Critical Reflection essayEssay Writing Service

Critical Reflection essayEssay Writing Service Critical Reflection essay Critical Reflection essayBased on the course readings, class discussions, and my own experiences I can discuss my understanding of curriculum. I can define curriculum as a well-developed plan of action, which provides the proper strategies to achieve the established goals. The effectiveness of curriculum depends on individual approaches to teaching and learning, managerial skills and behavioral patterns. Curriculum should be planned based on the established standards. I believe that it is necessary to develop multicultural curriculum that requires the application of the proper skills and abilities to â€Å"teach through culturally knowledge bases† (Sleeter, 2005, p. 44). Besides, curriculum deals with the experiences of learners. The major purposes of curriculum include: developing effective ideas to engage students in meaningful ways; following the established learning standards adopted by professional organizations; providing support to student-centered instruction; providin g flexible delivery of educational programs (Sleeter, 2005; Tomlinson McTighe, 2006).  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In addition, my own identity and experience influence my understanding of curriculum. I realize that curriculum design depends on the construction of knowledge and the effectiveness of planning. My own identity and personal experience reflect the concepts I will teach. Planning and implementing curriculum can be affected by the way we identify problems and issues faced by students and teachers. To understand curriculum in a proper way, it is necessary to have evaluation skills that will allow reporting the results, making judgments about the proposed programs and assessing the effectiveness of procedures.Moreover, my understanding of students’ needs influences my thinking. I believe that the attitudes and skills of a teacher play an important role in successful planning and implementation of curriculum. According to Tomlinson McTighe (2006), the essence of a teacher’s job is â€Å"making sure that the curriculum serves as a catalyst for powerful learning for students who, with our guidance and support, become skilled in and committed to the process of learning† (p. 39). I should be aware of students’ problems and needs to develop effective teaching and professional support. Only in this case students will be able to cope with any problems faced in the learning environment. It is necessary to have an understanding of students’ motives in order to provide high quality of instruction.In general, there are three key points of course learning. First, it is necessary to establish clarity regarding the use of curriculum. Special attention should be paid to the knowledge and skills that help students to succeed in learning process. Second, it is very important to accept responsibility for students’ success in learning. I believe that any teacher should have the ability to assess his/her role in ac ademic success of students.   Besides, it is essential to a teacher to assess the relationship between course learning goals and teaching practice goals. Third, a teacher should build awareness of the most suitable teaching strategies that will help to facilitate the process of learning.  Finally, the above mentioned aspects influence the way I am thinking about my curriculum work. I argue that curriculum helps to develop and effectively use the proper methods of teaching to ensure positive academic outcomes of students. A teacher should be ready to provide support to students involved in learning process through well-organized curriculum. In addition, I believe that curriculum helps to address students’ needs and interests and motivate both teachers and students to work hard.

