The Governance of GAAP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

The Governance of GAAP - Essay Example tandards Board (FASB) is an organization behind GAAP, which was established to come up with the accounting guidelines for private sector companies to help them establish and improve the accounting methods used in preparing financial reports. These financial statements are then used by to offer information that is valuable in making decisions for investors and other users of the reports. The Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) has the role of ensuring that the stock exchange market operates in a fair manner for all investors by ensuring that there is no insider trading and it is an independent body used to enforce laws of the government. It ensures that trading is fair to all investors by ensuring that they are all provided with the correct information and that no one gets an unfair benefit in terms of knowledge of how stocks will operate (Office of Financial Management, 2012). The funding of developing and Enforcing GAAP comes from the federal government as it has the responsibility of ensuring that there is order in the field of accounting, and this is done by providing guidelines for preparation of companies’ financial

A Model of English for International Learners Research Paper

A Model of English for International Learners - Research Paper Example Aside from using the language to facilitate the learning process, it could be used to carry out other activities successfully. Such activities include businesses, social interactions, and official meetings. According to the statistics about the relationship between language and businesses that were carried out in 2005, it was found that the use of the English language led to successful businesses. Hence, the use of the language brings about a common understanding among individuals. There are several languages that could be used internationally: French, Portuguese, German, and English. However, English has been established as the most preferable international language. According to Mauranen (2003), in the learning of English as an international language there is a variety of models that could be used to study it. The models include native-speaker model, nativised model, globish model, and lingua Franca model. All these models assist in the learning of English as an international language. They have several strengths and weaknesses and are only suitable for a learner/teacher depending on the purpose one wants to achieve. Basing on individuals’ goals, the purposes for learning the English language are different. Nevertheless, many individuals purposely learn the English language to facilitate communication at an international level. Hence, the use of English assists in understanding the academic interests for the learners: it eases group discussions among the individuals who do not share a mother tongue and provide a common understanding among the learners. ... on for using English is that most of the people worldwide have developed an interest in learning it and this has led to giving it a status of lingua franca. Lingua Franca refers to a language that is spoken as a second or third language after a people’s mother tongue. It is also referred to as vehicular. The people speaking this language use it specifically for communication with the non-natives or the natives of that particular language. There are different advantages associated with using English as a lingua Franca. Many people around the world have embraced the use of English making it easier to communicate with people from different dialects. Hence, lingua franca is viewed as the most appropriate model for use in the learning of the English Language (Ellis, 2002). This is because it facilitates communication among individuals who are from different cultures and speak different mother tongues. Using English as a lingua franca assists in the understanding of other peopleâ₠¬â„¢s culture and the appreciation of it at the same time. People from different cultural backgrounds are able to learn about each other’s culture through communication which is facilitated by the use of a common language. Thus, the lingua franca model supports the use of English language for a common understanding among individuals. The learners/users of English around the world could use the lingua franca model to facilitate communication amongst themselves and other people who are not of the same dialect as theirs. This is applicable in all countries that use English as either a second or a third language. For instance, in a country like Vietnam, which is located southeast of Asia, English has been adopted as a language that is basically used to promote understanding amongst individuals. In

Leadership and Management Essay Example for Free

Leadership and Management Essay Initially I plan on reviewing the prevailing leadership styles in my organisation and then assessing the impact of these on the organisation’s values and performance. In order to assess the leadership styles I have produced a questionnaire (see appendix 1). The questionnaire was designed to find out how directive, participative and permissive each manager in our organisation is and then study the most prevailing style. It was evident from the information collated that the prevailing leadership style in our organisation is participative and directive rather than permissive. On assessing this information it became apparent that our manager’s leadership styles reflect a Contingency theory and they rather be present and take part in services in order to ensure controlled success. Contingency theory is a class of behavioral theories that claim there is no best way to lead a company, or to make decisions. Instead, the best action is contingent (dependent) upon the situation. Several contingency approaches were developed in the1960s. They suggested that previous theories such as Webers bureaucracy and Taylors Scientific Management had failed because they neglected that management style and organisational structure were influenced by various aspects of the environment: known as contingency factors. There could not be one best way for leadership or organisation. Historically, contingency theory has attempted to formulate broad views about formal structures that are typically associated with or best fit the use of different organisations. This perspective originated with the work of Joan Woodward (1958), who argued that skills directly determine differences in such organisational attributes as a span of control, centralisation