- Argumentative Writing -
Capital Punishment is Barbaric and Immoral
Capital Punishment has been around since the beginning of history. It has been used as a form of punishment for people who have committed murder, rape, or serious crimes “against humanity”. It has been used for so long that many people have come to accept it as a normal and justifiable practice. Many people also believe that capital punishment is a deterrent to violent crime and an acceptable method of obtaining vengeance. Yet it is far from acceptable. Strapping a human beings to an electric chair and cooking them, placing a living person in a gas chamber to suffocate, breaking a person’s neck by hanging at the end of a rope, or blindfolding and then shooting 19 year old boy soldiers by firing squad are not normal, nor are they justified. The government has no right to kill. The proverb: “an eye for an eye” is usually the justification used for this kind of killing. That sounds simple, but it is not. It is difficult when we must decide who should die and how they should die. Capital punishment is almost never administered fairly and many, many innocent people have been executed, as a result of poor representation, faulty evidence, and simple bias. Many condemned prisoners suffer greatly before they die, a result of long prison time and faulty techniques or methods of execution. The decision to execute or not to execute is usually determined by the convicted person’s ability to pay for a good lawyer. The decision to execute usually applies if the convicted come from the wrong place, the wrong religion, or the wrong ethnic group.
The European Union opposes the death penalty in all cases. It considers that “the abolition of the death penalty contributes to the enhancement of human dignity and progressive development of human rights”. On the other hand, there are two so called “civilized” countries that consider themselves progressive which have the death penalty: Japan and the United States. Of the 50 individual states within the United States, 37 actively enforce the death penalty. The danger of convicting and killing an innocent man or woman with the death penalty plagues the death row system in these states, and is one of the most compelling arguments against the death penalty today. There are over 75 documented cases of wrongful convictions of murder in the last 100 years in the United States of America. “Pardons” which were issued after the fact to these 75 documented cases are worthless. Pardons can’t bring back those killed; the state can’t bring them back to life. Between 1973 and 2003, there were at least 107 death row inmates in 25 different states, who have been found to be innocent and released at the last minute. Of these 107 found innocent, 1/3 of them had been in jail for at least 7 years. What if they had been killed? There is no second chance if a mistake is made when death is the punishment, just more grim statistics. Many supporters of the death penalty believe that these numbers are a very small percentage of miscarried justices, and many believe that it is a sacrifice our society needs to make in order to carry out the law. Better to have a few innocent die, than let murderers live. How can one claim that this is a justified sacrifice? All lives should be valued, and if our justice system were fair, no innocent lives should have to be sacrificed. As former Governor Ryan (of Illinois) said on the 11th of January, 2003 before commuting the capital sentences of all death row inmates (164 people) to life in prison without parole: “If we have had so many instances where we have not convicted the right person, how can any of us be sure that our death penalty sentencing process is any better?” Just a month before this governor made this speech, four men previously convicted of murder were released because they were innocent of charges. After being on death row for 17 years, Anthony Porter, in the late 1990’s, was found innocent because of research done by law students working with their professor and a private investigator.
The 8th Amendment of the U.S. constitution condemns “cruel and unusual punishment”. Does this amendment not apply here? When the state condemns someone to death row, and carries out the death penalty, the state is lowered to the level of the murderers. If killing is wrong, then when the state executes someone it is also committing a wrong. Execution is hypocritical. The state has no right to play God when it decides who should live or die. One of the 10 commandments of the Christian faith says: ”Thou shall not kill”. This must apply to a justice system, which claims to base its laws on Christian precepts. This must apply if we are to live in a true, fair, society. Many people do argue that the state is an exception, and that it has to the right, and power, to judge without being judged itself. Why should the state be an exception? The state should be a role model not an exception, not a killing machine. It should not use death to punish any crime. As George H. Ryan said: “There is no honourable way to kill”, and State is not being honourable when killing. The methods of execution used in the United States are not only immoral, but also very barbaric, yet the United States is viewed as one of the most civilized countries and is an outspoken critic of other countries for their lack of human rights. The legalized methods kill in the USA vary from state to state. These methods include lethal injection, electrocution via the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, and in a few states, the gas chambers. In some cases, the death can be long and painful; with the electric chair, there have been many cases where the victim caught fire, and burned to death. Four men claimed to have been tortured by police into giving confessions under the direction of the, then, Chicago Police Commander, Jon Burge. When investigations followed, evidence was found to prove physical abuse had been used to get confessions out of the suspects.jj
The death penalty goes strongly against the moral principles in our society. Two wrongs do not make a right, and the end does not justify the means, are taught to our young children from a very early age. The State killing a man because he murdered someone is unfair, and does not bring the person murdered back to life. This system is a way of revenge for those who have lost a loved one. It is true that the act of murder is not moral, and many believe that morality should not be a part of the punishment, since the murderer sacrificed morals when he killed. The result of saying that morality should not be considered will lead us anarchy. Lack of morality will eventually become chaos. As Gandhi said: “An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.”
The U.S. Justice systems are far from fair. The Supreme Court Justice Potter Steward said: “The imposition of the death penalty on defendants in the United States is as freakish and arbitrary as who gets hit by a bolt of lightening.” The death penalty is not enforced evenly throughout the states, which have it. People that are less privileged economically or socially are more likely to die since they are not able to defend themselves as well. The quality of legal representation is the main factor, which will decide whether or not someone will be sentenced to death or not. Whether or not someone will die in most cases depends on whether or not that person can hire a lawyer. Almost all people on the death row were unable to afford to hire a qualified attorney. In many cases, government-appointed attorneys have actually fallen asleep during the trial. Another huge factor, which affects the death sentence, is where the person is tried. In some cases it is more of a factor than the actual circumstance of the crime. Of the 71 people executed in 13 states (in the U.S.A) in 2002, 33 of them were in Texas, while only 1 was executed in the state of California. There have been many cases of withheld evidence, and lack of DNA testing, but still the accused is sentenced to death. Race also plays a great part in the determining of whether the accused will die. In the United States, 81% of death sentences involve white victims. One hundred and seventy-eight black people have been executed for killing a white person, whereas only 12 white people have been executed for killing a black person. Forty-three percent of all death row inmates are black, even though African Americans only constitute for 12% of the US population. Around 358 Hispanic inmates account for 11% of the inmates with a known ethnicity.
Proponents of capital punishment claim that it lowers crime rates, saves lives of innocent people, and that it is a deterrent to would-be murderers. However, there is strong evidence against this argument. In the United States, in 1957, there were 8,060 murders, and 65 executions. In 1982, there were 22000 murders. The number of murders did not decline as the proponents claimed. This is the same throughout the various states in the U.S. Texas is one of the states with the most murders per year, and yet it is one of the states with the most annual executions. Minnesota, however, is a state with some of the least murders, and it does not have capital punishment. The average murder rate per 100,000 people in U.S. states with capital punishment is around 8, whereas it is only 4.4 in abolitionist states. Also, the higher execution rates actually result in an increase in violent crime, such as was the case in New York, between 1907 and 1964. In the 57 years, 692 executions were carried out, and on average, one or more executions in a given month added to an increase of 2 murders the next month.
