Thursday, July 9, 2020

Death and Art in “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” - Literature Essay Samples

In â€Å"The Snows of Kilimanjaro,† Harry set out to Africa with his wife in an attempt to recapture his former literary motivation; in â€Å"the good time of his life† he had been happy in Africa. His will to write has softened with the comfort and luxury afforded him by Helen, his wifes, affluence. After having spent years â€Å"with different people and more money, with the best of the same places, and some new ones,† he reached a state of artistic stagnation from which he has been unable to extricate himself (59). He came to Africa to be for a time without luxury, and with â€Å"the minimum of comfort†, to recreate something of the sensation of his old life before the money (60). A parallel is made between affluence and an idiosyncratic kind of non-bodily death: the death of creativity, initiative, and meaningful experience. Harry has been dying in this way for years, and, ironically, only as his physical death closes in is his aesthetic sensibility re surrected. In â€Å"The Snows of Kilimanjaro,† death of the physical body does not preclude the continuance of other, more esoteric modes of being; through the resurgence of his art, Harry is able to achieve another life, one that continues even after the death of his physical body.Harrys former life of colorful, deeply felt experiences is in direct contrast to the life he began once he allied himself with the rich. â€Å"The rich were dull and . . . they were repetitious,† Harry says. Even if he were to live, he would not write about Helen or â€Å"about any of them.† They were not the â€Å"special glamorous race† they were thought to be (72). The money acted as armour, Harry says: Your damned money was my armour. My Swift and my Armour† (58). The money protects him from the difficulties of the world, as armour might, yet it also cuts him off from the life-blood of the artist: meaningful experience. Thus, the money has, metaphorically, provided fo r the slow dying of his artistic spirit by allowing his life to become too safe, too predictable, too sheltered. Harry no longer feels things deeply; he admits he never has loved Helen. However, he remains trapped in a circle of those who either â€Å"drank too much† or â€Å"played too much backgammon † (72). Such are the lives of the rich: composed of repetitious, dull excess; excess to fill the lack left by dearth of true experiences. Henry feels this lack and, in his reflections, dying in Africa, he resents the turn his life had taken in the last years: the aesthetic, the literary, no longer holding a a meaningful place in his life.In Africa, without the comforts and distractions of wealth, Harry felt he could â€Å"get back into training.† He needed a place to â€Å"work the fat off his soul,† fat that had accumulated over years of an sedentary, complacent life, divorced from the realm of the aesthetic. While on safari, Harry says the â€Å"illusion † of a returning strength to write was felt, but the real strength of will does not truly come until his legs infection becomes serious and Harry must face the fact that he will soon die. Harry begins to write again. In segments of italicized text, divorced from the frame narrative of Harry and Helen in African, Harry mentally writes those things which he wishes he could put to paper. So now it was all over, he thought. So now he would never have a chance to finish it. (54)It is significant that Hemingway pairs these two sentences. Henry regrets that, because of the imposition of death, he will not be able to write these stories – â€Å"to finish it†; however, it is his coming to terms with impending death that freed him from his complacency and his rationalizations and has given him the will to write again. Before death closed in, his only intentions of writing were â€Å"illusions†, as Harry puts it. Now the end is almost tangible, he knows it is all ove r, and is compelled to write, to finish.Death breathes new life into Harry in this way. These italicized sections are not only melancholy reminiscences of his life in the world, but they are its coda as well. He has failed to publish a textual monument that would preserve permanently his life and the knowledge he gained throughout it, however he did all that he was able: mentally construct said monument, thus codifying his worldly life. And in codifying his worldly life, the rebirth of Harrys aesthetic self is affirmed.Hemingway subverts conventional ideas of life and death with â€Å"The Snows of Kilimanjaro.† Two types of life – and thus, of death – overlap in the story: physical and aesthetic. In the first part of Harrys life, his physical and aesthetic lives were interwoven, each thriving because of the other, symbiotically. However, with affluence and its trappings the two separated and thus began Harrys slow aesthetic death. He ceased writing because he st opped deeply feeling things. This second phase of life, one divorced from the experience of the aesthetic almost entirely, was one devoid of ambition, initiative, or happiness: an empty, meaningless life. However, his physical dying – the end of this second phase – brings new perspective. Harry mentally prepares himself for bodily death by writing – though only in his mind – those things he had saved so long to write about, logically concluding his worldly, bodily life, and in the process, giving birth again to his aesthetic self. Though Harry does die physically in the end of the story, his aesthetic self continues; divorced from Harrys physical body, it moves to a realm separate from the physical. Kilimanjaro looms in the distance and Harry knows this is the place to which he travels; it is â€Å"as wide as all the world, great, high, and unbelievably pure in the sun† (76). Harrys â€Å"aesthetic body† moves to a new world, one white and pure, elevated with respect to the plains. Harry has achieved a new vision of immortality, one located in art. Harrys transcending this world is an allegorical illustration of what any artist is capable of: immortality through the arts continued appreciation and evaluation. Harry, though unable to access this more traditional route of exhibiting (or publishing) art for the world to engage with, nevertheless achieves a kind of aesthetic immortality via a separate, more idiosyncratic route. Hemingway, in portraying Harrys struggle and ultimate success, illustrates the romantic notion of the artists autonomy and arts transcendent possibilities: through creation, one might realize something beyond oneself, and after death aesthetic consciousness can live on through the artists work.