Igor Stravinskys In Memoriam Dylan Thomas as an Avant-garde Music Essay

Igor Stravinskys In Memoriam Dylan Thomas as an Avant-garde Music - Essay Example Though some of Stravinsky’s compositions were critically regarded by the public, their failure to appeal to a large audience qualifies them to be classified as avant-garde. With his 1953-1954 popular composition, In Memoriam Dylan Thomas among other famous compositions, Stravinsky’s musical philosophy was that music was nothing more than notes while music composition is more of an expression of logic than one’s passion. Despite his lack of appeal to the audience, Stravinsky was highly regarded by his fellow musicians as one of the leading musical composers of his time. This paper seeks to demonstrate that Igor Stravinsky’s In Memoriam Dylan Thomas qualifies to be categorized as avant-garde music rather than â€Å"old guard†/traditional music. Characteristic features of avant-garde music Avant-garde music is not easily definable since the rules applied in its composition, arrangement and performance are required to differentiate it from the classical music. It is generally believed that avant-garde music exhibits a deviation from the mainstream music. As indicated by Pinson, avant-garde musicians can be distinguished by their freedom to choose a musical style that is different from the mainstream, as well as their ability and vision to create and organize music outside the limits of the traditional style (146). Avant-garde music is also defined by its originality and innovativeness as opposed to its popularity and appeal to the audience (Pinson 146). Additionally, avant-garde musicians are believed to have a different identity from that of the traditional musicians, which enables them to incorporate the metaphysical into their style of composition to generate an innovative piece (Pinson 146). The musical composition of avant-garde is often linked to the musician’s identity or other non-musical aspects such as the musician’s philosophies, political ideologies and religion. Despite its linkage with other non-music a spects, avant-garde music does not enjoy massive public acceptance since such music may not be accessed by a large audience. Examining Igor Stravinsky’s musical life and his late works Despite his popularity as a musician in the early 20th century, Stravinsky’s late compositions were relatively ambiguous. As opposed to his earlier compositions, Stravinsky’s late works were rarely performed on stage, poorly recorded, regularly criticized and poorly comprehended by the audience. The poor reception of Stravinsky’s late works such as â€Å"In Memoriam Dylan Thomas† is quite ironical to the musician’s growing popularity as a musician. It is apparent that few, if any, contemporary musicians could parallel Igor Stravinsky in terms of stage performances, influence and music recordings as well as popularity mostly in reference to his early Russian cabarets and neoclassical compositions. The poor reception accorded to Stravinsky’s late works is an unusual deviation from the musician’s international popularity. Some aspects about Igor Stravinsky’s musical and life experiences remain mysterious. Over the years, scholars have struggled, albeit with little success, to understand Stravinsky’s works due to its language use, style and transformation from one genre to another. Further ambiguity can be derived from the musician’s personal statements regarding his life, music and the works of his fellow musicians. Though initially believed to be religiously oriented, Stravinsky’

Was the conquest of Spanish America an ambivalent conquest Essay

Was the conquest of Spanish America an ambivalent conquest - Essay Example According to the research findings colonization and conquest are not events but processes that affect the victims and the conquerors . To measure the degree of the change in the victims and the conquerors, it is crucial for one to understand the culture of the conquered society. The Mayan and the Spanish societies underwent a hard period during the colonization process. In this view, the essay develops a clear and concise argument in answering the question â€Å"Was the conquest of Spanish American an ambivalent conquest?† This essay analyzes the main controversy that surrounds the Spanish presence in Yucatan. The main focus of this research paper is to the attention of the initial the eventual success and the initial attempts of the Spaniards when they attempted to solidify themselves with the Yucatan Peninsula . The author points out that the victory of the Maya community was short-lived. The Spanish community also had to live a different life because of the new Spanish masters. The individuals in the community had to utilize the available resources as a result of the lack of labor, the unsuitable grazing land, and the poor agriculture. There was also the collapse of the encomia system. Overall, despite the difficulties related to a lack of historical sources, this essay attempts to sort out truth from fiction in the "confessions" wrung out of the Maya by the Spanish Inquisitors.