Many people deem capital punishment justifiable and acceptable, and in some European countries, like Britain, there are many people who are asking for it to be reinstated. Quotes from the bible are often used to justify their views, such as the famous maxim: “An eye for an eye”. Again, it is better to remember Gandhi’s words “An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind”. The issue of Capital Punishment remains a difficult issue and one that will always spark sharp debate and opinions among people. However, when looking at the evidence; it is administered arbitrarily and unfairly, it fails to deter crime and improve public safety and it is the ultimate denial of civil liberties.
jueves, 22 de noviembre de 2007
An Opinion Sample Coursework Essay for Assignment 1 - informative,analytical and/or argumentative
Ten years have gone by since the Gulf War, and again, we stand on the brink of yet another war, with the same enemy. The Americans and British stand ready to go alone, following their men – a Texan cowboy and his British side-kick. Later on, history will glorify it all and Bush will get his place as one of the “great” Presidents of war. Our children will learn about the American courage, the horrible suffering, losses and sacrifices that were made to free this world from terror. Novels and memoirs will be written and thousands of sappy romanticized, action-filled war movies will roll out of Hollywood. The next generation of children will be interviewing us for history projects, and they will be writing their essays about the Second Gulf War.
Over two thousand years of war and misery, and man’s hunger for war and bloodshed has not abated. The “great” male leaders in history led their people into war in order to equal their fathers’ glory, prove their manly historical worth or avenge imagined wrongs. On the other hand, the role of women throughout history has been that of nursemaid, widow and frustrated onlooker – seldom a leader.
This goes back to the beginning of time. Men were always the killers, the hunters, and stalkers of prey, while women created places of safety for the family. They built homes, gathered berries and herbs, cooked the food, watched the children, followed the men’s orders and cleaned up the messes.
Now is the time to stop this cycle of bloodshed. New female world leaders need to find their voices. We need women leaders, who can demonstrate a global, nurturing, or motherly, approach to today’s issues. We need women leaders to stand up to the egotistical, power-hungry male leaders of today. These women will not be so quick to send their sons off to war!
Caesar, William the Conqueror, Henry VIII, Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, Pinochet and Milosovich are all famous male world leaders who engaged in war to expand their power and influence. These men were corrupt, racist, egotistical, murderous, conquering, and barbaric. These men have blood on their hands and are responsible for the deaths of uncountable numbers of men, women and children.
Julius Caesar wished for a vast Roman empire over which he would rule. He killed millions to obtain this empire and he enslaved and tortured many more people to maintain it.
Henry VIII a descendant of many kings also wanted power, wealth, and obedience. He was egotistical and ruthless in getting what he wanted. When the Catholic Church would not grant him a divorce, he made a new church and declared himself head of it, and then got his divorce. He then beheaded or imprisoned all who dared to oppose him and his church.
Wilhelm II, a German Kaiser, a son of a Kaiser, also had a need to demonstrate “the image of a Kaiser”. History credits him for being instrumental in starting World War 1.
Hitler had wanted to be an artist, but failed. He hated his father, was abused as a child, and his mother had died when he was a young boy. He had many grudges and he blamed others for his failures. He needed to prove his worth to the world and seek vengeance for the “wrongs” he had suffered. He led Germany into the Second World War and sought vengeance by exterminating millions of people in concentration camps.
Now we have Bush, a son of a Bush, who is obsessed with finishing his father’s bloody business.
Male leaders use war to achieve their goals. Wars serve their purpose: the enhancement of their personal glorification, greed and power.
Women had been the minority voice in world governments, even after they got the right to vote. In parliamentary systems, and the United States Congress, the majority of politicians elected are men. Women haven’t been given the chance to show their true leadership capabilities. Unfortunately, many women in government positions emulate their male counterparts in behaviour and language. They must do this to gain acceptance and credibility with their male peers. It is the price they pay for having limited power. Yet there have been a few who have dared to speak up and show their strengths. Golda Meir, Jeannette Ranklin, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Josephine Butler, Clara Barton, Eleanor Roosevelt are women who have dared to lead by peaceful means and stand up for what they believe.
Clara Barton was the founder of the Red Cross during the American Civil War. She witnessed the terrible conditions the wounded soldiers had to endure during the war. She didn’t care on what side the soldiers fought, her mission was to tend the wounded. She organized a network of contributors to purchase food and supplies. She obtained permission, after a lot of persuasion, to pass through battle lines to tend all the wounded. It was because of her dedication, courage and humanitarism that the number of deaths from infection and neglect decreased. Without her, more soldiers would have died, since the male leaders were too busy with other, more “important” matters than the lives of their own people.
Jeanette Ranklin was the first woman elected to the US Congress. She was elected in 1917, three years before women were actually guaranteed the Constitutional right to vote. Over 20 years later, she was elected to the House of Representatives on a peace platform, and was the only member to vote “no” to the U.S. entering the Second World War. After her vote, she was forced to seek safety in a nearby phone booth from the angry crowds of men until the police could escort her home.
A few months ago, 25 Congresswomen in the US House of Representatives walked out-and refused to participate in the vote which would have given Bush war powers against Iraq. They then took up residence on the White House lawn.
We need more women like these, as war looms ever closer, to have the courage to stand up and say “Stop!” before it is too late. Margaret Thatcher, the former Prime Minister of Great Britain once said: “In politics if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman”. Women are born multi-taskers and negotiators. We are taught as small children not to hit or fight but to “work out our differences”. Men are taught as small boys to be aggressive, to fight back and dominate. We women need to unite against the leadership of war-hungry men. History has shown us that men are leading us to destruction and death. The stakes have now become too great. It is time to try a new alternative - Female World Leadership.
Over two thousand years of war and misery, and man’s hunger for war and bloodshed has not abated. The “great” male leaders in history led their people into war in order to equal their fathers’ glory, prove their manly historical worth or avenge imagined wrongs. On the other hand, the role of women throughout history has been that of nursemaid, widow and frustrated onlooker – seldom a leader.
This goes back to the beginning of time. Men were always the killers, the hunters, and stalkers of prey, while women created places of safety for the family. They built homes, gathered berries and herbs, cooked the food, watched the children, followed the men’s orders and cleaned up the messes.
Now is the time to stop this cycle of bloodshed. New female world leaders need to find their voices. We need women leaders, who can demonstrate a global, nurturing, or motherly, approach to today’s issues. We need women leaders to stand up to the egotistical, power-hungry male leaders of today. These women will not be so quick to send their sons off to war!
Caesar, William the Conqueror, Henry VIII, Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, Pinochet and Milosovich are all famous male world leaders who engaged in war to expand their power and influence. These men were corrupt, racist, egotistical, murderous, conquering, and barbaric. These men have blood on their hands and are responsible for the deaths of uncountable numbers of men, women and children.
Julius Caesar wished for a vast Roman empire over which he would rule. He killed millions to obtain this empire and he enslaved and tortured many more people to maintain it.
Henry VIII a descendant of many kings also wanted power, wealth, and obedience. He was egotistical and ruthless in getting what he wanted. When the Catholic Church would not grant him a divorce, he made a new church and declared himself head of it, and then got his divorce. He then beheaded or imprisoned all who dared to oppose him and his church.