of authority, and the formalisation of rules and procedures. My Organisation Values and Performance The organisation that I work for delivers a range of high quality services and projects, these services follow the principles of empowering communities, developing lives, furthering equality, diversity and inclusion and strengthening local voluntary sector delivery. These principles dictate the values in which we function. We are very much a voluntary sector, charitable organisation ensuring that at the heart of our services are the people that access them. Performance is measured through a set of service delivery indicators which form the base of our promises to funding bodies, staff, volunteers and customers in everything we do. These indicators are measured via our service development plan. Each year we publish an Annual Report based on our Service Delivery Indicators, which measure our progress and informs the public of our work over the previous year in delivering against our priorities. (See Appendix 2 for our organisations SDI’s) Our organisation values and performance clearly highlight a need for the leadership to be open and receptive. This allows us to except feedback and input from our service users. A directive and participatory leadership style is imposed by managers in our organisation for staff; however when dealing with service users we have to adopt a more directive style to ensure commination is clear and there is no room for bought. We have found in the past when we have given service users who are vulnerable and have mental health difficulties an opportunity to contribute to services they feel empowered, however they need time and guidance in order to make informed decisions. Effectiveness of my Own Leadership Style On assessing my own leadership style I appeared to be more directive, in the middle when it came to participation, however I did not seem to be very permissive. The results did not surprise me and seemed to be consistent with my approach. I tend to direct staff by the use of many models including action plans which are produced in team meeting and each member of staff is allocated actions, timescales, budget and directions. I am participatory when tasks are being carried out I ensure I understand the delivery method and observe when necessary. For example if we are promoting a new group I will ensure all promotion literature is checked by me prior to going out and visit the new group to view session delivery. I do not hide away form front line delivery and ensure I gage with staff, clients and volunteers therefore I understand the reason why on my leadership assessment I did not score highly on being permissive. Therefore I feel my management style suits the organisation. However with the changing nature of our organisation leading towards a more business-like approach I may find I have to review my management style. I may need to become more permissive, less participatory and even more directive. This will ensure I can work more strategically to order to retain services and staff. Changing my approach may be difficult for my staff to accept, however explaining that their jobs may be at risks if I do not manage differently may put it all into perspective. By applying a Contingency theory mentioned earlier I should be able to manage this effectively. I asked my staff to assess my leadership style using the questionnaire I produced and gave to fellow managers (Appendix 1). The results mirrored my self assessment, demonstrating that I understand my own leadership style well and that the staff have the same opinion. Apply Own Leadership Style in Range of Situations Over the last two weeks I have begun to assess my own leadership style in a variety of situations. These have mainly taken the form of meetings. I have chaired a client/volunteer meeting and a full staff meeting. My leadership style tended to change in these situations. I became less formal with the client and volunteer meeting in order to project at their level of understanding. Less detail was presented and less decision making was required. The meeting was more informative and decisions had been made by the staff team prior to the meeting. Feedback and participation was welcomed however it was in a manner in which it could be controlled so as a staff team we could make informed decisions.

Essay on Silence and its Importance

Essay on Silence and its Importance The key aim of this research paper is to draw attention to the importance of silence in general, for students in particular. Thus, the introductory part of this research is devoted to the definition of silence and its important in our noisy world. The second section focus on the key powers of silence as located by the Irish writer Tony Cuckson, the importance of silence for students, how could we improve our relationship with silence? And examples of when can we use silence. Finally the third part consists of the analysis of the questionnaire data and summarizing the key ideas of the research. What does silence mean? Literally speaking, the word silence comes from the Latin word silens meaning to be still, quiet, or at rest. In English, it still maintains some of these meaning as most modern dictionaries define silence as the condition or quality of being or keeping still and silent, the absence of sounds, stillness or as a period of time without speech or noise. However depending only on these definitions we just learn silences first fundamental sense. Hence the silence is more than the state of being silent; entire absence of sound or absolute stillness. The silence, this research paper is concerned about, is the silence that enhances concentration, promotes meditation and allows us to be in touch with our inner. In other words, the silence that has the power to get people to think and to act. The word silence has become associated in our minds with passivity boring and inactivity. Moreover, we see silence as intrinsically dangerous, anti-social or abnormal. We fear and hate silence and we do everything possible to avoid it. In her book A Book of Silence , Sara Maitland stated*: instant and constant verbal communication is experienced not so much as a pleasure, but as a necessity. Background music, even in shopping malls where there is already a great deal of noise, so that no one can actually hear the music, is ubiquitous. The length of an acceptable silent pause on the radio has been reduced steadily over the last decade. Silence in public places, like libraries or churches, is increasingly considered oppressive rather than