deal of learning even now seems to happen casually and as a by-product of some other activity defined as work or leisure does not mean that planned learning does not benefit from planned instruction and that both do not stand in need of improvement. Illich illustrates the idea of learning with a practical example. â€Å"In 1956 there arose a need to teach Spanish quickly to several hundred teachers, social workers, and ministers from the New York Archdiocese so that they could communicate with Puerto Ricans. Gerry Morris announced over a Spanish radio station that he needed native speakers from Harlem. Next day some two hundred teen-agers lined up in front of his office, and he selected four dozen of them-many of them school dropouts. He trained them in the use of the U.S. Foreign Service Institute (FSI) Spanish manual, designed for use by linguists with graduate training, and within a week his teachers were on their own-each in charge of four New Yorkers who wanted to speak the language. Within six months the mission was accomplished. Cardinal Spellman could claim that he had 127 parishes in which at least three staff members could communicate in Spanish. No school program could have matched these results.† Further experiments conducted by Angel Quintero in Puerto Rico suggest that many young teen-agers, if given proper incentives, programs, and access to tools, are better than most school teachers at introducing their peers to the scientific exploration of plants, stars, and matter, and to the discovery of how and why a motor or a radio functions. Opportunities for skill-learning can be vastly multiplied if we open the market. Schools are even less efficient in the arrangement of the circumstances which encourage the openended, exploratory use of acquired skills. The main reason for this is that school is obligatory and becomes schooling for schooling’s sake. Most skills can be acquired by drills, because skill implies the mastery of definable and predictable behaviour. Education is the exploratory and creative use of skills, however, cannot rely on drills. It relies on the relationship between partners , on the critical intent of all those who use memories creatively, on the surprise of unexpected question which opens new doors. It is now generally accepted that the physical environment will soon be destroyed by biochemical pollution unless we reverse the current trends in the production of physical goods which is possible by de schooling. Instead of equalizing chances, the school system has monopolized their distribution. Equal educational opportunity is indeed both a desirable and a feasible goal, but to equate this with obligatory schooling is to confuse salvation with the church. A de schooled society implies a new approach to incidental or informal education. Thus he says that not only education but society as a whole needs de schooling. Phenomenology of School In order to make the schooling process better and to search for alternative methods in education, we must start with an agreement on what do we mean by â€Å"school†. We need to have clear idea on what a â€Å"school† is and what is the difference between â€Å"teaching† and â€Å"learning†. We can do this by listing the functions that are performed by modern school systems, such as custodial care, selection, indoctrination, and learning. We could make client analysis and verify which of these functions render a service or a disservice to teachers, employers, children, parents, or the professions. We could survey history of western culture and information gathered by anthropology to get an idea of schooling. And we could recall the statements made by many people before and discover which of these the modern school system most closely approaches. But any of these approaches would oblige us to start with certain assumptions about a relationship between school and education. Hence we begin with phenomenology of public school. We can define the school as the age-specific, teacher-related process requiring full-time attendance at an obligatory curriculum. Age: School groups people according to age. This grouping rests on three unquestioned premises. Children belong in school. Children learn in school. Children can be taught only in school. Illich thinks that these unexamined premises deserve serious questioning. If there were no age-specific and obligatory learning institutions, childhood would go out of production. The disestablishment of school could also end the present discrimination against infants, adults, and the old in favour of children throughout their adolescence and youth. Institutional wisdom tells us that children need school. Institutional wisdom tells us that children learn in school. But this institutional wisdom is itself a product of schools because common sense tells us that only children can be taught in school. Teachers and Pupils: Here children are pupils. School is an institution built on the axiom that learning is the result of teaching. And institutional wisdom continues to accept this axiom, despite overwhelming evidence to contrary. Illich says that most of the learning is without teachers. Most tragically, the majority of men are taught their lessons by schools, even though they never go to school. Everyone learns how to live outside school. We learn to speak, to think, to love, to feel, to play, to curse, to politick, and to work without interference from a teacher. Even orphans, idiots, and schoolteachers’ sons learn most of what they learn outside the educational process planned for them. Half of the people in our