Relationships controlled assessment Essay

On the other hand, Slim’s relationship with Crooks exhibits a number of crucial aspects such as the fact that he uses Crook’s name when mentioning or conversing with him: ‘sure, Crooks’. This indicates that Slim, unlike the rest of the ranch men, possesses morals which prevent him from abusing Crooks in the same manner as them. This is due to the merciful and benevolent character which Slim is reputable for in the ranch. Steinbeck displays Crooks’ attitude towards Slim as respectful but servile due to the formal way in which Crooks addresses him: ‘Mr Slim’. However, Crook’s formal manner towards Slim can also be viewed as a protective mechanism because he knows exactly where he stands in the white society, therefore, he is formal in order to live up to the expectations of the relationships between black and white people, and to protect himself from their wrath. Furthermore, through the use of ‘That won’t do them no good’, Steinbeck contextualises Crooks as wise and intelligent, and conjures the theme of a ‘silent protest’ as Crooks does not verbalise his direct opinion of ‘you are wrong’ and ‘I know more than you’ because he completely accepts his status within the ranch. Adverbs such as ‘quietly’ are used in reference to the way Crooks entered the bunkhouse to emphasise that Crooks understands that he is inferior to white people, so he must maintain his distance from them despite the fact that he longs for their companionship and friendship due to his intense loneliness. This is emphasised further by ‘put his head in’ which displays the concrete barrier separating black and white people, and the fact that Crooks comprehends that he must not cross this barrier in order to prevent his life from being snatched away from him. Moreover, Crook’s eyes are ‘patient’, revealing that patience is a regime for him within the ranch and he has grown accustomed to it. The relationship between Crooks and Lennie is by far the most captivating of all relationships. It is quite different to the relationships between Crooks and the other characters due to a range of distinct reasons; the main reason stemming from Lennie and his innocent mind. Steinbeck deliberately uses Lennie as the first white man to speak to Crooks and enter his room, with the intention of highlighting the possibilities of unity between black and white people, as Lennie is incapable of developing prejudiced views about people. He cannot judge them by the colour of their skin or by their status due to his stunted mind; he simply sees them as human beings. This accumulates the idea that racism and discrimination is instilled within people, they are not born to hate. In addition, repetition of ‘light’ symbolises hope and a pathway to freedom for Crooks, and Lennie himself represents a key to unlock the door of hope and freedom within Crook’s being. ‘light’ also represents purity, and due to Lennie’s pure and innocent nature, he is drawn to this light like a magnet which pulls towards it what it is attracted to and sees friendship with another man at the end of that light. Furthermore, Steinbeck creates pathos and sympathy towards Crooks when he repeats ‘i have a right’ because it emphasises the very few precious rights Crooks has and his struggle to cling onto each and every one of them dearly. In addition, pathos is created with Crook’s confession as we realise that Crooks had lived the ‘Dream’ before, but it was taken away from him due to the taboo of racism and the fear of his rights taken away from him similarly to his dream. In addition, Crooks constantly refers to his rights because his pride gets in his way, he cant go into the bunkhouse so why should he allow white men to enter his property whenever they wish? Crooks and Candy’s relationship conveys that racism exists even amongst the mere outsiders themselves, in this case the older generation (Candy). Upon arrival at Crook’s door, Candy deliberately doesn’t enter as he is aware of the taboo which this could cause. He is cautious of the fact that mingling with a black man would be deeply frowned upon by the white society which refrains him from entering straight away like lennie: ‘he made no attempt to enter’ despite the fact that he wants some company, even if its from a ‘nigger’. This denotes the degree of loneliness which is experienced by predominantly all of the ranch men. Candy asks Crooks if he’s ‘seen Lennie’ and Crooks casually replies ‘ya mean the big guy? ‘ which reiterates the bitter truth of the fact that under other circumstances; they would be very close friends as they both have a great deal in common, such as the fact that they both don’t fit into the society comfortably. furthermore, Candy looks into the room ‘blindly’ as he is unable to see the hope and purity as clearly as lennie. Also due to racism, foul treatment towards crooks, and the fact that he sides with the oppressors rather than the oppressed, Candy’s heart has formed a sinful barrier which obscures his vision from viewing the elements of purity protruding from Crook’s room. Eventually, Candy is invited into