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Human Sacrifice Rituals and the Ancient Maya

We forbid and place strict sanctions on cannibalism, incest, and human sacrifice, considering they epitomize savage or barbarian behavior. Not everyone or every civilized group has shared our sensibilities. Many groups of people have performed human sacrifices as a way of pleasing or appeasing their gods. The Maya were no different in this regard. Inscribed stones bear witness to the Maya practice of human sacrifice. Precious feathers appear where blood would be expected coming from the wounds in some depictions of Maya human sacrifice ritual. Perhaps this symbolizes how valuable the life-giving fluid is to the gods. In the accompanying illustration [see larger image], instead of spurting blood, there are serpents. The common method for human sacrifice seems to have been for the ah nacom (a functionary) to extract the heart quickly, while 4 people associated with Chac, the rain/lightning god, held the struggling victims limbs. Human sacrifices seem to have been made, as well, with arrows, by flaying, decapitation, hurling from a precipice, and throwing the victim into a limestone sinkhole. Warfare was one source of human sacrificial victims. It is thought that losers in the ballgames may also have sometimes been victims, and sacrifice appears to have been connected mainly with ballgames, festivals, and the assumption of power by a new king. Besides humans, the following objects were offered as sacrifices: manatees, jaguars, opposums, parrots, quail, owls, turtles, pumas, crocodiles, squirrels, insects, feathers, dogs, deer, iguanas, turkeys, rubber, cacao, maize, squash seeds, flowers, bark, pine boughs and needles, honey, wax, jade, obsidian, virgin water from caves, shells, and iron pyrite mirrors. Why did the Maya Practice Human Sacrifice? Sign up for the Maya Newsletter Sources: Archaeology and Religion: A Comparison of the Zapotec and Maya, by Joyce Marcus. World Archaeology, Vol. 10, No. 2, Archaeology and Religion (Oct., 1978), pp. 172-191. Procedures in Human Heart Extraction and Ritual Meaning: A Taphonomic Assessment of Anthropogenic Marks in Classic Maya Skeletons Procedures in Human Heart Extraction and Ritual Meaning: A Taphonomic Assessment of Anthropogenic Marks in Classic Maya Skeletons, by Vera Tiesler, Andrea Cucina. Latin American Antiquity, Vol. 17, No. 4 (Dec., 2006), pp. 493-510. Human Sacrifice at Tenochtitlan, by John M. Ingham. Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 26, No. 3 (Jul., 1984), pp. 379-400. Gordon R. Willey and American Archaeology, by Jeremy A. Sabloff, William Leonard Fash

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Coming of Age in Alice Munro’s Boys and Girls Essay

