Letter to Newspaper Essay Example for Free

Letter to Newspaper Essay Traditionally adult learners are students who are pursuing education in either, college (undergraduate or graduate degrees), vocational or occupational programs, continuing education or noncredit courses, correspondence courses and tutoring, as well as courses and other educational activities provided by employers, community groups, and other providers (Adult Learner, 2012). The average age of an adult learner is 25 years or older, it usually is a diverse group of people (Adult Learner, 2012). These adult learners can be an independent student, employed full time, a person with dependents, a person who as a result of a death or divorce, is now single and wishes to complete a degree program and a veteran of the United States military (Adult Learner, 2012). There also the lifelong learners who generally have additional responsibilities such as family, career, military, or community, and are seeking a degree or other educational offering to enhance their professional and or personal lives (Adult Learner, 2012). Education is any formally structured learning activity in which there are an instructor and curriculum. According to Bringhamton University (2012), the largest and fastest expanding market segment for higher education is the adult learner. Universities and colleges need to adjust their infrastructure to attract better and serve adult learners. There is less high school graduates entering colleges versus the adult learner (Demographics, 2012). With less traditional aged students and more non-traditional or adult learners there will be less public support, political leverage, and legislative support to finance an educational system that is designed primarily to serve the needs of traditional aged students without considering the special needs of a more age diverse student body (Demographics, 2012). There is a push in Washington for more federal dollars in adult training. They believe the  return on investment (ROI) from adult education and training is positive as billions of dollars could be earned, saved, and pumped back into the struggling economy (Gonzalez, 2011). The argument at capital is that adult education actually saves governments money by reducing societal healthcare, public assistance, and incarceration costs. It also improves and expands the nation’s available pool of workers by helping motivated, but undereducated people get jobs (Gonzalez, 2011). The theory of adult learning is the assumptions about how adults learn. Emphasizes the value of the process of learning in adults (Adult Learning Theory, 2007). Malcom Knowles and American practitioner and theorist of adult education defined is as an art and science of helping adults learn (Adult Learning Theory, 2007). Knowles also defined six adult learning principles as adults are internally motivated and self-directed, adults bring life experiences and knowledge to learning experiences and are goal orientated. They also relevancy oriented and are practical learners who like to be respected when in the classroom (Adult Learning Theory, 2007). As educators, we need to foster the adult learner’s internal motivation to learn. Develop a rapport with the adult learner, encourage them to ask questions and explore concepts. Some adult learners come with years of experience and knowledge, with this as an instructor or teacher we need to harvest this information and have them apply it to their new learning experiences. The need to for effective adult education over the past few years have increased. It is important we support adult learners. As with the increasing adult learning population, we are also increasing our nation’s available pool of workers. It is important that we invest in adult education as it nurture’s creativity, imagination and fulfilling lives. Investing in adult education is also important for families, communities and our country as a whole. Education is an important first step for some adult learners as it is a second chance in learning. Adult education is a great way for students that didn’t finish high school to get their high school diploma and continue on with their lives. Adult education is usually at night, so that the adults who attend it may still continue to go to work. This allows theses adults to continue to progress in their lives while adding more education to their resume and mind. References Becoming familiar with adult learning theory and the six principles of adult learning. (2007). Retrieved from http://www.qotfc.edu.au/resource/?page=65375 Gonzalez, J. (2011). Adult-education leaders visit capitol hill to push for more federal dollars. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/Adult-Education-Leaders-Visit/127448/ The effects of changing demographics on higher education. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.binghamton.edu/cice/documents/NYSTAKeynotePPT.pdf Who is an adult learner? (2012). Retrieved from http://universitycollege.illinoisstate.edu/adult/who.shtml

Understanding The Concepts Of Acculturation

Understanding The Concepts Of Acculturation It is very important to understand the concepts of cultural change before discussing acculturation. A bilinear model regarding the adaption to a new culture is proposed by John Berry and his colleagues . These authors theorized the following four acculturation attitudes: integration, assimilation, separation, and marginalization based on combining either high or low levels of acculturation and enculturation: (see Figure 3.1). The meaning of these four different attitudes is explained. As John Berry claims, integration involves immigrants accepting the new culture, while maintaining close ties with their original culture. These immigrants learn and follow local customs without losing their bond with their customs from their homeland. They are both highly acculturated and enculturated as shown in the diagram below . Assimilation, on the other hand, involves immigrants who totally accept the new culture, and reject their original culture. These immigrants will learn the language and follow local customs so thoroughly that no trace of their original heritage remains. People become assimilated in American society when they erased their cultural identity, unlearned their ethnic cultural practices and beliefs, and accepted the core values of mainstream American culture . Separation occurs when immigrants reject their new culture and live according to the customs of their original culture. These immigrants move to a new culture and find people from their homeland, and live as if they are still in their original culture, only in a different place . Marginalization represents immigrants who reject the new as well as their original culture. These immigrants no longer feel comfortable with their heritage, but the new culture does not appeal to them either . According to Berry, the attitude affects the process of acculturation. For example, as immigrants prepare to go to the U.S., they may have decided to assimilate into the culture. However, upon arrival they discover that they reject some customs of their new country. As a result they change their attitude from assimilation to integration. Thus, the attitude changes according to the various traits of the immigrants. Portes and Rumbaut argue for three major factors that can impact and change the attitude of immigrants. According to Portes and Rumbaut three factors are vital to understanding the acculturation trajectories of contemporary migrants. The first factor is their educational background, fluency in the English language, and economic and class status in their homeland. The second factor refers to the social policies of the host government and the historical and contemporary perceptions and attitudes of the mainstream society toward a particular immigrant group. The third factor is the immigrants social presence and networks and their family structure. The educational background of the immigrant groups and their social class back home are the social and cultural capital that they bring with them, which has an enormous impact on their economic assimilation. Although all three factors help determine how immigrants will acculturate into the larger mainstream American society, the second factor is the most relevant to shaping the acculturation outcomes of many nonwhite immigrants, especially of t hose immigrant groups who have little social and cultural capital and are not white. Even though the Indian Diaspora is racially distinct from the larger American mainstream, professional Indian Americans have an abundance of human-cultural capital acquired through their advanced education, knowledge of the English language, and social class in their home country. The low political profile of the Indian Diaspora also gives them a degree of invisibility that shields them from the scrutiny of the larger mainstream culture . The three major factors of acculturation presented by Portes and Rumbaut naturally change the course of the process for many immigrants. For example, an immigrant with poor English skills, who is determined to assimilate, may find it impossible because of the language barrier and decide instead to integrate into or even separate from the host culture. Bhatias work illustrates the process of how these factors affect Indian immigrants as they adapt to their new culture. Indians after immigrating to America, inevitably undergo some type of adjustment or acculturation process. Though inside the home Indian immigrants could maintain their culture, once outside the home, the system or society itself forced Indians into the acculturation process on all levels of culture. It is necessary to understand how immigrants acculturate in the U.S. As Waters and Bhatia suggest, unlike many Caribbean immigrants, most Indian professionals are middle class, live in suburban America, and are not subject to the structural inequalities of low wages, racism, and violent neighborhoods . However, there are some parallels in how both these groups of migrants come to terms with their racial and ethnic identity. On one hand, the Indian migrants are very proud of their Indian ethnicity and heritage. On the other hand, they invoke what Bhatia calls the discourse of sameness [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] and universal humanity to distance themselves from their racial and ethnic identity . I n other words, they realize that certain costs associated with being Indian are painful and hurtful and that invoking the discourse of sameness is meant to establish equivalence with the white majority. For example, Indian immigrants compare their experiences in the work place with those experiences of white Americans in an attempt to show equality with the majority. In one of Bhatias interviews an immigrant credits his own hard work and accomplishments for his position in the company, while: If I was a white American male, you know, maybe there would be prejudice because Im too short. [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] So being an Indian, I dont think it put me at a different spot. Or at least, thats how I feel . Sunil Bhatias study demonstrates that the members of the transnational Indian Diaspora are more comfortable with a cultural identity than a racial identity because their insertion in the transnational Diaspora has transformed them from being Indian to being people of color . The research illustrates the complicated nature of the acculturation of Indian immigrants. As demonstrated above, the attitude of the immigrants toward their new host country is only a starting point for the process. As these immigrants experience their new culture, their own personal background reshapes their attitude, and changes the way they interact with people, regardless of nationality. Clearly Indian immigrants move through a process as they acculturate to their new surroundings. While Berry, Portes and Rumbaut and Bahtia all approach the subject from different directions and perspectives, and though they may not agree with one another, it is clear that each body of research illustrates a complicated process of acculturation. Taken individually the research results may appear to be contradictory, however, a closer analysis shows that their research actually supports one another. The attitude of the immigrants, studied by Berry, plays a major role in the process, but these attitudes may change in response to the three major factors affecting acculturation presented by Portes and Rumbaut. This ever changing process has been documented in Bhatias work, which demonstrates that immigrants adapt individually to their new culture, in this case the United States. That means there is no set formula for determining what will happen to an immigrant once he or she arrives. This process takes place within any immigrant to any country, therefore it will be beneficial to de monstrate specifically some of the elements unique to Indian immigrants, and how these elements influence the process. 