The Innocence of Yesterday :: Ethnicity Race Racism Essays

The Innocence of Yesterday When my dad sees a black person, he always says, black dude. He says it with a bitter taste in his mouth. He utters it to me as if to make sure that I take note that the person is black and therefore also a dude. There is no purpose in his saying this, yet he says it without concern for what it reveals about his racial attitudes. Or rather he does not care what others think of his stereotypes. He may be the only person I know who speaks his mind so recklessly, but stereotypes are pervasive throughout society. All of us attach images and experiences to people we have never met. When I was a child, I absorbed negative views on every race and culture. Hispanics are lazy. Jews are untrustworthy. Blacks are inferior. Indians are dirty. Asians are cheap. When I discovered that I was Asian, I did not know what to think about that. Until elementary school, I did not notice the color of my skin. I, like everyone else I knew, was colorblind. The notion of race did not exist. My friends had brown, blonde, and black hair, and mine was black, too. Straight, poofy, and always gelled to a gleam, my hair should have tipped me off that I was not like everyone else. I assumed that everyone in my family just happened to be born with abnormal hair. There was no reason to think that my friends at school were different from the miniature community of my home. Before school, my mind was innocent of discrimination. I cannot recall one moment where I looked at a person of color and thought of a racist stereotype. I was in a protected state of naive bliss, unaware that the fragile shelter of my colorblindness was soon to collapse. Discrimination forced itself into my life. I remember the first time I felt discrimination. It caused my chest to ache. I was seven, and one of my friends put his index fingers on the corners of his eyes and tugged outwards. He said, "hey Dexter, look. I'm you." I laughed at first. Then the little gears in my head clicked into place, and I stopped. I turned to the mirror behind me and gasped in disbelief. Almond-shaped eyes stared back. It was true. I looked around me, and almost all the kids were white.

Manufactured Crisis: Myths, Fraud, and the Attack

Manufactured Crisis: Myths, Fraud, and the Attack on America's Public Schools is an illustrative work by Berliner, an educational psychologist, and Biddle, a social psychologist, unfolds the the popualr myths about American school education that are prevalent in the American society.   It further explain the background of the creation of these myth and refute the popular beliefs on various grounds.He is of the view thatr since the publication of A Nation at Risk (1983), American society has fabricated various popular myths about their scholl educational system. He further narrates the nature of these beliefs and says that there are several distinct types of popular myths i.e. failure of Aemrican school system in general, declin in the college students’ performance   and the comparative failure to keep up with their fallow students in   advanced European and Asian countries measured against the developed parameters, better performance of private schools as compared with public schools, too much resource allocation for education but net result is not worth that spending and threat to American future due to the failure of these public school system. Berliner and Biddle consider these allegation as mere speculations and fabrication that has no real grounds. The arguments provided innthe books are not subjective and indivduals speculation but Berliner and Biddle’s arguments are developed by close analysis and interpretation of the data and decoding high-sounding polemical pronouncements. The pronouncements of these prominent scholars are based on quite fair assumptions and they closely assess the data to prove their points. The strength of their findings can be illustrated by the continuous advice offered to reader to aassess their findings on parameters they used for other contemporary educational critics who created the above-mentioned myths. At the very start, the book looks into the hidden agendas and motives of some distinguished educational critics and tries to pocate the reasons for that. The authors depict that by manufacturing some myth about the public sector school system, these scolars and intellectiauals serve the vested interests of pro-privatization groups. Berliner and Biddle further assersts in the past the assualt on public schools came from the same pro-privatization groups. They provide comprehensive data and manifest that all these attacks were repleted with fabricated myths faradulent assertions about the disadvantages of American Public School System. Berliner and Biddle illustrates that in reality this manufactured viewpoint is an epitome of organized malevolence that only serves the interests of some vested group in the education sector.And this creationof myth has deluded American nation about the true state of public school system and their triumphs for the last two decades. The fabrication of these myths need lobbying abd subtle penetration into the minds and psychology of the Amerrican people. Berliner and Biddle affirm that this viewpoint has been extensively propogated influential people within the govermental sector and outside, who â€Å"were pursuing a political agenda designed to weaken the nation's public schools, redistribute support for those schools so that privileged students are favored over needy students, or even abolish those schools altogether† (p. xii). Berliner and Biddle again reinforce the idea that provision of education to a diverse population on the mass scale is only possible through these public schools amd its structure is far more developed than depicted by the authors of manufactured realities. The intial chapters reveals the deceitfuil statements about the accomplishments and aptitudes of American students. They further explores the myths associated with huge spendings on the educations and its results. It further narrates the chrateristics of public school systems that are apprehensible to the critics of public schools. These chapter further illustrates the misapprehension in the mind of general public and root causes of prevalent public dissatisfaction with public education. Berliner and Biddle discloses that these critics intentionally disregard the   accomplishments of these public schools and only portrays the social and educational problems associted with these institutes. In the proceeding chapters, the authors analyze the mtives behind these manufactured criticism and dilemmas attributed to public school system.   Berliner and Biddle display that this criticism is dine in a subtle way but in response they do not put the blame of the critics and their believers but put social forces under allegations.They further appraise the suggestions of these critics for educational reforms of this system as poorply formulated ideas. The next chapter provide a cpmprehensive assessment of the real dilemmas faced by American educational system. Considers authtentic and productive criticism beneficial for public school system in particular and American educational sector in general but they further note that criticism to serve particular interets has also long tradition in the education sector. Berliner and Biddle note that there has been a long tradition of criticizing. They not only identifies the manufactured myths but also proves these myths as fake and fabricated with the help of data collected through various means. They further seek solutions to the real problems faced by the public schools in America. This book also considers the five Bracey reports on public education published annually by Phi Delta Kappan since 1991 and the 1994 PDK/Gallup poll as essential indicators of the realities about American School systems. Berliner and Biddle’s main focus was the manufactured crisis produced by various educational critics to undermine American Public school system and erosion of a sense of loss these manufactured myths has produced in the minds of American citizens about their educational system but thet further eloborated the various authentic criticism and suggested that the recommendation of these studies must be implemented to improve the system. They include their own recommendations in that list and says that the comiited forces together with appropriate educational research and compassion can eliminate this crisis and will mold it into success. For the above-mentioned reasons and others, The Manufactured Crisis is an well0doumented and illustrative work that can capacitate those who committed for the excellance in American school system to work in a more productive and reponsible way. Rerefences Berliner and Biddle.( 1995.) The Manufactured Crisis: Myths, Fraud, and the Attack on America's Public Schools. Addison Wesley.

