No Child Left Behind Act Free Essays

With the No Child Left Behind Act, signed into law in early 2002, the Bush Administration put its stamp on the central federal law governing K-12 schooling, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) ratified in 1965. Throughout his campaign for the presidency, Bush summoned the ideas that are now law as a way to improve public education across the board, particularly for poor children. Vowing to end the soft prejudice of low expectations that he said has allowed too many poor children to fall enduringly behind in school, President Bush declared, â€Å"It’s time to come together to get it (educational reform) done so that we can truthfully say in America, ‘No child will be left behind, not one single child’† Described in this way, the problem of low expectations proposes the solution most probably built into the provisions of No Child Left Behind: higher expectations. We will write a custom essay sample on No Child Left Behind Act or any similar topic only for you Order Now Though, the law needs not higher expectations which, after all, cannot be legislated but to a certain extent documented success, across the board and against a set of external standards. Expecting every child to succeed is one thing; needing that success is another. Supporters look upon the No Child Left Behind Act as a much-needed push in the right direction: a set of measures that will drive broad gains in student achievement as well as hold states and schools properly accountable for student progress. A number of critics see it fundamentally as a insincere set of demands, framed in an appealing language of expectations, that will force schools to fail on a scale large enough to rationalize shifting public dollars to private schools that is, as a political effort to reform public education out of existence through a policy of test and burn. (Levin, B. Riffel, J, 1998). Sadly, No Child Left Behind appears, at best, to fix the wrong problem. The sanctions written into the law appear designed to compel teachers to teach and students to learn. Thus far, few children do not want to learn and few teachers do not want to teach. This is barely the biggest problem in struggling schools. What is missing is chance and support, not desire. Consider the gap between the reforms institutionalized through No Child Left Behind and the needs of John Essex, a high-poverty school in rural Demopolis, Alabama. The New York Times (Schemo, 2003b), reported: The truck full of stones showed up at John Essex School without explanation, as if some unnamed saint had heard Loretta McCoy’s despair. As principal of this school in Alabama’s rural Black Belt, Ms. McCoy struggles to find money for essentials: library books, musical instruments, supplies and teachers. So when the stones appeared, Ms. McCoy knew it might be the closest John Essex would get to landscaping and got pushing. A pile went by the back door, filing a huge pothole the children waded through when it rained. Another truckload filled a sinkhole by the Dumpsters, where garbage trucks got stuck in mud, and a third went to craters when the children took recess. Her pleading got John Essex five deliveries of rock: not enough to level the school’s entrance, but enough to give its principal a small dose of hope. The K-12 school has 264 students, all poor and all Black. The building’s cinder-block walls are unplastered, electrical lines are exposed, also the library includes books â€Å"that ponder how the Vietnam War will turn out† and â€Å"speak of landing on the moon as an ambitious dream† (Schemo, 2003b). Students have to master a foreign language to earn the academic diploma they require to get into college; however the school has no foreign language teacher, as well no art or music teacher. A few wrist bells comprise the school’s collection of musical instruments. One person teaches chemistry, earth science, biology, and all the other science classes. Given the funding shortfalls and high failure rates extensively predicted for struggling schools like John Essex, it is hard to believe that sanctions are a good-faith prescription for accomplishment. Schools with fewer students and less funding will have even more difficulty attracting the best teachers, most of whom will prefer not to teach in a school branded failing. Though No Child Left Behind was signed into law with promises of not giving up on a single student, which proposes a commitment to ensuring that all children succeed, sanctions drive the law and almost make sure the opposite: failure. If this was not the case, if a state documented the success of each and every student that state no doubt would be criticized for cheating, grade inflation, or low standard. Pious platitudes regarding children being capable to learn and accountability for adequate yearly progress are poor substitutes for the cold, hard cash schools like John Essex need to attract good teachers and to finance the programs that might validate this rhetoric. While the federal contribution to total spending on public education is extremely small, about seven percent, the high-poverty schools most vulnerable to the sanctions rely excessively on this money. No Child Left Behind emerges not to address the very real problems in these schools, some of which rely on Title I dollars for more than a third of their spending, but somewhat to use those problems as a rationale for eroding public education. President Bush wanted to include vouchers for private