The monotonous education system Essays

The monotonous education system Essays The monotonous education system Essay The monotonous education system Essay A contrasting character to Sissy is Bitzer who is dull, pale and drained of any life or individuality. the boy who was so light-eyed and light-haired that he looked as though, if he were cut, he would bleed white. The fact her could have ‘bled white’ shows a contrast that he still has the individuality but it is made white, colourless like his personality that is filled with repetition of facts. This description of Bitzer contrasts enormously with Sissy’s the girl was so dark-eyed and dark-haired she seemed to receive a deeper more lustrous colour from the sun. Bitzer is seen as a lifeless zombie and represents the Victorian education system in the novel which contrasts with sissy representing freedom and individuality. Bitzer is seen to have become a slave to Gradgrind’s facts and the education system. One of the ways Dickens represents the way facts have become heavenly and a way of life is by his use of biblical language. â€Å"facts forbid† Gradgrind says this instead of heaven forbid, this shows that facts have become his god and he worships them and is obsessed. This is a clever technique to use because it highlights how obsessed some of the people in the Victorian period had become with just getting the facts and not being creative or fun. Further more in a world of hard facts and figures, Pegasus, the winged horse from Greek mythology, is a symbol of fancy and wonder. In Hard Times, Pegasus is associated with the circus people, who embody values that are quite different from those of Gradgrind and Bounderby. Slearys circus people live at an Inn called the Pegasuss Arms. The Inn has a picture of Pegasus on its sign-board, and inside there is a portrait of one of the circus horses, which is described as another Pegasus. This Pegasus has real gauze let in for his wings, golden stars stuck on all over him, and his ethereal harness made of red silk. The circus horses, in conjunction with the skill and daring of their riders, create a sense of wonder in the audience, allowing them to escape the drudgery of the hard facts world served up to them by people like Gradgrind and Bounderby. Seen in this light, the existence of the circus horses is a direct reproach to Gradgrind, who in Book I, chapter 2 asks the children in class to define a horse. Bitzer gives a factual definition: Quadruped. Graminivorous. Forty teeth, namely twenty-four grinders, four-eye teeth, and twelve incisive. This pleases Gradgrind, but it comes nowhere near to suggesting the capacities of the horse as symbolized by Pegasus. The book hard times is split up into two sections ‘reaping’ and ‘sowing’. These two titles have a significance to the story because at the beginning of the novel Gradgrind is force feeding the students facts and little did he know this would come back to haunt him later on in the novel. He is sowing the seeds which is a metaphor for him force feeding children facts and reaping the crops is a metaphor for when Bitzer ironically turns his back on Gradgrind. Lastly, it is clear that one of Dickens’ aims in writing this novel is to comment on his thoughts about the monotonous education system at the time. It was written in an attempt to challenge the view of this society at a time when practicality and facts were of greater importance and value than feelings and persons.  Names- Dickens also uses characters from the novels names to represent his anger at the point he was trying to get across such as ‘Mr. M’Choakumchild’ chokes his pupils with facts and Thomas Gradgrind grinds down the children. He shows his hatred for Victorian schools clearly in Hard Times and especially in his description of Gradgrind.

Definitions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Definitions - Assignment Example Syllabus typically, is a document that contains the entire plans of the course. It includes the rationale for the course, topics to be covered, and resources to be used. In addition, a syllabus encompasses the assignments to be handed out, the strategies recommended for teaching, and the goals to be achieved at the end of the course. A content outline is almost similar to a curriculum. Given that teaching consists of content coverage, which is clearly sketched out in the curriculum, then they a content outline and a curriculum are synonymous in the definition and execution. Standards are often used to describe what the students should be able to do by the time they are done with a particular course. In some cases, the standards also describe the processes aimed towards attaining the present learning outcomes. They prioritize all the ideas that are elemental to the discipline. These are the instructional materials used as a guide for classroom materials. They normally comprise of the instructional materials that are relevant to that particular level of the learning process. It is essential that instructional materials are standardized (Pinar, 2013). Official curriculum is the curriculum that has been officially approved by the school. In the curriculum area; all the goals, targets, strategies and instructional materials. It is always advisable to follow the curriculum to the letter, and slight deviations attract hefty punishments. A good example is that of a teacher who was arrested in Houston, Texas for teaching his students things that were not in the syllabus. He was placed on a three-year probationary period. Consists of what is essentially taught by the tutor and how its significance is communicated to the student. In other words, it involves how the students know that what they are being taught â€Å"counts†. It has two aspects, first is the content the teacher teaches and the standards or outcomes for which the students are held