In Alice Munro’s â€Å"Boys and Girls,† there is a time line in a young girl’s life when she leaves childhood and its freedoms behind to become a woman. The story depicts hardships in which the protagonist and her younger brother, Laird, experience in order to find their own rite of passage. The main character, who is nameless, faces difficulties and implications on her way to womanhood because of gender stereotyping. Initially, she tries to prevent her initiation into womanhood by resisting her parent’s efforts to make her more â€Å"lady-like†. The story ends with the girl socially positioned and accepted as a girl, which she accepts with some unease. The young girl in the story is struggling with finding her own gender identity. She would much†¦show more content†¦Throughout the story the protagonist is left nameless. This provides the reader with another question of identity. Without a name to attach to the character, we are left withou t an identity. There is distinction between the types of power that are inherent through the children’s separate blood-gender lines. The boy is given a higher status due to being a male, while the girl is relegated to a lower social role because she is female. The young girl’s brother, Laird, becomes the man that is entitled to help his father throughout the story. At the beginning of the story, Laird is a small boy and is not as useful to his father as the young girl is. The mother believes the girl isn’t much help to her father to begin with, as the mother says to the father, â€Å"Wait till Laird gets a little bigger, then you’ll have a real help† (329). But, as time goes on in the story, Laird gets older and stronger. For example, when Laird and his older sister were fighting, â€Å"and for the first time ever I had to use all my strength against him; even so, he caught and pinned my arm for a moment, really hurting me† (331). Laird is becoming the help ful son that his father needs around the farm, which delegates the young girl to a position of less physical standard to her father. Eventually, the girl realizes that she has to become more like her mother. This realization is shown through the definition, â€Å"A girl was not, as I had supposed, simply what I was; it was what I had toShow MoreRelatedBoys And Girls By Alice Munro Summary995 Words   |  4 PagesIn Alice Munros Boys and Girls†, Munro tells a story concerning a young ladys encounter to womanhood in society which is infested with gender roles and stereotypes. Regardless of whether it is the past or the present, there have dependably been gender roles in society. In many homes, it is the womens obligation to deal with the house. This incorporates cleaning, meal arrangements, raising and dealing with the youngsters and in addition the spouse. Contrasted with the men who deal with the moreRead MoreGender Roles in Alice Munros Boys and Girls1081 Words   |  5 P agesIn Alice Munro’s short story â€Å"Boys and Girls,† our narrator is a young farm girl on the verge of puberty who is learning what it means to be a â€Å"girl.† The story shows the differing gender roles of boys and girls – specifically that women are the weaker, more emotional sex – by showing how the adults of the story expect the children to grow into their respective roles as a girl and a boy, and how the children grow up and ultimately begin to fulfill these roles, making the transition from being â€Å"children†Read MoreHow I Met My Husband And Araby Analysis1550 Words   |  7 Pagesfirst person point of view and the main character is a girl. Whereas, Araby is told from the perspective of a young boy. Both characters are around the same age and begin to grow curious about dating. Furthermore, each story describes the evolution of teenage development in both a male and female. Alice Munro’s How I Met My Husband shows the level of maturity her main character, Edie has throughout her story. Edie demonstrated her coming of age and going into adulthood by going into Mrs. Peebles’Read MoreAlice Munros Boys and Girls and John Steinbecks The Chrysanthemums1455 Words   |  6 Pages symbolism, and setting, Alice Munro’s Boys and Girls and John Steinbeck’s The Chrysanthemums challenge this controversial topic of the treatment of women versus men in the 1900s. Munro uses a fox farm for the setting of Boys and Girls to bring out many of the social issues between genders. While her father worked outside doing all the labor work, her mother stayed inside cooking and cleaning, â€Å"it was an odd thing to see my mother down at the barn† (Munro 12). The girl was very resentful towardsRead More The Importance of Gender in Boys and Girls by Alice Munro Essay3422 Words   |  14 PagesGender in Boys and Girls  Ã‚   Since the beginning of time, gender roles have existed in society.   Women were assigned the tasks of child-care and food preparation.   Men performed most activities that required physical strength.   As society progressed, the role of women did not.   Although less emphasis is placed on gender roles today, gender roles still exist. In 1968, Alice Munro wrote, Boys and Girls to address the confusion that gender roles may cause in a modern society. Boys and Girls isRead More The Struggle for Self-Definition in Boys and Girls by Alice Munro2753 Words   |  12 PagesSelf-Definition in Boys and Girls  Ã‚   When we are adolescents we see the world through our parents eyes.   We struggle to define ourselves within their world, or to even break away from their world.   Often, the birth of our self is defined in a moment of truth or a moment of heightened self-awareness that is the culmination of a group of events or the result of a life crisis or struggle.   In literature we refer to this birth of self as an epiphany.   Alice Munro writes in Boys and Girls about herRead MoreEssay about Only a Girl in Boys and Girls by Alice Munro1821 Words   |  8 PagesOnly a Girl in Boys and Girls Alice Munros short story, Boys and Girls, explores the different roles of men and women in society through a young girls discovery of what it means to be a girl. A close examination of the elements of a short story as they are used in Boys and Girls helps us to understand the meaning of the story. The story is set in the 1940s, on a fox farm outside of Jubilee, a rural area only twenty miles away from the county jail. The farm is a place that reflectsRead MoreFeminist Theory In Boys And Girls By Alice Munro1755 Words   |  8 Pagesyears restricting women on how they behave, dress and even what jobs they are ‘allow’ to do. In the short story, â€Å"Boys and Girls†, Alice Munro portrays a young girl who is socially and psychologically undermined by her family and the sociality to show her readers how feminist theory took a toll on girls back in 1964 and still happening till this day. The short story is told by a young girl who grew up on a fox farm. She starts off with her admiring her father’s job by going into great detail of raisingRead MoreMaturity Is Achieved With The Death Of Naivety1744 Words   |  7 PagesMaturity is achieved with the death of naivety. The usual theme in most coming of age stories is that the protagonists are enlightened. Once they understand a concept that their former selves could not, they discard their naà ¯ve notions. Often, these concepts are hard truths of reality, which in turn shatter romanticized goals. Regardless, this understanding usually betters the individuals undergoing the process. It often leads the individuals to either understand their own convictions with clarityRead More Comparing Female Sexuality in Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar and Alice Munro’s Lives of Girls and Wome2661 Words   |  11 PagesComparing Female Sexuality in Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar and Alice Munro’s Lives of Girls and Women In Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar and Alice Munro’s Lives of Girls and Women, Esther and Del try to take control of their sexuality and their sexual lives. These two female protagonists attempt to gain sexual confidence by quietly rejecting the societal images of women. They are able to seduce men and pilot their own sexual lives. These women are also able to ignore the popular beliefs