schools in the No Child Left Behind law, however let this go when it became clear Congress would not pass the legislation with that provision. Debatably, however, No Child Left Behind lays the groundwork for exactly this result. The objective appears to be not to improve the quality of schooling for poor children, however rather to turn the problems of poor schools into a campaign to destroy public education. As growingly schools are deemed failing, the demand for vouchers likely will increase, paving the way for a transfer of students and funds to private schools. In the summer of 2003, the president invigorated his call for vouchers and backed a proposal to spend seventy-five million dollars in federal money on vouchers for private schools. Of the seventy-five million dollars, fifteen million dollars would go to families in Washington, DC for vouchers for two thousand of the sixty-seven thousand students in the district. The move came after a decision by the U. S. Supreme Court the year before that affirmed the constitutionality of permitting parents to use public funds to pay for religious and other private schooling. The case focused on a program in Cleveland, which offers private-school vouchers of up to $2,250 to approximately three thousand and seven hundred of the district’s seventy-five thousand students. (Tozer, S. E., Violas, P. C., Senese, G, 2002). Several students lack supports common in middle-class and rich households an adult at home in the evening, lots of books, and a quiet place to work. Others struggle to handle with the stress of living with constant economic insecurity evictions, homelessness, moving from place to place or of living in a community used by the larger society as a poisonous dumping ground. By paying no attention to this reality, No Child Left Behind continues the â€Å"blame-the-victim approach† that has long considered public schooling. Much more is needed than simply stating we now have high expectations for all children. Unaccompanied by a political commitment to construct a system where there is a cause to expect every child to succeed, such proclamations ridicule the ideals they bring to mind. Under the semblance of battling the soft bigotry of low expectations, policy-makers are moving in the incorrect direction in the long struggle to understand the ideal of equal educational opportunity. The stick side of the No Child Left Behind Act is operating: Schools not capable to meet annual achievement targets are being punished. Though, the carrot side of the law, something better for poor children in struggling schools, has not materialized. While funding for Title I has increased, it falls violently short of the realistic costs of achieving hundred percent proficiency. As the federal government reviewed states’ plans for putting into practice No Child Left Behind in summer 2003, a related battle gathered steam when the Bush administration planned to overhaul Head Start, the federally funded preschool program that serves about one million of the nation’s poorest 3- and 4-year-olds in community centers and schools. Under the proposal, the funding for the program would be distributed in block grants to states, under the control at first of up to eight governors. When Head Start was formed in 1965 as an initiative within the larger War on Poverty, then-President Lyndon Johnson intentionally avoided giving governors, antagonists in battles over civil rights, control over the program. (Levin, B. Riffel, J, 1998). Critics of the proposal, including more than forty antipoverty and child welfare groups, protested that distributing Head Start dollars in block grants to states would take to bits the program by destroying the federal guarantee that the money will be used as originally planned namely, to provide an array of services to poor children, together with nutritional food, dental and health care, immunizations, as well as, in some centers, literacy programs for family members. To take this program away from communities this is a direct federal community program also hand it over to states without the national performance standards, without the requirements for complete services that make Head Start successful, and at a time when states are facing the biggest budget shortfalls in their history, is to destroy it. (Johnson, M, 2001). Under the proposal, Head Start employees would be needed to teach reading, writing, and math skills, and Head Start pupils would be required to partake in an assessment to find out if the new academic standards were being met. The proposal would need as a minimum half of all Head Start teachers to have 4-year college degrees by 2008, however would not require competitive salaries. Head Start teachers now earn merely about half the average salary of kindergarten teachers. Reference: Johnson, M. (2001, December). Making teaching boom proof: The future of the teaching profession. New Economy, 8(4), 203-207. This article describes how the staffing and retention of teachers could be enhanced to deal with national shortages. Levin, B. Riffel, J. (1998, March). Conceptualising school change. Cambridge Journal of Education, 28(1), 113. This article attempts to discuss the implications for educational strategy makers suggested by the literature review Schemo, D. J. (2003b, July 11). Questions on data cloud luster of Houston schools. The New York Times. Retrieved from  Ã‚   http://www.nytimes.com This article discusses that hundreds of drop-outs were wrongly listed as transfers. Enrolment at alleged miracle high schools dropped noticeably during this time. Tozer, S. E., Violas, P. C., Senese, G. (2002). School and society: Historical and contemporary perspectives (4th Ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill This text seeks to define an analytic framework that illustrates how and why certain school-society issues first took place in this country and how they transformed over time. In its assessment of the development of education in the United States, this text entails an engaging historical story. How to cite No Child Left Behind Act, Essay examples