Naturalization of Undocumented Immigrant

Prof. Alexandru November 18, 2013 Communications Immigration Laws Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience to Central Idea: The immigration system needs to be reformed. Introduction l. â€Å"Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. † These words are engraved on the Statue of Liberty that was assembled in 1886. The statue was meant to be a beacon of hope for all immigrants that enter the U. S. Hope for opportunities, a better life, a better home. But can we really say that's what they are given?II. A big issue that has been focused on lately by the government is Immigration law reform. For this speech I have done research about immigration laws and how they affect undocumented immigrants. Ill. A recent study conducted by the Pew Research Center in Washington, D. C. has found that there has been an increase of unauthorized immigrants in the United States since the end of recession in 2009, which means there a lot more people that live in the United States that will be affected.This can also be said that everyone in California can be affected by these laws because we are a border state, which usually get a larger influx of immigrants. ‘V. Today I would like to tell you about the serious issues with present day mmigration laws and persuade you to help reform them. First I will explain what immigration laws are and their purposes. Then I will tell you about some of those laws, and how they affect undocumented immigrants and society. And I will end with why and how you can help to make a difference. Body (So what are immigration laws? ) l.Immigration laws were created to regulate who and what may come into the United States. According the National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers, this is to protect us in four different major ways: public safety, public health, Jobs, and national ecurity. A. Ever since 1960, creating laws based on public safety, is to ensure that immigrants that may be potential prostitute s, polygamists, sexual deviates, or criminals would not be allowed to cross our borders. B. For Public Health, there are laws that prevent contagious diseases epidemics or people with potentially dangerous mental diseases.C. To ensure our Jobs are secure, laws are created to keep immigration from depressing wages too much. D. And National Security – Foreigners who would harm the country cannot come here, but the definition of who terrorists, for instance. Now let's talking about some actual immigration laws) V. Immigration laws vary on circumstances and we have to remember that every law always have exceptions. Every law also has flaws. Now I'm going to tell you about two laws that I found alarming. A. The Center for Immigration Studies estimates that close to 400,000 US citizens marry a non-U.S. citizen. When a United States' citizen gets married to a person from a different country, there is a long process that the couple has to go through to prove their marriage and plenty of petitions need to be filled out to gain citizenship. A. l . The process and analysis of the couples were not at all alarming me until I ran across an article that went into detail about transgender spouses, who not only had to deal with the naturalization process but also the process specifying their gender.

