Adding a Class to the School Curriculum Essay Example for Free

Adding a Class to the School Curriculum Essay Dear Principal, a class that specializes in focus, prioritizing, organization and study skills is absolutely necessary for any Middle School student. At my age and younger, students have a tendency to be disorganized both physically and mentally. I have a knack for losing and forgetting my homework assignments and my grades suffering. I know I am not alone in this struggle against clutter and forgetfulness. Critical thinking classes provide a student with structure, study skills and the art of prioritizing. I know personally the effects of school on a student who is unprepared and disorganized. The stress and sleepless nights can be avoided with a class dedicated to the students future. Unlike Math and Language Arts, this class would be linked with the students success in EVERY other class. The benefits would not only pertain to students, but to the enthusiasm and effectiveness of a teacher. Is there anything more important than preparing a student for his or her future? The skills learned in a critical thinking class would help a student not only through Middle and High School. The study skills and note taking strategies would also be useful and very beneficial in College and whatever career they choose to pursue in the future. A class dedicated on teaching a student to remain focused and take accurate notes in lectures would be beneficial to all the daydreamers, doodlers and dozers who cant listen to a teacher and stay focused on the words coming out of her mouth. I know the effects all too well. As my teacher begins her daily rant, I shut my mind off and let it wander around the room. I see students snoring in the corner and others doodling in their notebook or flinging notes to each other as slyly as possible. I smile at their antics in relieving the exhausting boredom of a class like this. Only a handful of students are actually listening to the teacher and it is evident that they rather be anywhere else doing anything else. With lunch just ten minutes away the whole class is already leaning towards the door and staring hungrily at the wall clock. I am snapped out of my daydream by the shrill shrieking of the lunch bell above my head. Relief runs through me as the teacher dismisses us and our grumbling stomachs. As quickly as I possibly can I scramble to pack up all my things and rush to the lunchroom. I dont even remember to write down the homework assignment! This forgetfulness is fueled by my inability to stay focused in any class much less the one right before lunch. The night before I had stayed up all night studying for a different test this inevitably leads to me being grumpy and unfocused for the following days. Especially since every night seemed to be a late night and with the stress and lack of sleep I am on the verge of snapping. The next day I fail the pop quiz along with almost all of the students who stopped listening to the teachers lecture, five minutes in. Mr. Principal, if students knew how to take accurate notes and focus, then the snoring in the back of the class would be brought to a minimum as well as all the other distractions in the room. Students would be more eager to learn if they understood how to do it in a way that works for them and they see the positive effects it can have on their lives. Grades overall would improve if students knew how to listen in class and study correctly. Instead of waiting until the night before a huge exam, reading words over and over until they become a jumbled mess of never ending letters and symbols, I could study one step at a time so that on the night before I can skim over the topics and be prepared to face the test. Being prepared keeps students from wanting to ditch school in order to avoid the test as a whole or just to sleep in and catch up on some Zs. Preparation would also bring the lack of sleep and stress to a minimum. No longer would the piles of never ending homework and study guides hover over our worn out minds, not if we knew how to work ahead and prioritize what needs to be done now and what can be done progressively. It would help to keep students fresh, awake and ready to learn every morning. Not only could grades improve, but so would the schools attendance record. Mr. Principal, students are more willing to come to class if there is something to look forward to. Instead of school being boring and torturous, it could be viewed as an opportunity to put the skills learned in their Critical Thinking class to the test. There would also be less problems waking up and therefore making it to class on time. No more napping in class, instead students would be note-taking and teachers would see the increased enthusiasm in their class. The teachers would be motivated to work even harder to teach their students all they can. Why would teachers want to teach if they know that the students couldnt care less? If teachers see students participating and not acting out then they would also be motivated to help the students learn even more than what is specified in the curriculum. Regular and advanced students would surpass any of the other schools. The school would work at least ten times more efficiently and productively. Everyone would be enthusiastic and successful in school. Mr. Principal if adding a class could determine whether your school is average or above average, would you take the chance? The skills learned in Middle School Critical Thinking classes would have a lasting impression in a students life forever. With the added skills, advanced teachers, and motivation that a student gains while taking a Critical Thinking class would definitely up their chances of that student staying in school not only in High Sch ool, but progressing even in the College level. This is not a simple feat and many students who just dont know how to keep their lives organized have a lot more chances of dropping out than the student who is well prepared and ready to take on anything the class has for them. In college most if not all the classes are lectures, if this bores a student or a student knows how to keep organized notes then the classes will be a lot harder. In comparison to High School, College has a lot more temptation to go party instead of studying, or hanging out with friends in your dorm instead of going over yesterdays notes. This can lead to dropping grades and even dropping out of school. Peer pressure to drink, smoke and not study is a LOT stronger as the years go by. In college teachers are no longer on top of their students to do their assignments and to study like the teachers in Middle School and High School. Students have more freedom and a more responsibility to keep their grades intact and the choice to worry about their academic or the ir social life. This responsibility may be too much for an average student, but for a student who has been taught and has practiced their critical thinking skills, the choice is obvious. The students who have the discipline to prioritize correctly and put their school first will be more successful time and time again over the student who picks his social life over his stupid grades. The students who stay up until midnight cramming for an exam that they knew months before will also struggle with their own problems in the future. Mr. Principal, a student who has practiced discipline, prioritizing, focusing and productivity will be prepared for anything that can come at them in the future. It is your job to prepare your students and if your students arent improving then their academics are failing. This is not something that can be fixed with MORE work, but with a class that helps kids manage their time better. Skills like these are not only useful in college though. They are useful in the students car eer. Discipline and respect are very useful in an office setting especially when interning. Interns are usually put through a series of test before they are even accepted! Most of the time these tests have nothing to do with what one hundred twenty thousand times fifty is, but with how to manage two or three tasks at the same time and how to be adaptable in any situation. An intern who already knows how to take outline notes and schedule their days accordingly will have much more chances of succeeding in the business world over an unprepared slacker. Bosses look for organization and preparation in their employees, but above that they look for someone who looks the part. Before you even open your mouth in an interview, the only thing the employer sees is just how long you stayed up the night before preparing a last minute resume. The bags under your eyes and crumpled outfit wont seem like a presentable and organized employee and the typos in your resume will stand out in comparison to the other applicant who worked on their resume for a week, reading and rereading it until it was perfection. The applicant who has her hair perfectly in place, her outfit ironed flat and fully prepared to speak to the employer has a lot more chances of being hired. This all goes back to you, Mr. Principal. The students ability to focus on the interview and be prepared depends fully on what opportunities YOU put in their lives when they are in your school. If Critical Thinking Classes arent offered in school then your students will be beat out in interview after interview not only for their careers, but for college and for advanced placement. This will hinder them in comparison to the students who have all the skill they taught in their Critical Thinking classes to help them through the interview and even to their promotions in work. Mr. Principal students deserve to have a class that will allow them to have an upperhand in classes, interviews and applications. Every student has the ability to have straight As and be successful, but not all of them have the skills needed to put their abilities to work and help them not only in Middle School, but for the rest of their lives. Mr.Principal you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. The admiration of both your staff and students and the incredible feeling that comes from knowing that youve made a difference in your students lives. Without a doubt, thanks to the Critical Thinking Class your school could benefit from the increased academic abilities of your students. This class will help students for generations to come, if you could go back in time wouldnt you want to be given this chance?