Cardiovascular Disease Burden in Singapore-Samples for Students

Question: Discuss about the Cardiovascular Disease Burden in Singapore. Answer: A study conducted by Ministry of Health in the year 2010 had shown clearly that cardiovascular disorder has been the leading cause of death in the nation of Singapore. It has estimated to face a death of about 1908% of the vulnerable population that is then followed by cancer at 18.9% (Lam et al., 2015). This is in turn followed by deaths due to neurological, vision and hearing disorders that account to about 14.0%. Although years have passed and various advancement have been made by the nation in medical fields and technologies, this chronic disorder is still studied to be the leading cause of death even in the recent years (Koh, Yuan Pan, 2015). Therefore, the present assignment will mainly be based on how cardiovascular disorders had been leading the maximum cause of death in the nation, the age cohort that it is affecting and the different causes of occurrence of such disorders in the population. Moreover, a health priority framework would be proposed which can check this disord er and promote health and well-being of the vulnerable population. Cardiovascular disorder has been noted to be one of the most important priority areas that should be taken into consideration by the department of health in the nation. Not only the governmental healthcare centers but also the private healthcare organizations need to conduct social analysis of the disorder and develop strategies to fight the present condition. Local governments also should promote effective health campaigns to identify the vulnerable group and educate the group with preventive measures so that cardiovascular disorders and death can be prevented. Present statistics show that every day in the nation of Singapore, 16 people die from different types of cardiovascular disorders. Cardiovascular disorders had accounted for about 29.5% of all the deaths in the year 2016 (Myheart.org.sg, 2018). This study also states that 1 out of every 3 deaths in Singapore is occurring due to either heart disorders or due to strokes. Total number of deaths in the year 2016 is seen to be 20, 017 out of which death due to cardiovascular disorder is 6000 (Approximately). Ischemic heart disorders account for 17% whereas cerebro-vascular disorders account for 6.6% that even includes occurrences of strokes. Hypertensive heart diseases accounts for about 4.0% of the deaths and other heart disease accounts for 1.9%. Therefore, from such data, it can be seen that more than one-fourth number of deaths in the nation had been due to cardiovascular disorders and therefore, it can be considered as one of the topmost priority areas in healthcare industry of the nation. In order to develop proper strategy to ensure the health and well-being of the individuals, it is extremely important to conduct a social analysis. This analysis would help in identifying the cohort of the population that is vulnerable to be affected by this disorder. Three races of population are seen to reside in the nation of Singapore. They are mainly of Chinese, Malay and Indian origin. The average age of the Chinese population in the nation who seems to be affected by myocardial infarction is 64 where the ranges of age extend from 54 to 74 years of age. The average age of the males who suffer from this disorder is 71. In case of the Malayans, the average age is 61 where the range of age varies from 51 to 71. The average age of the males who suffer from such incidences among the Malayans is 73.4 (Nmrc.gov.sg, 2017). The average age for the cases of myocardial infarction in Indians is seen to be 58 where the range varies from 49 to 70. The average age of the males in this case is 77. In the year 2016, about 30.9% of the males had been affected by the disorders whereas the incidences of this disorder had been less in case of women accounting for about 27.7%. This showed that the males more vulnerable to the diseases (Myheart.org.sg, 2018). Several factors lead to occurrences of this disorder. Diabetes had been seen to be the most important cause of the different heart disorders with the highest rate of about 51% among the Indians, 42% among the Malayans and 34.6% among the Chinese. On the other hand, hypertension had been seen to be the causal factor for such occurrences among 60.5% of Chinese, 55.2% of Malayans and 54.4 % among the Indians. Hyperlipidemia and Obesity had been also the cays of myocardial infarction among 49.6% of Chinese, 46.3% of Malayans and 51.9% of Indians (Nmrc.gov.sg, 2017). Smoking disorder is also found to be an important factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases. It accounts to the highest among the Malayans accounting to be of 59.6%. It is also seen to be the reason for heart diseases among 52.6% Of the Chinese and 50.8% of the