Loch Ness Monster

I have always been interested in mystery creatures such as the Sasquatch, Chupacabra, and Nessie or more universally called the Loch Ness Monster. Although there has been no official capture of one of these creatures, I believe there has to something to the mass sightings by people and the circumstantial evidence that is out there. My focus here is the Loch Ness monster. The Loch Ness Monster is a mythical creature that is said to inhabit Scotland's Loch Ness in Great Britain. In the following paragraphs I will discuss the mystery of Loch Ness and provide examples of some eye witness accounts. My exploration of this mystery is intended to at the very least open the reader's eyes to the possibility that the Loch Ness Monster does exist or at least it needs to be investigated further. Location of the Loch Ness Monster  The Loch Ness Monster or otherwise known as Nessie by the ancient Celts gets its name from its location in Scotland. It is located in the Great Glen in the Scottish highlands to be exact. The Great Glen in the Scottish highlands is a rift valley 60 miles long and contains three famous lochs, Lochy, Oich and Ness. The most famous of these lochs is Loch Ness because of the monster said to live in its deep waters. It is deeper than the North Sea and is very long and very, very narrow. The Scottish Highlands have long been home to mystery and belief in the supernatural. People of Scotland believe that the Loch Ness is home to Druid powers. The Celts of pre-Roman Britain also believed in a type of creature they called kelpies, water spirits that would appear to children in the forms of horses or bulls, enticing them into the water where they would drown them(â€Å"Loch Ness Monster†, 1998). Eyewitness accounts The earliest known sighting by humans that I could find documented was that in the written word â€Å"Life of St. Columba† by Adamnan and was written sometime in the 7th century. The story goes that the main character Columba saved the life of a the life of a Pict, who was being supposedly attacked by the monster. Columba repelled the monster with a cross. For centuries there have been reported sightings of the beast. Some of these accounts have the Loch Ness Monster seen on land. How credible the sources are can never be known, especially when these sightings happened so long ago. However in more modern times technology has aided in spreading the eyewitness accounts and given those sightings some legitimacy. An early purported sighting in modern times occurred July 22, 1933 when Mr. and Mrs. Spicer of London drove across a new road alongside Loch Ness. Their car nearly struck a huge, black creature with a long neck. They reported a â€Å"prehistoric animal† shambled across the road, slithered through the undergrowth and splashed in the Loch(Chorvinsky, n.d.). Perhaps the most famous purported sighting was in1934 by Colonel Robert Wilson a British surgeon, said that he noticed something moving in the water and took a picture of it. He happened to be urinating at the time, according to one version of what he shared later. The picture he took shows a creature with a long neck rising out of the water of the loch. â€Å"The Surgeon's Photo† as its formally known was distributed all over the world. For many years this photo was considered to be the best evidence that â€Å"Nessie† was real. It must be noted however that the photo Robert Wilson took and his eyewitness accou nt is now deemed as a hoax. Scientific Evidence There have been many eyewitness accounts, film footage, and sonar contacts of something strange in the Loch. That does not prove in the existence of Nessie but according to many Crypto zoologists this evidence shows that Nessie could exist and should be investigated until its existence is one hundred percent disproven. There is even an official scientific name for the creature â€Å"Nessiteras Rhombopteryx.†(Learning And Teaching In Scotland, n.d.). Some scientists believe that the Loch Ness monster could be a thought to be extinct marine reptile called a plesiosaur. This is plausible considering there have been many discoveries of thought to be extinct animals still very much alive. An example of a once thought to be extinct animal that is very much alive would be Coelacanth. Coelacanth fish were believed to have gone extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period some 65-plus million years ago. However in 1938, one was discovered off the east coast of South Africa near the mouth of the Chalumna River(â€Å"Lazarus species: 13 ’extinct’ animals found alive†, 2010). What should also be noted is that Loch Ness is not the only location where there are sightings of marine creatures. In many of the same geographical and topographical areas there are reports. These are usually in lakes and river systems that are deep, cold, and flow to the sea. Not only that they were all once home to migratory fish. Conclusion  Loch Ness is home to something strange and mysterious. I believe that there probably is something living in the loch that has yet to be discovered. I do not know whether it's a new species or some thought to be extinct species of marine animal that still exists. I think based on the evidence and the many sightings it cannot be disproven. Yes, there are skeptics as with any mystery, however, with all the accounts and circumstantial evidence there should be more investigation of Loch Ness. Only time will tell but I truly believe with better technology and more time the world will solve the mystery of the Loch Ness monster. That will be a great day in history. References http://www.strangemag.com/nessie.home.html http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Loch_Ness_Monster?oldid=946274

