Are state tests actually beneficial to students, or do they place Essay

Are state tests actually beneficial to students, or do they place unnecessary pressure on teachers, students, and parents - Essay Example In fact they create unnecessary pressure to the three stakeholders, diluting its very essence. Firstly, the stakes of state test are too high. Secondly, the test results cannot accurately measure learning. Thirdly, teachers are molded into ‘teaching the tests’ rather than concepts. Lastly, the anxiety associated with tests impedes learning and leads to cheating and result manipulation. Therefore, this paper will discuss on why state tests are not beneficial to stakeholders in education—students, teachers and parents. To begin with, the stakes of the tests are too high and teachers are adapted into ‘teaching test’ rather than concepts. Traditionally, test scores influence how much funds a school would receive from the government. Low test scores would make the school run the risk of its operations taken over by the government; therefore, little room for independent decision making (Texas Business Leadership Council). Such pressure on state officials, parents, teachers and students create a very poor environment for learning. Additionally, Teachers plan their curriculum around tests. Additionally, teachers teach test-taking skills and how to pass exams. Consequently, teachers lose the creativity and dynamism that makes learning enjoyable (The National Center for Fair and Open Testing). Concepts and hands-on skill require a greater challenge and are more rewarding than the ability to pass a multiple-choice test. Secondly, test scores are not the accurate measure of learning. In a 2013 speech, the secretary of education, Arne Duncan opines that state assessments in various subjects often fail to capture the student’s ability of what they know and can do (Evans ). Besides, all the stakeholders in education know that there is so much more to education that the ability to sit down and answer a few multiple-choice questions. Standardized state tests do not create room for students to express themselves (Evans ). Lastly, the anxiety associated with

Unit Journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Unit Journal - Essay Example Indeed, the economic integration through liberalization of trade and de-regulation by the states has redefined global economy in terms of inter-dependency of resources. Most importantly, it is designed towards more equitable distribution of resources vis-Ã  -vis goods and human capital across the geographical boundaries. Role of non state actors is emphasized in conflict resolution, negotiation process and raising issues that influence common interests like international peace, environment and sustainable development, human rights, financial aid etc. The barriers in cooperation develop due to exigencies and political dichotomy within the states and nexus between goals of non state actors and international trade (Gourevitch, 2002). The external factors like socio-economic, political and environment have huge impact on trade. They create a nexus between the non state actors and issues that considerably impact civil society. Stiglitz (2007) says that interests of nations are compromised by the American hegemony in the international financial institutes like World Bank and IMF. NGOs mostly use social concerns to influence international trade policies and methods of operations. As such, major barrier to cooperation occurs when the wider interests of the society are threatened by the vested interests of the few like TNCs and international agencies and financial institutions which are influenced by powerful nations like America. (words: 302) Within the broader precinct of security, the national and international policies that address the factors which are threat to people and climate, have emerged as vital issues in international relations. Climate security is intrinsically linked to human security (ipcc, 2008). The limited natural resources like water, land and fresh air are being taken for granted with scarce regard for

Advertisement Genre Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Advertisement Genre - Essay Example Paying a view to the current market, the use of this implicit and explicit sexually-oriented ads looks to be popular with regards to parity products that are in extensive competition for the attention of customers. In advertising, the use of sex possesses a significant managerial, social, and public policy implications. Of course, the implications hinge on the desired women portrayal in contemporary society. The models of showcasing or women strutting around in scantily clad outfits, as well as ensembles, will trap viewers' attentions mostly the male demographic. Making use of those techniques as revealing clothing, intimate conditions, as well as suggestive poses, imply that the seductive ad campaigns targeted to the present generation of individuals who are not ashamed of nudity, sultry themes, and risquà © references. From the sensual shoe campaigns all through to the soaking wet models making promotions to fragrances, the seductive ad campaigns make use of sexual adverts as well as suggestive themes for the importance of making an impression to the viewers. These seductive ad campaigns bring about attraction to the individuals who are drawn to enticing as well as attractive imagery. As argued by Bordo, sex sells as observed in the Calvin Klein’s ads Bordo says men are attracted to women when they are almost naked. Therefore, when a woman is half dressed, she knows that she will attract men. This has forced women, designers, to implement women cladding that will make them sexy and attractive to men.