Gullivers Travels :: essays research papers

He’s not Making Funnies is He?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gulliver’s Travels is swarmed with many different satires. In the movie Gulliver’s Travels, Jonathan Swift throws out a number of ideas and statements concerning his views of hatred for cruelty, injustice, pettiness, and also stupidity that he saw through his everyday life. I like the way that he conveys his satires among the audience.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the first part of the video, a lot of his criticisms were going towards the higher people of the ladder. For example, the King of the ship and then all of the other rulers of the world were the main people that he put down. When the ship was going to crash due to the imbalance of the flight magnet, the King simply sat on his throne and told the men in the room that everything was going to be fine. While the many men on board were running around frantically, the King did not give any aid to the problem. The point here was that Kings of the time, were not fulfilling their roles, instead, they were laying back and letting problems settle for themselves.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Also, in the first section of the video, professors got the bashing of satire. While Lemuel was walking around the island, he was stopping randomly and asking for directions to the place. Almost all of the rooms he entered, there was a professor working on an experiment. After he asked the intelligent men for the path to his destiny, they would simply describe their project to him or respond with not knowing what he was talking about. With the actions of the man, I thought that the satire on the professors was superior. The professors were not worrying about anything else that went on around them, due to the fact that they were too into their projects. Lemuel describes them to be experiments with no end. The thought of how professors work so hard on making something that will come to be nothing was explained with great and detailed satire in the afterward part of the video clip.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the second part of the movie, Lemuel Gulliver was on an island with some different kid of â€Å"creatures†. One of the animals was a horse, and they obtained the name of houyhnhnms. These were symbolizing the natives from another planet, country, land, or island. The horses were talking to Lemuel and he discussed his culture and in exchange, the houyhnhnm’s shared their thoughts and beliefs with Lemuel.