Mayo Clinic in Minnesota Essay Example for Free

Mayo Clinic in Minnesota Essay Problem 1 (a) One of the most promising approaches to helping people to quit smoking is the nicotine patch. The patch gradually dispenses nicotine into the blood. In a 1994 experiment at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, 240 volunteer smokers participated in a study of the effectiveness of the nicotine patch. All of the volunteers were between the ages of 20 and 30, were in good health, smoked at least 20 cigarettes a day and wanted to quit. They were randomly assigned to receive either 22-mg nicotine patches or placebo patches. All 240 participants also received counseling about quitting smoking. After one year, 33 of the 120 participants with the nicotine patch had quit smoking while 17 of those with the placebo patch had quit. (a) What are the explanatory and response variables in this case? The response variable is whether they quit smoking or not. The explanatory variables are the use (or otherwise) of a nicotine patch, and the counseling they received. 2. (Points: 10) Problem 1 (b) One of the most promising approaches to helping people to quit smoking is the nicotine patch. The patch gradually dispenses nicotine into the blood. In a 1994 experiment at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, 240 volunteer smokers participated in a study of the effectiveness of the nicotine patch. All of the volunteers were between the ages of 20 and 30, were in good health, smoked at least 20 cigarettes a day and wanted to quit. They were randomly assigned to receive either 22-mg nicotine patches or placebo patches. All 240 participants also received counseling about quitting smoking. After one year, 33 of the 120 participants with the nicotine patch had quit smoking while 17 of those with the placebo patch had quit. (b) Compute the p-value for a one-sided Z-test of whether the nicotine patch significantly increases the likelihood of quitting smoking. Be sure to state your hypotheses, defining p1 and p2. 33 / 120 = 0. 275 = p1 (Proportion who quit using patch) 17 / 120 = 0. 142 = p2 (Proportion who quit without using patch) Null Hypothesis Ho: Using a nicotine patch and counseling does not increase the probability of quitting smoking, compared to using counseling alone, for 20-30 year-olds who smoke more than 20 cigarettes per day. Ho: p1 – p2 = 0 Alternative Hypothesis Ha: Using a nicotine patch with counseling is more likely to result in quitting smoking than using counseling alone, for 20-30 year-olds ho smoke more than 20 cigarettes per day. Ha: p1-p20 Check if normal dist applies: samples are independent (no reason to think sample is biased) sample size 10% (only 240 from large population) np1=120*0. 275=33, n(1-p1)=87; np2=17, n(1-p2)=103 Z = (p2-p1)/sqrt(p1(1-p1)/n1+p2(1-p2)/n2) = (0. 275-0. 142)/(0. 0517) = 2. 578 So p = 0. 005

Themes Discussed in Joyce Oates Where Are You Going , Where Have You B

Where Are You Going , Where Have You Been by Joyce Oates It is well known that the most awkward and difficult time in one’s life is adolescence. One is faced with the challenges of discovering who one is and what one wants out of life. One finds themselves frustrated and confused in this particular stage. They are mid way between a bridge. They have left childhood but have not yet reached adulthood. They struggle to find some sense of being and individuality in the world. They are on a quest to find themselves, and in search of a path that will lead them to future happiness. â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,† is a short story written by Joyce Oates .In her short story Oates shows how easily susceptible one is in this stage of life. Oates shows in her story how the quest of finding one’s self, gives one a false sense of knowledge. It is this false sense of knowledge and the search for self and identity that produces the tragic outcome of the character within Oates’ story. The setting of â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where have You Been,† takes place in the late 60’s early 70’s. This is evident by the reference to Bobby King and the XYZ Sunday programming station which was mentioned within the story (p.122). The 1960s and early 1970s marked the era of the women's movement. Economic shifts meant that more women worked outside the home, and Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment, resulting in many political battles during the long ratification process. In 1973 the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade that a woman's right to privacy allowed for legal abortion. Woman know began to have voices. The world was drastically changing and it is within this drastically changing world that Oates introduces four main characters... ...ave You Been,† As nothing more then a dream. However others view it as, â€Å"feminist allegory which suggests that young women of today, like the generations that have come before them, are headed into sexual bondage†. (Korb). There is no evidence to suggest that Connie is experiencing a dream. However there is evidence that suggest that Connie had an untimely death. â€Å"watching this body and this head of long hair moving out into the sunlight where Arnold Friend waited.†(p.135) Oates depicts in her story the important of self identity. Arnold Friend is not a symbolic representation of the â€Å"devil† as some critics believe him to be. Arnold Friend character is an representation of the challenges and test one faces in ones every day life. It is conquering these challenges and test , that instills in us knowledge, knowledge which brings us one step closer to finding ourselves.

