Ordeal by Fire Essay Example

Ordeal by Fire Essay After reading the two books, â€Å"Ordeal by Fire† by James McPherson and â€Å"Slavery† by Stanley M. Elkins I would have to say the books are very separate on their approach to slavery before the Civil War.   McPherson’s book looked at slavery as it related to the Civil War.   Elkins book looked more at the institution of slavery.   Both looked into the economic role and its foundation in slavery.   Both agreed that in comparison Latin American slaves had a more difficult life than slaves in Southern North America.   The differences in views from these authors, that I could see, were standard views at the time at which these books were written.   McPherson’s book was written in 1982 and Elkins was first published in 1959.   I will admit though that Elkins book was obviously way before its time.   His ideals of slave personality probably helped invent the phrase â€Å"slave mentality†.   â€Å"How a person thinks about Negro slav ery historically makes a great deal of difference here and now; it tends to locate him morally in relation to a whole range of very immediate political, social, and philosophical issues which in some way refer back to slavery† (Elkins, 1959, p. 1).   In McPherson’s book he looks at how â€Å"slavery formed the foundation of the South’s distinctive social order† (p.31), and how this fit into a lifestyle in the south. When thinking of the brutality of slavery Elkins basically argued that slavery in itself was brutal.   Ã‚  With McPherson, although he did not disagree with brutal acts happening he just didn’t believed they happen often.   He believed that the owner’s power over his slaves â€Å"was often tempered by economic self-interest and sometimes by paternalism† (p.34).   He wrote, â€Å"Dead, maimed, brutalized or runaway slaves grow little if any cotton† (p.34).   There was a gentleman’s code of noblesse oblige which required â€Å"beneficence towards inferiors†.   The use of persuasions, inducement, rewards for good work and concessions between slave owner and slaves.   Overseers and masters could â€Å"not rule by the whip alone†, McPherson wrote. We will write a custom essay sample on Ordeal by Fire specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Ordeal by Fire specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Ordeal by Fire specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Slavery was a human institution along with a legal and economic one that helped to give reason for the dehumanizing of slavery.   Elkins wrote of a childlike conformity slaves were taught to keep them in line.   â€Å"Cruelty per se cannot be considered the primary key to this; of far greater importance was the simple â€Å"closedness† of the system, in which all lines of authority descended from the master and in which alternative social bases that might have supported alternative standards were systematically suppressed† ( Elkins, 1959 p. 128).   One factor that McPherson wrote about is the effect of the family structure and how it has affected African Americans throughout history in years since his book was published much has been written on that subject.   But at the time these books were written the consequence of this broken family structure was not yet fully recognized. Slavery in law was a form of property.   Human rights were something slaves did not have.   â€Å"They could not legally marry, nor own property, nor be taught to read or write in most states† (McPherson, 1982 p.34).   They were allowed to have a family, in fact after 1808 because of ending of the African slave trade; this was encouraged as natural reproduction of stock.   Some were allowed to earn money and in rare cases they could buy their freedom.   But until they were free their family and money could legally be taken from them at any time. In both books lack of education among slaves served well for a couple of reasons.   â€Å"The low level of literacy was one of the chief features distinguishing the slave from the free population of the South from the North.† (McPherson, 1982 p. 37)   There was a belief that educating a slave would cause them to have â€Å"dissatisfaction in their minds† that would cause insurrection and rebellion.   â€Å"Every Southern state except Maryland and Kentucky had stringent laws forbidding anyone to teach slaves reading and writing, and in some states the penalties applied to the educating of free Negroes and mulattoes as well† (Elkins, 1959 p. 60).   Education in the North was very strong and very weak in the South abolitionist gave this as to the reason the South kept slavery.   Saying â€Å"this one main for the ‘backwardness’ of the South and the immorality of slavery† (McPherson, 1982, p. 37) was the reason slavery was still practice d. In McPherson’s book talked of the work ethics and slavery.   He wrote of how slavery had undermined Southerners work ethics and made them lazy.   Their fight to keep the institution of slavery kept them from accepting new and better agricultural tools for use in the fields and ending the economically unsound practice of slavery.   A critic of work habits of the South and slavery, Frederick Law Olmsted, believed â€Å"that the average free worker in the North accomplished twice as much as the average slave.   Most slaves had little motivation to improve their output through harder work or greater efficiency.   They lacked the time discipline of modern work habits.† (McPherson, 182 p. 36). The church influence was a tool to keep a bond between master and slave.   â€Å"The slaves spoke the same language and worshipped the same Christian God as their owner.   Relationships of trust and affection as well as alienation and hatred could exist between slave and master.† (McPherson, 1982 p. 34).   