valuable. The silence of mourning is being replaced by cheering. In this statement, Sara Maitland has tried to draw our attention to our strange fear-hate relationship with silence. She gives us some habits that we unconsciously used to do in the everyday life to avoid silence. Sara Maitland has also noticed that people try to fill the void of silence with needless chatter, with TV, with Music, with noise of some kind. She noticed that Silence has become disconcerting and make people feel uncomfortable and alone, thats why -according to Sara Maitland- the world is filled with TVs that have been left on when nobody is watching it, for just a background noise. Yet people forget that the great forces, by which we live, are silent. The vast immensity of space is silent, because sound waves, unlike light or radio waves, cannot travel through a vacuum. Gravity electricity, the warmth of sunlight, the turning of the tides are all silent. Organic growth, life itself, the division of cells is silent. Society just forgets about these facts, Sara added. To sum up we could say that we hate or fear silence because we do not perceive its true meaning. Silence is not a mere absence of sounds or noises, it is more than that. Silence is a natural phenomenon that could be a source of creative energy that we should all use and benefit from it rather than simply avoiding it. *Sara Maitland is an English writer. Born in 1950, she grew up in Galloway, studied at Oxford University and currently tutors on the Distance Learning MA in creative writing for Lancaster University and is the Mentor Co-ordinator for Crossing Borders. She has undertaken writer residencies at HMP Ashwell and at Lincoln Cathedral The importance of silence in a restless world (noise pollution) It is obviously clear that we are living in noisy word. Unwanted sounds and noises pursue us everywhere we go. In the street, restaurants, supermarkets and even in the places where silence is considered as a necessity like schools and hospitals are not exceptions. From the early morning we step out home till we come back, we encounter variety of terribly noises. Our lives nowadays tend to be so busy that we have become accustomed to a constant barrage of tasks, inputs, and general noise. How often do we come home only to turn on the T.V. just so we can have something going on in the background? We used to not esteem the value of silence in our lives. Mike Moore* has described this phenomenon in his book Living Life Fully by saying When you add lawnmowers, snow blowers, leaf blowers, jack hammers, jet engines, transport trucks, and horns and buzzers of all types and descriptions, you have a wall of constant noise and irritation. Even when watching a television program at a reasonable volume level you are blown out of your chair when a commercial comes on at the decibel level of a jet. A recent study conducted by the Cornell University** about the impact of noise on employees in an open area office space where people are constantly exposed to fax machines, telephones, office chatter, shredding machines, etc revealed that workers in an open area had high level of adrenalin*** in their urine. When these employees were compared to those in quiet offices the results were startling. Workers in quiet offices did not have the same high levels of adrenalin in their urine. Besides, they were much more relaxed and less stressed. Moreover, a puzzle demanding attention and concentration was given to both groups of employees. The results revealed that the open area workers were found to be less diligent in the solution of the puzzle. They easily frustrated and gave up much earlier than the employees from the quiet offices. Another striking results found by the study are about sleeping, digestion and the psychological state of the employees under study. The study has revealed that workers from the quiet office slept better at night, had better digestion, were much less irritable at home and felt better at the end of their workday than employees from the open area offices. It seems clear from the results of such studies that noise does not only affect our focus and productivity but also impact our physical and psychological balance. Noise pollution tends to increase stress levels which in turn can result in increased frustration and anger. There is no doubt that the results of this study should push us to revise and re-establish our relationship with silence. In other words, we must begin to establish a friendship with silence. *Mike Moore is an international speaker and writer on human potential, motivation and humour. You can check out his website at www.motivationalplus.com **It is an American university ***Is released by the body when under stress. It prepares us for fight or flight. The key 4 powers of silence Till now, we have seen and known -from the introduction- the type of silence this research is concerned about and its true meaning. We have also recognized the importance of silence in a terribly noisy world showing some startling facts and striking recent studies. In this chapter, I have managed to devote it to the key four powers of silence as located by the Irish writer Tony Cuckson*. In fact, Tony has located seven powers but I have chosen the most important ones that everyone could experience regardless of his/ here possibilities or where s/he lives. In his valuable article Enjoy the Silence Tony has summarized the benefits of silence by saying that: silence is creative, silence promotes the inner and builds trust, silence gives rest, and silence allows listening. In this chapter I will try to explain these powers of silence respectively. 1 Silence is creative: In his article, Tony has defined creativity as creating unprecedented and unexampled things into being. He expressed that Creativity is not found within the known. Creativity means to bring the new into being. * Tony Cuckson is a writer on learning to be enough in the 21st Century. He is author of the ezine -an electronic magazine- Irish Blessings Subscribe to Irish Blessings Matter ezine a FREE weekly input of inspiration to lift the heart and heal the soul. With this sense creativity is a required quality in all fields. We need creative employees, creative writers, creative teachersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and more importantly creative students. Man is creative by nature; however, we often destroy this quality by some unhealthy habits. For instance, doing a task, homework or writing an assay while listening to music or television, surely will affect our concentration and consequently will affect the quality of the work that we try to accomplish. Yet creativity needs silence and quiet environment. A quiet environment allows the creative person to develop his talent and to think deeper. Inspiration always comes in silent environment. For instance, intellectuals, thinkers, poetry writers, inventors and creators in all fields always seek absolute silence and quiet environment so that they could work comfortably and get inspiration. Imagination also springs from silence. Silence and quiet are to an artist, an author or inventor etc, what fertilizer is to crops. In conclusion, it can be said that Silence and creativity are one Tony asserted. By relating silence to creativity, he has insisted on the idea that silence is the wellspring of creativity. 