Jane Addams and the Hull House Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Jane Addams and the Hull House - Term Paper Example As a small child, Jane wanted to be a doctor but there were only two fields that were acceptable at the time for women: getting married and having children or becoming a schoolteacher. When Jane was eight, her father re-married. Her stepmother had a big influence on the Addam's girls in the area of arts. Jane received a lot of attention from her father and because of this she realized that her potential as a woman was not as limited as she thought. She entered into the Rockville Female Seminary in 1877. She was very popular among her classmates because of her ability to write and speak.1 Soon after she graduated, she became ill and depressed, but wasn't sure how to deal with it. In 1881, her father suddenly became ill and died. She enrolled in medical school, but after the first semester, she became ill again and was put in the hospital for an extended period of time. Her brother also took a turn for the worse and had a mental breakdown, which in turn was an emotional setback for her . After Jane and her friend, Ellen Gates Starr opened the Hull House; they started to realize how bad conditions were in Chicago. They would take care of children so mothers could work; children were made to work long hours, and many other things that opened their eyes. Because of how many people they helped, Addams went around to many different women's clubs, church groups, and college students to talk about settlement houses, social reform and the ways that these people could help Chicago and the nation.2 Addams gave up a lot, considering her background; to live in the slums of Chicago and to help people the way she did was amazing. During the 1890's, settlement houses became more and more popular.3 She was a leader in this movement because of her writings and her lectures. Addams became more involved in national concerns. The US was declaring war on Spain and because of that, violent crime rates went up in Chicago. Because of her works, her protests eventually reached Charles R. Crane, a close friend of President Woodrow Wilson. These are meant to try to help people get back on their feet. These houses provide a way for parents to get jobs and not have to worry bout their kids. Once they get a steady job and keep it, then they can try to work and take care of their kids. One example of this concept would be a foster home. A foster home takes kids into the home for as long as is needed. Sometimes the kids go to another home and sometimes they stay and are adopted. After Jane and her friend, Ellen Gates Starr opened the Hull House, they started to realize how bad conditions were in Chicago. They would take care of children so mothers could work; children were made to work long hours, and many other things that opened their eyes. Because of how many people they helped, Addams went around to many different women's clubs, church groups, and college students to talk about settlement houses, social reform and the ways that these people could help Chicago and the n ation.4 Addams gave up a lot, considering her background; to live in the slums of Chicago and to help people the way she did was amazing. During the 1890's, settlement houses became more and more popular. She was a leader in this movement because of her writings and her lectures. 5 Addams became mor