Crook’s room and he walks in ’embarrassed’ in contrast to the way Lennie entered which indicates that he is well aware the taboo, yet he somehow finds it shameful that he hasn’t spoken against it for all these years; and now he is being invited into Crook’s room by Crooks himself. Candy takes it upon himself to develop his relationship with Crooks by introducing the dream to him, this makes Crooks hopeful especially when money is mentioned: ‘you say you got the money? ‘ and for a split second, Crooks sees a chance of a better future for himself:’ if you†¦ guys would want a hand’ he seizes the chance to probe them further into letting him participate in their dream, however Steinbeck uses ellipses to generate the idea that Crooks is an intelligent man and he is still wary of his place in the white society, so he is careful with his words and with the level of trust that he shows towards Candy. Alternatively, a sharp reality check is created upon the entrance of Curley’s wife and George into Crook’s room. Steinbeck brings in Curleys wife just when Crooks is beginning to turn over a new leaf with white people to lure him back to reality and erase any glimmer of hope which he may have experienced about ever reaching the same level as white people. Her sudden entrance and elimination of hope through one short yet sharp statement: ‘any of you boys seen curley? ‘ creates a sense of pathos for Crooks as he only had hope for a few seconds, yet she managed to steal even that from him just as quickly; depicting her dominance and control over him as a white woman and also how unpredictable life can be. She also stand ‘still in the doorway’ meaning she blocks his pathway to escaping the torture he endures, and she blocks out his hopes and dreams. Furthermore, Crooks switches to attacking her with his standard defence mode ‘you got no right’ when she becomes exceedingly insulting, however when she snaps back with ‘you know what i can do to you if you open your trap’ he stares ‘hopelessly’ at her indicating that for a split second, he believed that he may have gained control over her. in addition, Crooks ‘drew into himself’ and returned to his usual servile manner: ‘yes maam’ as a way of confirming that he now knows where he stands in the white society and he knows that in order to survive, he must make himself invisible in order to stay out of trouble’s way. Similarly, George stands ‘framed in the doorway’- he, as the leader of this dream permanently blocks the significant doorway as a way of concluding that Crooks can never be part of them, except that Crooks withdraws before he is refrained from joining due to his pride which prevents him from being downgraded: ‘well just forget it’. Moreover, Steinbeck refers to the door again: ‘Crooks looked at the door’ symbolising that just as lennie had brought hope into his life, that hope had been robbed from him when Lennie departed, leaving Crooks to resume his life as usual, as if nothing had happened. to conclude, Steinbeck presents and develops the relationships between Crooks and other characters as very complex and each of them explores a different theme. however, the theme of racism is present within nearly all of the relationships apart from with lennie. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE John Steinbeck section.

Russia & Economy

Since attaining her independence in the early 1990’s Russia can pride herself in emerging as a middle economy which has registered an average annual economic growth rate of 6. 5%. This is largely attributed to her embracing a free market economy to replace the earlier central command approach. The World Bank notes that this economic growth has seen the number of people living in extreme poverty reduced. Trade especially exports of natural resources for instance oil and gas blended with stability in the macroeconomic policies adopted can be blamed economic achievement.However, there are major challenges that threaten this success story. The need for diversification of the economy, adoption of environmental conservative measures like the fight against deforestation has intensified in the increasingly globalized economy. Various non governmental organizations (NGOs) as well as international institutions have played a significant role in ensuring that this goal is attained. In the process, losers as well as winners have emerged. Many NGOs have been at the forefront to chip in their devoted efforts to resolve the deforestation problem in Russia.World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Russia, an environmental based organization advocates for sustainable forestry in Russia. In the recent times global warming issues have intensified and are a cause of concern due to the effects on climate change. (WWF, 2009). WWF Russia has intensively ensured that this information is disseminated across Russia. It adopts collaborative measures with the owners of the forests as she works to realize this goal. The objective is to ensure that CO2 emissions, a greenhouse gas responsible for global warming are reduced.WWF highlights the effects of deforestation on wildlife