Crest cermony speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Crest cermony - Speech or Presentation Example day, I am a better person in claiming to be a stakeholder in the healthcare industry, thanks to the College of the North Atlantic – Qatar (CAN-Q) which helped me build the career and personality I most desired to have in life. It is for this reason that I find it a singular honour to be chosen to present this year’s CREST Ceremony to welcome you all into the institution. It is important that I first of all congratulate you for making it into CAN-Q and being accepted as students of the School of Health Science. Indeed your admission alone is an exemplification of your readiness to be part of a winning team, which CAN-Q has a trademark of being a champion in. There is a seed of championship in you all and so you should see yourselves as such. As the seed of championship has already been budded in you from the individual schools you are coming from, CAN-Q is going to serve as a very fertile farmland where the budded seed will be nurtured and fostered until it tussles, flowers and yields its fruits to be of profit to all humanity. This will be done with the help and assistance of the enabling learning environment which has been created in the institution for several years, making it part of the core traditions of CAN-Q. Please be assured that at CAN-Q, you will be offered student-centred and technology-rich teaching and learning experience. Indeed if I give all the pleasant comments and acknowledges about CAN-Q, I am not only doing so because protocol demands it. Rather, I am doing it because I am part of a living testimony of educational and professional transformation. I say so because when I first entered this institution, I had very little idea about how a single individual like me could transform the larger society. Little did I know that that potential was right inside me and that I only needed a little eye-opener from this prestige institution of which you have become part to make that ambition a reality. Today, I have a Bachelor with Honour in diagnostic

Business leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Business leadership - Essay Example Its object is to point out weaknesses and errors in order to rectify [them] and prevent recurrence.† The main focus of the controlling function is to make sure that everything is going according to plan and whatever is not going according to plan is fixed up as soon as possible. Modern day function of controlling has become very advanced; the managers are required to have the skill of foreseeing the events which are going to take place; on the other hand the function of controlling was only brought into effect after the problems were detected before the introduction of the modern functions of controlling. When a Manager adopts the method of controlling, he/she should make sure that it is done on a regular basis because controlling is a continuous process and should be carried out on a regular basis in any organization. Another important feature of controlling is that it is closely interrelated to Planning, under the process of planning, the goals are set for an organization and the function of controlling makes sure that those set goals are achieved in this way these two functions are interrelated. This paper will also throw light upon the ten principles of complexity and a conclusion that will sum up the discussing presented in the paper will be arrived upon. Management is quite a complicated task and involves a lot of innovation. The tricks taught in business schools, is flawed and this will be proved in this paper, a comprehensive understanding of â€Å"The Manager’s Job† written by Mintzberg will be presented in this paper. This article explores the different functions of a manager namely, coordinating, planning and controlling. Mintzberg is pretty convinced that the most basic functions of a manager is coordinating, planning and controlling but if a person observes a manager, it will be found that none of these three pivotal aspects of management are actually carried out by a manager. The same is proved with the help of

HR plans and the organizational context Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

HR plans and the organizational context - Essay Example HR management can play a role in identifying and analyzing external opportunities and threats that may be crucial to the company's success. It is in a unique position to supply competitive intelligence that may be useful in the strategic planning process. The HR function needs to be treated as a line function. HRM first reared its head in the 1980's with increased globalization of markets and intensified competition (Sisson, 1989, 1990; Blyton and Turnbull, 19941). The globalization of markets was facilitated by an IT- induced communication system and the diversification of the labor market. The international division of labor coupled with the rise and growth of multinational companies saw the emergence of Human Resource Management as a new and key factor in organizational success (Nolan and O'Donnel, 1991)2. HRM is an offshoot of Personnel Management and deals with the practice of identifying and placing the 'right people' people into the 'right' into jobs. Thus the basic gist of HRM lies in tying individual employee empowerment with organization development (Glueck, 1974). 3 The main dimensions of HRM involve the goal of integration (i.e. ... the use of planning a coherent approach in the design and management of personnel systems as an employment policy and manpower strategy, and often underpinned by a philosophy matching welfare and management activities and policies to an explicit business strategy, and seeing the people of the organization as a strategic resource for achieving competitive advantage. Guest in 1987 5outlined the main components of HRM: The main dimensions of HRM involve the goal of integration (i.e. human resources can be integrated into strategic plans, if human resource policies cohere, if line managers have internalized the importance of human resources, and this is reflected in their behaviour and if employees identify with the company, and then the company's strategic plans are likely to be more successfully implemented), the goal of employee commitment, the goal of flexibility/ adaptability (i.e. organic structures, functional flexibility), the goal of quality (i.e. quality of staff, performance, standards and public image. In a nutshell, HRM encompasses all the essential nitty- gritty details which build the foundation of an organization. But HRM should not be considered in a 'stand alone context.' According to Rao, 2001, HRM today ought to be taken in conjunction with external market, labor and media forces. HRM is heavily influenced by socio- economic and political policies shaping the industrial workplace. In addition, HRM also has to consider internal organizational corporate climate. Thus, HR executives don many hats dealing effectively with many influences to get the best performance from employees. Thus, HRM is not only about profits and productivity. It is about understanding employees. HRM in today's global society is concerned with employee empowerment to