Poverty and Child Development Essay -- essays research papers fc

From the very second I was born, until this very day, I had understood life to be a certain way. Life had taken its course and my family, as well as myself, have suffered ups and downs. We’ve been through times which were good and which were the worst of the worst – all families do. What I didn’t know is that regardless of the good and the bad, that the life I lived was sheltered to the point where I couldn’t fathom the idea that all people had not lived a life similar to ours. Sure, I understand that some were more fortunate and some were less fortunate, but to which extent? Within my circle of influence, our friends and family, there was a certain level at which we enjoyed our lives in a comfortable sense. We’d occasionally see a homeless person on the subway or in the city, but I never knew that there was a whole class of people in between. I’ve always heard of poverty and didn’t know much more about it except for the fact that peo ple existed that were less fortunate, those who lived in this supposed poverty.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jonathan Kozol’s book â€Å"Amazing Grace† depicts the issues that face families who are living in a world of poverty, homelessness and in a world where less fortunate is an understatement. Kozol writes about his experience in the South Bronx where he comes across some of the most disturbing facts about our fellow human beings. He speaks of families who live in an undernourished, impoverished society where a great majority of the inhabitants have been faced with disease. He visited a building in which one particular family has contracted the HIV virus. A woman contracted AIDS from her husband who she thought was faithful. Her daughter later contracted the deadly virus when she was raped by the father. In fact, in his conversation with a nurse who takes care of Alice Washington, a woman that Kozol interviews, in this building there are â€Å"Including the children, maybe 27 people† (Kozol p. 13, in Amazing Grace) She continues to say â€Å"The re’s lots of other people have it but don’t know.† People are so under-educated and under-privileged in the society where they live, that they are afraid to even find out if they have contracted the disease. This brings us to another problem that the families here are faced with, deprivation of help from the government.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although Jonathan Kozol implies that there may... ... problems with women who have children out-of-wedlock. Although she defends the fact that they shouldn’t be judged as a whole because of that fact, it seems to me that she feels strongly about traditional family settings including a two parent, heterosexual household. Sidel also comes across as someone who has a hint of religion in her values. Personally, I agree more with the liberal standpoint. I feel that all people should be equal, especially since we’re all citizens of the same city, nation, and world. I believe we should have the same opportunities, almost as much as I believe that those who want to achieve something in live – will take the initiative and shape their destiny to reach their goals. Bibliography Kozol, Jonathan. Amazing Grace. NewYork: Crown, 1995. 1-24. Kozol, Jonathan. Amazing Grace. NewYork: Crown, 1995. 27-54. Sidel, Ruth. â€Å"The Enemy Within† Keeping Women And Children Last. NewYork:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Penguin, 1998. 1-32. Surgrue, J. Thomas. â€Å"Poor Families in an Era of Urban Transformation.† American   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Families. Stephanie Coontz, Maya Parson, Gabrielle Railey, Routledge, 1999.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  243-257.

Resilience

Resilience No matter how old, or young you are there Is no doubt that life has had a tough and rigorous grip on you. It could have been so rough that you think that there Is no way to recover. But you seem to always recover In time. This Is the meaning of human resilience. It Is the ablllty to be knocked down by life but picked back up and become stronger by yourself. The way you become stronger Is not only based off of yourself (internal sources) but by your environment (external sources). With these sources you can become resilient to life and always become stronger!To be resilient means, â€Å"the power or ability to return to the original form, position, etc. , after being bent, compressed, or stretched; elasticity. † (The Free Dictionary). This definition would be for the non-living. Just like a tree being blown in the wind it will bend all it can but as soon as the wind stops it will regain Its normal posture. This is what we humans do too! We all take pressure from life , whether it's good or bad, we will become stressed or hurt (bent like the tree). As soon as that pressure goes away we can recover to our normal being.The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when It must and survived. † (Robert Jordan, The Fires of Heaven). Just Ilke this willow tree, we must bend when life takes Its toll on us. Humans have the ablllty to recover, so we must use it often to survive life's rough times. Overall the meaning of human resilience is the ability to recover quickly when we are being bent from life's everyday pressures. Human resilience comes from internal and external sources. The external source is the environment that you are in. I say it is the environment because environments ive you more options to be able to be resilient.Here is an example. If you live in a small rundown town In Virginia, which has basically no companies or industries thriving In the area, compared to New York City. New York City is a place full of opportunities to become resilient because there Is so many companies and Industries that are growing, so you will have a much greater chance to recover from something if you would live in New York City just like Jeannette Walls. The main idea is that if you are becoming resilient it would be easier in the right environment, with he right opportunities just like in the Glass Castle.The most important source is the internal source, which is our mind and soul. Without our mind and soul we would have no self-motivation, and without self- motivation we cannot be resilient. â€Å"No matter how much falls on us, we keep plowing ahead. That's the only way to keep the roads clear. † (Greg Kincacid) This quote is perfect because it shows self-motivation! Without it you cannot keep plowing ahead. Everyone who Is resilient has self-motivation, Just Ilke Jeannette Walls when she was otivated to leave Vlrglnla and to move to New York.