General Patton leadership during war Research Paper

General Patton leadership during war - Research Paper Example Defeat in a war not only means political and also cultural loss of a nation but also massive loss of youth life with no purpose gained. A war commander’s purpose is to visualize enemy’s approach and accordingly formulate strategies to achieve victory on the battlefield. For this, he has to efficiently and effectively communicate his visions and missions to his subordinates. An able commander is largely responsible for a nation’s success or failure in a war (Sanderson, 1997, pp.1-2). This paper explores the leadership strategies and attitude of one of the most renowned American war commandant George S. Patton Jr. Considered as one of the most successful military men of all times, General George Smith Patton, Jr. was born on November 11, 1885 in San Gabriel, California. He is famous for his commanding power of any war and his strong leadership style. He used to carry pistols with ivory handles and was known for his temper. He showed immense persistence in driving his troops to acquire excellence in their wartime skills. Even during his childhood days, Patton nurtured the dream of becoming a military man, and he never indulged in any other career option. His passion for war and weapons was born from hearing stories of bravery and successful missions about his ancestors who were involved in various wars like the Revolutionary War, the Mexican War and the Civil War. After attending Virginia Military Institute for one year, he completed his graduation from the United States Military Academy at West Point on June 11, 1909. After that he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the 15th cavalry Regi ment. In the year 1912, George Patton participated in the Olympics that was held in Stockholm. As a representative of the United States, he competed with other rivals in the first Modern Pentathlon. This event initially was open only for military officers, and it was a stringent test to

Mgmt 4330 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Mgmt 4330 - Essay Example 2. ‘Fear of Conflict’; conflicts in any organization should be taken positively as constructive conflicts are important in helping teams to work to solve their pending problems, have their things done and settle for the best solution possible to their pending issues. Although most of the members were against the introduction of Kathryn in the management of the company and that resulted to conflicts among the employees. This was a good move as her introduction solved the company situation with all the employees seeing the sense of working together as a team. If there is lack of trust among members of any group, then there will be no room for constructive conflict. 3. Lack of Commitment’; in order for team members to have full commitment to the decisions they make, they need to have the assurance that their opinions can be heard and appreciated. If this is not the case, then some members will neither be committed nor care in any way about the prosperity of the company. 4. ‘A voidance of Accountability’; each member has to be accountable for setting and meeting the high standards. Some members feel that they are equal with the rest of their colleagues thus feel that it is not right for them to confront them on what they are not supposed to do. This responsibility should not be left just to the leader to hold the members accountable but give room even for the rest of the members to correct themselves. Mikey was selfish in his role at the company yet no other member was in a position to correct him, this led to him being expelled from the team by Kathryn. 5. ‘Inattention to Results’; this results is with regards to the outcome of the overall team. The main cause of this ineffectiveness results is individual status desires, personal achievement status and personal ego which are put before the team’s goals. This

Special Education Comprehensive Essay Exam Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Special Education Comprehensive Exam - Essay Example Within the context of the stated, one of the primary challenges to inclusion is scepticism and the attitude of general education teachers. The said challenges are amply evidenced in the case study, whereby two of John's teachers are, to some degree, do not understand why John should be included in their classes, of what possible benefit his inclusion could be and how to assess his learning or progress. Needless to say, John's cognitive, if not motor, impairment has the potential to contribute to the said scepticism. At the same time, John's willingness to participate and the obvious enthusiasm he expressed during history classes underscore the degree to which inclusion in GE classes has the potential to constructively contribute to John's academic development. This potential can only be realized, however, if inclusive values are promoted and John's teachers organize and deliver instructions. As indicated in the case study, two of John's teachers are somewhat opposed to inclusion, these being Mr. Johnson and Mr. Hardy; two are ambivalent, these being Mrs. Smith and Ms. Fuquay, in that while they are not opposed to John's inclusion, do not appear willing to really go out of their way to accommodate him. In fact, apart from Mr. Eagerhart who is working with a special educator and teaching to a primarily special needs group, only Ms. Chang is enthusiastic. The implication here is that across John's classes, there are varying attitudes towards his inclusion, thereby underscoring the imperatives of promoting inclusive values. The promotion of inclusive values, as will be illustrated through reference to the relevant literature, is predicated on the school's embracing inclusivity. A positive and supportive school philosophy towards inclusion and students with disabilities is crucial for a successful inclusion program (Baird, 1990; Emerson & Maddox, 1997; Salisbury et al., 1993; Simpson, Myles & Simpson, 1997; Stainback et al., 1992; Webber, 1997). Thus, a positive classroom climate should be established. A positive classroom climate is one that is accepting of individual differences and promotes the idea that all students, including students with disabilities, should have the same access to knowledge, growth, achievement, success and belonging (Webber). When teachers and faculty communicate about a student with a disability, he or she should be referred to by name, grade level or subject area without mention of a disability label (Montie et al., 1992). According to Simpson et al. (1997), inclusion programs can be successful only to the extent that they foster an educational environment in which students with disabilities are socially integrated and experience acceptance. However, they