Indians. Besides, family history of premature coronary heart diseases and renal failure are also the reasons for which cardiovascular diseases take place i n individuals in Singapore (Gijsberts et al., 2015). One of the best frameworks for designing health promotion program in the different communities of the nation of Singapore is the Ottawa framework. The Ottawa charter for health promotion can be defined as the international agreement that was signed at Ottawa in Canada under the governance of the world health Organization in First International Conference on Health Promotion in 1986. Since then, this framework had been used by several nations to strategize health promotion campaigns effectively (Hivert et al., 2016). Three important strategies, the Ottawa framework advices for health promotion are advocating, enabling and mediating. In case of advocacy, it should be remembered that health is one form of resource for different developmental as well as social means. Therefore, all the dimensions hat affect the resource of health must be modified in ways that will encourage well being. The second one is called enabling. It states that the health equity should be followed and every indivi dual should be empowered to control the determinants that affect their health. These should be done in ways where the individuals can reach the highest attainable quality of life. The last strategy says that health promotion can never be achieved alone by the health sector. Therefore, all sectors of the government should collaborate and coordinate with each other and with independent organizations like different industries and media to ensure success of the health campaigns (Campbell et al., 2016). In order to cover up the three important strategies in the implementation of proper health campaigns for prevention and control of cardiovascular disorders, five important arenas need to be taken in considerations. Healthcare organizations, community health care centers, social workers, health care representatives, leaders of the healthcare campaigns and others should work together (Kaczorowski et al., 2016) Everyone should come together to build health public policy, create support environments, strengthen community actions, develop the personal skills of the community dwellers and reorient health service for better prevention and promotion of health. Routine checkups in the communities, public healthcare centers and in different organizations should be done to check blood pressure. Keep the cholesterol level and triglyceride levels under control and check the BMI for measuring weight. This routine checkup would help in prior identification of the issues and warn the vulnerable individuals from danger (Griffiths et al., 2016). Besides, there would be health education sessions in the communities as well as in the healthcare centers about the importance of maintaining proper lifestyles. This prevents occurrence of any heart disorders. The vulnerable population should be identified and then they should be mailed for participation in healthcare sessions. The health education classes would contain distribution of pamphlets and brochures in easy language so that the cohort can understand the steps they need to take for maintaining healthy lifestyle. Importance of healthy diet would be explained and interested individuals could also get diet charts from representatives. Saturated fats, foods rich in sodium and added sugars should be avoided. In place, fresh fruits, whole grains and vegetables should be incorporated. Regular exercises should be done as it benefits strengthening of hearts and improvement of circulation. Arranging for exercise sessions in the communities can also be a part of the health promotion ca mpaigns (Cox, 2017). Proper counseling sessions for alcoholic individuals and those suffering from tobacco use disorder can be arranged. The counseling sessions would be held once a week where vulnerable individuals can visit for help. Limiting alcohol is excessively important as it results in excessive weight gain by addition of extra calories. Cigarette smoking exposes individuals to increase blood pressure putting individuals at greater risks (Liddy et al., 2017). Therefore, these initiatives are also necessary. Apart from the above mentioned strategies to ensure creating supportive environment, reorienting healthcare services and strengthening community actions to ensure preventions of heart diseases, development of interpersonal skills of the vulnerable individuals are also necessary. Management of stress is important as extreme stress triggers heart attack. Management of diabetes is important to keep blood sugar level under control. Making sure of getting enough sleep is important (Campbell et al., 2017). Therefore, they should be taught of the ways by which they can take their own care and maintain their well-being. Government should propose a policy including guideline to ensure best health of the vulnerable population. From the entire discussion, it is clear that cardiovascular disorders is the main disease that should be accepted as priority areas as it had been affecting huge number of population leading to death. Age cohort of above 45 years of age is seen to be the most vulnerable to the disease with the number of deaths increasing with age. Several factors like diabetes, hypertension, smoking habits and many others contribute to these risky situations. With the help of Ottawa factors, concerned healthcare authorities can arrange for