as well as on human beings. It advocates for responsible forestry especially in the timber trade. WWF Russia is also committed to ensuring that the Russian artic and the wildlife there are also conserved. The biodiversity of th e Northern Caucasus region must be protected from deforestation, wild fires and poaching if the wildlife contained there is to remain unharmed. In this regard, WWF Russia ensures that companies control their spillage or observe safe or responsible waste management practices.It also encourages responsible fishing. Joint efforts are vital if this goal is to be attained. WWF Russia advocates for ‘the protection of water sheds as well as the limited soil disturbances to ensure positive effects on the timber harvested’. (WWF, 2009). Another important environmental NGO is Green Peace which also advocates for conservation of forests. Green Peace has registered success by reducing the felling of trees especially in the North Western parts as well as the Russian Far East regions. (Greenpeace)In addition to the environmental organizations, there are human rights organizations like Indem foundation which have been committed towards promoting democracy in Russia. This is done throu gh collaborative efforts with the civil societies, public officials as well as government organizations. Major issues addressed by Indem include anti corruption, issues of international cooperation, reforms in the government and the political arena as well as justice assistance. This NGO tries to ensure that people know their rights and follow the right procedures to have them respected. (Indem Foundation, 2005).International institutions like the EU and the World Bank have also played a significant role in influencing Russia. The World Bank highlighted the need to ensure diversification of the economy to allow equitable growth while reducing the poverty levels. In an effort to ensure that Russia moved with the modern times where globalization is enhanced the World Bank created a 3 year strategy. The main objective in the strategy adopted would be to ensure sustained growth, improved management especially in public led institutions, increased social services as well as increased rol e of the nation at a global level.Russia was expected to participate in global activities like assisting the less developed countries. (World Bank, 2009). Among the ways in which Russia can diversify her economy is through the promotion of agriculture. This sector is however faced by many challenges like excess use of chemicals, wrong choice of crops as well as extreme or excess farming. Another important industry is forestry which has also faced a lot of problems in the recent past. Exploitative foreign companies and criminal organizations have negative effects on the forestry industry.Other challenges include wild fires, pests as well as pollution from the industries. (Library of congress, 2006). Russia showed her interests in registering with World Trade Organization in 2005, a move that was expected to place her at a competitive edge in as far as her economic growth and development are concerned. However her failure to adhere to the stipulated rules for instance strict adherence to intellectual property rights sees her blocked from admission by some great economies for instance the US.(Palmer D, 2009). This has seen different bodies in Russia advocating for a change in how people perceive intellectual property rights. The need to view them as an investment has now become vibrant. Russia is a member of the EU, another international organization and she continues to accrue related gains. There are certain rules to be followed by all members of the EU community. Russia collaborates with the EU to modernize the economy, on security matters, international relations as well as on regional cooperation. (EC)In an effort to strike a balance between the economical, environmental as well as social interests the forest owners will be losers. This is attributed to the fact that they will forego their financial gains as they adhere to the harvesting. The society will gain as a whole as the adverse effects of global warming will be reduced in a safer environment. Russia has also gained from the globalization process especially in her trading activities with the larger EU region. The poor and marginalized in Russia who forms approximately 20% of the population have also emerged as winners in the globalization process.(World Bank, 2009). This is attributed to the fact that international organizations like the World Bank have been committed to change their plight. World Bank has been involved in collaborative research activities to find ways of how more jobs can be created. It also assists in health care provision by offering equipment as well as in preventive approaches to curb diseases. World Bank also shows commitment to boost Russia’s education, fight against corruption as well as acquire a safe environment. (World Bank, 2009).There are many governmental as well as non governmental organizations that affect Russia’s performance in the global environment. These organizations may have a direct impact on the Russians for instance those that empower the human capital while others may indirectly affect man for instance those based on natural resources like wildlife and forests. Regardless of the direct or indirect impact these organization lead to the emergence of losers as well as winners in the society. All in all, the benefits of globalization are enormous and ought to be embraced as no country is self sufficient.References: Doug Palmer. 