In Elkins book he introduced the church as having moral authority over every man in every condition.   In the United States during the years of slavery the only law that was supportive somewhat of the marriage and how it related to church law was conjugal relations between slaves.   This dealt only with unions between master and slave; known as concubinage.   Unlike Latin America and other nations of slave holder’s concubinage was condemned and was not allowed.   Marriages, between slaves were permitted in these countries they were sanctified by the church and protected under law.   Many of the slaves still practiced their own religion in secret in fea r of punishment if found. The brutality of slavery was a direct result of Southerners devotion to limited government and laissez faire capitalism.   I tend to agree with Elkins theory that slavery itself is brutal.   Openly acts of brutality were not a rule but an exception it was the openly brutal social class system slaves were placed in that was the cruelest.   All one has to do is look at today’s society to see the long term affects this had on African Americans.   Both authors gave good sound argument on slavery, but if I had to choose which gave a better picture of what slavery was like I would have to say that is was â€Å"Slavery†.   I found the book was a little harder to follow, but gave a broader view of slavery.   In McPherson’s book there were only really 6 or 7 pages that really dealt with slavery.   Even though Elkins book was written in 1959, a time of civil rights, I thought he showed more to slavery than just the economic reasons for slavery.   The conseq uences of slavery have survived many generations and really only in the last fifty years the affects of this turbulent time in history has just began to be understood.   A whole culture and society was created out of slavery.   The Civil War changed a nation, slavery changed a culture.   I found the picture that McPherson gave was only superficial and in my readings gave me an understanding of why the Civil War and slavery were intertwined.   Elkins gave more meaning to what slavery was all about.

Operation Sea Lion (Invasion of Britain) in WWII

Operation Sea Lion (Invasion of Britain) in WWII Operation Sea Lion was the German plan for the invasion of Britain in  World War II  (1939-1945) and was planned for sometime in late 1940, after the Fall of France. Background With the German victory over Poland in the opening campaigns of World War II, leaders in Berlin commenced planning for fighting in the west against France and Britain. These plans called for the capture of ports along the English Channel followed by efforts to force Britains surrender. How this was to be accomplished quickly became a matter of debate among the German militarys senior leadership.  This saw Grand Admiral Erich Raeder, commander of the Kriegsmarine, and Reichsmarschall Hermann Gà ¶ring of the Luftwaffe both argue against a seaborne invasion and lobby for various types of blockades aimed at crippling the British economy. Conversely, the army leadership advocated for landings in East Anglia, which would see 100,000 men put ashore. Raeder countered this by arguing that it would take a year to assemble the shipping required and that the British Home Fleet would need to be neutralized.  Gà ¶ring continued to argue that such a cross-channel effort could only be made as final act of an already victorious war against Britain. Despite these misgivings, in the summer of 1940, shortly after Germanys stunning conquest of France, Adolf Hitler turned his attention to the possibility of an invasion of Britain. Somewhat surprised that London had rebuffed peace overtures, he issued Directive No. 16 on July 16 which stated, As England, in spite of the hopelessness of her military position, has so far shown herself unwilling to come to any compromise, I have decided to begin to prepare for, and if necessary to carry out, an invasion of England...and if necessary the island will be occupied. For this to succeed, Hitler laid out four conditions that had to be met to ensure success. Similar to those identified by German military planners in late 1939, they included elimination of the Royal Air Force to ensure air superiority, clearing of the English Channel of mines and the laying of German mines, the emplacing of artillery along the English Channel, and preventing the Royal Navy from interfering with the landings. Though pushed by Hitler, neither Raeder or Gà ¶ring actively supported the invasion plan. Having taken serious losses to the surface fleet during the invasion of Norway, Raeder came to actively oppose the effort as the Kriegsmarine lacked the warships to either defeat the Home Fleet or support a crossing of the Channel. German Planning Dubbed Operation Sea Lion, planning moved forward under the guidance of Chief of the General Staff General Fritz Halder. Though Hitler had originally desired to invade on August 16, it was soon realized that this date was unrealistic. Meeting with planners on July 31, Hitler was informed that most desired to postpone the operation until May 1941. As this would remove the political threat of the operation, Hitler refused this request but agreed to push Sea Lion back until September 16. In the early stages, the invasion plan for Sea Lion called for landings on a 200-mile front from Lyme Regis east to Ramsgate. This would have seen Field Marshal Wilhelm Ritter von Leebs Army Group C cross from Cherbourg and land at Lyme Regis while Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedts Army Group A sailed from Le Havre and the Calais area to land the southeast. Possessing a small and depleted surface fleet, Raeder opposed this broad front approach as he felt it could not be defended from the