healthcare campaigns that will ensure better quality life of the mentioned cohort References: Campbell, D. J., Manns, B. J., Hemmelgarn, B. R., Sanmartin, C., King-Shier, K. M. (2016). Development of a conceptual framework for understanding financial barriers to care among patients with cardiovascular-related chronic disease: a protocol for a qualitative (grounded theory) study.CMAJ open,4(2), E304. Campbell, D. J., Manns, B. J., Weaver, R. G., Hemmelgarn, B. R., King-Shier, K. M., Sanmartin, C. (2017). Financial barriers and adverse clinical outcomes among patients with cardiovascular-related chronic diseases: a cohort study.BMC medicine,15(1), 33. Cox, J. L. (2017). Why We Need More and Better Cardiovascular Disease Quality Indicators.Canadian Journal of Cardiology,33(4), 416-419. Gijsberts, C. M., Seneviratna, A., de Carvalho, L. P., den Ruijter, H. M., Vidanapthirana, P., Sorokin, V., ... Low, A. F. (2015). Ethnicity modifies associations between cardiovascular risk factors and disease severity in parallel Dutch and Singapore coronary cohorts.PloS one,10(7), e0132278. Griffiths, K., Aggarwal, B. B., Singh, R. B., Buttar, H. S., Wilson, D., De Meester, F. (2016). Food antioxidants and their anti-inflammatory properties: a potential role in cardiovascular diseases and cancer prevention.Diseases,4(3), 28. Hivert, M. F., Arena, R., Forman, D. E., Kris-Etherton, P. M., McBride, P. E., Pate, R. R., ... Kraus, W. E. (2016). Medical training to achieve competency in lifestyle counseling: an essential foundation for prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases and other chronic medical conditions: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association.Circulation,134(15), e308-e327. Kaczorowski, J., Campbell, N. R., Duhaney, T., Mang, E., Gelfer, M. (2016). Reducing deaths by diet: Call to action for a public policy agenda for chronic disease prevention.Canadian Family Physician,62(6), 469-470. Koh, W. P., Yuan, J. M., Pan, A. (2015). Abstract P251: Weight Change is Associated With Risk of Cardiovascular Mortality Among Singapore Chinese. Lam, B. C. C., Koh, G. C. H., Chen, C., Wong, M. T. K., Fallows, S. J. (2015). Comparison of body mass index (BMI), body adiposity index (BAI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) as predictors of cardiovascular disease risk factors in an adult population in Singapore.PLoS One,10(4), e0122985. Liddy, C., Rowan, M., Valiquette-Tessier, S. C., Drosinis, P., Crowe, L., Hogg, W. (2017). Improved Delivery of Cardiovascular Care (IDOCC): findings from narrative reports by practice facilitators.Preventive medicine reports,5, 214-219. Myheart.org.sg. (2016).Singapore - Statistics - About The Heart Heart Disease - Singapore Heart Foundation. [online] Available at: https://www.myheart.org.sg/article/about-the-heart-and-heart-disease/statistics/singapore/75 [Accessed 12 Feb. 2018]. Nmrc.gov.sg. (2017).Singapores Approaching Tsunami of Cardiovascular Disease. [online] Available at: https://www.nmrc.gov.sg/content/dam/nmrc_internet/nmrc2.0/nmrcAwards/2017/Slides/Cardiovascular%20Diseases%20-%20Mark%20Richards.pdf [Accessed 12 Feb. 2018]

Death of a Salesman and A Raisin in the SUn Essay Example For Students

Death of a Salesman and A Raisin in the SUn Essay A common theme in society today is that money is the key to happiness. In A Raisin in the Sun and Death of a Salesman the theme that money is the root of contentment is also present. In A Raisin in the Sun, Walter Lee has such a desire to be rich that he neglects his son and wife. Willy, in Death of a Salesman, is also very distracted by the thought of money. First of all, Willy believes that he needs to be as successful as his brother, Ben, in order to be happy. He spends his whole life wishing that he had gone with his brother to Alaska. This is where he got rich and Willy believes that if he had gone with Ben, he would be rich too. Many times throughout the play, when Willy is having hallucinations of Ben, he asks him, How did you do it, Ben? Also, throughout the play, he refers to a salesman that is in his 80s and is very successful. He talks about how this man is so old, but is still working from his home. He also speaks of how this man is so well liked in all of the cities that he has gone to. Being well liked is important to Willy because he thinks that if he is well liked throughout the area, he will sell more and therefore become rich like his brother. In the same respect, Walter Lee, from A Raisin in the Sun, has a fascination with money. He believes that he needs to own a liquor store to obtain money and when his mother receive s her check, he expects her to give him the money so that he can fulfill his dream. When his mother does not give him the money at first, he is furious because he believes that, to be happy, he must own the liquor store. Walter Lee wants to be a good father and husband and wants to be able to provide for his family everything that they need. This desire that he has shades his eyes from the fact that he is neglecting them. Finally, when Walter Lee does get the money that he needs from his mother for the store, it is stolen by one of his business partners. I believe that this is when Walter Lee realizes that money is not everything and it is not the only way to happiness. A Raisin in the Sun and Death of a Salesman both have fundamental ideas that money can buy happiness, when in reality, the main characters in the plays realize that actually family is the most important thing.