2009. Russia's WTO bid still faces big U. S. obstacles. Reuters. Retrieved on 9th April 2009 from http://www. canada. com/news/world/Russia+still+faces+obstacles/1453371/story. html EC. The European Union and Russia. Retrieved on 9th April 2009 from http://ec. europa. eu/external_relations/library/publications/russia_brochure07_en. pdf Greenpeace. The Russian Forests. Retrieved on 9th April 2009 from http://archive. greenpeace. org/comms/cbio/russia. html. INDEM Foundation. 2005. Retrieved on 9th April 2009 from http://www.indem. ru/en/index. shtml Library of Congress – Fe deral Research Division. 2006. Country Profile: Russia, October 2006. Retrieved on 9th April 2009 from http://lcweb2. loc. gov/frd/cs/profiles/Russia. pdf. WWF 2009. Reducing climate change in Russia through sustainable forestry. Retrieved on 9th April 2009 from http://www. panda. org/who_we_are/wwf_offices/russia/index. cfm? uProjectID=RU0130 Wwf Pskov Model Forest Project. Retrieved on 9th April 2009 from http://www. svo. se/episerver4/dokument/sks/engelska/Swedish_Russian/PMF%20 Brochure_ENG. pdf

Dracula: Barrier of Sanity vs. Insanity Essay

The setting of Bram Stoker’s Dracula is in the late nineteenth-century London, where the flourishing of technology is replacing people’s belief of the old superstitious ways. The characters in this novel experience contacts with the supernatural beings that is unable to be proven even by the most advanced technology at the time, which leads them to doubt their own sanity. However, the progression of the novel proves that peace is restored into the characters’ lives after their doubts and confusions about what is reality and who is really mad. Ultimately, the categorization of the sane against the mad is unnecessary since the distinguishing factors shown in the novel are ambiguous. Subsequently, no characters can truly be justified with being labelled as one type over the other. While certain characters in the novel, most notably Renfield, are placed in mental asylums for displaying mad or unstable behaviours, it does not qualify them to be categorized as mad sinc e the non-institutionalized characters undergoes irregular and unstable behaviours as well. These characters must go through their own forms of insanity to access the entirety of the truth that Dracula brings upon them, and thus they behave in ways similar to what is considered to be insane. The alternative reality Dracula brings into the logical and civilized London society can only be accessed by the characters through their own forms of insanity. Insanity is a psychological state of the mind being deranged and arousing irregular thoughts or actions (Barber 505). Sleepwalking is a form of psychological disorder resulting from troubled thoughts (Anitei). It is also thought to be a method of interacting with spirits from other realms (Anitei). During Lucy’s sleepwalking experiences, â€Å"her intention†¦disappears†¦for as soon as her will [thwarts] in any physical way† (Stoker 93). This shows that she only expresses her intention of meeting Dracula through an unnatural method. Similarly, when Jonathan â€Å"has had some fearful shock†¦Ã¢â‚¬  ( Stoker 108) from his experience in the castle with Dracula, he can only speak about it through nonsensical and insane ways to the sisters that took him in because not all of reality can be understood with logic and reasoning. Even Mina, whom â€Å"the good God fashioned† (Stoker 253) himself, still only connects with Dracula through abnormal behaviours shown by the quote: â€Å"She [has] risen, as if impulsively†¦and [raises] both hands, palms upwards, as if lifting a weight† (Stoker 374). All these characters acknowledge the existence to vampirism and Dracula’s powers through irregular behaviours, which shows that it is within human nature to use insanity as a form of psychological relief from the difficult reality. Asides from accepting the threats that Dracula presents, the characters continue to behave in characteristic commonly deemed as insane such as being emotionally unstable, and odd. Quincy Morris, who is known for his logical leadership skills, for he â€Å"has always been the one to arrange the plan of action† (Stoker 331), expresses passionate outbreaks when his mind is unable to tolerate the displeasing reality. He loses self-control and cries to his companions that â€Å"[He] shall not wait for any opportunity. When [he] see that box [of dirt he] shall destroy the monster, though†¦[he] is to be wiped out for the next moment (Stoker 356). Jonathan shows similar behaviour when he pities himself for living such an unfortunate fate of having a wife that is contaminated with