world never set foot in school. They have no contact with the teachers, and they are deprived of the privilege of becoming dropouts. Yet they learn quite effectively the message which school teaches. Pupils have never credited teachers for most of their learning. Schools create jobs for schoolteachers, no matter what their pupils learn from them. Full-Time Attendance: The institutional wisdom of schools tells parents, pupils, and educators that the teacher, if he is to teach, must exercise his authority in a sacred precinct. This is true even for teachers whose pupils spend most of their school time in a classroom without walls. School, by its very nature, tends to make a total claim on the time and energies of its participants. This, in turn, makes the teacher into custodian, preacher, and therapist. In each of these three roles the teacher bases his authority on a different claim. The teacher as custodian sets the stage for the acquisition of some skill. Without illusions of producing any profound learning, he drills his pupils in some basic routines. The teacher as moralist substitutes for parents, god, or the state. He instructs the pupil about what is right and what is wrong, not only in school but also in society at large. The teacher as therapist feels authorized to enter into the personal life of his pupil in order to help him grow as a person. Defining children as full-time pupils permits the teacher to exercise a kind of power over their persons. A pupil who obtains assistance on an exam is told that he is an outlaw, morally corrupt, and personally worthless. Classroom attendance removes children from everyday world of western culture and plunges them into an environment far more primitive, magical, and deadly serious. The attendance rule makes it possible for the schoolroom to serve as a magic womb, from which the child is delivered periodically at the end of the day and end of the year until he is finally expelled into adult. Ritualization of progress: Illich sees education as being about consumption of packages where the distributor delivers the packages designed by technocrats to the consumer. Here teacher is the distributor and pupils are the consumers. Thus in schools, children are taught to be consumers. Illich’s criticism of school is a criticism of the consumerist mentality of modern societies; a model which the developed nations are trying to force on developing nations. In this view a country is developed according to indices of how many hospitals and schools it has. In terms of school Illich criticises the system which offers a packaged education and awards credentials for the successful consumption of the packages. The packages are continually being re-written and adjusted but the problems they are supposed to address remain same. This is much more than simply a racket to produce more textbooks and exam syllabuses; this is a commercial activity mirroring the marketing processes of the industry. Children are the obligatory recipients of these marketing efforts. As the teacher is the custodian of rituals of society so schools as institutions are the places for the promotion of myths of society. Illich is especially concerned with this in developing nations where he sees a wrong direction being taken as these countries adopt the consumerist model of the west/north. Education is the means by which these societies get sucked into the consumerist way of doing things. More schooling leads to rising expectations but schooling will not lift the poor out of poverty; rather it will deprive them of their self-respect. Most basic schools operate according to the notion that â€Å"knowledge is a valuable commodity which under certain circumstances may be forced into the consumer†. Schools are addicted to the notion that it is possible to manipulate other people for their own good. For Illich, schools offer something other than learning. He sees them as institutions which by requiring full-time compulsory attendance in ritualised programmes based around awarding credentials to those who can consume educational packages and endure it for the longest. It is thus training in â€Å"disciplined consumption†. Institutional Spectrum: In this chapter Illich proposes a model for evaluating institutions. He contrasts convivial institutions (which mean friendly, lively and enjoyable institution) at one end of a spectrum (left side) with manipulative ones at the other (right side) to show that there are institutions which fall between the extremes and to illustrate how historical institutions can change colour as they shift from facilitating activity to organizing production. In line with the theme which occurs throughout the book that his criticism of schooling is more to the point than some traditional Marxist challenges to contemporary society Illich points out that many on the left support institutions on the right of his scale i.e. manipulative ones. Of all â€Å"false utilities,† school is the most insidious. Highway systems produce only a demand for cars. Schools create a demand for the entire set of modern institutions which crowd the right end of the spectrum. A man who questioned the need for high-ways would be written off as a romantic; the man who questions the need for school is immediately attacked as either heartless or imperialist. Just as highways create the impression that their present level of cost per year is necessary if people are to move, so schools are presumed essential for attaining the competence required by a society which uses modern technology. Schools are based upon the