Advantages and disadvantages of plastic surgery Essay Example For Students

Advantages and disadvantages of plastic surgery Essay When the end is to do yourself look better in any signifier, the first option that would strike your head would possibly be fictile surgery. Like everything, plastic surgery besides involves many pros and cons. And when it comes to advantages and disadvantages, you need to be after things before you make up your head to travel for plastic surgery. Although there are many disadvantages associated with plastic surgery the advantages of plastic surgery will decidedly outweigh the disadvantages of plastic surgery. Teasing and twit by person about your characteristics will take their toll on a individuals emotional and mental wellbeing. Not merely old ages of badgering cause emotional cicatrixs but a individual who is dissatisfied about something in them will be every bit affected. Well in this instance even a little process that would impact your self-esteem positively can work admirations for such individuals. Plastic surgery is a process to alter ourselves non merely to look better but to experience better every bit good. The obvious hazard of plastic surgery is that it non merely involves complications but besides the hazard of having bad work. This is for certain, no 1 wants to pass significant sum money to look even worse that earlier or to be affected by side effects involved in plastic surgery. In order to clear up all the possibilities of plastic surgery, whether good or bad, you should confer with your physician before you plan any surgery for you. This will help you in cognizing the hazards involved and to acquire anterior cognition of the medicines to which your organic structure reacts erratically. With decorative surgeries, consequences may be unrealistic, non up to the outlooks of the individual undergoing surgery. The advantages of plastic surgery are no uncertainty dramatic, like the ability to utilize a manus, take tegument malignant neoplastic disease or shut an unfastened lesion, or subtle like decorative or skin surgery or nose job for a immature adult female etc. Cosmetic surgery has become one of the most common events in the lives of people of all age groups, after all everyone takes due advantage from this processes. The motivation behind the surgery can be any, taking birth Markss or unattractive looking cicatrixs, re-scaling of olfactory organs, get rid of hypertrophied chests or any other job. The exclusive intent behind plastic surgery is to acquire a good visual aspect and hence to heighten assurance. While making all this, you should non bury that these surgical processs can turn out to be fatal and has a batch of hazards involved in it. Taking determination in favor of plastic surgery is like seting yourself under proving as there is no warrant of the consequences in the surgical interventions. Another of import thing that you should maintain in your head is that, the sawbones who will execute the surgery is certified and has been qualified for carry oning such sort of surgery. Do non put on the line yourself merely to heighten your externally visual aspect to acquire mental pleasance. The factors that will impact you if you undergo should non be overlooked but the jobs should be considered and rectified.