Royal Navy. As Gà ¶ring began intense attacks against the RAF in August, which developed into the Battle of Britain, Halder vehemently attacked his naval counterpart, feeling that a narrow invasion front would lead to heavy casualties. The Plan Changes Bowing to Raeders arguments, Hitler agreed to narrow the scope of the invasion on August 13 with the westernmost landings to be made at Worthing. As such, only Army Group A would take part in the initial landings. Composed of the 9th and 16th Armies, von Rundstedts command would cross the Channel and establish a front from the Thames Estuary to Portsmouth. Pausing, they would build up their forces before conducting a pincer attack against London. This taken, German forces would advance north to around the 52nd parallel. Hitler assumed that Britain would surrender by the time his troops reached this line. As the invasion plan continued to be in flux, Raeder was plagued by a lack of purpose-built landing craft. To remedy this situation, the Kriegsmarine gathered around 2,400 barges from around Europe. Though a large number, they were still insufficient for the invasion and could only be used in relatively calm seas. As these were gathered in the Channel ports, Raeder continued to be concerned that his naval forces would be insufficient to combat the Royal Navys Home Fleet. To further support the invasion, a myriad of heavy guns were emplaced along the Straits of Dover. British Preparations Aware of German invasion preparations, the British began defensive planning. Though a large number of men were available, much of the British Armys heavy equipment had been lost during the Dunkirk Evacuation. Appointed Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces in late May, General Sir Edmund Ironside was tasked with overseeing the islands defense. Lacking sufficient mobile forces, he elected to construct a system of static defensive lines around southern Britain, which were backed by the heavier General Headquarters Anti-tank Line. These lines were to be supported by a small mobile reserve. Delayed and Cancelled On September 3, with British Spitfires and Hurricanes still controlling the skies over southern Britain, Sea Lion was again postponed, first to September 21 and then, eleven days later, to September 27. On September 15, Gà ¶ring launched massive raids against Britain in an attempt to crush Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowdings Fighter Command. Defeated, the Luftwaffe took heavy losses. Summoning Gà ¶ring and von Rundstedt on September 17, Hitler indefinitely postponed Operation Sea Lion citing the Luftwaffes failure to obtain air superiority and a general lack of coordination between the branches of the German military. Turning his attention eastward to the Soviet Union and planning for Operation Barbarossa, Hitler never returned to the invasion of Britain and the invasion barges were ultimately dispersed. In the years after the war, many officers and historians have debated whether Operation Sea Lion could have succeeded. Most have concluded that it likely would have failed due to the strength of the Royal Navy and the Kriegsmarines inability to prevent it from interfering with the landings and subsequent re-supply of those troops already ashore. Sources Cruickshank, Dan. â€Å"History - World Wars: The German Threat to Britain in World War Two.†Ã‚  BBC, BBC, 21 June 2011â€Å"Operation Sealion.†Ã‚  History Learning SiteDunkirk evacuation, Operation Sealion and the Battle of Britain.  The Other Side

Historical Development of Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Historical Development of Nursing - Essay Example After noticing that there was limited supply for medicine, overworked medical staff and poor hygiene resulting in fatalities among the soldiers, Nightingale appealed to the British government to find a solution to this problem. The British government commissioned the designing of a mobile hospital to be shipped to the battlefields. As a result, the Renkioi Hospital was built, leading to a low death rate remarkably. This was as a result of Florence Nightingale’s efforts. During this time, she was referred to as â€Å"the lady with the lamp,† a nick name she received from her night rounds in the hospitals making sure every sick person was cared for. The Nightingale fund was formed in 1855 to fund the training of nurses. Through this fund, she set up the Nightingale training school in July 1860. As a result, by 1882many nurses from this training School had become nurses at leading hospitals (Elizabeth & Jerome, 2011). After Nightingale, nursing saw a revolution. For the fi rst time, training for careers in nursing was advertised in 1860. Nightingale came up with the concept â€Å"the body’s reparative process.† In this concept, she emphasized that the recovery of a patient greatly depends on the hygiene conditions of his or her environment. In 1952, Hildegard Peplau came put forward the interpersonal relation theory of nursing. It is also referred to as psychodynamic nursing (Elizabeth & Jerome, 2011). The theory stipulates that nursing involves the interaction of two or more people with the same goal and is an art of healing. In 1955 Virginia Henderson came up with a notion that, for someone to recover properly he or she needed the 14 basic human (Elizabeth & Jerome, 2011). They include; drinking and... This essay approves that after noticing that there was limited supply for medicine, overworked medical staff and poor hygiene resulting in fatalities among the soldiers, Nightingale appealed to the British government to find a solution to this problem. The British government commissioned the designing of a mobile hospital to be shipped to the battlefields. As a result, the Renkioi Hospital was built, leading