hypothesis that learning is the result of teaching. Irrational Consistencies: He argues that educational researchers and thinkers are more conservative than in other disciplines. He argues that without a new orientation for research and a new understanding of the educational style of an emerging counter-culture the educational revolution will not happen. Our present educational institutions are at the service of the teacher’s goals. The relational structures we need are those which will enable each man to define himself by learning and by contributing to the learning of others. A key theme in this work is the criticism of the idea that learning is the result of teaching. In Illich’s analysis education is a funnel for educational packages. Illich opposes this with an idea of ‘learning webs’ which are about â€Å"the autonomous assembly of resources under the personal control of each learner†. In this chapter Illich criticises some of the ideologies of schooling which he sees in apparently radical initiatives such as the free-school movement and the lifelong learning movement. He points out that free-schools still ultimately support the idea of schooling as the way of inducing children into society. Illich sees manipulative institutions as being those where â€Å"some men may set, specify, and evaluate the personal goals of others†. It is very clear that Illich means it when he calls for the de schooling of society. Learning Webs: Illich’s practical vision for learning in a de-schooled society is built around what he calls ‘learning webs’. Illich envisages 3 types of learning exchange; between a skills teacher and a student, between people themselves engaging in critical discourse, and between a master and a student. Illich also considers the de-institutionalisation of resources. He proposes that resources already available in society be made available for learning. For example a shop could allow interested people to attempt repairs on broken office equipment as a learning exercise. He suggests that such a network of educational resources could be financed either directly by community expenditure. Whether he is talking about skills exchanges or educational resources Illich envisages non hierarchical networks. The professionals in Illich’s vision are the facilitators of these exchanges not the distributors of approved knowledge packages in the school system. He envisages two types of professional educators; those who operate the resource centres and facilitate skills exchanges and those who guide others in how to use these systems and networks. The ‘masters’ we have mentioned above he does not see as professional educators but rather as people so accomplished in their own disciplines that they have a natural right to teach it. Illich’s programme is practical and thought out. He proposes new institutions of a convivial nature to replace the manipulative ones of the current schooling system. In these new institutions there is no discontinuity between ‘school’ and the world; (though this is most definitely not ‘lifelong learning’ which seeks to extend schooling throughout adult life). There is no ritual of induction of the next generation into the myths of society through a class of teacher-preachers. Illich is interested in learning as a human activity carried out for obvious purposes – to gain the benefits that learning the new skill brings. Educational resources are usually labeled according to educators’ curricular goals. Illich propose to do the contrary, to label four different approaches which enable the student to gain access to any educational resource which may help him to define and achieve his own goals: Reference Services to Educational Objects – which facilitate access to things or processes used for formal learning. Some of these things can be reserved for this purpose, stored in libraries, rental agencies, laboratories, and showrooms like museums and theatres; others can be in daily use in factories, airports, or on farms, but made available to students as apprentices or on off hours. Skill Exchanges – which permit persons to list their skills, the conditions under which they are willing to serve as models for others who want to learn these skills, and the addresses at which they can be reached. Peer-Matching – a communications network which permits persons to describe the learning activity in which they wish to engage, in the hope of finding a partner for the inquiry. Reference Services to Educators-at-Large – who can be listed in a directory giving the addresses and self-descriptions of professionals, paraprofessionals, and freelancers, along with conditions of access to their services. Such educators, as we will see, could be chosen by polling or consulting their former clients. Conclusion: Illich argued that the use of technology to create decentralized webs could support the goal of creating a good educational system. A good educational system should have three purposes: It should provide all who want to learn with access to available resources at any time in their lives; Empower all who want to share what they know to find those who want to learn it from them; Furnish all who want to present an issue to the public with the opportunity to make their challenge known. An educated child should be able to: ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · Read, write, and communicate effectively; Think creatively and logically to solve problems; and Set and work toward goals. Bibliography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deschooling_Society http://ournature.org/~novembre/illich/1970_deschooling.html http://www.natural-learning.net/000154.html http://www.livingjoyfully.ca/unschooling/getting_started/what_is_deschooling.htm http://www.webster.edu/~corbetre/philosophy/education/illich/schooling.html