Foreign Etiquette Essay Research Paper Etiquette for free essay sample

Foreign Etiquette Essay, Research Paper Etiquette for Greetings and Business Card games As we do concern in other states and as we receive business peoples from other states in our American offices, it is of import to cognize how to recognize people and how to show our concern cards. The salutation is the beginning of the concern interaction ; if it goes good, we create a positive feeling that will function as a foundation for our concern treatments. Business Card games The ultimate passport in today s planetary economic system is the concern card. It identifies your company and makes it easier for international people to understand your name. Rank and profession in other states are taken much more earnestly so they are in the United States. For every state in which you travel, have your concern card information in English on one side and in the linguistic communication of the peculiar state on the other side. We will write a custom essay sample on Foreign Etiquette Essay Research Paper Etiquette for or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Include your name, place rubric, your company name and reference, and your facsimile and telephone Numberss. In European and North American states, the concern card may be presented with either manus. In Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, neer present the card with your left manus ; the left manus is considered dirty. Greetings Your first opportunity to do an feeling is when you greet person and exchange names. In America, we tend to be formal but that does non intend we should be careless. Professional, societal, and household positions are really of import in many civilizations. If you say or do something, which is wrong, you can pique others and abash yourself. Always use a formal salutation when you meet people from other civilizations. Never address them by their first names unless they ask you to make so. In European and North American states, recognize the individual with a steadfast handshaking, good oculus contact, and the pronunciation of the last name with the courtesy rubric Mrs. Moschler. In Latin American states, recognize a individual with a light handshaking and possibly an embracing. Remember that most peoples names are a combination of their male parent s and female parent s names. Merely a female parent s name is use in conversation. So, Carlos Mendoza-Zamora would be addressed as Senor Mendoza. The French besides greet one another with a light handshaking ; the steadfast U.S.-type handshaking is thought to be impolite. By and large, adult females do non agitate custodies. Young people and close friends will often interchange kissed on both cheeks in add-on to the handshaking. And the Gallic frequently shake custodies in departing. In the Orient, the Chinese system presents the family name foremost and the given name last ; for illustration, Wang Xiansheng would be addressed as Mr. Wang. However, if the Chinese are utilizing English, they will normally set their family names last as is done in the United States. When you greet Chinese people, agitate custodies and turn to them by their family names with a courtesy rubric. For India and Thailand, a salutation consists of seting your custodies together in a prayer-like place, keeping them about thorax high, and so blowing somewhat. In India, this is called NAMASTE ; in Thailand, it is called Wai. Peoples are addressed by their family names with the appropriate courtesy rubric. In Assalaamualaikum ( Peace be upon you ) and Waalaikum assalaam ( And peace be upon you ) . Work force may agitate custodies ; nevertheless, retrieve that you should non agitate custodies, snog, or encompass a member of the opposite sex. Homework You can see how easy it could be to diss person or embarrass yourself as you meet and greet people. Please make your prep before you travel. Fix your concern cards and analyze the imposts. We want to construct relationships based upon regard for other civilizations.