Language Processing and Production Essay Example for Free

Language Processing and Production Essay This experiment investigated hemispheric specialisation and dominance with regards to language functions. It used a computer program to measure the amount of key presses achieved by participants in a given time across four different trials (1 with the left hand, no talking, 2 with the left hand whilst being asked questions, and the same two trials again with the right hand). The participants were 2nd year psychology students from which a cohort of 20 was selected for data analysis. A significant difference was found for the effect of hemisphere and language processing task present or absent. However, the means for each trial did not support left hemispheric dominance for language functions: more key presses were recorded when talking and using the right hand than when talking and using the left. Handedness and some involvement of the right hemisphere in language processing and production were also shown as appearing to influence the results obtained. The main conclusion to be drawn is that hemispheric specialisation and language dominance is a subject that needs further investigation in order to clarify the generalisability of conclusions made about left hemisphere language specialisations. Our brain consists of two halves; the left hemisphere and the right hemisphere. The left hemisphere receives information from and controls muscles in the right side of the body, whilst the right hemisphere receives information from and controls muscles in the left side of the body. Research using brain imagery and studies of brain damaged and split brain patients, to name just a few examples, has shown that some of our functions are controlled more by one hemisphere than the other, i.e. are more specialised for that particular function. This experiment aims to investigate these differing specialisations of the hemispheres more deeply and with particular regard to language. Research into language differences between the two hemispheres is widespread and supports the view that the left hemisphere is the more dominant. Marc Dax was the first to notice hemispheric differences in his brain damaged patients, after having seen many patients suffering from loss of speech. Dax found what appeared to be an association between the loss of speech and the side of the brain where the damage occurred. In more than 40 patients with aphasia, Dax noticed damage to the left hemisphere; he was unable to find a case that involved damage to the right hemisphere alone (Springer and Deutsch, 1998, p. 1-2). By 1870 further evidence also began to surface, when other investigators began to realise that many types of language disorders could result from damage to the left hemisphere (Springer Deutsch, 1998, p. 1). For example, Brocas and Wernickes aphasia: Brocas aphasia causes speech problems associated with comprehension, resulting from damage to Brocas area (situated in the left frontal cortex), whilst Wernickes aphasia causes word salad (hard to understand, jumbled speech), resulting from damage to Wernickes area (situated in the left temporal lobe). Later research has also supported Daxs original findings, one example of such research concluded that the left hemisphere is responsible for language in almost all right-handed individuals (Butler, S. R. 1997, p. 187). This research also links the additional factor of handedness to investigations of hemispheric lateralisation, an idea which has been supported by others in the field. For example: In right handers , it is almost always the case that the hemisphere that controls the dominant hand is also the hemisphere that controls speech (Springer and Deutsch, 1998, p. 2), therefore it is possible that for left handers, as their dominant hand is being controlled by the right hemisphere, the right hemisphere may be responsible for speech control and other language functions instead of the left hemisphere. Additional research looking at right hemisphere lesions has demonstrated that the right hemisphere is responsible for some linguistical functions: finding that patients with such lesions may be impaired relative to normal controls on certain tests of language (Corballis, C. M. 1983, p. 33). One study by Lesser (1974) reported such an impairment on a semantic test involving comprehension of spoken words but not on a phonological or syntactic test (Corballis, C. M. 1983, p. 33), suggesting a small role for the right hemisphere in language processing. Kinsbourne and McMurray carried out valuable research using healthy participants, using a procedure similar to the current study (cited in Kalat, 2004, pg. 427). They asked participants to tap with a pencil on a piece of paper as many times as they could in one minute, first with their right hand then with their left, then asked them to do the same again whilst talking, they found that for most right-handers, talking decreases the tapping rate with the right hand more than with the left hand. This further supports left hemispheric dominance for language, as well as supporting the current studys methodology and informing its hypothesis. As has been demonstrated most research supports left hemispheric dominance of language functions, but also links hemispheric specialisation with other factors and accepts that the right hemisphere holds some language comprehension control. This experiment looks for further supportive evidence and also briefly looks at handedness as a possible affecting factor. The study uses a finger tapping and language processing task, with the notion that the speed at which keys are pressed will be relatively similar with both hands. If however, if it is the case that language is more associated with the left hemisphere, then on average when processing language, the speed of the right hand will be slower than the left hand, presumably because the left hemisphere then has to do two tasks at once (right hand finger tapping and language processing). This is only the case however if all participants in the experiment have left hemisphere dominance for language, and is thus the reason we have recorded the handedness of our participants. As a result of previous studies and research the hypothesis for this experiment is: there will be differences in the number of taps made from each of the two hands when language is or isnt being processed. Method Design The experiment used a fully repeated measures within-subjects design: all participants took part in all conditions. There was one independent variable, consisting of four different levels: left hand, talking, no talking and right hand talking, no talking. The dependent variable was the number of key presses made within the time limit of 30 seconds per trial.