Martin King and Henry Thoreau Essay

Martin King and Henry Thoreau both write persuasive expositions that oppose majority ideals and justify their own causes. While this similarity is clear, the two essays, â€Å"Letters from Birmingham Jail† by King and â€Å"Civil Disobedience† by Thoreau, do have their fair share of differences. Primarily in the causes themselves, as King persuades white, southern clergy men that segregation is an evil, unjust law that should be defeated through the agitation of direct protesting, and Thoreau, writing to a more broad, non addressed audience, and focusing more on the government itself, contends that at its present state, with the war with Mexico and the institution of slavery, that one should do as he does and refuse to pay government taxes that support such evil practices or â€Å"traditions.† While both Thoreau and King prevail in establishing a firm impression for what they strongly believe in, they each succeed in their persuasive efforts through different means. Chiefly, in the way that King draws emotional appeal with the usage of a burning passion and devotion, and Thoreau, while still making it evident that he is devoted in what he believes in, draws more emotional appeal through being more distressed and concerned than naively hopeful and optimistic. However, similarities remain to be as numerous as differences as both Thoreau and King bring credibility or ethical appeal to their assays essentially with allusions to Christ and the Bible. First, King’s emotional appeal is what above all contrasts his essay with Thoreau’s. As virtually everything else; the theme of disobeying â€Å"unjust laws†, their admiration for the â€Å"minority’s viewpoint, and even, coincidently, where they wrote their essays – prison, is all the same. King makes two references to conversations shared with his children. Once with his little girl who wants to go to the public amusement park and is quickly developing â€Å"tears in her eyes† as her father has to sadly explain the reality that black children aren’t allowed in â€Å"Funtown.† Promptly once again, King refers to being forced to somehow â€Å"concoct† an acceptable answer to his five year old son’s question – â€Å"why do white people treat colored people so mean?†. King does not stop there with his ability to throw his readers into the harsh emotional realities that he had to face. While answering the same question of â€Å"why we can’t wait† in regards to protesting, King refers to the tragic sadness of how his wife and mother are almost  never granted with the respectable title of â€Å"Mrs† and how his own name has virtually been transformed from â€Å"Martin Luther King† to â€Å"Nigger Boy John† in the heartland of discrimination in the South. The rhetorical use of detail is King’s second element that he takes advantage of to draw such tremendous, but necessary emotional appeal. With his despairing response to the clergy men’s appraisal of the policemen’s ability to maintain â€Å"peace† and â€Å"order† when he asserts with great detail that maybe they wouldn’t be so â€Å"warmly† supportive if they would have been in the streets to witness the police slapping Negro men and boys with â€Å"sticks† and pushing and cursing old Negro women and girls in such a cold-hearted and cruel fashion. Furthermore, King’s account of what the South would be like if blacks sided more with the Black Nationalists than himself brings emotion to all that contemplate his perception of streets â€Å"flowing with blood† during the central time of the otherwise inevitable â€Å"racial nightmare.† Thoreau, on the other hand, never consents to revealing such frightful nightmares and makes only one brief reference to his children. Instead, Thoreau draws emotional appeal through many different techniques in the art of persuasive writing. Most predominantly, with despaired and concerning rhetorical questions such as when he asks about established government’s viewpoint on great men, â€Å"why does it always crucify Christ and excommunicate Copernicus and Luther, and pronounce Washington and Franklin rebels?†. And again when he provokes the question of how men assert their grievances when he asks â€Å"How can a man be satisfied to entertain and opinion merely and enjoy it?†. As stated above, Thoreau and King’s great persuasive similarity is in the way they give their essays ethical appeal. They both repetitiously make use to references of the Bible. King first asserts that he is in Birmingham for the same reason that â€Å"the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the Gospel of Jesus.† Once again, in comparing his â€Å"civil disobedience† to that of Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego when they refused to obey the worship laws of Nebucadnesser. Finally King affirms to not being offended by the criticism of being called an â€Å"extremist† by the thought of how many great extremists there where in the past, such as â€Å"Abe Lincoln†, â€Å"Martin  Luther†, and â€Å"Jesus Christ.† Thoreau in the very same manner and with many of the same figures, continues with his own set of biblical allusions. He subscribes to the verse of Christ and the Herodians when they ask him about his stance on taxes and Christ replies to give Caesar â€Å"what is Caesars†, and to give God â€Å"what is God’s.† And then, more broadly, Thoreau poses the question of why after eighteen hundred years of being written, no legislator in America or anywhere else has taken advantage of the â€Å"science of legislation† revealed in the New Testament. In conclusion, both Thoreau and King succeed in establishing their points on the benefits of civil disobedience. I feel that King does succeed farther with his inclusion of more passionate emotion and easier to understand, heartfelt metaphors. Though it is debatable that the scientific and matter of fact tone Thoreau uses ultimately make his case more credible by establishing his work as not only a great personal exposition, but also a considerable scientific exposition that could be considered among the ranks of Thomas Paine’s â€Å"Common Sense† or even Machiavelli’s â€Å"The Prince.†