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Soft Money Essays - Campaign Finance In The United States

Soft Money Whether the issue is consumer privacy, a Patients Bill of Rights, environmental pollution, or a prescription drug benefit for older Americans, soft money donors will get their opinions heard on Capitol Hill and at the White House. Soft money is drowning out the voices of average Americans -- it is time to put an end to the corrupt soft money system Common Cause President Scott Harshbarger At the basis of the campaign finance reform movement is the belief that everyone should have an equal say in the government, and that wealthy individuals or special interest groups should not be able to manipulate the system through excessive contributions to unduly influence elections. The more expensive it becomes to finance a campaign, the more important the money becomes, and subsequently the less involved the candidate becomes in listening to the voices of the average Americans. The Federal Election Commission, established in 1974, was the first independent institution created to monitor and enforce the campaign finance reforms that were designed to limit [individual or corporate] contributions that would disproportionately influence a federal election. The Commission also tries to ensure that the campaign finance information is accessible to the public, because disclosureis the single greatest check on the excesses of campaign finance, (Sabato). Soft money, by definition, are the non federal funds which are raised, and spent, outside of Federal Election Campaign Acts borders. Campaign finance reform evolved in order to restrict and regulate the campaign funds, but the soft money loophole allows committees to establish a separate bank account for nonfederal activities, which is not monitored by FECA. Critics argue that the soft money system allows committees to save the federal funds that can be spent on federal elections, and that the system only furthers the influence of wealthy contributors on elections. On the other hand, others claim that federal regulation of soft money is an unwarranted intrusion into the financing of non-federal elections and fear that complex regulations will have a chilling effect on grassroots electoral activity (FEC). Since the 1980s, critics of the soft money system have strived to close the perceived loophole. In 1984, Common Cause petitioned the Commission for stricter rules regarding soft money allocation, hoping to close the loophole. When the Commission concluded that the evidence of soft money abuse was insufficient to rationalize the suggested changes, Common Cause filed a suit that led to a Court order for the FEC to clarify its allocation regulations. In 1990 the Commission approved of new regulations that would require all national party committees to provide full disclosure of the soft money accounts, and all committees (with federal and non federal accounts) to use specific formulas to determine the amount of federal funds required to be spent for any activity that benefits both federal and non federal candidates (FEC). While the Commission maintains that they have proceeded as far as statutory authority would permit, short of barring the combined use of federal and nonfederal fund altogether (FEC), others maintain that soft money is exactly what policy makers have intended to exclude from national elections since the early 1900s. In 1907, the Tillman Act was enacted to prohibit national banks and corporations from donating money to political campaigns. The campaign finance reform laws from the 1907 Tillman Act to the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act have tried to control and limit campaign spending and funding, in effort so that special interest groups and wealthy individuals would not be able to use excessive contributions to influence federal elections. According to the Common Cause glossary, Soft money is money that is illegal under federal law -- it either violates federal source restrictions (such as money from corporations) or federal limits (such as large contributions from individuals in amounts often exceeding $100,000). Soft money undoubtedly influences our government. National party committees are allowed to use the soft money funds for voter registration drives and get-out-the-vote campaigns, but these ads can easily be manipulated to influence presidential elections. Common Cause charges that soft money contributions are laundered through the political parties in a way that allows federally illegal money to nonetheless be used to influence federal elections. While corporations make large [soft money] donations to political parties, they are also lobbying