2 Silence promotes the inner and builds trust: When we silence we turn our thoughts and focus inwards and gain the power we need to refuel our minds Steven Aitchison* has stated. Our ego** is temporarily switched off or at least made to be quiet for a bit, and we start to see the real world as it should be (he continued). Our thoughts get in the way of our reality sometimes and we dont see the beauty of the world around us. When there is silence there is time for introspection and to allow your true-self to speak, not the ego, not the conscious mind but the true-self connected to the flow of energy around us (Steven added in his online Blog). Tony Cuckson agrees with Steven Aitchison by saying that through silence we could trust our selves. Silence enables us to listen to our inner voice and to detect our unique methods of thinking. It gives us a chance to understand our selves better. Consequently, we improve and re-establish our relationships with our selves. We simply used to think that others know better than we do. We have been taught this for most of our lives. Listening silently to the promptings of our hearts we begin got know our own voices. We become our own masters. To put it more simply, we could say that silence helps us to find our values, understand our strengths, identify our tendencies, acknowledge our limitations, set our goals and then establish our direction. * Steven Aitchison currently lives in Scotland working as an Addiction Worker, helping clients with alcohol and drug issues. He has a degree in psychology, a sense of humour, and a down to earth approach to self help. ** The self of an individual person; the conscious subject 3 Silence gives rest: The lack of silence in our modern life results in lack of comfort. Anuradha Vashisht* has expressed this idea by saying: The fidgetiness, the restlessness we see in the majority of people these days indicates how far removed they are from the silence of the body Anuradha wants to say that people nowadays cannot be still or calm in one place for a considerable period of time mainly because of the hyperactivity phenomenon. The problem of hyperactivity is increasing as most people constantly need a prop for their bodies like shuffling feet, shaking a leg while sitting in a chair, swaying their bodies, inane scratching, constantly doing something with their hands, asking for tea or coffee to get over boredom, and so on. Most of the physical activities that have been described above often reflect the clatter and the noise one has in his mind which would prevent him from enjoying his rest. To overcome this hyperactivity we should devote a considerable period of time for silence in order to give ourselves a deep rest. In silence the *Anuradha Vashisht, Delhi-based journalist, researcher, writer and media professional, has over 15 years experience in the media. Having trained as a journalist with the Times of India Group, some of her major assignments were with Financial Express, Indian Express and The Pioneer. body slows. The rate of breathing slows. Our heart rate drops. We just forget about the past and future to live the present moment. We enter our essential self. There is no need to go anywhere. There is no place to go. This is our time for relaxation. This is our time for simply catching a breath and recharging our batteries. 4 Silence allows listening: Silence gives us the opportunity to listen to others and more importantly to ourselves. When others speak or during a conversation, silence could be used as sort of politeness and respect that would make the communication successful (we will tackle this idea in depth in the next chapter (Examples of When to Use Silence)). Yet the inner-silence also is very important. Since, it gives us a chance to listen to our inner voices. It helps us to turn our thoughts and focus inwards and live the present moment now not the past not the future. The inner-silence enables us to save our minds from the inane thoughts and eliminate all mental noises. Thus we make our minds calmer. Consequently, we can work and study more efficiently and our productivity will increase. The mental silence should be the prime goal in our daily life. If we can be mentally calm we can solve many problems of life and find ways to do difficult tasks. Finally, we could say that by listening to others we will gain respect and by listening to ourselves, we will not be afraid of the battles of life, because internally we will be very strong. By developing the virtue of inner silence, we should be broad like sky (tolerate others thoughts) and deep like ocean (where all life problems will be sunk). The importance of silence for students Besides all the silences powers that we have mentioned earlier which all are so important for all people, students can get much more from silence. As we know, our education system encourages students to get ahead of their competition and to get excellent marks so that they could conserve their chance to get a respectable job. Naturally when we are competing each other we can never be at ease. We become bound to be stressed and this pressure will keep on increasing with every passing day. Silence and meditation are the perfect tools to release this pressure and feel at ease with ourselves. In fact today every student- whether from engineering, management, business or arts- needs meditation more than ever. Connecting with ones deeper self leaves him refreshed and regenerated so that he can move forward in life without being exhausted or stressed. As any other part of our bodies; our minds need rest too. We must just think what would happen to our bodies if we keep on working for example for 16 hours or more per day and never get a chance to take repose? Automatically we will be tired, exhausted and unable to