Gender in Bram Stokers Dracula Essay - 2700 Words

Gender in Bram Stokers Dracula During the Victorian Era, women struggled to attain gender equality by challenging the traditional roles that defined them. These women no longer wanted to remain passive and obey the demands of their husbands nor be domestic and the caretakers of their children. They strived to attain the role of a New Woman, an intelligent, liberated individual who was able to openly express her ideas (Eltis 452). Whereas some women were successful in attaining this new role, others were still dominated by their male counterparts. The men felt threatened by the rising power of women and repressed them by not allowing them to work, giving them unnecessary medications, and diagnosing them with hysteria (Gilman†¦show more content†¦(Stoker 80). Lucy wants to be free from societal marriage constraints and pursue all the men; however, societal constraints decide that she can only be with one man, Arthur Holmwood. She writes to Mina, ?You and I, Mina dear, who are engaged and are going to settle down soon soberly in to old married women? (Stoker 78). Lucy follows the collective belief that marriage institutes settling down with one man. Whereas Lucy portrays the ?New Woman? with her sexual tendencies and flirtatiousness, Mina represents the ?New Woman? through her intelligence. She is an assistant schoolmistress, knows how to write in shorthand, and shows interest in learning how to use the phonograph, one of the new technologies of the time. She says, ?I shall try to do what I see lady journalists do: interviewing and writing descriptions and trying to remember conversations?with a little practice, one can remember all that goes on or that one hears said during one day? (Stoker 76). Mina is trying to learn a trade, and reverse the male ideology that only men can have jobs. Furthermore, like Lucy, Mina is also loyal to one man, Jonathan Harker. Mina wants to marry Jonathan and settle down. She writes to Lucy, When we are married I shall be able to be useful to Jonathan, and if I can stenograph well enough I can take down what he wants to say in this way and write it out for him on the typewriter (Stoker 75). In this example,Show MoreRelatedDracula, By Bram Stoker1291 Words   |  6 Pages ​Bram Stoker, author of Dracula, not only creates the early depiction of vampire stories; but writes more to contradict the age old beliefs of women and their role in society. Dracula is more that just a vampire story. There is a deeper level to this. A level in which it can incite change in the way one percieves women. There is a noition that all women were to be the same but Dracula refutes that. Vampire sexuality, as represented in Bram Stoker s Dracula, reveals itself as both a phenomenon thatRead MoreInverted Gender Roles: Dracula by Bram Stoker1465 Words   |  6 PagesThere’s a Hidden â€Å"Monster† in Everyone In Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, Stoker’s use of inverted gender roles allows readers to grasp the sense of obscureness throughout, eventually leading to the reader’s realization that these characters are rather similar to the â€Å"monster† which they call Dracula. Despite being in the Victorian era, Stoker’s use of sexuality in the novel contributes to the reasoning of obscureness going against the Victorian morals and values. Throughout the novel the stereotypicalRead MoreFilm Review : Dracula By Bram Stoker Essay1743 Words   |  7 Pagesscenes, theme, time period, or even the overall story. 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Despite an active personal and professional life,Read MoreBram Stoker s Dracul Victorian Men And Women1455 Words   |  6 PagesKatherine Fulmer ENGL 3023 Dr. Lawrence 1 December 2015 Bram Stoker’s Dracula: Victorian Men and Women 1. Introduction Bram Stoker’s world famous novel Dracula, blurs the lines between Victorian ideal gender roles by using strong central female characters, such as, the three vampire sisters, Lucy and Mina, to express a powerful female sexuality challenging the Victorian notion of what makes a woman. The Victorian society placed women in a bubble of sexual purity and fragileness, making men the centralRead More Comparison of Dracula and Bram Stokers Dracula Essay1462 Words   |  6 PagesCompare/Contrast Dracula and Bram Stokers Dracula A noticeable difference in the way movies have changed over the years is evident when comparing and contrasting two films of different eras which belong to the same genre and contain the same subject matter. Two vampire movies, Dracula and Bram Stokers Dracula, present an interesting example of this type of study. Comparing the 1931 version of Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi, with Frances Ford Coppolas Bram Stokers Dracula 1993 version yieldsRead MoreEssay on Paternalism in Bram Stokers Dracula920 Words   |  4 PagesPaternalism in Bram Stokers Dracula      Ã‚   Paternalism is the domination of a society by a male or parental figure that leads or governs much like the way a father would direct his family.   In Victorian society, the idea of paternalism was prevalent.   The idea was also frequently used as a motif in western literature.   Bram Stokers novel Dracula, published in 1897, depicts a paternalistic society through a repression of the female sex and a continuous exaltation of the domineering maleRead MoreDracula Interpretation Of Literature1544 Words   |  7 Pagesof Bram Stoker’s Dracula, a constant power struggle between the moral and amoral. Stoker’s novel can frighten anyone from little kids to aged adults, but if you read it from a different perspective, his real message is revealed. His personal experiences coupled with the time period in which he lived influenced him to write Dracula; a story in which he communicated the universal truth that good always prevails over evil. The lives of people basically revolved around religion during Stoker’s timeRead MoreEssay about In Technologies of Monstrosity1430 Words   |  6 Pages Dracula: The Metaphor for Late Victorian-Crisis Jarae Comstock Reinhardt University This paper was prepared for IDS 306 for Dr. Little Dracula: The Metaphor for Late Victorian-Crisis Bram Stokers, Dracula, from the late-Victorian era, is one of the best stories of vampire folklore. Dracula was tall, dark, handsome, and mysterious with immense sexual character. His snow white teeth which outlined his rosy red lips made us fantasize of him and ultimately become obsessed. The overwhelmingRead MoreAre You A Fan Of The Supernatural? Do You Believe In Things1744 Words   |  7 Pagesto more glamorized characters with a sexy persona such as Edward from Twilight. Vlad III, prince of Wallachia, was an evil and sadistic dictator in the 15th century. Better known as Vlad the Impaler, he would become the real-life inspiration for Dracula, the most famous vampire in film. Although Vlad was not a blood-thirsty vampire, he was evil and dishonorable, and he killed thousands of people in his life. â€Å"To consolidate his power as voivode, Vlad needed to quell the incessant conflicts that had