Monday, March 16, 2020

Role of the Teacher in Obesity Prevention

Role of the Teacher in Obesity Prevention Introduction Obesity is a health condition that affects a person causing them to gain a lot of weight and body mass and subsequently causing a health risk in the individual due to related health implications. Research has proven that the risk of obesity has continued to increase especially for the younger generation in the society.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Role of the Teacher in Obesity Prevention specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More According to the government statistics and previous researches, 61.4% of the Australian population is either obese or overweight, a point that raises a lot of concern about the health status of the population in Australia. Also, according to the Medical Journal of Australia, the rate of occurrence of obesity has increased to more than a double in the past decade. This information is also close to the data for the USA and the UK (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008). It has been note d that there is a large correlation between the occurrence of obesity and lifestyle, especially eating habits and physical activities. With the society decreasing its concentration from commitment to physical activities, it has become a major problem for many to engage in the activities that would aid in ensuring healthy living. This has been aggravated by the fact that there has been an emergence of a very dangerous trend in eating habits where most people have adopted the culture of eating processed foods and junk foods which are full of fats, chemicals and other hazardous components. This has resulted to a change in the formation of healthy bodies and as a result many people have become overweight and in extreme cases, obese (Sharma, 2011). Obesity and overweight are conditions that result to a high risk of health complications such as the victim being affected by type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, physical deformity among other health problems. With these th reats being eminent, there is a need for everyone to put effort in trying to prevent the condition, and in places where it prevalent, to manage the condition (Robinson, 2001). This study seeks to identify how the society, especially teachers who interact the most with the young children, may be involved in prevention or management of the condition (Danielzik, Pust, Landsberg Muller, 2005).Advertising Looking for essay on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Importance of Physical Activity The group that the study considered constitutes of the young people in the community ranging from 5 to 17 years of age. Research has shown that about one in every four children in Australia is either obese or overweight, with obesity taking the larger percentage. The problem is that when the condition develops at this early stage, it is hard to cure or manage it later on hence it remains to be a health threat for the v ictim. However, research has also shown that the condition of obesity is best preventable and curable at this early stage since most obese people become obese at this age interval and hence preventing this trend would have almost long-term results except in extreme situations of hazardous lifestyle (Hawks Gast, 2000). One of the most reliable and effective methods to prevent or manage obesity is through involvement in physical activities especially at the early age. In prevention of obesity, physical activities ensure that an individual utilizes a lot of energy that is injected into the body while eating, a factor that ensures that there is no excess energy going unutilized and which would otherwise be stored in the body as fats. Through involvement in sufficient quality of physical activities, a person is able to check their weight hence avoiding occurrences of obesity or even becoming overweight. In addition, physical activities ensure that a person remains fresh due to proper ci rculation of blood hence being able to utilize energy from the food taken not only through physical activities but also through the brain (Piran, 1998). Through engaging in physical activities, those that already are obese may be able to manage their condition and even with a lot of discipline be able to eradicate their situation. This is mainly possible due to the fact that during physical activities, stored fats are broken down to form energy which is then utilized in the activity. Hence, for someone with obesity, it is possible to gradually ensure that the stored fats under the skin are broken down into energy hence helping the patient recover from the condition.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Role of the Teacher in Obesity Prevention specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, in situations where the condition is impossible to treat, physical activities may aid in ensuring that excessive fats are broken down so a s to avoid them from getting deposited under the skin, a factor that may ensure prevention of other related diseases and conditions thus ensuring that the obesity does not pose a health threat to its victim (McDevitt Ormrod, 2010). Teacher’s Role in Obesity prevention and management The teacher is the person who spends most of the time with a child during the period between 5 and 17 years. The teacher hence observes a lot of the changes that take place in the child both physically and mentally (Robinson, 2001). The teacher therefore has the role of ensuring that he addresses all the issues involved in the proper and healthy growth of the child so as to ensure that the child grows up in the expected manner. The teacher may therefore be able to identify the possibility of onset of obesity in as child especially due to its weight gain and slow mental development. This may be a good point at which to react through engaging in preventive measures so as to overcome the probability of the child becoming obese. Involvement in physical activities as well as a change in eating habits may also be helpful (Meyers, Sampson, Weitzman, Rogers, Kayne, 1989). The teacher is at a good position to set time for the child to ensure discipline in engaging in physical activities. This may be done through integrating learning with co-curriculum activities with an equal emphasis on their importance such that children would not view the physical activities as optional but rather as part of the learning process. On the other side, the teacher is at a good position to be able to control the dietary part of the child’s eating habits so as to ensure that as much as possible the child takes healthy meals that would reduce the risk of becoming obese. Ways of addressing and helping prevent Obesity The teacher may be able to undertake a lot of activities so as to help manage and even prevent obesity in children. First, the teacher may be able to use their authority to control t he eating habits of the children.Advertising Looking for essay on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Through emphasizing on healthy living ad as much as possible ensuring the children do not take junk and processed foods, the teacher may be able to help the child reduce the probability of becoming obese and for the obese ones, manage the condition and keep it at a low profile where the risk of related diseases and conditions is at its lowest. The teacher hence may be able to make decisions on the kind of food components tom include in the meals offered in the school while also educating the child on proper decision-making and consciousness so as to ensure they have a good and healthy choice for foods and beverages taken outside the school program (McDevitt Ormrod, 2010). The teacher may also be involved in formulation of a coordinated school health program (CSHP) which may be aimed at addressing the main aspects of life that may are associated to healthy growth including physical health, provision of physical, nutritional and health education, development of mental health through counseling sessions as well as involvement in activities carried out at the family and community level. All these activities may be able to engage the child in a manner that helps prevent or manage obesity (Meyers, Sampson, Weitzman, Rogers, Kayne, 1989). The teacher has the mandate to formulate and review the different policies endorsed by the school concerning healthy growth of a child. In cases where the school has laid more focus and emphasis on learning and neglected healthy physical growth promotion activities, the teacher may intervene to help ensure that there is a balance in all aspects of life so as for the child to grow up as an all-round healthy person and more so reduce the probability of getting obese (Kropski, Keckley Jensen, 2008). Through provision of nutrition studies, the teacher may be able to influence the decisions of the child in relation to their decisions pertaining to the kind of food they eat and also the physical activities they engage in so as to reduc e instances of obesity. References Australian Bureau of Statistics (2008). National Health Survey 2007-08. Melbourne: ABS. Danielzik, S., Pust, S., Landsberg, B. and Muller, J. (2005). â€Å"First lessons from the Kiel Obesity Prevention Study (KOPS),† International Journal of Obesity, 29(2) :78–83. Hawks, R. and Gast, J. (2000). â€Å"The ethics of promoting weight loss,† Healthy Weight, 14(1): 25-26. Kropski, A., Keckley, H. and Jensen G. (2008). â€Å"School-based obesity prevention programs: an evidence-based review,† Obesity, 16(5):1009-18. McDevitt M. and Ormrod, J. (2010). Child Development And Education (4th ed). Melbourne: Pearson. Meyers, A., Sampson, E., Weitzman, M., Rogers, L. and Kayne, H. (1989). â€Å"School Breakfast Program and School Performance,† American Journal of Diseases of Childhood, 143(10): 1234-1239. Piran, N. (1998). â€Å"The Last Word: Prevention of eating disorders,† Eating Disorders, 6(1):365-371. Robinson, E . (2001). Reducing Children’s Television Viewing to Prevent Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Trial. London: AMC. Sharma, M. (2011). Dietary Education in School-Based Childhood Obesity Prevention Programs. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/advances/article/2/2/207S/4591581