to a low death rate remarkably. This was as a result of Florence Nightingale’s efforts. During this time, she was referred to as â€Å"the lady with the lamp,† a nick name she received from her night rounds in the hospitals making sure every sick person was cared for. This report makes a conclusion that the theory stipulates that when someone cannot fulfill his or her developmental, social, psychological, and biological needs is when he or she requires nursing care. In the same year, Imogene King put forward a theory that stipulated that nursing involved positive communication to enable the client to adapt positively to the environment. In 1972, Betty Neuman came up with the Neuman system model for the recovery of patients through stress reduction (Elizabeth & Jerome, 2011). In 1979, Roy came up with a model that was based on psychological, social, and physiological dependence or independence. In 1979, Jean Watson came up with the theory of human caring. The theory defines outcomes of nursing in a humanistic aspect.

How Can We Improve Child Care Safety in the United States Research Paper

How Can We Improve Child Care Safety in the United States - Research Paper Example As a result, children spend more time outside home rather than with their parents. Most of the child care service providers in the US operate under unlicensed and unchecked contexts where the caregivers often lack formal training in the discipline. Since these services are more convenient and less expensive for the parents, they prefer sending their children to neighborhood childcare centers. There have been many well documented cases of children getting injured while in day care centers including falls, poisoning, drowning, electric shock, and so on (Runyan and Gray et al., 1991). A large number of children attend organized group child care and a significant number of them get injuries while in the day care. Hence, the safety of children in child care has become a public health concern. After the instance of child care issues and safety concerns, several legislative efforts have been made. Although no formal federal regulations existed previously except for a few centers, regulation s and licensing procedures now exist to provide a standard for child care center and their safety. Several bodies of pediatricians and other social workers exist that work to improve the safety and standards of child care. ... egivers therefore they must be trained in order to educate and aid healthy growth of children (â€Å"Stepping Stones to Caring for Our Children†, 2013). Advocacy Efforts Several legislative efforts were made since the documentation of child care injuries and diseases in day care centers. Now child care laws and licensing regulations and standards exist. These provide specific rules and requirements for quality standards and licensing of child care centers. Each state has a different rule or procedure for child care even though most of these regulations coincide. The government of US has defined a broad set of disease and injury prevention improvements, medication requirements, and so on, as a general policy. The US government also raises child care awareness among people, aids research and publication in the field, and funds the training of child care professionals (Office of Child Care, 2013). Although the US government has been keen on financing early child care and developm ent, several public notions has inhibited the thoughtful federal government gesture. Many people believe that raising their own child is a matter between the parents and the child and therefore should involve no government intervention. Also, a public view which supports only mother care is against the federal financing of child care. Such attitudes towards government financing of child care has obstructed the consistency of federal financing. However, such values have shown a decline particularly after the increase of employed women in the US workforce (Cohen, 1996). Initially, only state governments enforced child care laws except a few federally regulated child care centers (Runyan and Gray et al., 1991). Now, the US government has its own separate Office for Child Care that provides guidelines

The Importance Of English Language English Language Essay

The Importance Of English Language English Language Essay The usage of English Language has become significant in our daily life. It is a fact that English Language is the language that is used globally in the world nowadays. Many countries governments practise English Language as the formal language to carry out their jobs and to complete the paper works. In conjunction with the global trend, the English Language society of SMK Pandan Indah has planned some activities to be carried out in the school compound since the beginning of the year. This is implemented so that the students of the school can be exposed to the importance of English Language. Aims and Objectives of Programmes With the support from school administration, the English Language society manages to carry out the English programmes for all the students to participate in. There are few aims for the programmes to be held. First of all, the English Language society wishes to fully make English Language to be visible in the school compound. To make the English Language to be visible in the school compound, five essential skills are needed to be promoted among the students, that are reading, listening, speaking, writing and grammar. All the students must master all these skills to avoid being eliminated from the global trend. Besides, the second aim English Language society conducts English programmes is to make use of English as the medium of communication. Nowadays, english has become vividly important in the world. Many countries