Elements of leadership development and it’s importance

A leader is not born in a single day, neither is he found in your neighbor’s house. The Leader is in ‘you’. Like every living thing needs food for growth so do the leadership qualities need some nourishment to develop. For its development we need to work on all the important elements that are required to become a great leader. This theory applies not only to an individual but to an organization too. After all it is the individual who constitutes the organization; therefore the principles which we apply to get success in our lives can be used, to get success in an organization too. To start off, we must first and foremost deal with Personal Empowerment. Every human being, every society, every group or organization is not free from faults and mistakes. Weakness is found in everyone. Now, what matters the most is overcoming those, by making right practices and adopting good habits, along with good choices. â€Å"The more you know, the more you realize how much you do not know-the less you know, the more you think you know†-David T. Freeman. Another factor which would empower us in true sense, which is necessary for leadership, is ‘knowledge’. If you don’t know a vital piece of information, then find it out. Ask, get the facts, you need to take smart decisions. Knowledge gives you power. Ignorance puts you at the mercy of others. Another important lesson to be learnt in this segment called personal empowerment is learning to say a ‘yes’ to opportunities. Every individual and organization needs to get out of their cocoon and experience everything that gets into their way in a bold manner. Moving on to our second element -Control. Learning ‘To control’ is necessary for developing Leadership skills. Self-control (a form of control) is vital, one must know that he has control over his own leadership skills and can develop them. Same can be applied to an organization, it has control over its own actions, on performing the right set of actions, and one can achieve a lot. About ‘Control’- Leadership Development Leader Robin Sharma says-â€Å"When things get difficult it’s more important than to pursue excellence, is to focus on things that you can control. Take control of things that you can do and execute them brilliantly.   Then go home and let it go.† So, when you are in charge of a group you must also know how much of control is healthy for a group too. If one tries to get control on all the activities, then he might be regarded as a bad Leader. ‘Control’ must never be in excess amounts so as to frustrate. Freedom- one might wonder, as to, what freedom has to do with leadership. Soon our doubts would be cleared. A book called ‘Leadership Development in Balance’ has to say that-â€Å"I believe those leaders who find ways to create broader amounts of freedom rooted in trust have more sustainable success over time. Of course, to provide freedom, people must be willing and able to accept it and to use that freedom for the right means and ends†. This shows how freedom is necessary to take an action and also to reach ones goals. But with freedom comes-‘Responsibility’. A leader is responsible to perform his duties. A leader has to take accountability of his responsibility. There may be a difference in the level of responsibility, but we have our own set of responsibilities which we have to attend to and address. This in turn must help us to develop ethics .The Center for Ethical Leadership suggests that-â€Å"Core values are what motivate every individual and   shared core values are the foundation for agreements and co-operation among diverse people†, says Pat Hughes, Director of curriculum development for The Center. Ethics are vital for leadership because, these values create an impression on other people primarily. The other elements do create an impression but it is ethics which is most visible. Hence, we have discussed the importance and necessity of each of the elements i.e. personal empowerment, freedom, ethics, control and social responsibility for leadership development. REFERENCE: On personal empowerment: http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2007/06/16/developing-self-reliance-personal-empowerment Quote of Freeman: http://www.mind-trek.com/ On Ethics: http://humanresources.about.com/od/leadership/leadership_development.htm http://www.leader-values.com/Content/detail.asp?ContentDetailID=33 http://www.impactfactory.com/p/leadership_ethics_skills_training_development/friends_1547-11105-65192.html On control:

Reasons For The Death Penalty - 1741 Words

Reasons to Preserve the Death Penalty Imagine you are watching the evening news. How would you feel when you find out that they have found the remains of 10 bodies at the farm two doors down the road? It seems that the neighbors have been killing people for quite some time. Would you have ever known they were murderers? Ten lives have been taken from this world and never to return, what would you want from the government if you found out one of those remains was someone very dear to you that you have been looking for years? Should they receive the death penalty? The punishment for murderers and rapists should be as heinous as the crime they committed. The death penalty is the most humane and deserving punishment that should be dealt. It is important to understand that the death penalty predates the Roman and Egyptian empires. It can be traced as far back as ancient Babylon under the reign of King Hammurabi during the 18th century BCE. There has been many definitions and translations of the rules for the death penalty o ver the centuries. Throughout that time the death penalty has been around as a tool to eliminate monstrous criminals from society. The death penalty has proved throughout history that it is a tool that the government and people need to extinguish the bad from wreaking havoc on society. The death penalty has been a very controversial topic throughout the history of the US and remains so today. Many death penalty abolitionists argue that the deathShow MoreRelatedReasons For The Death Penalty Essay1458 Words   |  6 PagesJustice can be served in various ways and will be as effective as the death penalty. Life imprisonment without parole is one such way of dealing with persons convicted of committing a murder (Mappes, DeGrazia Zembaty, 2012). While abolitionists and retentionists continue to discuss their viewpoints on the death penalty, it does appear that the retentionists do not have any concrete arguments other than retaining the death penalty as a form of retribution for murders committed. However, as the abolitionistsRead MoreReasons For The Death Penalty Essay2053 Words   |  9 Pages The Death Penalty The death penalty has most Americans 63 % favors using the death penalty in murder convictions, and I am one of the majority that does favor the death penalty. I don’t believe in others, taking innocent lives, is it right to take a life of a love one who may be a mother, father, daughter, son, grandchild, husband, cousin, nephew, niece, fiancà ©, girlfriend, boyfriend, grandmother, or grandmother. Losing a love one is already hard, but losing a relative whose innocentRead MoreThe Death Penalty, A Reason for Recidivism Essay913 Words   |  4 PagesThe legal definition of the death penalty is a sentence of execution for the crime including murder and some other capital crimes; serious crimes, especially murder, which are punishable by death. The earliest proof of the death penalty dates back to the Eighteenth Century B.C. in the Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon in which 25 crimes were codified. In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was cruel and unusual punishment, and stated in the eighth amendment would mean it wasRead MoreThe Death Penalty Should Not Be Used For Any Reason2058 Words   |  9 Pages(Eastern Time). She was sentenced to death for the planning of her husband’s death in 1997 (â€Å"Georgia†). Gissendaner’s boyfriend joined in the murder of her husband. Her execution denoted the first time Georgia has executed a woman in over seventy years. According to Simpson, â€Å"The death penalty is punishment of execution, administered to someone legally convicted of a capital crime† (Oxford Dictionaries). Since the early days of human civilization, the death penalty has been around. Individuals and associationsRead MoreShould Capital Punishment Still be Used in the American System1260 Words   |  6 Pagespunishment, also known as the death penalty, â€Å"is the pre-meditated and planned taking of a human life by a government in response to a crime committed by that legally convicted person† (usliberals.about.com). â€Å"Most death penalty cases involve the execution of murderers.† Capital punishment can also be â€Å"applied for treason, espionage, and other crimes† (ProCon.org Death Penalty ProCon.org). The death penalty is done â€Å"primarily by means of lethal injection† (ProCon.org Death Penalty ProCon.org). 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These are some reasons why it should be illegal to give criminals the death sentence. The first reason why people should consider illegalizing the death penalty is that life in prison is cheaper than executing a criminal. A person who is executedRead MorePersuasive Essay On The Death Penalty1403 Words   |  6 PagesDeath Penalty The reason the death penalty should not be allowed is because it is just an easy way to get out of what the person has done. If that person does a crime they should do the time no matter what they did. No one should not be able to get an easier way out of what they have done by getting the death penalty. Jail time could be sentenced for the rest of his or her life based on the crime committed, and that way they can sit in the jail cell and really think about what they did insteadRead MoreThe Death Penalty Is A Controversial Issue1171 Words   |  5 PagesThe death penalty is a very controversial topic worldwide. People are either for the death penalty, or against it, and there is usually no changing their mind by introducing arguments that are contrary to their opinion. The death penalty debate is not a new one, â€Å"capital punishment [has been] practiced since colonial times despite persistent debates† (Jost). However, it was around the 1960s when countries began to abol ish, or strictly restrain the death penalty (Jost). The death penalty has existedRead MoreTaking a Look at the Death Penalty918 Words   |  4 PagesThe death penalty is one of the oldest punishments in the world. It has many kinds and always appeared with blood and fright in the history. As the world developing, we got stuck in a problem, that whether we should abolish the death penalty. We have many arguments about the death penalty at present. There are more than 140 countries abolished it. Also the 58 nations with 65 percent population still used it, like China, America, Japan. Many lawyers, judges, politics and scholars also have their own