master any kind of work. Same is the case with our minds, they need break likewise. Thence, we could say that silence and meditation are more essential to students in particular as all their tasks demands great mental efforts. It can be concluded from what we have seen till now that silence is not mere an absence of sounds or noises but also a technique and a therapy that all people and students in particular are in-need of. After recognizing the key powers and benefits of silence, the question now is how could we reconcile and re-establish our relationship with it? This is what we will see in the next chapter. How could we improve our relationship with silence? Before starting this chapter we have to remember that people do not have an absolute control over all the noises they hear daily in the street or in places where they work, study etc; however, they do have control over their own private environment. In this private environment we can reorganize ourselves, reconsider our habits and attitudes towards silence. In our private environment we could cultivate a good friendship with silence following several steps. In this chapter, I have selected from Mike Moores advices the most important, simplest and applicable ones that we could -as students living in Meknes- easily follow. Firstly, we should change the negative image that we have in our minds about silence. In other words, we have to learn about and extend our knowledge about the value of silence. We can do that either through reading psychological books, asking the psychologists or searching in the internet about the benefits of silence. To put it more simply, we should prepare ourselves morally and mentally for practicing Mike Moore steps. After changing your attitudes towards silence, you should try to change some of your habits. For instance, when walking to school avoid using your MP3 player or any other such devices and try to walk in silence. When you read a book or prepare for an exam, do it in silence. If you used to read, write and prepare for exams while listening to music or watching television you should try silence. You will find it much helpful. When you are alone in your residence, try to turn off all noise sources for a specific period of time. Begin with fifteen minutes of silence a day and gradually increase the duration. If you succeeded to change your habits and attitude towards silence then you should enlarge your experience with silence by learning how to meditate. Attempt to schedule a ten minute for meditation and contemplation period once or twice a day. Then extend your meditation time gradually. Mike Moore concluded by saying: Soon you will begin to cherish the periods of silence you have built into your day and long for more. You will quickly discover that you are becoming more relaxed and less tense even in the midst of our noisy world. You will have made an invaluable new friend of silence, a friend which can comfort, heal and soothe your spirit. What a gift you will have given yourself. In conclusion, it can be said that if we followed Mike advices we would reconcile our relationship with silence and certainly would discover the restorative power of silence that students are in need of it. Examples of when to use silence Silence is often mis-characterized as unimportant or awkward. As a result the modern conversations become chaos in which two or more people racing to see who can speak more without paying any attention to the other. Yet, people forget that silence can be used as a technique of communication, kind of respect and as an anti-gossiping. I- Silence as a technique of communication As a technique of communication silence could be used in daily conversation, during arguments and job interviews. To get a better conversation, one must use brief pauses to give the other person a chance to think, get better understanding of the topic and then react effectively. Just as he needs in return a chance to absorb and process all that information the other person has just said. Another best time to use the power of silence is during an argument. For instance, when someone is shouting at you, looking for an argument you can literally take all the power away from him and save all your energy by simply looking back at them saying absolutely nothing. Yet it is extremely difficult to do but very powerful. Students also can use silence to their advantage in job interviews. Students often do not consider silence as one of the most valuable interview techniques that can be used both by the job candidates and the interviewers. For many interviewees, the silence of the interviewer is seen awkward because it tends to imply that they have been found lacking and do not satisfy or fit the interviewers standards. However, good interviewers use silence when listening attentively to what the interviewee is saying; so a job candidate should not be frightened if the interviewer does so. Also, a job candidate can use the same silence to demonstrate critical thinking skills and an ability to remain poised in difficult situations. Here are a few tips* to help you use silence in a job interview to your advantage. A Use brief pauses (no more than 15 seconds) when you need to collect your thoughts, recall the information the interviewer requested B Introduce a silent pause when several questions are asked in rapid succession before you have had a chance to answer the first one. Repeat the first question and answer it; then request the interviewer to ask subsequent questions. C Avoid any urge to fill the silence with unsolicited information about your background or experience. Many interviewees have lost the job by impulsively blurting out details that led the interviewer to ask questions for which the interviewees were unprepared to answer. D Finally, do not forget to remain mentally alert during the silence. *To get more information about how to use silence in a job interview follow this link: http://www.ehow.com/how_5093570_use-silence-advantage-job-interview.html 2 Silence as kind of respect Silence could also be used to show respect in many occasions. It has long been recognized by many religious groups as a key component of an ascetic path to spirituality. For example, we as Muslims we silence when we hear someone reading the Quran. We also recommend silence in the funerals. Moreover, silence has become a universal practice used in all over the world. As we used to held one minute of silence as a remembrance of the people died in a natural disaster or an important person died recently. During conversations silence also may be used to express admiration and esteem. Just let people talk and listen to them and use your facial expressions and movements to acknowledge that you are listening. Thus, you will imply that you are respecting them and you will gain their respect in return. In contrast, when you do not listen to or interrupt people before they have finished, you are essentially indicating that the other persons thoughts are not that important. What could be considered as a kind of impoliteness and discourage him/her to continue talking. 