Wilhelm II, a German Kaiser, a son of a Kaiser, also had a need to demonstrate “the image of a Kaiser”. History credits him for being instrumental in starting World War 1.
Hitler had wanted to be an artist, but failed. He hated his father, was abused as a child, and his mother had died when he was a young boy. He had many grudges and he blamed others for his failures. He needed to prove his worth to the world and seek vengeance for the “wrongs” he had suffered. He led Germany into the Second World War and sought vengeance by exterminating millions of people in concentration camps.
Now we have Bush, a son of a Bush, who is obsessed with finishing his father’s bloody business.
Male leaders use war to achieve their goals. Wars serve their purpose: the enhancement of their personal glorification, greed and power.
Women had been the minority voice in world governments, even after they got the right to vote. In parliamentary systems, and the United States Congress, the majority of politicians elected are men. Women haven’t been given the chance to show their true leadership capabilities. Unfortunately, many women in government positions emulate their male counterparts in behaviour and language. They must do this to gain acceptance and credibility with their male peers. It is the price they pay for having limited power. Yet there have been a few who have dared to speak up and show their strengths. Golda Meir, Jeannette Ranklin, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Josephine Butler, Clara Barton, Eleanor Roosevelt are women who have dared to lead by peaceful means and stand up for what they believe.
Clara Barton was the founder of the Red Cross during the American Civil War. She witnessed the terrible conditions the wounded soldiers had to endure during the war. She didn’t care on what side the soldiers fought, her mission was to tend the wounded. She organized a network of contributors to purchase food and supplies. She obtained permission, after a lot of persuasion, to pass through battle lines to tend all the wounded. It was because of her dedication, courage and humanitarism that the number of deaths from infection and neglect decreased. Without her, more soldiers would have died, since the male leaders were too busy with other, more “important” matters than the lives of their own people.
Jeanette Ranklin was the first woman elected to the US Congress. She was elected in 1917, three years before women were actually guaranteed the Constitutional right to vote. Over 20 years later, she was elected to the House of Representatives on a peace platform, and was the only member to vote “no” to the U.S. entering the Second World War. After her vote, she was forced to seek safety in a nearby phone booth from the angry crowds of men until the police could escort her home.
A few months ago, 25 Congresswomen in the US House of Representatives walked out-and refused to participate in the vote which would have given Bush war powers against Iraq. They then took up residence on the White House lawn.
We need more women like these, as war looms ever closer, to have the courage to stand up and say “Stop!” before it is too late. Margaret Thatcher, the former Prime Minister of Great Britain once said: “In politics if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman”. Women are born multi-taskers and negotiators. We are taught as small children not to hit or fight but to “work out our differences”. Men are taught as small boys to be aggressive, to fight back and dominate. We women need to unite against the leadership of war-hungry men. History has shown us that men are leading us to destruction and death. The stakes have now become too great. It is time to try a new alternative - Female World Leadership.
Opinion Article - Sample Essay for Coursework for Assignment One
You have to be thin to be beautiful…
…Oh no you don’t, argues Grace Brodie
This is the message that hundreds of teen magazines are planting in the heads of us young girls the world over, particularly in the run up to summer, when the interviews with the lean, long limbed, slim and slinky celebrities are usually twinned with a stunning picture of them posing in a two piece. It just doesn’t send out the right message or boost a girl’s self-esteem in the slightest. While society is enforcing the point that you can’t be fat and beautiful at the same time, it is also becoming more and more worried at the alarming raise in eating disorders in young women.
A shocking amount of girls are now dying to be thin and there is not enough being done to prevent it. Unfortunately there are far too many of us out there depriving our bodies of essential nutritious food, and driving ourselves to starvation, anorexia or bulimia in the desire to resemble air brushed pictures of perfection. The media feeds us with ridiculous images on a daily basis; in the papers, magazines and on the television.
What many of us find hard to believe and understand is that these wonderful pictures of size eight stunners are more often than not, touched up, tummy tucked, and toned with the trusty airbrush. They hide the models’ natural figures. It is not reality. The pictures are forcing teenagers to drive themselves to a thinness that isn’t even possible to be healthy with. Once this fact has been proven to us, that models do have cellulite, and don’t have such tiny hips, it is warmly reassuring. Feeling good about ourselves is very important at our age and being known as “the fatty in year 11” is not exactly going to help us ooze confidence. There are some people out there who do find it amusing to give a girl a hard time because of her weight, but what it all boils down to, is lack of self confidence. They’re only picking on you because they want to shift the spotlight of fault onto anyone else but themselves. Rise above it.
Teenagers hate to be considered as the odd one out. If you come across a teenage girl, who is happy with herself, but finds that the lads are laughing at her and not interested in her, she will end up feeling as if there’s something wrong with herself and become paranoid and self conscious. If all of our friends are trying to loose weight then it is not surprising that we’ll try too. Sometimes girls diet, not because they are unhappy with their weight, but because everyone else is preoccupied about theirs, and they don’t want to seem odd. The sad fact of reality is that most teens you talk to today, stereotypically associate being thin with beauty, fame, fortune and success, but this really is not the case.
What is attractive about a spindly lanky body? Absolutely nothing. Don’t forget J-Lo, Beyoncé and above all Marilyn Monroe, who men still drool over. These three absolutely gorgeous girls have, or had, amazing careers. All three are incredibly successful and all three are idolised by teenage girls and women the world over. They’re all curvy and “bootilicious” as Beyoncé so beautifully put it!
Society and the media do not realise what they are doing. They are worrying about a problem that ironically, they are the creators of! If they seriously thought about the distress caused by daft articles about gorgeous leggy movie stars, discussing their weight problems, perhaps they would not publish them. Why do people who are blatantly not fat, start going on about themselves and their eating disorders? Shut up! It’s ridiculous girls! And what about those advertisements that are obviously slating the rounded population? We don’t have to put up with that! Curvy people are gorgeous and people are starting to realise that. Men are currently finding thin women a lot less attractive and the average size of a UK woman is a fabulous 14. J-Lo has recently been named one of the world’s most attractive women. Big is beautiful girls and don’t let anybody tell you any different!
…Oh no you don’t, argues Grace Brodie
This is the message that hundreds of teen magazines are planting in the heads of us young girls the world over, particularly in the run up to summer, when the interviews with the lean, long limbed, slim and slinky celebrities are usually twinned with a stunning picture of them posing in a two piece. It just doesn’t send out the right message or boost a girl’s self-esteem in the slightest. While society is enforcing the point that you can’t be fat and beautiful at the same time, it is also becoming more and more worried at the alarming raise in eating disorders in young women.
A shocking amount of girls are now dying to be thin and there is not enough being done to prevent it. Unfortunately there are far too many of us out there depriving our bodies of essential nutritious food, and driving ourselves to starvation, anorexia or bulimia in the desire to resemble air brushed pictures of perfection. The media feeds us with ridiculous images on a daily basis; in the papers, magazines and on the television.