use English as the mean in carrying out the administration work. Being able to speak in English is not a strange anymore. Students who are not able to communicate English with people will be eliminated from the global trend. As we all know, the world nowadays becomes very competitive and undergoing rapid changes. Students must be able to improve themselves from time to time. Mastering English Language is unavoidable anymore. To support with the aims being set, English Language society has planned two activities to be carried out throughout the year. The first programme is learn a phrase a day. The objective is to boost up students confidence by standing up on the stage to speak in English. This activity will provide a medium for students to practise their English publicly. Through this programme, the students are also able to improve their pronunciation of English. Students of new era are weak in pronunciating the correct way of English words. From this activity, students are expected to learn the correct pronunciation of English words. Moreover, students will have the chances to boost up own confidence when presenting in English in front of the audience. The second programme is English Fortnight. In that two weeks, many activities will be organised by English Language society. This is to promote the use of English when participating in competitions.The students will be exposed to the importance of English Language through a series of activities being carried out. They should not only focus on their mother tongue respectively, but to learn other languages as well. Through the activities, students are expected to equip themselves with fluent English as it will be very helpful to them in the future. Duration of Programmes At the beginning of the year, English Language society officiated the learn a phrase a day activity at the assembly. An opening ceremony was held on 10th of January, 2011. This activity was being carried out throughout the whole year. Everyday before assembly commences, the activity was held on. It took up around 5 to 10 minutes for every presentation. For English Fortnight, it was held at the midst of the year, which was around the end of April to the beginning of May. The opening ceremony for English Forthnight was held on 25th of April, 2011. The programme lasted for two weeks consecutively. A series of activities was planned to be organised for all the students to participate in. Both programmes were carried out during schooling hours. For morning session, the programmes were held on from 7.20am until 1.20pm for Mondays to Thursdays, and from 7.20am until 12.45pm for every Friday. Meanwhile, for afternoon session of schooling, it is from 1.20pm until 6.45pm for every Monday and Friday, and for Fridays, the schooling hours are from 2.20pm until 6.45pm. Target Group Both programmes were being carried out with its specific target group. For the programme Learn a phrase a day, students of form four were required to take turn to present at the daily assembly. For afternoon session, students of form one and form two needed to send representatives for each class to give presentations on the stage everyday. Students of form three and form five were excluded as they were informed by the school administration to concentrate fully on government examinations, that were PMR and SPM. Meanwhile, English Fortnight was planned to involve every student of each form. There were numerous activities that took place for specific form of students to join. For examples, essay writing competition was held and targeted on form three and form five students. Choir singing competition was held for every form of students. Form one and form twos students were involved in poem recitation competition. Impromptu speech competition was organised targeted for form fours students. Report on implementation of Programmes Learn A Phrase A Day Learn a phrase a day was the major programme that was held according to the school policy. The programme was subdivided in to two parts. On Mondays, students selected were required to deliver speeches in English. For Tuesdays to Fridays, students were required to choose a phrase to present on the stage. The phrase could be selected from idioms, vocabularies, and so on. One week before the presentation of phrases, English teachers would guide the classes to elect few students for the presentation. For every presentation, two students would be selected. One would hold a manilla card written with the phrases of the day while the other one would explain the phrases to all the students in the assembly. The meaning, and the example are needed to be provided by the presenter so that all the students would get to understand the phrases better. For every Monday, one student would be needed for the presentation only and the respective student was required to present a speech. The speeches presented by the students must be conducted in English Language. The mean to select students for the presentations was on the teachers discretion. They could either choose the representatives by themselves, or being democratic by organising the voting session. In the morning session, form four students were involved in it only. Hence, every of the students in form four had to take turn to present on the stage according to the ascending order of the class name lists. Excuses such as sore throat, stomachache, or headache were not being accepted for them to skip the presentations, unless they could have the medical certificate verified from the doctors as the proves. Nevertheless, they could exchange the position for presentation with their classmates, with the base that the particular student agreed with the exchange. For form one and form twos students, the programme started from students of form