â€Å"the vampire’s baptism of blood† (Stoker 350). He loses his pride in front of his friends and â€Å"[flings] himself on his knees beside her†¦and [hides] his face in the folds of her dress† (Stoker 355). He even openly admits that â€Å"[his] emotion [is] too great for even the relief of tears† (Stoker 355). Being unable to contain emotion is equivalent to admitting defeat to manhood and dignity, which men place at high values at the time. The fact alone that Jonathan freely gives up on these qualities by exposing his emotionally unstable behaviour irregular, so being irregular as well as unstable shows that he can be qualified for being insane. Lastly, the character Van Helsing, who is the wisest among the pack of friends, also â€Å"[gives] away to a regular fit of hysterics† (Stoker 186) when staying calm and logical is not satisfying enough to express his current situation. If even the wisest man can act unstable, then it shows that the average, sane, citizens habiting in Britain can also lose self-control, and act insane at times. At the same time, the less mentally stable characters are able to demonstrate philosophical thoughts and reasoning, very similar to the other educated and non-institutionalized characters. This is most notable for the character Renfield, who is a patient at the mental asylum operated by Jack Seward. Renfield is able to speak with proper reasoning when he chooses to, and descriptio ns regarding Renfield often results in the use of paradox or other forms of contrast. When Renfield feels there is the need, he will engage in proper conversations regarding theories and historical allusions. During the time that he is persuading his doctor, Seward, to release him from the asylum because he feels that he is a endangering them, he uses proper persuasive strategy to express his goal. He first recognizes that his target audience is not Seward alone, since his friends Morris, Lord Godalming, and Van Helsing are also present. He immediate decides to appeal to his audiences’ pathos by praising their honour and background. He alludes to the Declaration of Independence and the Monroe Doctrine of the United States when he compliments to Morris that â€Å"the power of the Treaty may yet prove a vast engine of enlargement, when the Monroe doctrine takes its true place as a political fable† (Stoker 263). Being the madman that he is labelled as, he proves to have a vast amount of knowledge by referring to information from outside of his home country. Following the statement, seeing that it is not enough to win over his audience, Renfield attempts to appeal to their logos by expressing a philosophical statement that â€Å"when an individual has revolutionised therapeutically†¦conventional forms are unfitting, since they would seem to limit him to one of a class† (Stoker 263). This type of behaviour with strategic and logical response is certainly uncommon for individuals deemed as insane, so it ironically questions the sanity of the people who brought him to the asylum in the first place. In addition, when describing the character Renfield, Stoker often uses contrasting devices to heighten the true quality of this character. After Renfield’s attempt to persuade them, Morris comments with the use of paradox that â€Å"[Renfield] is about the sanest lunatic [he] ever [sees]† (Stoker 267). Also, even Seward is astonished by Renfield’s impressive behaviour that â€Å"[he] at once [makes] the introduction† (Stoker 262) for Renfield and his friends, addressing Renfield as â€Å"Mr. Renfield† (Stoker 262). This can be contrasted to an earlier diary entry made by Seward when he refers to Renfield as â€Å"R.M. Renfield, aetat 59† (Stoker 65), showing that Renfield is nothing other than a subject of study to the doctor. This shows that Renfield is capable of both expressing himself freely as well as with proper manner, and that he changes between the two at will to fit the situations he occurs in. This puts the appropriateness his treatment in question, since his behaviour contradicts the way he is expected to behave. Overall, Renfield’s behaviour can be concluded with Seward’s alliterative paradox that â€Å"there is a method in his madness† (Stoker 74). With this in mind, the parallel between the sane and insane characters can be seen through the similarities between Renfield and Seward. Seward is known for his unique diary keeping style of recording his oral recounts of daily events on a phonograph. He does so because â€Å"to write with a pen is irksome to [him]† (Stoker 365), since he likes to make sure every detail is being recorded without the troubles of having muscles cramps. It is Seward himself that recognizes this similarity between his patient Renfield and himself: â€Å"He [closes] [his] daily account most accurately† (Stoker 76). Also, both of these characters display strong faith towards people they trust despite external influences. Renfield shows strong devotion and loyalty towards Dracula because of his belief that Dracula is able to fulfill his desire of consuming lives. He recognizes that Dracula is harmful in nature, but still remains loyal