What many of us find hard to believe and understand is that these wonderful pictures of size eight stunners are more often than not, touched up, tummy tucked, and toned with the trusty airbrush. They hide the models’ natural figures. It is not reality. The pictures are forcing teenagers to drive themselves to a thinness that isn’t even possible to be healthy with. Once this fact has been proven to us, that models do have cellulite, and don’t have such tiny hips, it is warmly reassuring. Feeling good about ourselves is very important at our age and being known as “the fatty in year 11” is not exactly going to help us ooze confidence. There are some people out there who do find it amusing to give a girl a hard time because of her weight, but what it all boils down to, is lack of self confidence. They’re only picking on you because they want to shift the spotlight of fault onto anyone else but themselves. Rise above it.
Teenagers hate to be considered as the odd one out. If you come across a teenage girl, who is happy with herself, but finds that the lads are laughing at her and not interested in her, she will end up feeling as if there’s something wrong with herself and become paranoid and self conscious. If all of our friends are trying to loose weight then it is not surprising that we’ll try too. Sometimes girls diet, not because they are unhappy with their weight, but because everyone else is preoccupied about theirs, and they don’t want to seem odd. The sad fact of reality is that most teens you talk to today, stereotypically associate being thin with beauty, fame, fortune and success, but this really is not the case.
What is attractive about a spindly lanky body? Absolutely nothing. Don’t forget J-Lo, Beyoncé and above all Marilyn Monroe, who men still drool over. These three absolutely gorgeous girls have, or had, amazing careers. All three are incredibly successful and all three are idolised by teenage girls and women the world over. They’re all curvy and “bootilicious” as Beyoncé so beautifully put it!
Society and the media do not realise what they are doing. They are worrying about a problem that ironically, they are the creators of! If they seriously thought about the distress caused by daft articles about gorgeous leggy movie stars, discussing their weight problems, perhaps they would not publish them. Why do people who are blatantly not fat, start going on about themselves and their eating disorders? Shut up! It’s ridiculous girls! And what about those advertisements that are obviously slating the rounded population? We don’t have to put up with that! Curvy people are gorgeous and people are starting to realise that. Men are currently finding thin women a lot less attractive and the average size of a UK woman is a fabulous 14. J-Lo has recently been named one of the world’s most attractive women. Big is beautiful girls and don’t let anybody tell you any different!
Sample Coursework Piece for Assignment 1 - informative,analytical and/or argumentative
Teens and Tiredness
The Endless Battle Against Dreary Days and Maddening Mornings
Meet Katie, a 15-year-old girl from Surrey. Never mind Tom Cruise, she knows exactly what it’s like to face Mission:Impossible – she does it every morning at 9:00 am, at a desk at school. In fact, school is Mission:Impossible II, Number I has already been tackled. That was just getting to school in the first place. Joining millions of teenagers around the world, her brain struggles to keep her awake, and like millions of teenagers around the world, her eyelids win the battle, she tries not to succumb to the haze of sleep, and the overbearing, frowning teacher is a helpless reminder of the forbidden. Sleep.
Sound familiar? It should do. As a teenager, chances are you’re tired now as you read this, that at least a small part of you would like to go to sleep, fall into the soft bed and the dark peace of slumber. But you can’t. Because it’s the middle of the day, or the morning, and you’ve got to get ready for school, or you’re at school, or you’ve got homework to do. Even if, by some stroke of luck, you didn’t have all that that to do, you still can’t just go to bed whenever you feel like it. Unfortunately.
We’ve all been there. Ever been woken up at the weekend by the sound of your little brother running round the house making brum-brum noises with his toy cars? Jumping around the house whining or screaming? Your mother or father barging into your bedroom to do some inane little job, and telling you relentlessly to move yourself out of bed and do something useful? Well I have. But what is really ironic is that I would love to get up early, feeling alert and refreshed, with the whole day in front of me to do whatever I want, and still have hours left to do my homework at a nice, leisurely pace. But sadly, this is not possible. I, like so many teenagers, have to concentrate for at least half an hour before my muscles get into gear to allow the perilous journey between lying down in bed and sitting up. And even this happens only post-10: 30 am. If, by the time the weekend rolls around, I somehow manage to get up around 9 a.m., my parents lose their appetite in surprise. As lazy as it might seem, this may not just be bad behaviour. Reading this article may arm you with some strong evidence against your parents’ rigorous wake-up calls.
So, prop up a cushion, curl up a duvet, and proceed.
Let’s have a look at what makes you sleepy in the first place. As you might have guessed, sleep-patterns become, according to society, strangely and annoyingly erratic around the teenage years. Due to those oh-so-wonderful hormonal changes in the body, teenagers need more sleep than their parents or younger siblings, and often need many more hours sleeping than their timetable allows. Who hasn’t wished that there were more hours in the day to fit EVERYTHING in at least once in their life?
So, when the sun goes down, the body will eventually start to secrete a substance called “melatonin”, also known as the “darkness hormone”. This is the one that makes you feel sleepy. Studies have shown that the average adult starts to produce melatonin at 10pm. In teenagers, melatonin only starts working at 1am, which means teenagers just don’t feel tired until it’s too late to get enough sleep. With wakeup times in Western Europe being between 6 and 8 on school days, waking up can be hard to do.
It’s important to know how sleep works to really understand it. Don’t fret – not more stuff to learn – it’s easy. Basically, there are 5 stages of sleep. Each stage can be categorised into either “Rapid Eye Movement” or REM, and “Non-Rapid Eye Movement” or NREM. It’s been found that teenagers tend to have more REM than NREM, and this occurs towards the morning. Teenagers also have more REM sleep than other ages. This table explains a bit more about the stages in the Land of Nod.
STAGE ONE Within the first minutes of trying to sleep you’ll be in and out of consciousness fairly quickly, whilst feeling more and more relaxed. Those pesky stress hormones usually start to drop around now.
STAGE TWO This is the first stage of really being asleep. You’re unconscious, digestion processes slow down, and only bright lights or loud noises will wake you.
STAGE THREE This is deep sleep, which can be embarrassing at sleepovers! You know someone’s got to Stage Three when the snoring starts. (Kick them! It’s the only way!) Your heart rate slows and blood pressure drops.
STAGE FOUR You’ll enter Stage Four for about 3 or 4 hours, and sleep deeply. By now, all your organs have started to slow down, and only incredibly loud noises, huge changes in temperature, vigorous moving, or halogen lights will wake you. (PS. Don’t let your family read this!)
STAGE FIVE This is when you enter REM, (Rapid-Eye Movement) so called because you can see someone’s eyes flickering as they dream.
Brain cells fire and blood pressure rises, while the rest of the body concentrates on keeping you virtually paralysed, because we can’t have everyone going around acting out their dreams (not everyone can have a piece of Orlando Bloom pie…grrr…) REM sleep is very deep, and it’s when you dream. That’s why that alarm clock is a pain in the neck…just as you were getting to the good bit!
Late nights blamed on watching the last episode of Friends are all very well, (…but they’re like, so gripping!) and of course, staying up all hours can be avoided with a little effort, but many teenagers still find it impossible to nod off before midnight. The “sleep hormone”, melatonin, can also alter teenage behaviour. Basically, if you keep living to a rhythm of late nights, because of an overload of work, stress, computer games, nights out, TV, magazines, calling friends, or the Internet, your sleep patterns can be permanently altered. This means that even in a rare moment of peace, teenagers can still not get to bed when they want, and, despite muscles feeling completely worn out, cannot drop off until their “normal” time, which is well into the early hours of the morning.