Saturday, February 29, 2020

Changes to the GED More High School Equivalency Exam Options

Changes to the GED & More High School Equivalency Exam Options In 2014 the GED exam was overhauled for the first time since 2002. Since the change, the National GED Testing Service saw a significant decrease in graduates. As a reaction to the decrease in grads, many states began researching and implementing alternative equivalency exams. The numbers were nothing to sneer at. Whereas in 2012 401,388 people passed the GED test, only 58,524 passed it in 2014. Some reports said that even high school graduates couldn’t pass the new GED. Changes included computer only administration, and more writing and critical thinking components. Designed to mirror high school curriculum changes and to mimic the skills required in a changing workforce, the GED was due for an update. Since the government created the GED in 1942 for the young men and women returning from World War II, the test has been updated five times. The upgrades usually result in drops in participation the following year, as test takers elect to wait until they have a better handle on what the new test will look alike before signing up. Some see this latest update as an unnecessary barrier for people who are already at a disadvantage. By increasing the test’s difficulty, increasing the cost, and requiring computers, they say people who are already struggling are being put at a disadvantage. Proponents for the changes to the test argue that the changes were needed in order to keep it relevant for employers who rely on the GED to measure skills comparable to those a high school graduate would have. In today’s technological world, it’s rare to find a workplace that isn’t mostly digitized. Alternative high school equivalency exams include the HiSET (High School Equivalency Test) or the TASC. Those opposed to the difficulty level of the GED say that the HiSET and TASC are fairer to students and less expensive. The alternative tests were actually created in the face of concerns that the GED was becoming more profit driven. Some say that it’s good to have alternatives but others argue that the increase in options may confuse test takers and may defeat the purpose of standardization inherent in the GED. In many states, the response to the more difficult GED was to lower the score needed to pass the test. In Michigan and 32 other states, the passing score for the GED was lowered from 150 to 145. The change was recommended by the GED Testing Service after the changes were implemented and fewer people started passing (and taking) their exam. In 2015, the exam had a 73% pass rate. Aside from the lower passing score requirement, in some states, test takers with scores between 165 and 174 are categories as ready to enter credit-bearing college courses and those who receive a score between 175 and 200 qualify for up to ten hours of college credit. These changes demonstrate an effort by the GED Testing Centre and local governments to improve the GED program while also attempting to stay relevant in a world where high school dropouts are finding they have increasing options.