Collapse of the Traditional Family Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Collapse of the Traditional Family - Essay Example The first thing that immediately occurs to mind, the number one culprit, is of course the exploding divroce rates, in the Western societies as well as in many developing nations. Divorce rates have been on the rise for decades now, but they seem to be shoooting up to epidemic proportions with each passing day. The very institution of marriage which lies at the root of family and home is under assault. Out-of-wedlock births too are drastically rising. Unmarried cohabitation is becoming an increasingly common phenomenon in contemoporary society. The sporadic spread of same-gender marriages are another aspect of the problem. So, one way or other, it is the fact that more and more people are losing their faith in the sanctity of marriage between man and woman which is ultimately threatening the very viability of our society. In a more immediate sense, though, this is adversely affecting the lives of millions of innocent children, causing grave irreparable damage to their delicate sensibi lities at a very tender age. No wonder then that so many of our national leaders are seriously concerned about the need for fortifying the edifice of family, in their bid to build a more coherent and sensible society. A resurgence of early and almost universal marriage, as it happened in the postwar periods of 1950s and 1960s, is bound to revitalize our society. But what is so different between our own times and just a couple of decades ago Why cannot such a thing cannot happen today One most conspicuous difference is the tremendously greater proportion of full-time working women in today's world as compared to the 50's. This is of coure a very positive change. But could not the absence of the mother from the household for the better part of the day be taking its toll on the upbringing and well-being of the children Not necessarily, since it has its own advantages. A confident and independent mother can serve as a better role model for children of both sexes, and not just the girls. Obviously, with both dad and mom working, there would be two incomes instead of one, and this translates to better financial security for children. Also, in a way, with relatively less time available to spend with children, the parents would tend to treasure this time even more than if time weren't such a constraint. It is a universal truth in any relationship, whether between lovers or between parents and children, that distance brings people closer, making them grow fonder of each other. But only to a certain extent though, a little more distance and it can alienate people, to which point we will come shortly. Now though there may be several practical advantages to argue in favor of working women, in relation to their families, the cohesive presence of a full-time mother acting as the central force in holding together the home, with her love and mystique - is simply irreplaceable. It is becoming an increasingly rare sight these days, and evokes a kind of idyllic nostalgia in many of us. But still, if certain things have to be gained, certain other things have to be

Woodside Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Woodside Company - Essay Example According to the policy of national interests, leaders of all countries are assumed to act in a rational way with the aim of safeguarding and pursuing their state objectives. This means that countries emulate the policies that are considered by the leaders to be of importance in developing and improving the well-being of their societies1. In their efforts to attain an economic growth and ensure transparency in the oil industries among other sectors, governments have adopted the policy of national interest. For instance, to safeguard the interest of local and foreign investors in the Australian oil sector, the government has put in place various measures to regulate the oil industry. For example, the government prohibited Royal Dutch Shell and BHP from undertaking the acquisition of Woodside Petroleum. The acquisition was valued at $35bn. One of the major strategies that Shell Company adopted was to take over Woodside incorporation with an objective of expanding its market share. Acco rding to Peter Voser, the company chief executive officer, this strategy was emulated in order to enhance innovativeness and competitiveness thus expanding the capital base leading to expanded investment and high dividends. Additionally, the company was focused at maintaining a sustainable cash flow that would make it to effectively meet its short-term liabilities and improve the company liquidity. However, based on the concept of the national interest, Peter Costello, The Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act (FATA) treasurer rejected the move by Shell Investment Limited to purchase a majority interest in Woodside Petroleum Limited. Woodside Company is responsible for managing natural gas consortium that is based at the North West Shelf. According to Costello, Woodside Petroleum Limited had a national interest to maximize the production of natural gas from North West Shelf in order to increase the country sales and compete with other countries in the world natural market2. Additio nally, the Australian government was focused at protecting Woodside performance in the stock exchange market. Even though Shell aimed at controlling Woodside Company under the leadership of Don Voelte, Woodside management and the politician in Australia were against the Shell decision making it to be frustrated. One of the major aspects that were targeted by Shell is the Woodside-operated Pluto project that was generating large volume of oil resulting to increased profitability for Woodside3. Additionally, Shell argued that if given authority to control the $43bn Gorgon gas project among others that are located in Western Australia, it would increase the total revenue and initiate a sustainable growth as compared to Woodside. The sale offer was valued at $10 billion4. In 2010, Shell energy Holdings Australia Limited (SEHAL) agreed to sell 78 million shares that it has in Woodside to UBS AG. The sale resulted to the reduction of Shell interest in Woodside by 29%. In addition, the sel ling of the shares resulted to reduction of Shell capital in Woodside by 10%. In this regard, major issues that affected Woodside were mostly determined by the Woodside management team5. In the same way, SEHAL was focused to retain the remaining shares for at least one year. According to Peter Voser the CEO, Shell is determined to expand its investment portfolio in Australia. It is worth to note that even though Shell was prevented from acquiring majority interests in Woodside, the company purchased Australia LNG thus increasing its production capacity to 2.7 mtpa in 2010. The company is focused at increasing this capacity to 6.5 mtpa in the next 3 years. Having sold its shares at