The widely agreed benchmark of 8 hours sleep a night is a good one, but this only really applies to adults of 25 years and over. Teenagers need at least 9 hours 15 minutes of sleep to really feel satisfied upon waking. Despite this, the amount of average hours of sleep for teenagers between 13 and 17 is a mere 6. Lack of sleep isn’t just annoying, as we all know. It’s a constant feeling of dogged weariness, a haze of dull feelings, and an inability to be interested in anything or anyone.
It has been suggested that crucial stages in a teenager’s development occur during the night, including sexual maturation, as well as vital stages in growth. A kind of “recharging battery” action happens in the brain, where memory is consolidated, (so THAT’S why I never remember maths…) and things learned that day are stored in the brain’s millions of “filing cabinets”.
According to statistics, your parents have never placed a high priority on sleep, preferring instead to watch television, work, talk on the phone, or read. They are raising a generation of high-powered, all rounded, hugely busy, openly social, technology-interested and completely exhausted individuals. You. School days are characterised by dreary mornings. A recent survey amongst 15 and 16 year olds in Toulouse, France, proved that teenagers definitely do feel the sleep deprivation, and the lucky few who manage a hour or two more sleep the night before brag to classmates, and are greeted with jealous, sluggish grumbling about how much others wish they had been able to hit the sack as early as 10pm. Instead, Maths coursework prevailed, and a new breed of Neanderthal stayed up, working.
When some schools in the States decided to start later in the day, positive results in work and behaviour proved that this is not simply a myth started by a few sleep-deprived teenagers. More sleep really DOES have an effect. Certainly, it’s better than chronic fatigue. Some symptoms are unbearable.
SOME SYMPTOMS OF SLEEP DEPRIVATION AND ITS CONSEQUENCES
Depression (a serious illness in itself that cannot just be cured with lots of sleep.)
Anxiety and panic attacks.
Daytime sleepiness and inability to concentrate on important things at school and home.
Moodiness and mood swings.
Hyperactivity
Inability to cope with anything, from the smallest things like dropping a pencil on the floor, to important, nerve-racking things like exams.
Eventual hypertension
Acceleration of the onset of diabetes, especially in girls.
Obesity and feelings of low-self confidence
Memory loss
Dulling of skin, eyes and hair
Weakening of nails and bones
TIPS FOR A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP
Drink less coffee and soft drinks like Coke. Caffeine is a stimulant and doesn’t help.
Drink less fluid (e.g. water, orange juice) before hitting the sack.
Don’t smoke. Other than the other obvious reasons for avoiding this habit, sleep can be hugely affected.
Exercise regularly, preferably in the early afternoon. Obviously if you can’t do this, after school is great too.
Try to have some relaxing “you” time at least once a week. A bath or reading a good book are options.
Try to get to bed by 11 pm each night, and try as much as possible to arrange your time appropriately.
Follow this guide and hopefully mornings will be more about feeling refreshed and able, and less about feeling tired and weary. Admit it; you’d love to feel great.
The Endless Battle Against Dreary Days and Maddening Mornings
Meet Katie, a 15-year-old girl from Surrey. Never mind Tom Cruise, she knows exactly what it’s like to face Mission:Impossible – she does it every morning at 9:00 am, at a desk at school. In fact, school is Mission:Impossible II, Number I has already been tackled. That was just getting to school in the first place. Joining millions of teenagers around the world, her brain struggles to keep her awake, and like millions of teenagers around the world, her eyelids win the battle, she tries not to succumb to the haze of sleep, and the overbearing, frowning teacher is a helpless reminder of the forbidden. Sleep.
Sound familiar? It should do. As a teenager, chances are you’re tired now as you read this, that at least a small part of you would like to go to sleep, fall into the soft bed and the dark peace of slumber. But you can’t. Because it’s the middle of the day, or the morning, and you’ve got to get ready for school, or you’re at school, or you’ve got homework to do. Even if, by some stroke of luck, you didn’t have all that that to do, you still can’t just go to bed whenever you feel like it. Unfortunately.
We’ve all been there. Ever been woken up at the weekend by the sound of your little brother running round the house making brum-brum noises with his toy cars? Jumping around the house whining or screaming? Your mother or father barging into your bedroom to do some inane little job, and telling you relentlessly to move yourself out of bed and do something useful? Well I have. But what is really ironic is that I would love to get up early, feeling alert and refreshed, with the whole day in front of me to do whatever I want, and still have hours left to do my homework at a nice, leisurely pace. But sadly, this is not possible. I, like so many teenagers, have to concentrate for at least half an hour before my muscles get into gear to allow the perilous journey between lying down in bed and sitting up. And even this happens only post-10: 30 am. If, by the time the weekend rolls around, I somehow manage to get up around 9 a.m., my parents lose their appetite in surprise. As lazy as it might seem, this may not just be bad behaviour. Reading this article may arm you with some strong evidence against your parents’ rigorous wake-up calls.
So, prop up a cushion, curl up a duvet, and proceed.
Let’s have a look at what makes you sleepy in the first place. As you might have guessed, sleep-patterns become, according to society, strangely and annoyingly erratic around the teenage years. Due to those oh-so-wonderful hormonal changes in the body, teenagers need more sleep than their parents or younger siblings, and often need many more hours sleeping than their timetable allows. Who hasn’t wished that there were more hours in the day to fit EVERYTHING in at least once in their life?
So, when the sun goes down, the body will eventually start to secrete a substance called “melatonin”, also known as the “darkness hormone”. This is the one that makes you feel sleepy. Studies have shown that the average adult starts to produce melatonin at 10pm. In teenagers, melatonin only starts working at 1am, which means teenagers just don’t feel tired until it’s too late to get enough sleep. With wakeup times in Western Europe being between 6 and 8 on school days, waking up can be hard to do.
It’s important to know how sleep works to really understand it. Don’t fret – not more stuff to learn – it’s easy. Basically, there are 5 stages of sleep. Each stage can be categorised into either “Rapid Eye Movement” or REM, and “Non-Rapid Eye Movement” or NREM. It’s been found that teenagers tend to have more REM than NREM, and this occurs towards the morning. Teenagers also have more REM sleep than other ages. This table explains a bit more about the stages in the Land of Nod.
STAGE ONE Within the first minutes of trying to sleep you’ll be in and out of consciousness fairly quickly, whilst feeling more and more relaxed. Those pesky stress hormones usually start to drop around now.
STAGE TWO This is the first stage of really being asleep. You’re unconscious, digestion processes slow down, and only bright lights or loud noises will wake you.
STAGE THREE This is deep sleep, which can be embarrassing at sleepovers! You know someone’s got to Stage Three when the snoring starts. (Kick them! It’s the only way!) Your heart rate slows and blood pressure drops.
STAGE FOUR You’ll enter Stage Four for about 3 or 4 hours, and sleep deeply. By now, all your organs have started to slow down, and only incredibly loud noises, huge changes in temperature, vigorous moving, or halogen lights will wake you. (PS. Don’t let your family read this!)