3 Silence as an anti-gossiping When there is a crowd of people in the workplace while the boss is absent or in classroom before the coming of teacher there are always gossipers who speak about other people. What makes gossiping dangerous is that it is contagious. When we dont like someone and someone else starts speaking about him we naturally tend to voice our opinion, Ive done it lots of times and have to stop myself. Try and stop yourself from catching the virus of gossiping and use the power of silent whenever it occurs. If you are a gossiper yourself and people around start to notice that you are not your usual self, do not give an explanation just ignore them or say that silence is golden. Be still and know the restorative power of silence. (Ideas we should keep in mind) Besides, isnt it nice to say nothing when you have nothing to say? We need to rediscover the power of attention and we do that through silence the concentration that we use in prayer can be used in everyday life, THE QUESTIONNAIRE 1-In few words, what comes to your mind when you hear the word silence? 2-Silence is golden Agree? Silence is boring Agree? Golden Boring 3-Do you find sometimes that you are talking just to break the silence? Answer options Never Sometimes Always 4-Do you think that silence is important for your health balance? Absolutely not To some extent yes Of course, yes Could you justify your answer? 5-Have you ever thought to get regular periods or moments of silence? Never I have 6-Do you actually allocate regular periods from your time for silence? Absolutely no from time to time weekly daily If you do not answer by no, could you explain why or for what purpose? 7-Do you prefer silence while preparing for exams or soft music? I prefer silence Soft music It depends on the subject being prepared

The One and Future King :: Once and Future King Essays

The One and Future King In The One and Future King by T.H. White the main character, Arthur, learns many important lessons. He is taught many of these lessons by animals. For instance, he learns that "might is right" (White 47) from a fish (which turns out to be false), that ants live dictated lives devoted to war (121), that owls only kill another animal if they are starving (69), and a badger teaches him the story of man's creation (168). One of the most important lessons Arthur learns is from a goose, who tells him of a perfect society. When Merlyn turns Wart (Arthur's nickname) into a goose, another goose named Lyok Lyok teaches him about the lives of geese. Wart migrates with the geese and talks to them. He finds out that geese are very peaceful animals; they do not fight with each other, they share any food that they acquire, and each bird only has one nest (172). This greatly affects Wart because it is so different from humans. He still thinks that he likes war, but then begins to notice how many bad effects war has. Wart starts to question his initial gut-feeling that war is right and necessary. This also allows Arthur to have a more open mind towards other animals' lifestyles. This lesson is also important to me, the reader, because it makes me feel that war is not necessary. If other animals have the ability to live peacefully, so should humans. It enforces the idea that people should be kind to one another. It also opens the eyes of readers by letting them get to know the lifestyle habits of other animals and causing them to be accepting.

Thomas Jefferson: Contributions to Literature and Other Fields :: essays research papers fc

Thomas Jefferson is commonly most notable for his contributions to American political history. He was President of the United States, the first secretary of state to George Washington, minister to France with Benjamin Franklin, governor of Virginia, and congressman. (725) Jefferson’s literary works strongly reflect the focus, love, and ambition that he had for this country. Aside from the aspirations for the United States, he also very much appreciated it’s then un-tainted beauty, as he makes note of in Notes on the State of Virginia when he speaks of the Natural Bridge, â€Å"It is impossible for the emotions, arising from the sublime, to be felt beyond what they are here: so beautiful an arch, so elevated, so light, and springing, as it were up to heaven, the rapture of the Spectator is really indescribable!† (733)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743 in Shadwell, or what is now known as Albemarle County, Virginia. He was born unto Jane Randolph Jefferson and Peter Jefferson. His mother was from a wealthy, and one of the first families of Virginia. His father was a self-educated man that became a country official and surveyor. (725) Sadly, Peter Jefferson died when young Thomas was only fourteen leaving him two thousand seven hundred and fifty acres of land.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jefferson entered the college of William and Mary in 1760 when he was but seventeen years old. His habits were those of patience and severe application. Math was his favorite study, at which he very much excelled in. When came time for relaxation, he exercised his skill at the violin. Jefferson swiftly graduated in only two years with the highest of honors that the school offered. Afterwards, he studied law with a friend from William and Mary, George Wythe. In 1769 he began six years of service as a representative in the Virginia House of Burgesses. The following year he began building Monticello on part of the land inherited from his father. The exquisite mansion, which he designed in every detail, took years to complete, but part of it was ready for occupancy when he married Martha Wayles Skelton on January 1, 1772. They had six children, only two of whom survived into adulthood. (web) Jefferson's reputation began to reach beyond Virginia in 1774, when he wrote a political pamphlet, A Summary View of the Rights of British America. Arguing on the basis of natural rights theory, Jefferson claimed that, â€Å"ties to the British monarchy were voluntary and not irrevocable.