Business Law - the law of contract Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business Law - the law of contract - Case Study Example The prospective buyer, by offering that price is himself the offeror and his offer, if accepted, create a binding contract. 1 For this case, James just noticed a gold watch with a price tag of 25 hence it neither does nor compels the store person to sell the gold watch at that particular price. The price tag with the gold watch was just inviting others to make an offer of their own on how much they are to buy the watch. A binding contract would have been created when the store person (Elizabeth) would have accepted the offer made by James since the price with the gold watch was just inviting customers to make their offer. Normally, invitation to a treat is used to request expression of interest from the customers. For this case, any product with a price tag does not compel the store person to sell his product at that price but requests, an expression of interest from the customer to make their offer and binding contract of sale would occur when he agrees to sell at that price. 2 Invitation to treat must be distinguished from an offer. This is because, invitation to a treat invites for people with to make on an offer whereas, in a offer, the offeror make in an offer and just wait for people to accept that offer. In order for a coIn order for a contract to be enforceable, it must fulfill certain basic requirements. There must be an agreement based upon genuine consent of the parties, supported by a consideration and made for a lawful object between competent parties. A relevant case studied in the issue of invitation to treat is that of: Pharmaceutical Society of Britain v. Boots Chemists of 1953 Goods were sold in Boots Chemist shop under the self-service system. Customers selected their purchases from the shelves, put them into baskets supplied by Boots Chemists and took them to the cash desk where they paid the price. It was held that the customer made the offer when he presented them at the cash desk, and not when he removed them from the shelves.3 The price tag with the gold watch was merely inviting James to make his offer on the price he would like to buy the gold watch at and does not compel him to sell at that price. For this case, a contract would have been made when James collects the watch from the shelves and place it on the counter if Elizabeth agrees to sell it at that price. But since the 25 price with the gold watch was merely inviting customers to make an offer but not sell it at that price. By taking the money from James, it would mean that Elizabeth had agreed to sell the gold watch at that price. For this case, it would be immaterial for James to state that he has a right to purchase a gold watch at 25 as indicated on the price tag. He would not succeed in any court of law for him to be sold the gold watch at 25. Another case studied on invitation to treat was that of:- Fisher v. Bell of 1961 On this case, Bell a shopkeeper, displayed a flick knife priced at four shilling in his shop window. He was charged with offering for sale an offensive weapon contrary to the restriction of offensive weapon act. It was held that a mere display of the goods in a shop window is not by itself an offer for sale. Bell was not bound to sell the knife to any one entering his shop and offering to him four shillings. 4 A mere display of a gold watch at 25

HUM1000 - Introduction to the Humanities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

HUM1000 - Introduction to the Humanities - Essay Example I married, climbed the ladder of success and then wham; just when I thought it was all coming together nicely, there was my epiphany moment. How sad to have spent my entire life merely existing when my soul was dying to live! Such is life; full of surprises and lessons to learn. It’s amazing to see how fragile and unpredictable life is, full of twists and turns in the unexpected. We think we are living our lives in the utmost way, yet we’ve not begun to live at all. Existence carries a heavy price for everyone. There is the life we didn’t live, and all the joy missed along the way, as well as the life we endured, with all the misery and suffering like â€Å"a stone falling downward with increasing velocity.† I really didn’t know much about bringing my family close to me; most people were respectful and polite in families when I grew up. Honestly, I thought that’s how it was done. I was a good man, a good provider; I always tried to do the right thing at the right time, a proper life I lived. Isn’t that what good men do? Yet, I see â€Å"my life was not real at all but a terrible and huge deception which had hidden both life and death.† To live a lie is not to have lived at all. I would give anything to be able to go back and embrace my family; to be close to them, to really know them and have them know me. If only I could hold my children one more time, I would bring them close and tell them to love with all your heart, make each day the best day of your life, and most of all, choose people over things. Don’t worry so much about the things that don’t matter, the petty things that don’t really add quality to your life; those silly, small things will take care of themselves. The real world is the world of right now, today is all there is. Live your life on purpose, making each day a real part of your dream. Don’t wait until tomorrow