Devine Love vs Human Love Essay

End of the Affair both distinguish between divine love and human love. A common thread that runs throughout is the inconsistencies that are associated with human love and the unconditional nature of divine love. Both Greene and Lewis use familial, platonic and erotic love to illustrate the distinction between divine love and human love with the result that the reader appreciates that human love is superficial given for the wrong reasons while divine love is authentic love given for all the right reasons. Moreover, both Greene and Lewis use their protagonists to demonstrate that while human love is characterized by negative emotions such as jealousy and selfishness, divine love is kind and unselfish. This paper focuses on the varieties of love featured in both books and demonstrates how modernity tends to prioritize human love over divine love with a view to rationalizing how and why romantic, familial and erotic love, all forms of human love are displaced in both novels. In each of the novels, the inescapable message is that erotic love is fragile and recklessly teeters on the outer fringes of hate. C. S. Lewis’s Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold As in Greene’s The End of the Affair Lewis’s Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold Human love is unveiled for all its inherent flaws. Orual, the central figure in Lewis’s Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold recounts her relationship with her sister Psyche. Through Orual Lewis permits his reader to follow the progression of that relationship laying bare the weaknesses associated with affectionate love that Orual has for her sister Psyche and how that love develops into possessive love. Exemplifying the frailties of human love, particularly familial love, Lewis also demonstrates how human love can be conditional and selfish by exposing the fragile relationship between Orual and her father. Perhaps more importantly, Lewis uses these unique familial relationships to demonstrate how selfish human love can transform into hate. In summary Till We Have Faces is a re-telling of the Greek mythical story of Cupid/Eros and Psyche. In Lewis’s re-telling the story is reconstructed through the eyes of Orual who is represented as unattractive and jealous and uniquely disgruntled by the Gods’ mistreatment of her. Psyche, the beautiful sister is the object to Orual’s affections. In this re-telling Lewis deliberately complicates familial love in that Orual’s love for her sister is obsessive. On the other side of the spectrum, Redival’s love for Orual is spurious and the love for Psyche by King Trom is self-deceptive. Fox’s love for Orual and Psyche is also transient. Lewis also ventures into sexual/erotic love which is multifaceted in Till We Have Faces. Orual’s love for Bardia is unrequited, Ansit’s love for Bardia is frustrating and of course there is the superficial infatuation of men for Orual in her veiled condition. Lewis also takes pains to demonstrate that self-love is destructive in presenting duality in Orual who loves and hates herself all at once. This duality is selfish and damaging at the same time. Above all however, the emphasis is on divine love and implicit in this re-telling is a transition from Greek Philosophical times to modern Christianity. (Hooper, 1996, 250) Father Peter Milward writes of Till We Have Faces: â€Å"The main themes are, (1) Natural affection, if left to mere nature, easily becomes a special kind of hatred, (2) God is, to our natural affections, the ultimate object of jealousy. † (Hooper, 1996, 250) Psyche as reconstructed by Lewis has a natural predisposition for affection for divinity whereas Psyche’s love for divinity coincides with Orual’s love for humankind particularly her love for Psyche. While Psyche’s love for the gods are first and foremost in her heart, Orual’s love for Psyche comes first and each sister regards her love as the natural love. For Orual Psyche represents â€Å"the beginning of my [Orual’s] joys. † (Lewis, 20) On the other hand, Psyche derives her greatest at a time just before she is sacrificed to Cupid as it is a means of bringing her closer tot he gods. (Lewis, 74) Orual’s love for Psyche however is aligned to hatred and becomes a means by which Lewis demonstrates the superficial nature of human love whether familial or romantic in nature. Orual’s so-called love and affection for her sister fluctuates from love to hate in a manner which can only leave the impression that the love is fickly to begin with and not based on sound principles or values. For instance the night before Psyche is sacrificed Orual reveals that her sister has â€Å"made me, in a way, angry. † (Lewis, 71) Moreover the following day, Orual dreams her sister â€Å"was my [Orual’s] greatest enemy. † (Lewis, 71) The remainder of the first part of Till We Have Faces is characterized by this king of fluctuations of Orual’s affections for her sister. The inconsistencies are not lost on Psyche who observes: â€Å"I am not sure whether I like your kind [of love] better than hatred. † (Lewis, 165) Superimposed in this aspect of human love as illustrated through Lewis’s Orual is the damaging elements of human love whether romantic or familial. Orual’s love for her sister is characterized by two fatal flaws. First she loves her sister in such a way that she easily allows it to fall into hatred. Secondly, Orual permits her hatred to rebound to the gods. The love-hate scenario from Orual to Psyche is connected to the gods to the extent that Orual permits her love for Psyche to become possessive. That possessive love turns to a dangerous jealousy which is borne out of the presumption that Psyche loves the gods to the exclusion of Orual who in turn holds the gods accountable for taking Psyche’s love from her. Orual’s jealousy is so strong that she’d rather the gods had killed her sister than made her immortal. She laments: â€Å"We’d rather they were ours and dead than yours and made immortal. † (Lewis, 291) Psyche’s love for the gods is interpreted by Orual as a theft by the gods. To her way of thinking the gods took Psyche’s love from her and she says as much, â€Å"Psyche was mine and no one else had any right to her. †(Lewis, 291-292) Lewis intent with respect to Orual’s reaction to Psyche and her affection for the gods were specifically delineated in a letter he sent to Katerine Farrer. Lewis explains in the letter that Orual’s jealousy and attitude toward her sister’s relationship with the God was intended to convey the typical reaction of family members when a relative gives his life to Christianity. Lewis explained in the letter that the reaction of family members is typified by Orual’s when: â€Å"someone becomes a Christian, or in a family nominally Christian already, does something like become a missionary or enter a religious order. The others suffer a sense of outrage. What they love is being taken away from them. † (Hooper, 249) In other words Orual’s angst with the gods finds its place in the kind of jealousy that one family member experiences when it appears to them that a loved one religion replaces them. In much the same way Orual’s bitterness stems from a jealousy which is founded on love. The self-destructive and selfish nature of human love is also succinctly illustrated through Orual. In Lewis’s characterization of Orual she increasingly subscribes to the notion that if she can’t have her sister then she will not permit anyone else have her. Orual convinces Psyche to look upon her lover, despite his warning to the contrary. In her way of thinking Orual perceives that she is saving Psyche and to prove her intention she cuts her arm. The danger of Orual’s love and the dangerous manner in which her love for her sister influences her thinking and perception are revealed in the following excerpt from Till We Have Faces: â€Å"How could she hate me, when my arm throbbed and burned with the wound I had given it for her love? † (Lewis, 169) Ironically, the gods whose love Orual condemns closely mirrors Orual’s idea of love which is self-serving and consuming. It is not until the novel nears its conclusion that Orual comes to the realization that how love was commandeered by avarice and self-satisfaction. In this way Lewis is able to expose the superficial nature of human love. This is finally accomplished with Orual coming to terms with and accepting that her desire to have Psyche, the Fox and Bardia all to herself was entirely wrong. Lewis uses Ansit to voice the meaning of real or divine love by having him provide a brief commentary on Orual’s love. Ansit, referring to Orual’s pursuit of Bardia notes that: â€Å"He was to live the life he though best and fittest for a great man—not that which would most pleasure me. † (Lewis, 264)