Research Setting And Context Of Public School - 1827 Words

Research Setting and Context The site of research selected for this study was decided upon by the researcher. Taking into consideration the researcher knows and understands all aspects of the district and having established a strong, trusting relationship with the school, parents, and community while serving the district in multiple capacities over the past twenty-one years. This gave the researcher the opportunity and abilities to select sites they felt comfortable to express their comments and feelings. The two sites selected within the Oilton Public School district included Timothy C. Arnold Middle School, serving approximately 100 student in grades 6-8, and Oilton High School, serving approximately 95 students in grades 9-12. The†¦show more content†¦Arnold Middle School or Oilton High School. Each school site has similar demographics, school culture, and school climate. Students from various ethnic backgrounds such as Caucasian, Native American, and Hispanic represent t he two building site populations. The majority of the populations are represented by eighty-five percent Caucasians. Therefore, community and family involvement are priorities of the district for creating a positive school culture at both school sites. Sampling Strategy and Sample Descriptions The primary participants for this study are marginally involved parents of low performing students attending a high poverty, rural school district in north central Oklahoma. The participants of this study will be selected during Fall 2015. Prior human subject approval from the researcher’s university will be obtained prior to the selection of participants. The researcher chose to select five parents from each grade level in Timothy C. Arnold Middle School and Oilton High School to represent viewpoints and perceptions related to parent involvement and academic achievement. The names of participants will be selected from sign-in sheets filled out at the â€Å"Meet Your Teacher Night†, an annual parent involvement activity sponsored by the district each year prior to the beginning of school. Teachers and administrators from the school district will also a data source. Two school sites were selected to