STAGE FIVE This is when you enter REM, (Rapid-Eye Movement) so called because you can see someone’s eyes flickering as they dream.
Brain cells fire and blood pressure rises, while the rest of the body concentrates on keeping you virtually paralysed, because we can’t have everyone going around acting out their dreams (not everyone can have a piece of Orlando Bloom pie…grrr…) REM sleep is very deep, and it’s when you dream. That’s why that alarm clock is a pain in the neck…just as you were getting to the good bit!
Late nights blamed on watching the last episode of Friends are all very well, (…but they’re like, so gripping!) and of course, staying up all hours can be avoided with a little effort, but many teenagers still find it impossible to nod off before midnight. The “sleep hormone”, melatonin, can also alter teenage behaviour. Basically, if you keep living to a rhythm of late nights, because of an overload of work, stress, computer games, nights out, TV, magazines, calling friends, or the Internet, your sleep patterns can be permanently altered. This means that even in a rare moment of peace, teenagers can still not get to bed when they want, and, despite muscles feeling completely worn out, cannot drop off until their “normal” time, which is well into the early hours of the morning.
The widely agreed benchmark of 8 hours sleep a night is a good one, but this only really applies to adults of 25 years and over. Teenagers need at least 9 hours 15 minutes of sleep to really feel satisfied upon waking. Despite this, the amount of average hours of sleep for teenagers between 13 and 17 is a mere 6. Lack of sleep isn’t just annoying, as we all know. It’s a constant feeling of dogged weariness, a haze of dull feelings, and an inability to be interested in anything or anyone.
It has been suggested that crucial stages in a teenager’s development occur during the night, including sexual maturation, as well as vital stages in growth. A kind of “recharging battery” action happens in the brain, where memory is consolidated, (so THAT’S why I never remember maths…) and things learned that day are stored in the brain’s millions of “filing cabinets”.
According to statistics, your parents have never placed a high priority on sleep, preferring instead to watch television, work, talk on the phone, or read. They are raising a generation of high-powered, all rounded, hugely busy, openly social, technology-interested and completely exhausted individuals. You. School days are characterised by dreary mornings. A recent survey amongst 15 and 16 year olds in Toulouse, France, proved that teenagers definitely do feel the sleep deprivation, and the lucky few who manage a hour or two more sleep the night before brag to classmates, and are greeted with jealous, sluggish grumbling about how much others wish they had been able to hit the sack as early as 10pm. Instead, Maths coursework prevailed, and a new breed of Neanderthal stayed up, working.
When some schools in the States decided to start later in the day, positive results in work and behaviour proved that this is not simply a myth started by a few sleep-deprived teenagers. More sleep really DOES have an effect. Certainly, it’s better than chronic fatigue. Some symptoms are unbearable.
SOME SYMPTOMS OF SLEEP DEPRIVATION AND ITS CONSEQUENCES
Depression (a serious illness in itself that cannot just be cured with lots of sleep.)
Anxiety and panic attacks.
Daytime sleepiness and inability to concentrate on important things at school and home.
Moodiness and mood swings.
Hyperactivity
Inability to cope with anything, from the smallest things like dropping a pencil on the floor, to important, nerve-racking things like exams.
Eventual hypertension
Acceleration of the onset of diabetes, especially in girls.
Obesity and feelings of low-self confidence
Memory loss
Dulling of skin, eyes and hair
Weakening of nails and bones
TIPS FOR A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP
Drink less coffee and soft drinks like Coke. Caffeine is a stimulant and doesn’t help.
Drink less fluid (e.g. water, orange juice) before hitting the sack.
Don’t smoke. Other than the other obvious reasons for avoiding this habit, sleep can be hugely affected.
Exercise regularly, preferably in the early afternoon. Obviously if you can’t do this, after school is great too.
Try to have some relaxing “you” time at least once a week. A bath or reading a good book are options.
Try to get to bed by 11 pm each night, and try as much as possible to arrange your time appropriately.
Follow this guide and hopefully mornings will be more about feeling refreshed and able, and less about feeling tired and weary. Admit it; you’d love to feel great.
Sample Coursework Essay for Assignment 1 - informative,analytical and/or argumentative
EDUCATION: “WHAT SURVIVES WHEN WHAT HAS BEEN LEARNED HAS BEEN FORGOTTEN” (-B. F. SKINNER)
By Katie Berry
Surely the thing valued most by students of today is an education? Each individual treasures their own unique experience, knowing there will never again be an opportunity to discover so many essentials. Our professors are oracles providing the fountain of all knowledge. Or am I exaggerating just a little?
Who in their right mind would invent school? The student population will forever wonder why such a person was permitted to survive! But our idea of ‘school’ slowly evolved over time to what it is now. The original and admirable purpose of it was to share awareness of worldly matters with less informed persons in some sort of small meeting place. Slowly age groups were formed, and a schedule was made. ‘You must arrive promptly at seven, and leave at three thirty, you are required to come Monday through Friday and if you dare to not show up, you will be refered to as a slacker, and some form of punishment will be in store for you.’ Next they developed tests to make sure that what went in one ear didn’t slip out the other. In time, they stuck a physical education class in with the other 10 classes already being taken; to make sure students stay fit. Is this because school suddenly started taking up so much time that students couldn’t find time to run around with their friends at home for fun and fitness? And how could I forget, seeing as our teachers now dictate our lives instead of our parents, they formed a system of sanctions, detentions, suspensions, and expulsions, and for good behavior: a merit, or a mere pat on the back. As if all of this isn’t enough, some authorities feel that students should appreciate their environment and add such decorations as fake, but very green grass and Chinese gardens. Alvin Toffler says, “In the year 2000 an illiterate person will not be someone who can't read or write, but someone who is not able to learn, unlearn and learn again.” Despite such good intentions and original purposes, times have changed!
Before we pick apart the deception of education, we must first decide what it is we are examining- and the irrelevancy of certain knowledge. Most of the subjects in school are divided into chapters or sections. The easiest and most straightforward system to make your way through school is to take notice of the essentials and forget the inessentials. For instance, while getting deeper into a “chapter,” keep asking yourself, ‘can I use this in my future? Is it relevant in my career or useful in raising children?’ Forget the inessentials that you don’t remember and lose marks for on the end-of-unit test. Why should students learn about the plate tectonics theory? The earth moves around. So? It sure doesn’t stop people from living there! It’s simply pointless to learn about! And of course, in English we like to look at some ‘techniques’ that poets use in their poems. Does this not assault writers’ space? In general, poets write to express how they feel or what they think about in their surroundings. Why should students dissect each and every word as if the poem were a frog? In 1980, small boys learnt about the slide rule and the log table in the subject of maths. They spent three weeks on this subject, and now, twenty-five years later, such a thing has ceased to be studied; these utensils are unheard of.