to him. At the same time, Dr. Seward keeps a blind faith towards his old friend Van Helsing purely because he trusts the professor’s wisdom from his experiences. At times, Van Helsing’s conclusions are too abstract for Seward to comprehend, but he never fails to obey and aid him to the best of his abilities. The nature of these two characters’ relationship intently sets them to have contrasting sanity levels, however the similarities between their habits and attitudes contradicts this, which shows that the state of sanity cannot be accurately placed upon an individual even despite their occupation. Through the supernatural experiences through course of the novel, Seward comes to the conclusion that: â€Å"[he] sometimes think [they] must be all mad and that [they] shall wake to sanity in strait waistcoats† (Stoker 295). Being the scientist that Seward is, the most significant character change he undergoes is that he opens up his mind and learns to accept new things. The significance of his conclusion is that the sanity of people is not always what others think it should be. He does not deny the possibility that he can, in fact, be mad, just as how Renfield is able to calmly declare his perfect sanity: â€Å"I am no lunatic in a mad fit, but a sane man fighting for his soul† (Stoker 266). The confusion of how Seward is the psychologist and how Renfield is his patient is again aroused, which shows that these characters does not fit the one state of sanity labelled on them. All the characters are able to demonstrate traits of being mentally unstable as well as being reasonable and logical. The barrier between sanity and madness is then blurred as the sane and mad behave in very similar ways and shows that same attitude towards their interests. Since â€Å"all men are mad in some way or other† (Stoker 128), it becomes unreasonable and unnecessary to strictly place an individual under either one of these categories. Note to self: http://news.softpedia.com/news/The-Causes-of-Sleepwalking-85332.shtml

Human Resource Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Human Resource - Research Paper Example It has been noticed that, issues of sexual preferences and gender are much more sensitive because individuals who have different preferences feel discriminated in many avenues of life (Burns and Krehely, 2005). Most organizations proclaim that they do not carry out any form of discrimination, but in practice they do and violate the rights of the employees. This is exactly what happened with Oiler. Oilers contributions to the organization as well as his work record were not taken into consideration when making the decision regarding his termination. Furthermore, the disturbing fact was that the laws of the federation and the state did not have any protection for the transgendered employees. Therefore, not only were employee rights of Oiler violated, he did not receive any protection from the state or federation either. 2. What do you see as the consequences of organizations that punish employees for certain off-the-job behaviors? Explain. Punishing employees for certain off-the-job be haviors can create a negative perception among the employees as well as the public because the organization does not practice equality and non-discrimination (Weiss, 2007). Termination of the employees for such reasons would be a negative publicity as clients and employees would exercise caution in approaching the organization in the future.

Career Profile - Computer Programmer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Career Profile - Computer Programmer - Essay Example When I thought of who I would interview about computer programming, Matt came to mind. He is a senior system operation manager at Dixie Electric Company. He has been a computer programmer for 25 years since his graduation from the Massachusetts University of Technology. He stood five feet tall, charming and very jovial. I initially met him during graduation party of one of my friends, where he was the main speaker. He gave a keynote address that forever ringed in me. How could I forget him? On this particular day, I meet him in his office. ‘Hello, Shen! It’s been a while. How are you fairing on?† He said as he welcomed me into his spacious office. It looked quite expensive.Gold linings donned the walls, with hanging frames of awards of his exemplary performance. â€Å"He must be living well,† I said to myself. After exchanging pleasantries, we delved into the subject matter. He acknowledged that his interest in computers began way back during his days in hig h school. During his senior year in high school, he decided to pursue computer programming as a career. He notes that most employers look for programmers who have had at least four-year training in programming. He reaches out to two files of applicants that sought an opportunity at the firm. â€Å"These are potential candidates who may have their application considered, â€Å"he interjects as he hands me the files to have a quick look. Matt is a strict person and a perfectionist. He always means what he says. What was his motivation in computers?