The Beginning Of World War One - 1703 Words

The year 1914 brought with it the beginning of World War One, a profound war lasting a remarkable four years of relentless battles, bombings, and killings. It may be hard to conceive, but before the war officially broke out on July 28, 1914, Europe had been in the midst of a peaceful period that had lasted almost a century. The Great War did not end until November 11 of 1918. The Allies, initially consisting of England, France, and Russia, fought against the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary; however, the two opposing sides were soon reorganized because more countries joined the fight. Ultimately, the Allies were joined by the United States, Japan, and Italy, while the Central Powers were joined by the Bulgaria and Ottoman†¦show more content†¦Within a period of four years, several technological advances were made in aviation due to the fact that combatants actively participating in the war sought air superiority and they desperately wanted to stay one step ahead of each other. Aeroplanes Their First Use In The Military Many had misjudged the duration of WW1; no one had expected that the war would drag on for four long years, both the Allies and the Central Powers encountered pressures from each other, forcing them to innovate and adapt to newer challenges. One of these adaptations was the use of aircraft. Due to the unanticipated lengthiness of the war, the infantries of both sides reached a stalemate, for ground forces were equally matched in terms of intelligence and weapons—not too mention trench warfare was not the most effective or quickest way to fight the war. In spite of this, for either side to gain the upper hand, they would need a better form of gathering information of the movement of the enemy. Even before the war, tethered observation balloons had been in use by the army in order to provide better vantage points, but this soon proved to be an insufficient source of information once the war began because the balloons were easily shot down. For this reason, commanders seeking advantage turned to aircraft. Eleven years had passed since the Wright brothers had invented and flown the first successful

Music In World Culture Essay Example For Students

Music In World Culture Essay I will examine the relationship between music and culture and discuss the role music plays in peoples daily lives. I will discuss unique handcrafted instruments used by different cultures to express traditions through music and how rhythm, melody harmony affect how music sounds. My research will show how music plays an important part of cultural preservation and revitalization of people around the world, and although every culture has their own traditions and beliefs they all use music in their celebrations and spiritual ceremonies. Anthropology Music in World Culture Music is a very important characteristic of all cultures. Evidence of humans making music reaches far back in time. Although the Modern American culture commonly views music as a form of entertainment, there are still many cultures who believe music is much more than that. Music is a form of verbal art, poetry and stories combined with melody and rhythm that all cultures use to display inspiration, religion, political views or emotions. Most cultures have sacred music, for religious functions, and worldly music, for nonreligious activities. I will say that before taking this class I had never heard the work Ethnomusicology, now I know that Ethnomusicology is the study of the music of the world. I now realize there are so many different cultures of the world and they all have their own unique traditions. What stood out for me the most is that Music plays a major part in every culture around the world. (Wisped) Many cultures usually handcrafted their instruments using what was available to them in their distinct cultural setting, using such things like pebbles, animal hide, teeth, and bones; these materials produced a specific sound. I have chosen 3 different cultures to compare and research the functions of music within their specific society. The Native American Culture, The African Culture and The Chinese Culture. I chose these specific cultures because they are very Music in the Native American Indian culture Traditionally Native Americans use music for ceremonial purposes, recreation, expression, and healing. Many different instruments are used to make Native American music, including drums, flutes and other striking instruments. But perhaps the most important part of their music is their voice. Vocals are the backbone of the USIA made in Native American cultures. The Native American culture is very passionate, and use music to summon spirits, ask for rain, and healing the sick. The men and women of the tribe sing separate songs, and have their own dances. Men usually dance around in a circle, while the women dance in place. Native American people are very religious and their music is some of the most complex, the tensing and releasing of the vocals combined with varying drum beats makes it a very involved form of art. Traditional Native American Instruments Various drums are used based on tribe and religion. Skin drums also known as powwow drums are built using a wooden frame or a hallow log of wood with animal skin stretched over the opening and fastened using tendon strings, these are two- sided drums played in central areas and northern plains. The frame drum is a small single-sided or two-sided drum made of thin frames or shells with animal hides of deer and cow stretched across a single or double side. The water drum was made of different materials, iron kettles being hung on them; a moist tanned animal skin is stretched across a small wooden vessel containing water. The square drum played by Native Americans of the pacific coast made from wooden boxes or frames. The Native American flutes are the only flutes in the world that have Just two chambers with a wall dividing the top chamber and the bottom chamber. The length of the flute is equal to the distance between the armpit and the wrist. The length of the top air chamber is equal to the width of the players fist. These flutes are usually made of hardwoods like walnut and cherry rather than the softwoods of cedar, redwood and juniper. Rattles and shakers are also very important to the Native American culture. Rant on Music and Sports EssayThe activities that go along with Chinese music always include dance, drama, opera, ceremonial prayer or chant. Music has been a popular form of cultural expression there is no emphasis on rhythm or beat. Traditional Chinese music isnt meant to be danced or moved to. Confucius, Chinese philosopher of music, taught that beautiful and appropriate music is meant to encourage social harmony. The function of music n Chinese society is to help people forget the impatience, sorrow, stress and other extreme moods. The pursuits of clearness in mind, tranquility in heart, reason in passion and so on. All the different feelings, the obsessive emotion and others suddenly became the harmony between the human nature. If music is used during an official Chinese ceremony, the music is intended to control the behavior of the people so that they perform the ceremony appropriately and obey authority. Seems to me the Chinese culture is very controlling and Judgmental of the way their society acts in public. (Thinkers) Traditional Chinese Instruments Chinese instruments include stringed instruments, wood clappers, gongs, cymbals, bells, wooden bells, slaves, temple blocks, and wind instruments. The Erie has a small body and a long neck. There are two strings, with the bow inserted between them. It sounds like a violin, but with a thinner tone due to the smaller resonating chamber. The main function of the string instruments is to accompany the singing, but they are used to make special effects sounds such as animal sounds too. The Did is the traditional Chinese flute. It only has three keys and can have a membrane over an extra tone hole to give the feature of a rattle effect. The Paisa is a set of seven, small, tuned drums. The Young are tuned gongs, the Chinese gong soon became part of their religious ceremonies, healing meditations, and entertainment. Conclusion Music is the one thing that All cultures have in common, the music may sound different in every culture but music serves the same function in every society. Music has been around for thousands of years, its a form of art, expression, and most importantly tradition. When explorers tried to invade a strange land and overpower a away their traditions and beliefs. Music has always been and always will be a very important role in everyday life.