The Renaissance The Rebirth of Europe - 1245 Words

â€Å"The Renaissance represented a rebirth of the Aristotelian spirit. The results of that spirit are written across the next two centuries, which men describe, properly, as the Age of Reason and the Age of Enlightenment. The results include the rise of modern science; the rise of an individualist political philosophy (the work of John Locke and others); the consequent spread of freedom across the civilized world; and the birth of the freest country in history, the United States of America. The Renaissance was a significant period within European history that revolutionized its culture. Numerous factors were composed to initiate the Renaissance, and this point in time was recognized with extreme alterations for Europeans. This Renaissance marked the rebirth of classical Greek learning with architectural, philosophical, literary and artistic movements. Renaissance artists and thinkers were extremely diverse with their ideas, approaches and accomplishments. It marked the beginning of an era- a change in the way people initially thought. A new philosophy consisting of the rise of individualism, humanism and secularism. The potential of an individual began to be recognized and more faith was being instilled within humans in terms of education. It began in Italy roughly around the fourteenth century and gradually spread to the north and west across Europe for the next two centuries. Italy became the most urbanized region after the Black Death. This caused the aristocrats toShow MoreRelatedThe Rebirth Of Ancient Cultures1462 Words   |  6 Pages2015 The Rebirth of Ancient Cultures in Renaissance Florence Florence, Italy is known as the â€Å"cradle of the Renaissance† (la culla del Rinascimento). It is a city full of beautiful architecture, art, and history. The Renaissance was a powerful cultural movement that not only shaped all aspects of Florentine life, but eventually the rest of Europe. 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