How to Use Mood and Atmosphere in Your Novel - Freewrite Store

How to Use Mood and Atmosphere in Your Novel - Freewrite Store ï » ¿The mood, or atmosphere, of your novel, is one of the things that makes your story stick in your readers’ minds long after they’ve turned the last page. Think about some of your favorite novels - what is it that you remember most? For me, the stormy atmosphere of my favorite novel, Wuthering Heights, is the first thing that comes to mind. Emily Bronte managed to create a mood in the novel that I really related to during my turbulent teenage years. As I’m writing this, I’m listening to the angry crashing of thunder and the pouring torrential rain, listening to children screaming as they run inside - what a perfect reminder of how nature creates atmosphere without any effort at all! The Power of Your Setting for Atmosphere There’s a variety of factors that go into creating mood and atmosphere in fiction. Your setting - including details like the weather and climate - can be a great starting point for conveying a mood. In Wuthering Heights, for example, the windswept moors of the Yorkshire Dales created the perfect backdrop for the atmosphere of the story. It’s the setting that allows you to introduce details that create the mood. The kinds of details that you can use for conveying the atmosphere against the backdrop of your story include smells, sounds, and sights. For example, you could create a gothic mood by using details that describe the decay of an abandoned house - cobwebs in the corners, rust on the bars on the windows, clouds of dust, and so on. Using Mood Words As a beginning writer, when I first came across the term ‘mood words’, I thought it referred to a list of moods (e.g. happy, depressed, angry, despondent, etc.). I was wrong. Mood words are broadly defined as descriptive verbs and adjectives that add an extra dimension to non-descript actions. For example, consider the difference between these sentences: Adelaide walked towards the door. Adelaide tiptoed towards the door. Walking is non-descript. We all do it, and without any kind of descriptors about howa character is walking, there’s no sense of mood or atmosphere. To tiptoe, however, is to walk in a particular way - to avoid being heard or to avoid disturbing someone. Overall, tiptoeing creates a sense of stealth and can be used to convey an atmosphere of tension or caution. Mood words are incredibly useful when you’re trying to convey an atmosphere. It can be helpful to have a list of mood words for particular types of scenes that you can easily refer back to. Here’s an example to get you started: Eerie Mood Words: Creaking Rattling Thumping Scuttling (as in a mouse scuttling) Whistling (as in the wind whistling) Cracking (as in a twig cracking) Show, Don’t Tell The easiest way to create a mood is to tell the reader what the mood is, right? Wrong. Which of these two passages is more engaging and captivating in its description of mood?: Rebecca felt happy that the interview had gone well. She was excited to hear back from the manager. Rebecca walked sedately out of the building, but as soon as she was out of sight of the reception desk, she almost danced across the road to where Dom was waiting for her. A bubbling laugh escaped her lips as she ran to him and threw her arms around his neck. â€Å"I think I’ve got it!† she almost shouted. â€Å"Oh, Dom, you should’ve seen me in there!† You should always avoid telling your readers something when you can show them through your characters actions and speech. The second passage conveys the excitement in a way that makes the reader feel part of the scene - simply telling the reader that your character is excited isn’t going to create an atmosphere of excitement. Word Choices The words that you use to describe a scene or setting can have a powerful impact on the kind of mood you create. When I was studying for my Creative Writing degree, my tutor set an assignment that I thought I’d suck at, but I actually found that I enjoyed it. We were given a setting - a simple backyard - but told to describe it in three different ways, conveying a different atmosphere each time. This is how it turned out: Scene 1: Shadows played across the yard like a shroud. Long grass, unkempt and almost knee-high, danced in the breeze. A child’s bicycle, long abandoned, lay in the shadow of a withered oak tree. Sunlight blazing off the sash windows of the house made it impossible for Derrick to see whether Susan was inside. Scene 2 Alstroemeria bloomed in the bright-blue planter pressed up against the side of the front porch. Danny’s bike was, yet again, abandoned in the middle of the lawn at the foot of the old oak. Excited giggles drifted down from the treehouse as the boys quickly hauled the ladder up. â€Å"Is your Mom home?