two. This was because form twos students had adapted to the new studying environment after studying in the school for one year. Form ones students were still undergoing a period to adapt to the new studying environment and new rules and regulations. Their session started after March of 2011. The schools top administration would become the panel of judges to evaluate the performance of each presenter. The marks were allocated based on the pronunciation of the phrases, the content of the presentation, and the combination of gesture. The marks were collected to be accumulated until the end of the year. It was not an individual competition, but a class competition. Classes accumulated with the highest marks would be awarded with the RM500 and hamper worth RM200. Eventually, 4K class won the champion away for morning session while for afternoon session, 1S defeated other classes and took the prizes away. English Fortnight English Fortnight was the second major programme organised by English Language society. It was held from 25th of April, 2011 until 6th of May, 2011. A series of activities and competitions were planned accordingly. The first activity of the programme was choir singing competition. Every form of students were required to take part in it. Every class had to prepare a song to perform. The selection of songs was on their discretion, but with one criteria that all the songs must be performed in English. One week was given to them for the preparation work. The competition held on 3rd of May, 2011 in the school hall. The performance will be judged by few criteria, that were the combination of gesture, the rhythms of the songs and the content of the songs. Use of costumes was optional too. They could prepare some equipment to aid in their performance. Each class had to finish their performance within 8 minutes. There were 3 judges responsible for the adjudication, that were Mr. Herman, Ms. Wong, and Ms Geraldine. The competition went well as scheduled. Each of class performed well and the judges had the hard time to choose the winners. For the morning session, 4K emerged as the champion with the song t itled Love is Colour Blind. The first runner up went to 3S with their song You Raise Me Up. The second runner up went to 5K, who sang Hero. Meanwhile, 2B won the champion away for the afternoon session. 1M won the first runner up while third place went to 1K. The champion received cash RM 200 and hamper worth RM100. The first runner up would receive cash RM 150 and hamper worth RM50 while cash RM 100 was given to the second runner up. The champion teams were required to perform once again on the stage during the closing ceremony. Essay writing competition was another activity being held on. The competition targeted on form three and form fives students. Each class had to send two representatives to take part in the competition. The competition was held in the language room. The title of the essay writing was The role of English Language in the future. All the participants were given one and a half hour to complete the essay. The essay must be at least 350 words. Mr Illamaran and Ms Toh were the judges to mark the essays. The winners name list was announced during closing ceremony. The champion would receive hamper worth RM100. The first runner up would have a hamper worth RM50 while the second runner up would receive hamper RM30. Eventually, Cedric Koh from class 5K emerged as the champion and Mohd Hashim Hafiz won the first runner up place. The master pieces of them were pasted on the board and were uploaded into the school buletins. Besides, there was an impromptu speech competition which was specially for form fours students. Each class had to send a representative to participate the competition. The competition was carried out on 28th of April, 2011. On that day, all the participants were needed to gather at language room at 9am sharp. Participants were given the topics on the spot. They chose the topics by drawing from a box prepared. 5 minutes was given to them to prepare after they getting their topics respectively. Marks will be allocated on the combination of gesture, the content, the fluency of the speech, and the vocabularies. Ms Jamielah and Mr. Lim were the judges to evaluate the participants performances. Some gave up as the topics they got were too difficult and they were not able to think critically for the speech. Meanwhile, some students managed to perform well and they spoke in English fluently. Both panels had the hard time choosing the final winners for the competition. Damian Phun from class 5K emerged as the champion with the score 91 out of 100 marks. He took away hamper worth RM200 and cash RM200. Both judges were stunned with his impressive performance when his turn to deliver the speech. For the poem recitation competition, it took place in the school hall. Every class in the afternoon session were required to have a representative to participate in the competition. It was the last activity carried out in English Fortnight. Each participant was allowed to recite the poem of their choice within 5 minutes. Mr. Ong and Ms Lim were the panels to evaluate the performance of all the participants. They allocated the marks for the pronunciation of the grammars, the gesture, and the rhythm of the poem. All the participants prepared well as they managed to recite the poems with different rhythms. All the students applaused for their great performances to show their supports. The champion of the competition was Caryn Chang from class 2S with the poem entitled Road Not Taken. She took away cash RM200 and hamper worth RM200. Derek Lim for class 1M scored the first runner up place and take away cash RM100 and hamper worth RM100. His poem was Mama. The second runner up went to