Effects of Verbal Communication Essay

Verbal Communication Communication of all types can be found everywhere. It does not necessarily have to be spoken or oral, it can be found in verbal and nonverbal forms. This is especially true in the areas of the criminal justice system. Communications can be found in equipment, reports, phones, in roll call, or everyday operations. For police officers and other members of the criminal justice system, communication in some form or type can always be certain. It may be in the form of verbal communication, such as roll call, talking with the public, talking to peers, inmates, administration, or supervisors. It is said that nearly 70 percent of one’s time is spent communicating (2009). Officers or those appointed by the department, talk to the media on a daily basis. Whether it is the television, the newspaper reporters, or the radio, it is on a daily basis. For law enforcement officials there is the need to communicate with the press from time to time. This could be to talk about public affairs, providing information about a situation that the police are involved in, or to make announcements. It is common in most areas that law enforcement appoints a spokesperson for the department. This person chosen represents the community and the department, along with all officers. This person must have the intelligence and the ability to speak clearly and in a concise manner, and have the ability to understand questions if asked. He or she should have some clear understanding of what the media only needs to hear. One way to assure this is to him or her draft a statement, before making the announcement to the press. When drafting the announcement and when reading the announcement, the person should avoid using what is called police jargon or codes. Using such language can be confusing to the general public and may cause confusion with the press. When talking to the press he or she should be able to avoid being distracted and should keep eye contact with those who he or she are talking to. Nonverbal communication between the press and officers can also have a confusing effect at time. â€Å"Sometimes nonverbal messages may contradict verbal; often they may express true feelings more accurately than the spoken or written language (Murphy & Hildebrandt). For nonverbal communication, the situations that he or she may want to be careful with can include the stance. There should be no slouching or leaning on the podium. This gives an appearance of the press seeing that he or she either does not want to be there or it could show disinterest. The spokesperson choose vocabulary carefully also. He or she may want to use a friendly tone also, and avoid using emotions during the press release. This must remember that the press usually ahs cameras somewhere that records everything that is said verbally and nonverbally, which may cause some confusion. The courtroom is another place that communication is done daily. Within this setting the law enforcement officer or other personnel, may be called to testify for the prosecutor. Communication in the courtroom setting for police, prosecutors, defense, the suspect, judge and jury, all play a crucial part. The officer when called to testify, should have the ability to understand the questions clearly, is able to listen effectively, and be able to explain the facts written in his or her report. The affidavit is based on the facts that have been written in the officers’ incident report. There may be situations or times when an officer feels uncomfortable, while sitting or standing in a group of other people. Or he or she may fill uncomfortable when having to be in front of the others in the courtroom. The officer should never let emotions or nonverbal cues cloud his or her testimony. During cross-examine; the reputation of the officer could be misinterpreted. Before testimony officers should try to talk to the prosecutor to learn what to expect. He or she may want to practice the testimony also. Being able to communicate verbally and use less nonverbal cues like emotions, could make the difference in the testimony. When testifying the officer should be able to answer in a clear and audible voice with recalling or stating just the facts. He or she may also want to remember to present themselves as a professional and to look and act as one. Not only is his or her reputation at stake, but the department also. For law enforcement personnel who work inside the correctional facility, communication techniques can be a critical part of the job. Officers must be able to talk to their peers, and inmates. The ability to be an active listener, understand, read and write clearly and to follow verbal and nonverbal orders are very important. There may be issues at time among inmates that may