A Discussion of Paulo Freire’s Banking Concept of Education Essay

Freire implies that teachers are only telling students what to know rather than conversting with them, which explains why Freire insists that â€Å"education is suffering from narration sickness†(Freire 71). This means that he believes that educators only fill student’s minds with information, that the teacher feels is important, without providing the students the meaning and personal relevance that information has. By using this method, the student is oppressed by the teacher and unable to fulfill a complete state of consciousness. I can remember several times in my educational experiences where I have been the â€Å"depository† in Freire’s Banking Concept of Education, but no experience is more relative than my Organic Chemistry class three years ago where I learned that problem-solving education is vastly superior to banking-education because it allows students to acquire true understanding of their world and the ability to reach consciousness. During the summer of 2009, I took a summer semester of Organic Chemistry at University of California Berkeley. When I first entered the lecture hall, there were masses of people fighting for seats and some even resided to sitting on the floor or going into the side room to watch the lecture on television. As soon as the clock hit 9:00 am, five faculty members walked into the room: Professor Francis and four Graduate Student Instructors (GSIs). From the start, Dr. Francis went over the course structure, what it entailed, and how we as students could obtain help. While he was going over the syllabus information, he made one point extremely clear: â€Å"I cannot answer your personal questions during lecture time. If you have questions, please visit me during my office hours or please ask one of the GSIs. † After making that point, he transitioned into his lecture on functional groups; however, I was not following him. I immediately knew that this would be a lecture-only class, and I knew that I would need to write down every single note, diagram, or graph he showed us and memorize it for future examinations. Freire would acclaim that I would become a â€Å"depository† because I would simply allow Professor Francis to deposit his ‘knowledge’ into my mind without further question or thought. I would become a slave, oppressed by the very person who was supposed to free me (Freire 74). Dr. Francis continued in his slide show and a large slide labeled ‘Hydrocarbons’ appeared on the screen, and below the title were several different organic hydrocarbon functional groups, such as alkenes, alkanes, alkynes, benzenes, and toluene. He discussed each hydrocarbon in great depth and showed us students how to recognize them based on their bond sequences and patterns, how they react in the presence of other organic molecules, and how their chemical bonds affect water. After an exhaustive lecture of copying everything he said into my 12Ãâ€"8 notebook, he announced that we must memorize all of the hydrocarbon groups, and to be able to recognize them for an exam setting. Never once did he explain what what makes them important. I raised my hand at the end of the lecture, and asked him what the application of hydrocarbons are in the ‘real-world’. He replied not to worry about that, and that we needed to be able to recognize them and know how they function chemically, not practically, and why would he take the time to explain how hydrocarbons function? In order for Dr. Francis to keep his job, Freire asserts that, â€Å"the teacher must assume all of his students as ignorant†(Freire 72). This implies that if Dr. Francis had gone straight to the point and explained why hydrocarbons were important in the real world and in a laboratory setting, he wouldn’t have a job. It was his job to pick out extremely detailed and ‘useless’ properties and functionalities of hydrocarbons and make them seem important to us. By continuing to explain and confuse us students, he was able to maintain a shroud of ignorance over the student body, and from this, he justifies his job as absolute. This is what Freire refers to as the â€Å"cycle of ignorance† that continuously allows the teacher to keep his job because society believes that the ignorant students need him for their self-betterment. For the next several weeks, I adhered to Dr. Francis’s ‘Banking Style of Education’, and it worked. I received an A on every exam and test I took because I memorized and accepted the information Dr. Francis gave me without second thought. Freire feels that my total submission to the instructor was the reason for my success because he suggests that â€Å"The more meekly the receptacles permit themselves to be filled, the better students they are†(Freire 72). Freire’s explanation worries me because to know is not to know. Just because I could recognize different functional groups, which in the banking concept would make me a better student, did not mean that I could apply my understanding of organic chemistry to a real life situation because I hadn’t been taught to apply the information to anything at all. My ignorance and inability to grasp the true meanings and concepts of organic chemistry became extremely clear in the laboratory because the lab is where students take all of their knowledge and apply it to solve a problem or set of problems. After the first quarter of the summer semester, the laboratory portion of the course opened. My first assignment was to estimate the bond angles of methane, and at first I had no idea what to do because I had only been instructed to recognize methane and its bonding patters. I was never asked to manipulate the molecule’s properties to gain further understanding, and this caused me to realize that I was flawed because the ‘knowledge’ that I acquired was not mine, but Dr. Francis’ deposits of impractical segments of knowledge. With no idea where to start my laboratory or how to assess the assignment, I asked the Teaching Assistant (TA) for help. She simply replied, â€Å"Think about what you know about methane’s properties, and manipulate your knowledge so you can measure the bond angle. Needless to say, this was not helpful because I had no idea how to apply my knowledge and understanding because I was not taught to. I was simply an object who, according to Freire, â€Å"is in the world,† implying that I was not conscious of my own being and awareness (Freire 78). This is why I allowed Dr. Francis to continue depositing information into me because he posed himself as my liberator, my educator, but he was my oppres sor. By not being able to use and apply my knowledge, my critical consciousness and inner will to understand began to diminish. This is why Freire announces, â€Å"The more students work at storing the deposits entrusted to them, the less they develop