Audr ey Lim from class 2B with the poem titled Loneliness. Strengths and Weaknesses of Programmes The implementation of both programmes were a success. All the activities went well smoothly. To have a better performance in organising programmes in the future, English Language society had numerous meetings to discuss about the progress of the programmes and to analyse both programmes. For the strengths analysed, English Language society appreciated for teachers and students full cooperation. All the teachers had played their part according to the organising committees set. Any arguments incurred the teachers would calm down first before discussing in order to find out the solutions. The students were cooperative too as most of them were active in participating in the programmes designed. They were not shy to take part in it, vice versa, they volunteered themselves to represent the class respectively in the competitions. Through the programmes planned by the English Language society, all the students were given a chance to expose to the use of English. They had the opportunity to practise English in the daily life. Some of the students realised the importance of English and began to speak in English when communicating with students or even teachers. As the saying goes Rome was not built in one day, learning English is not simple, and we should figure out the different ways to improve English respectively. Through writings, students would be able to increase the vocabularies. The writing skills would be increased too. Through speaking, students would be confidence to communicate with others in English. They would not be shy to speak in English. Though listening, students would tend to understand what others say. They would not be blurred with what others say. Indirectly this will greatly enhance the discussions among students and establish good relationship among each other. In short, the programmes p rovided a medium for all the students to learn English and to speak English among them. Without support from parents and school administration, both programmes would not success. During the planning of the programmes, English Language society received great support from both parties. This indirectly boost up the progress of the plannings and the programmes were very successful. School administration had contributed the equipment needed such as PA system, the classroom and so on. Meanwhile, parents had played their part in encouraging their children to take part in the competitions organised. Morever, English Language society managed to seek for sponsorship from outsiders. The committee members approached to local companies to request for sponsorships of the hampers. The companies were willing to play their part in corporate social responsibilities by sponsoring the hampers and providing the incentives as the fund of the programmes. Nevertheless, English Language society had noticed few weaknesses that are needed to improve. First of all, in some competitions such as impromptu speech competition, most of the participants were old faces. All these participants were the school representatives for speech competitions. Indirectly this will discourage other students to take part as they think that they will definitely lose to the school representatives. Their confidence was gone before competing. Besides, the PA system of the school was old and not modern enough. During competitions such as choir singing competitions, the committee members often faced the problem that PA system was malfunctioning. The competition could not go smoothly. The malfunctioning of PA system nearly caused the competition to be delayed and could not finish on time. Furthermore, in the progress of the competitions, some students tend to give excuses such as going to toilets to leave the classroom. Indeed they went to watch the competitions and support their classmates. They would rather played truancy to watch the competitions that staying in the class to study. Schools disciplinary will be affected when the outsiders know. Suggestions and Recommendations In order to maintain the English programmes at high spirit, English Language society would like to share some suggestions and recommendations for improvements. First of all, English Language society would wish that the school administration would give the permission to extend the activities to be carried out outside the formal schooling hours, regardless the time and places. This is to enable the students or parents to watch the competitions and to give support to the participants. For the broken PA system, the school administration is advised to take immediate action to send the PA system for repairing and maintenance in order to maintain the good quality of the equipment. Furthermore, teachers should often encourage the students to speak English in the class through a series of indoor activities. Teachers are the ones who colour the students life, hence they should be good role models by speaking English with the students. Monitors are ought to lead the class to talk in English too. Students will be influenced when most of the students speak in English. Students should not tease those who are weaker in English, vice versa, they should become guiders to help them improve their English. Conclusion In a nutshell, the programmes planned by English Language society had hopefully generated positive effects towards the students, teachers, or even parents. As the saying goes, Practices Make Perfect, students should always bear the quote in mind and begin the trend of speaking English. The English Language society will keep the hard work up and plan the similar programmes next few years to benefit all the students and make English Language becomes more visible in the school compound.