cause a barrier of communication. Some of these barriers could include the disruptive inmate, a language barrier, such as a foreign language or a deaf person. There may be the inmate that may cause tension between the officers and others. There are many factors to consider on how to communicate within the correctional setting. There is the use of daily reports that must be filled out by officers. There has to be a clear understanding by the officers and other employees of operating procedures. Incident reports that are fact based must be filled out by officers involved. As with police the correctional officer must also confront inmates and vice versa. The officer should at all times be careful of the nonverbal clues used. This would include his or her emotions at the time, the way he or she stands, or the tone of voice. Most correctional officers are trained on the use of verbal and nonverbal methods of communications before being assigned to the facility (2010). For the peer to peer communication the officer must be able to understand the assignment given, whether it is verbal or nonverbal communications. Assignments are usually given at the beginning of the shift, and it is the responsibility of the officer and peer to have a clear understanding of what it is. If the officer does not understand it is his or her responsibility to ask questions. Another form of peer to peer is among the officers themselves. Communication is a key role inside of the correctional facility when working with the inmates. He or she should be able to understand clearly the instructions that pertain to an inmate or surroundings. He or she must be able to read nonverbal cues from other officers and to be able to read nonverbal cues from the inmates. Within the Juvenile facility, there is a great need for communication of nonverbal and verbal. Like any other facility the officers must be able to understand the importance of filing out the report, whether it be an incident, daily, or new arrival. Each officer must have the intelligence and ability to be able to communicate with a juvenile in custody. Like inmates in the adult correctional setting, juveniles may also become belligerent at times and want to cause problems. The officer must be able to talk with the juvenile as well as be able to listen. Officers must also be able to read the nonverbal cues that are given by the inmates. These could include actions such as throwing of things, language, the stance, eye contact, vocal sounds, and emotions such as anger, sadness and more. Juveniles have a language that seems to be something that they have learned. Most people call it street slang and signs. Most officers are provided continuing training on problems involving juveniles, as well as training to understand the signs and slang used by them. For Officers and other employees of the juvenile facility there is the need to understand clearly the written reports, the operational procedures, releasing of information to outside agencies and families and the ability to talk clearly to peers. Officers and other employees may be called on to answer questions over the phone, concerning a juvenile. They may have to work on computers, and other equipment, or spend hours doing paperwork. This is all an important part of communicating within the facility. When an officer’s peer assigns the officer to a certain department in the facility the officer must have a clear understanding of what is expected of him or her at the time. The one way for the officer to make certain of the assignment, is to ask the needed questions if any should arise. The officer must be able to take orders on a continuous basis and be able to understand the details. When working with other officers there has to be a clear line of communication between the officers. Nonverbal cues, as with any other law enforcement facility should be easily read. The officer must have the ability to do so, in case something should happen. These nonverbal cues could be eye contact, a facial expression, or a nudge, or a physical gesture such as the wave of a hand. As with any other situation officers that work in a juvenile facility must show professionalism and act accordingly. The officer must be careful when using nonverbal communication. These include keeping the emotions from getting away from him or her, keeping the tone of his or her voice from becoming too loud, watching the stance and posture when talking to other employees, inmates, and peers. Communication can be seen in many different forms. These can include fact based reports by law enforcement officers, correctional officers, reports to the press or other media, juvenile facilities and courtrooms. There may be barriers for the officers at times, such as language, ineffective listening, a misunderstanding, or miscommunication. Whatever the reason, for one to communicate properly there must be the ability to understand, listen actively, ask questions when needed, and to speak clearly when asked to. For law enforcement and others in the criminal justice system the need to recognize nonverbal communication is essential. An officer must be able to identify cues given by a suspect, or by an inmate in custody. The law enforcement official should always act and speak in a professional matter when facing the public or fellow workers and supervisors or administrators. He or she must remember that they represent not only themselves but the departments and states they reside in. Effective communication is the key to an effective organization such as the criminal justice system.