An education may be for the best, but it can have a considerably negative consequence that happens ‘behind the scenes’. Agatha Christie once said, “I suppose it is because nearly all children go to school nowadays, and have things arranged for them, that they seem so forlornly unable to produce their own ideas.” Not only have we been taught science, reading, and math, but also to not disagree with our superiors- at least those who are teachers. Our professors teach us all the nonsense in the world, give facts and show evidence on the truth of that certain issue, and then quiz us on this extremely vital topic. Result: we believe it. Of course we can’t assume that all students believe everything they hear. Some rubbish is just too hard to manage. In the words of Robert Frost, “Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper.” Are we therefore preventing something, by trying to bring that very thing out, the intelligence in each child? The term ‘student’ refers to a child who is in the process of learning. And an education is supposed to make a student become brilliant. Yet if the education would leave the child alone, their brilliance would indeed come out. There is a brilliant child locked inside every student.
Some sort of understanding may be accurate, but unnecessary. For instance, the majority of people in the west make a living by simply working in factories. In Sumy, Ukraine, there are now some 150,000 persons engaged in the local industry from a population made up of 1,384,000 persons. Let’s not point out the obvious, but clearly the majority of people living in Sumy are unskilled workers in a factory. So we ask ourselves, did they essentially need 12 years of education to get this far in life? Surely they wasted their time!
Emma Goldman, unlike an everyday principal or teacher finds the true purpose of an education, "No one has yet realized the wealth of sympathy, the kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure.” Thomas Armstrong joins in, “The newer and broader picture suggests that the child emerges into literacy by actively speaking, reading, and writing in the context of real life, not through filling out phonics worksheets or memorizing words.” Many logical people have found the true purpose of an education, it’s just a shame our own principals and teachers don’t have the common sense to see the same way.
Is there a solution? In our heads we picture the image of a man standing in his hole, digging. Soon it is so deep he can do nothing but keep digging. This is our situation. Authorities should try to do something about ‘education,’ what can they do? There are some small changes: perhaps limiting each subject to only one class per day or perhaps getting out of school earlier. But we have dug ourselves a hole so deep, there is no way out now.
Surely this piece of writing is one of many others that attack and criticize the system of an education. How else can I now communicate to you that everything once learned will soon be forgotten -within a mandatory environment? Plato declares, “Do not train children to learning by force and harshness, but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.”
In the United States of America, high school kids often have a traditional party not long after the end of school. It is called a ‘book burning party’ simply because students toss into a bonfire all their annotations, notebooks and papers. Does this come near showing the amount of care students give to their understanding of information? You might tell me the reason they have tests is to make sure the data is in their heads, not on their papers, yet the majority of students frequently fail their tests. And how can this possibly be the only problem? What about learning how plants pollinate three years in a row? We can’t possibly ask a school to get their act together, because students change schools so regularly that it’s really no one’s fault. Yet it is still a problem and a waste of time.
To criticize an education completely is somewhat unreasonable when we will essentially need to know how to add and subtract, read and write, and solve certain problems in our future. Some aspects of an education are quite useful and practical, and we will of course need such basics but how can I refer to the entire education program as a treasure or a privilege? Ivan Illich observes, “...we have come to realize that for most men the right to learn is curtailed by the obligation to attend school.” Indeed- we come to school by force not because we have a yearning desire to learn. Those who started out with bright ideas and good objectives have lost sight of their intentions. Their plan has failed.
By Katie Berry
Surely the thing valued most by students of today is an education? Each individual treasures their own unique experience, knowing there will never again be an opportunity to discover so many essentials. Our professors are oracles providing the fountain of all knowledge. Or am I exaggerating just a little?
Who in their right mind would invent school? The student population will forever wonder why such a person was permitted to survive! But our idea of ‘school’ slowly evolved over time to what it is now. The original and admirable purpose of it was to share awareness of worldly matters with less informed persons in some sort of small meeting place. Slowly age groups were formed, and a schedule was made. ‘You must arrive promptly at seven, and leave at three thirty, you are required to come Monday through Friday and if you dare to not show up, you will be refered to as a slacker, and some form of punishment will be in store for you.’ Next they developed tests to make sure that what went in one ear didn’t slip out the other. In time, they stuck a physical education class in with the other 10 classes already being taken; to make sure students stay fit. Is this because school suddenly started taking up so much time that students couldn’t find time to run around with their friends at home for fun and fitness? And how could I forget, seeing as our teachers now dictate our lives instead of our parents, they formed a system of sanctions, detentions, suspensions, and expulsions, and for good behavior: a merit, or a mere pat on the back. As if all of this isn’t enough, some authorities feel that students should appreciate their environment and add such decorations as fake, but very green grass and Chinese gardens. Alvin Toffler says, “In the year 2000 an illiterate person will not be someone who can't read or write, but someone who is not able to learn, unlearn and learn again.” Despite such good intentions and original purposes, times have changed!
Before we pick apart the deception of education, we must first decide what it is we are examining- and the irrelevancy of certain knowledge. Most of the subjects in school are divided into chapters or sections. The easiest and most straightforward system to make your way through school is to take notice of the essentials and forget the inessentials. For instance, while getting deeper into a “chapter,” keep asking yourself, ‘can I use this in my future? Is it relevant in my career or useful in raising children?’ Forget the inessentials that you don’t remember and lose marks for on the end-of-unit test. Why should students learn about the plate tectonics theory? The earth moves around. So? It sure doesn’t stop people from living there! It’s simply pointless to learn about! And of course, in English we like to look at some ‘techniques’ that poets use in their poems. Does this not assault writers’ space? In general, poets write to express how they feel or what they think about in their surroundings. Why should students dissect each and every word as if the poem were a frog? In 1980, small boys learnt about the slide rule and the log table in the subject of maths. They spent three weeks on this subject, and now, twenty-five years later, such a thing has ceased to be studied; these utensils are unheard of.
An education may be for the best, but it can have a considerably negative consequence that happens ‘behind the scenes’. Agatha Christie once said, “I suppose it is because nearly all children go to school nowadays, and have things arranged for them, that they seem so forlornly unable to produce their own ideas.” Not only have we been taught science, reading, and math, but also to not disagree with our superiors- at least those who are teachers. Our professors teach us all the nonsense in the world, give facts and show evidence on the truth of that certain issue, and then quiz us on this extremely vital topic. Result: we believe it. Of course we can’t assume that all students believe everything they hear. Some rubbish is just too hard to manage. In the words of Robert Frost, “Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper.” Are we therefore preventing something, by trying to bring that very thing out, the intelligence in each child? The term ‘student’ refers to a child who is in the process of learning. And an education is supposed to make a student become brilliant. Yet if the education would leave the child alone, their brilliance would indeed come out. There is a brilliant child locked inside every student.
Some sort of understanding may be accurate, but unnecessary. For instance, the majority of people in the west make a living by simply working in factories. In Sumy, Ukraine, there are now some 150,000 persons engaged in the local industry from a population made up of 1,384,000 persons. Let’s not point out the obvious, but clearly the majority of people living in Sumy are unskilled workers in a factory. So we ask ourselves, did they essentially need 12 years of education to get this far in life? Surely they wasted their time!
Emma Goldman, unlike an everyday principal or teacher finds the true purpose of an education, "No one has yet realized the wealth of sympathy, the kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure.” Thomas Armstrong joins in, “The newer and broader picture suggests that the child emerges into literacy by actively speaking, reading, and writing in the context of real life, not through filling out phonics worksheets or memorizing words.” Many logical people have found the true purpose of an education, it’s just a shame our own principals and teachers don’t have the common sense to see the same way.