the critical consciousness which would result from their intervention in the world as transformers of that world†(Freire 73). Freire implies that students lose the will power, the motivation, to develop awareness when they are force-fed information, so he argues that students must develop this ‘critical consciousness’ themselves through problem solving. This is when I realized that Dr. Francis couldn’t and won’t teach me how to understand what I have learned; I needed to learn how to apply and master the information I was taught by myself, not some other individual. Education is supposed to empower individuals; however, since I was ‘in-the-world’ I let the banking concept oppress me and my true understanding of knowledge. I failed the first Organic Chemistry lab. I didn’t know how to solve the problems and apply my knowledge, nor did I have the willpower to, so I simply gave up. I was incredibly frustrated after the first lab, not because I couldn’t get the right answer, but because I couldn’t apply my knowledge to solve the problem. I spent the next several lectures gathering notes, expanding on them, and making sense of the information; however, I was still unable to understand the information in practical terms. My frustration grew because I felt that all my efforts studying information and memorizing its contents was wasted. How could education provide all of this knowledge that we, as students, are unable to apply? What was the point of education? At the time, I felt education was society’s largest flaw because it wasted the time and severed the creativity students put into it. Freire agrees with me because he argues, â€Å"The capability of banking education is to minimize or annul the students’ creative power†(Freire 73). This implies that Freire agrees that education is flawed because it severs student creativity; although, it does not answer why we must learn meaningless and impractical information obtained in our lives. Freire responds that not everyone will find meaning through their education; however, he believes that people should continue to pursue the parts of education that students find interesting, such as in a higher education setting (Freire 76). I knew most of the information that I obtained in chemistry was impractical for most individuals and even myself in a day-to-day scenario, but chemistry was interesting to me. It was something that I wanted to pursue and gain further understanding of because every piece of information left me wanting more. Giving up and throwing my knowledge away was not an option because I wanted and worked my entire life to make sense of what I learned in this world, and it keeps on changing and reshaping every day. As a last effort, I went to the tutoring help desk at the university to get help, so I could understand my information and knowledge and apply it to the lab. I was assigned a tutor, Kevin, and he brought me and two other students into a small concealed 10Ãâ€"10 room with a large foldup table in the middle. We all sat down and Kevin asked us what we needed help with. The other students didn’t look like they were forced to be there and kept quiet, so I took the opportunity to obtain help. I told him that â€Å"I have a hard time applying the lecture notes in the lab. † Kevin explained that my situation was very typical because the lectures and exams were based on memorization where the labs relied on the interaction between what you know and how to solve the problem. He brought out an organic chemistry book and questioned, â€Å"Why is water polar? I immediately responded that water is polar because the oxygen atom has more elections than the hydrogen atoms at any one time giving the hydrogen molecules a positive charge and the oxygen a negative charge. Kevin told me that I was right, but this occurred due to the extreme differences in electronegativity. We continued to solve problems together and critique one another on our answers, and from this he was teaching me and I was teaching him. Freire would call this interaction, â€Å"problem-solving-education† because â€Å"The teacher is no longer merely the-one-who-teaches, but one who is himself taught in dialogue with the students†(Freire 80). This implies that both teacher and student work together to solve problems, and by doing so, they gain a greater understanding of the topic. This is exactly what Kevin and I were doing because we were teaching each other and able to create a more significant understanding and meaning of chemistry that allowed me to visualize a topic and solve it logistically instead of memorizing the topic and solving it formulaically. This is why Freire belives that â€Å"the conditions under which knowledge at the level of the doxa is superseded by true knowledge, at the level of the logos†(Freire 81). Freire’s text implies that common knowledge and understanding (doxa) can be transformed into true mastery of the subject and reason (logos). Since Keven and I were taking basic information and each giving it new meaning in our problem-solving tutoring sessions, I was able to acquire a true mastery and understanding of chemistry. Working with Kevin several times a week gave me a true understanding and relation of chemistry, which allowed me to pass my lab course with an A. Overcoming the problems of the banking-concept and learning the problem-solving method changed my life forever. I took the problem-solving method that I learned with Kevin and applied it with other students, colleagues, professors, and friends, so I could continue to problem solve and gain true understanding of knowledge throughout my life. Problem-solving education continues to be vastly superior to banking-education because in addition to learning and understanding information, problem-solving-education forces individuals to retain information they acquire so they can apply for future use. Since I was able to take knowledge and apply my understanding of it, Freire would conclude this type of understanding as â€Å"being with the world†(Freire 78). Being with-the-world means that the individual is conscious of their surroundings and is able to fully interact in the world they are in. Instead of being an object or vessel, the individual is able to make conscious decisions and interpret the world as they see it. This induces self-freedom and liberation in a person because when a person learns something, they retain that information forever and no human being in the world can take that information away. It also provides a mental salvation because if the physical realm is too harsh to live in, those who have mastered problem-solving and acquired pure consciousness can escape from their physical realm into their consciousness where they have stored all of their memories, techniques, and information, and no person can get to them besides themselves.