Peculiar properties of multicultural education Essay

Peculiar properties of multicultural education - Essay Example Emerging from the profound social changes of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, multicultural education is an attempt to mime the plurality of cultural diversity in the context of education (Stone Henley 1999). Sleeter (1996) is cited by Stone Henley (1999) as describing five approaches to multicultural education: teaching the culturally different, human relations, single group studies, multicultural education and social reconstructionist approaches. These approaches emphasize raising the academic achievement of cultural minorities through culturally relevant instruction, teaching commonalities and promoting understanding of cultural differences, addressing the subject of minority groups, promoting change of the educational system to reflect plurality or encouraging and enabling students to become agents for social change towards a more equitable society. Some common misconceptions about multicultural education are dispelled by Aldridge, Calhoun & Aman (2000) who advocate integration of multicultural concepts throughout the curriculum. They warn against the erroneous assumption that people from the same region, or those who speak the same language automatically share the same culture. They point out that even people from the same cultural group may embrace different values and ways of living culture: mainstream, bicultural, culturally different, or marginal. Other myths debunked by their paper were the idea that multicultural education is divisive, superfluous, a threat to commonality or historical accuracy, or already sufficiently established. Multicultural education could address cultural differences and cultural bias in an educational setting in several ways. Of particular interest was the fact that Aldridge et al. (2000) recommend starting multicultural interventions at kindergarten level instead of waiting until children are older, as some educators advocate. They quote the following passage from Lynch and Hanson (1998) maintaining that "cultural understanding in one's first culture occurs early and is typically established by age 5" and add, "children learn new cultural patterns more easily than adults." This is particularly interesting for kindergarten and first grade teachers. The good news is that there are a multitude of resources available on the topic (Aldridge et al 2000). Indigenous peoples and ethnic groups want their culture reflected in school curricula (Banks 2004). But instead of confining certain groups to certain seasons like Black History in February, or Native American themes near Thanksgiving in a tour and detour fashion (Aldridge et al 2000), Banks (2004) advocates the application of the concept of multicultural literacy and global education to help students understand how the world works. He recommends that teachers promote a balance of cultural, national and global identities and stresses that self-acceptance is key as "strong, positive and clarified cultural identifications and attachments are a prerequisite to cosmopolitan beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. C. Conclusion When I first started this assignment, I had very vague preconceptions about the meaning of multicultural education. I imagined myself as a man from Iran who would teach my kindergarten or first grade class in my present cultural context. It was interesting to put myself

How Humanism had Impact on Italian Jews Research Paper

How Humanism had Impact on Italian Jews - Research Paper Example It is not dependant on divine notions of reality. Humanity provides human beings the rights and privileges to defend individual beliefs and interests. This paper focuses on the impact of humanism on the Italian Jews in the fifteenth century. Humanism a cultural, literary and scholarly movement The concept of cultural humanism was originated in the European Age of Enlightenment in the eighteenth century. The Western and Central Europe stepped towards the modern world from the medieval world between the fourteenth and eighteenth centuries. During this time the spirit of cultural humanism was originated by the Renaissance and was adopted by the Protestant Reformation. The power of the Church and the noble class was lost as doubts fell on â€Å"old secular and religious authority†3. The Reformation together with the Enlightenment initiated the developments as â€Å"religious liberty, pluralism and religious toleration†4. At the end of eighteenth century there was a restruct uring of society. This was influenced by the French and American revolutions. Religion was no longer the center of political social structure as all religions became equal in the eyes of the law5 Renaissance humanism was a cultural, literary and scholarly movement. It embraced academic disciplines like â€Å"grammar, rhetoric, poetry, history and moral philosophy†6. ... According to Edwin Wilson, humanism was not the right term used by the literary humanists because their position was exclusive. These humanists did not advocate changes in humanism or society. While the religious humanists believed that scientific knowledge would play a major role in development of human life, the literary humanists did not support this theory. They overtly rejected science. Dr. Firkins of Chicago University described literary humanism as having a â€Å"background that is scholarly, its basis is introspective and retrospective; it looks into its own soul†9. Literary humanism embraced the study of non-science subjects like philosophy, history and literature. It focused on literary culture and encouraged people to improve their lives through literature. It has been seen that religious humanism is often mistaken as part of literary humanism movement10. Scholarly humanism was an important part of the Renaissance movement in Europe in the medieval period. It was di sregarded by the historians of that period as it was seen asâ€Å"degeneration into technicalities†11. Scholarly humanism was the â€Å"first expression† of scientific humanism12. It went through a development process for two centuries until it was met with doubts and controversies in the early fourteenth century. It again emerged in scientific development during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Humanism viewed grammar as the base of education as it taught the students the regulations of speech and writing in languages like Latin and Greek. Grammar also helped the students get knowledge of â€Å"classical Greek and Latin prose and poetry†13. Based on this the students were adequately