Is there a solution? In our heads we picture the image of a man standing in his hole, digging. Soon it is so deep he can do nothing but keep digging. This is our situation. Authorities should try to do something about ‘education,’ what can they do? There are some small changes: perhaps limiting each subject to only one class per day or perhaps getting out of school earlier. But we have dug ourselves a hole so deep, there is no way out now.
Surely this piece of writing is one of many others that attack and criticize the system of an education. How else can I now communicate to you that everything once learned will soon be forgotten -within a mandatory environment? Plato declares, “Do not train children to learning by force and harshness, but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.”
In the United States of America, high school kids often have a traditional party not long after the end of school. It is called a ‘book burning party’ simply because students toss into a bonfire all their annotations, notebooks and papers. Does this come near showing the amount of care students give to their understanding of information? You might tell me the reason they have tests is to make sure the data is in their heads, not on their papers, yet the majority of students frequently fail their tests. And how can this possibly be the only problem? What about learning how plants pollinate three years in a row? We can’t possibly ask a school to get their act together, because students change schools so regularly that it’s really no one’s fault. Yet it is still a problem and a waste of time.
To criticize an education completely is somewhat unreasonable when we will essentially need to know how to add and subtract, read and write, and solve certain problems in our future. Some aspects of an education are quite useful and practical, and we will of course need such basics but how can I refer to the entire education program as a treasure or a privilege? Ivan Illich observes, “...we have come to realize that for most men the right to learn is curtailed by the obligation to attend school.” Indeed- we come to school by force not because we have a yearning desire to learn. Those who started out with bright ideas and good objectives have lost sight of their intentions. Their plan has failed.
Langauge coursework tasks
Assignment 1 - informative,analytical and/or argumentative
The most successful writing for this assignment often draws on personal experiences or interests. If you have experienced something unusual, have lived somewhere amazing or feel very strongly about a particular issue, then write about it.
Examples:
A persuasive article about a topical issue
An account of a holiday
A personal reflection on the experience of living in more than one culture
An informative article about a sport or hobby
The most successful writing for this assignment often draws on personal experiences or interests. If you have experienced something unusual, have lived somewhere amazing or feel very strongly about a particular issue, then write about it.
Examples:
A persuasive article about a topical issue
An account of a holiday
A personal reflection on the experience of living in more than one culture
An informative article about a sport or hobby
lunes, 1 de octubre de 2007
Bellas Artes description by Andrea Islas
Bellas Artes
It stands majestically and gallantly enlightening the streets. The duchess of the City in all its glory. The Palace of Bellas Artes, the house of the arts. With an elegant air, an aw inspiring illusion emerges from the depths of a raging metropolis decorating Mexico City. The splendid, white marble, flawless façade has a French flavour and a feeling of Opera House in its impressive architecture. The magical, mythological horses guard the entry to an entirely different land from the madness of the fast moving town. Past the gardens, the splendid and exquisite sculptures welcome the visitors as they gaze upon the radiant faces entering the holy temple of all that is truly beautiful in life. The monumental, yet soft arches let you sense the power and glory of the past, the rich treasure of Mexican legacy and culture all around.
The sun reflecting domes glow as if they shone their own rays over the jungle of black grounds where cars and crowds crawl all over, under the blue skies contrasting with the yellow and orange of the suns below. They cast a spell on you and you cannot ever stop staring and sighting at the perfect jewels before your eyes where, the emblem of a great nation stands on top of.
Each step takes you closer and closer to the Palace Mexico is so proud of. Once inside, the white floorings blind you with their shine until you reach the theater inside and get your breath taken away by its might and miss a beat because of such vision.
As if illuminated by graceful candlelight, the walls contain sound bouncing up and down making the floors resound and tremble with rhythm like the beat of a heart. The high ceiling holds the Nine Greek Muses who smile down at the fervient followers of the greatest fruit of mankind and inspire the people within the room's Art Deco walls.
The red balconies have details of the purest Mexican style, nopals, maize and eagles, and the balconies' colour match the small, round chairs in where kings, heroes and presidents alike have sat. The extravagant contrast bewitches just as the fusion of the City itself.
But the most extraordinary work of art is the stage's unique curtain which dominates the room and steals glances from the excited, warm eyes racing to their seats before the show starts. The fancy, one-piece colourful crystal has the heart of Mexico City depicted carefully in it, the Volcanoes that make the enchanting valley where the most enormous capital of the world stands. The painting almost narrates with romantic verses the love story and ancient legend of those Mexican icons. The glossy detailing makes the curtain look as if the picture was moving to the pace of the rehearsing orchestra below. As the beauty begins to rise, the crystal glims and glimmers and the water of the lake next to the Volcanoes glints in its deep blue reflecting an imaginary moon. Then, the lights go out. Its begun.
It stands majestically and gallantly enlightening the streets. The duchess of the City in all its glory. The Palace of Bellas Artes, the house of the arts. With an elegant air, an aw inspiring illusion emerges from the depths of a raging metropolis decorating Mexico City. The splendid, white marble, flawless façade has a French flavour and a feeling of Opera House in its impressive architecture. The magical, mythological horses guard the entry to an entirely different land from the madness of the fast moving town. Past the gardens, the splendid and exquisite sculptures welcome the visitors as they gaze upon the radiant faces entering the holy temple of all that is truly beautiful in life. The monumental, yet soft arches let you sense the power and glory of the past, the rich treasure of Mexican legacy and culture all around.
The sun reflecting domes glow as if they shone their own rays over the jungle of black grounds where cars and crowds crawl all over, under the blue skies contrasting with the yellow and orange of the suns below. They cast a spell on you and you cannot ever stop staring and sighting at the perfect jewels before your eyes where, the emblem of a great nation stands on top of.
Each step takes you closer and closer to the Palace Mexico is so proud of. Once inside, the white floorings blind you with their shine until you reach the theater inside and get your breath taken away by its might and miss a beat because of such vision.
As if illuminated by graceful candlelight, the walls contain sound bouncing up and down making the floors resound and tremble with rhythm like the beat of a heart. The high ceiling holds the Nine Greek Muses who smile down at the fervient followers of the greatest fruit of mankind and inspire the people within the room's Art Deco walls.
The red balconies have details of the purest Mexican style, nopals, maize and eagles, and the balconies' colour match the small, round chairs in where kings, heroes and presidents alike have sat. The extravagant contrast bewitches just as the fusion of the City itself.
But the most extraordinary work of art is the stage's unique curtain which dominates the room and steals glances from the excited, warm eyes racing to their seats before the show starts. The fancy, one-piece colourful crystal has the heart of Mexico City depicted carefully in it, the Volcanoes that make the enchanting valley where the most enormous capital of the world stands. The painting almost narrates with romantic verses the love story and ancient legend of those Mexican icons. The glossy detailing makes the curtain look as if the picture was moving to the pace of the rehearsing orchestra below. As the beauty begins to rise, the crystal glims and glimmers and the water of the lake next to the Volcanoes glints in its deep blue reflecting an imaginary moon. Then, the lights go out. Its begun.
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