† Derrick called out to the boys, shading his eyes against the glare of the sun. Scene 3 There were some signs that this had once been a happy home - the rusty bicycle below the oak tree, and the partially-collapsed remains of a treehouse. There had once been a lawn, but now it was just a scorched black scar in front of the dilapidated house. Derrick dug the toe of his boot into the dirt and sighed. It had been fifteen years, but if he breathed in deeply enough, it was almost as if he could still smell the smoke of the fire. The words that you choose to describe anything in your novel have the power to convey very different moods. You have to be careful about the vocabulary that you choose, to ensure that every word matches up with the mood you’re wanting to portray. Descriptions are a lot like paintings. The details that you show to your reader come together to create an overall picture - and if you use details that don’t fit the mood, they’ll be jarring to your readers. Putting What You’ve Learned Into Practice Actually practicing using mood and atmosphere in your novel is the best way to get better at it. I’ve put together some exercises to help you get started. Imagine you’re writing a ghost story. Which of these two settings would provide the best backdrop for your story?: A cabin on the beach on the island of Barbados in summer An isolated cabin in a remote part of the Scottish highlands in winter (where there are only a few hours of daylight each day) Imagine you’re writing a story about a marriage breakdown. How would these different settings change the mood of the story?: The kitchen during the morning rush to get the kids to school A seating area outside a cafe close to where there’s a group of protestors shouting and waving placards A clifftop as your characters are participating in a walk for charity Create a mood word list for each of the following atmospheres: Spooky Tense Despairing Excited Joyful Find a scene in a novel (yours, or one you’re reading) where there’s more telling than there is showing. Re-write the scene in a way that conveys a mood without using the actual word. Describe a house and garden in three separate scenes, creating a different atmosphere in each.

Climate Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Climate Change - Essay Example By the records, prior to the advent of the industrial revolution, the levels of carbon dioxide were way lower than they are today (NASA, 2013). By the end of 2010, the levels of carbon dioxide stood at 389 parts per million as compared to 280 parts per million before the industrial revolution (Doyle, 2013). Records dating to as early as 1500 designate that there has been a steady increase in temperatures as Metz notes (Metz, 2010). Research carried out by UK and U.S based environmental research and scientific institutions show that since the late 1900’s, global average temperature has increased by 0.8 degrees (Hayward, 2014). This rate of increase might appear trifling but according to scientists, it is one of the strongest indicators of the rapid climatic changes happening on earth (Balonnof, 2013). In addition, scientists advise that if climatic change is not urgently addressed, by 2050, the rates of temperature increase should be expected to be between 2.6 and 4.5 degrees ( VOA, 2014). Another imperative statistic from scientists is the verity that there is an over 40% increase in the rates of carbon dioxide and alarmingly, half of this has occurred after the 1970’s (Braasch, 2013). 98% of scientists collectively agree that 98% of the climatic change (with much emphasis on global warming) is caused by human activities (Gleb, 2013). To what extent is the climatic change man-made? Some people have argued that climatic change should not be ascribed to human activities.

Why were Jewish refuges on the SS St. Louis denied entry to Cuba and Essay

Why were Jewish refuges on the SS St. Louis denied entry to Cuba and what decided their fate - Essay Example The Nazi ideology and policies targeted first of all Jews, who were considered as the most â€Å"inferior races† of all, on a hierarchy which included the â€Å"Herrenvolk† (Master race) of the â€Å"Volksgemeinschaft† (German national community) at the top and Jews at the bottom. In November 1938, the violent anti-Semitic campaign, called Kristallnacht, or â€Å"night of the broken glass† or also known as â€Å"Pogromnacht† started, in which Jewish homes and business were destroyed and up to 200 Jews were killed in Germany. After this incident, Germany’s 600,000 decided that it was time to leave and many European Jews fled for their lives. Hundreds of ships set their voyage crossed the Atlantic carrying thousands of immigrants to new lives, primarily in the United States. The S.S. St. Louis, owned by the Hamburg-American Line (Hapag) was one such ship (Stahl, 1999, para.1-12) On May 13, 1939, the German transatlantic liner St. Louis started its voyage from Hamburg, Germany, to Havana, Cuba. On the voyage, there were 937 passengers, almost all passenger were German Jews citizens, fleeing from the Third Reich and, some were from eastern Europe, and a few were officially â€Å"stateless†. Although the majority of the Jewish passengers had already applied for U.S. visas, and they had planned to have a temporary stay in Cuba until they could get their visa approval from the United State State Department, yet there were signals that political conditions in Cuba might keep the passengers from landing there.