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Proposal for a Uniform Dress Code Pickerington School District should require students to have a uniform dress code. The current dress code policy is very minimal and is not adhered to by the students. Faculty overlook the students who don’t abide by the current dress code as it would take away from their teaching time. One of the main concerns that is brought up when the topic of school uniforms is discussed is freedom of expression. Many people worry that not allowing children to wear certain clothing will â€Å"stifle their creativity† (p. ) or restrict their First Amendment rights (Nevada, 2008). There are many reasons for having uniforms in public schools. School uniforms have been shown to improve test scores, raise school pride, increase attendance, reduce violence, and teaches students to dress professionally. School uniforms can also avert the wearing of gang colors (Wilson, 1998). Self-Expression vs. Safety The most common argument against school uniforms is that they take away the students right to self-expression. Yes, school uniforms limit what the students have to wear, but students can still have their own ways of self-expression. Students can still express their style of choice with their hair and what accessories they wear. Their shoe choice is also a form of self-expression. Students can make the uniforms their own style without breaking the dress code. School is a place to learn. Outside of school, self- expression is limitless. Some parents also believe that it could interfere with students' natural behavior to experiment with different identities. Having uniforms in schools helps erase the defined line of the social classes. Typically, popular kids in the higher social classes wear the trendiest clothing... ...h the cost of a year's worth of school uniforms. The cost of a year's worth (Five tops and five bottoms) of school uniforms or standardized dress code clothing is $150. The savings add up plus students who don’t have to focus on what to wear to school are going to focus more on academics, which leads to improved grades. States Laws on Uniform Dress Codes The State of Ohio has a law that permits school districts to implement uniform dress codes. The school district must advise parents and students 6 months prior to any such implementation. This law also allows for any feedback from administrators, faculty and parents. A uniform dress code policy must fall under the guidelines of a districts discipline policy. The law requires that religious garb like yarmulkes and head scarves cannot be prohibited. The actual dress code is at the discretion of the school board.

The strategic purpose of members of the school team

The strategic purpose of members of the school team.School governors.School governors have a responsibility of running a school, they are made up of a variety of people who are linked with the school and local community. Their main duties are:To set aims and objectives for the school.To adopt new policies for achieving the aims and objectives.To set targets of achieving the aims and objectives.Senior Management Team.The school management team work closely with the head teacher and is made up of more experienced staff, usually the headteacher, year group leaders and SENCO. They usually meet once a week to discuss issues and make dicisions concerning the running of the school and discuss how information will be passed on to teachers and support staff.Other Statutory Roles.SENCO Is responsible for managing and monitoring the provisions of those with special needs in the school.This includes:Insuring liaison with parents and other professionals in respect of the children with special nee ds.Advising and giving support to other staff in the setting.Ensuring that appropriate individual education plans are in place.Ensuring that relevant background information about individual children with special needs are collected, recorded and updated.SENCO also monitor and review the provisions for pupils with special educational needs and make sure all paperwork is in place for those who are on Early Years of School Action and Action Plus. The Foundation Stage manager have the responsibility of ensuring that the Early Years Foundation stage is being run accordingly to the statutory requirements of the Early Years foundation stage document. They are responsible for making sure that observations, assessments and record keeping are up to date and all foundation stage staff are trained in its implementation.Teachers.Teachers have the responsibility for the planning and preparation for all subjects under the national curriculum. Teachers usually have another area of responsibility, t his could be as a member of the serious management team or a subject area. In school each subject are will need to be represented so that there is a person responsible for it. They will be expected to know about curriculum developments in their area and to feedback to staff through meeting. They also need to be available to advise and support other teachers in their subjects. The local authority also arrange subject leader forums which teachers are expected to attend.Support Staff roles.There are many different Support Staff roles within a school, these include:Learning Support Staff.Learning support staff work with teachers in the classroom, helping pupils progress with their learning. They include teaching assistants (TAs) and high level teaching assistants (HLTAs).Administrative Staff.Addministrative staff provide essential back up services for the whole school.Welfare and Support Staff.Pupil support staff are responsible for pupils outside the classroom, break, lunchtime and out side school hours.Specialist and Technical Support Staff.Specialist and technical support staff are on hand in schools to provide support and resources that are needed for teaching and learning.Site Staff.Site staff play an important role in schools, ensuring that the environment is clean, safe and tidy and that meals are available at lunchtimes.There are a huge range of external professions wo may work with a school, these include:Education Psychologist, who will support the SENCO in providing assessments and observations to pupils who have addition needs.Speech and Language Therapists, who will work with pupils on speech, language and communications I producing and understanding language.Specialist Teachers, who offer advice and support to pupils with a range of needs including, behavioural, social and communication needs such as autism and English as an addition language.The Educational Welfare officers visit schools and work with the Head teacher to monitor pupils attendance, pr ovide support with issues around absence  and also work with parents to support excluded pupils on their return.The Schools Improvement Partner work alongside the local education authority, they will visit the school for three to five days each year advising and supporting the head teacher in looking at way sod devolving the school through both the school self evaluation and pupils progress. Focusing on academic factors, extended school provisions and liaison with parents.