Life In A Highschool Essays - Social Groups, Youth, Adolescence

Life In A Highschool Life in a High School Bart Hayes Eng102sec.065 4/27/00 Cliques are small groups of between two and twelve individuals. Cliques are small enough that the members feel that they know each other better than do people outside the clique. Members of a clique share common activities and friendships. They are social settings in which adolescents ?hang out?, talk to each other, and form closer friendships. Groups of friends, called cliques can be important for social upgrading, but in most cases the enormous power and effects of these cliques can create alienation, exclusion , and destructive results. In my high school , as well as every other high school in America there are social groups of individuals, called cliques , that effect every individual whether they are an insider or an outsider. Generally there are the cool cliques , the athletic cliques, the freak clique, the skater clique, the smart clique, and the average clique. Almost everyone finds their place in one of these cliques, but there are always a few outsiders who go through high school never knowing where they belong. these are the people who are constantly ridiculed, picked on , and talked about day in and day out. The effects can be devastating, even deadly. In Littleton, Coloraldo two outcast teenagers came into school one day and began shooting, targeting the athletes and other students who had made their lives awful by ridiculing them constantly. ?Seniors Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold stormed their suburban Denver school with guns and bombs last April 20, killing 12 students and a teacher before taking their own lives?(Kenworthy 1). Augustana University education professor Larry Brendtro explained ?kids who feel powerless and rejected are capable of doing horrible things?(Cohen 4). A high school student, Jason Sanchez understands why the two outsider snapped by saying ?If you go to school, and you don't have friends, it drives you to insanity?(Cohen 4). So what do these lonely outcast kids do if they are rejected by everyone? Roger Rosenblatt discusses in his article, ?Welcome to the Works of the Trench Coat? , how kids will ?discover self-worth by hating an enemy?(Rosenblatt 1). The kids of Columbine for example ?look alike; they conceal differences. People who are attracted to clans and cults seek to lose their individuality and discover power and pride in a group. As individuals , the killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, were vulnerable, taunted by the other tribes in school-- the cliques, the athletes-- as geeks and nerds?(Rosenblatt 1). The end result as a young girl involved in the murders reported was , ?He just put a gun to my head, and he started laughing and saying it was all because people were mean to him last year?(Rosenblatt 1). The social warfare of cliques has no limits or boundaries; anything can and will happen. Columbine High School is only one example of how high school cliques can be damaging to teenagers. At Glen Ridge High School a group of jocks raped a retarded woman. ?In that attractive upper-middle-class New Jersey suburb, thirteen jocks were present in the basement where the young woman's body was penetrated by a baseball bat and a broomstick. The country was sickened by the inhumanity of a bunch of guys who were among the most admired and envied young men in their community and high school? (Lefkowitz 653). These star athletes were not even afraid of being punished. They told their friends and schoolmates of the incident not trying to hide it at all. Athletes are treated as kings of the school. This is not only true for the athletes , but for the cheerleaders too. In the article by Adam Cohen he says ?While others plod through high school, they glide: their exploits celebrated in the pep rallies and recorded in the school paper and trophy cases?(Cohen 2). Another high school student Blake McConnell says that ?The jocks and the cheerleaders have the most clout, they get out of punishment -- even with the police. Joe Blow has a wreck and has been drinking, and he gets the book thrown at him. The quarterback gets busted, and he gets a lighter sentence? ( Cohen 2). How does this