3.2 Influencing Elements of Acculturation 3.2.1 Family Perhaps the most important element to consider for Indian immigrants is family. As these Indian immigrants relocate to the U.S., start a family and begin the process of finding their place in society, it is important to understand the processes which influence the impact of acculturation on their families. To first-generation Indian immigrants and their children, family plays a vital role in their lives. Hodge agrees with this assessment, and points out the stark difference between Indian culture and western culture. Western culture emphasizes the individual, material success and secularism. The Indian culture, by contrast, places much more value on community, especially the family, and on spiritual matters . Acculturation plays an important role in understanding about the family structure, including family conflict as well as differences between first and second-generations. For example, the process and outcomes of acculturation determine which values are important to the first-generation and therefore retained and passed on to the succeeding generations. In addition, the process of acculturation might also determine expectations for subsequent generations. For example an assimilated individual would expect the same from his or her children. Most of the work reviewed on acculturation includes some variables related to the family structure, including family conflict, specifically intergenerational family conflict. Some scholars dedicated their studies to South Asian families. Among them, for example, Mathews provided a more general consideration of South Asian families to explain how they function. First, she explains the relationship of the family in a social order, where the father is usually considered the head of the family, which continues to be the traditional way of Indian families in America. Furthermore, she describes the role of both father and mother in the family, in which the mother usually takes care of the household and raises the children and the father usually serves as decision maker and provider . Bringing up the children in a new and different culture, which often conflicts with their core ethnic values, creates problems for not only the parents but also for their children. As values may be extracted from both the native culture and host culture, it is inevitable that conflicts arise. Thus, in this case both parents and children struggle to balance family values of their own culture with the family values of the mainstream culture. In addition, according to the traditional Indian family, the eldest person is considered to be a decision maker such as career decisions for family members or approving marriages. This naturally means parents, especially in the first-generation, make the important decisions . Clearly the attitude of immigrants from India to the U.S. will be greatly influenced by the strength of their bond to their traditional family values. This attitude will steer them through their acculturation process. 3.2.2 Dress According to Khandelwal, Indian American immigrants have a mixed type of acculturation regarding dress. It is quite different for men as compared to women. In the case of men, they adopted western dress more easily than women due to the influence of colonialism. Indian American men started wearing a western style of dress even from the first-generation. However, most of these first-generation Indian immigrants do not have a correct idea of the weather and climate system of the U.S. For example, an Indian man, who came to America in the winter of 1994, was wearing a light silk suit and shivering outside. One old man saw him and told him: Son, this is not the time to show off your new silk suit. I told you how it is going to be cold here today. If you catch a cold or become sick, nobody will take care of you in this country. Here you have to take care of yourself. All the money your family spent on making this suit for America will go down drain in one doctors visit here. There will be other occasions when you can use this suit! . Indian women immigrants are recognized mainly by their traditional dress called sari. Accordingly many female Indian immigrants try to preserve their culture by continuing to wear this kind of traditional dress. Saris are considered works of art due to the careful design and color combinations. However, in the workplace they alternatively wear western style clothing. An Indian woman who immigrated to America during the 1990s was forced to wear Western dress due to her job requirements as a cashier in a store. She said the following: See, I have to wear these mens clothes here. Its ok because I am doing mens job here. Our clothes do not fit in this American culture. To feel Indian, we can wear our own clothes when we are not on the job Before coming to America, she had never worked outside of her house and wore only traditional clothing. However, she adapted to the Western dress because American culture forced her to do so . Khandelwal continues to suggest that US born immigrant children are unlikely to continue wearing traditional dress. For example, young female immigrants in America prefer having readily made kurta-pyjama outfits to the saris, because they do not know how to wear these saris . At the same time, weddings among Indian Americans still continue to be traditional, in which the couple wears traditional dresses either bought in America or brought from India during a visit to the home country. However, due to some specific reasons, some of the Indian American immigrants and their children mostly use western styles only. For example, Nikki Haley, a daughter of Sikh Indian immigrants and one of the current rising stars in the Republican Party, wears mostly a suit, rejecting the sari in order to gain greater public acceptance while running for governor of South Carolina in November 2010 . There is a significant difference in clothing style between India and the U.S. Immigrants who desire to retain their cultural style of dress will have different experiences with acculturation than those who are willing to accept western standards. This plays a bigger role in the lives of women immigrants than for men. 3.2.3 Religion Religion plays a major role in the life style of Asian Indian Americans. Religious beliefs and practices are intricately interwoven with the aspects of acculturation and cultural identity of these immigrants. So it is important to understand the influence of religion on the acculturation of Asian Indian immigrants. India is a country of diverse religions such as Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Buddhism. Among these religions, 82.6 % of Indians practice the Hindu religion which makes up a clear majority of the population, while the remaining 17.4% of the population practices Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Judaism and Parsis . These percentages reflect the population of India; however, Pakistan and Bangladesh have larger percentages of population which practice Islam. The existence of many religions in India indicates that religion plays a major role for Indian people. Thus, most of the Indian people have one religious belief, whether it is Hindu, Islam, Christianity, etc. Each immigrant community brought its own sociological traditions from its place of origin, including ethical and religious behaviors. In the same way when Indians first started to migrate to the United States, they essentially had to carry out religious practices and teachings on their own . As the population of immigrants practicing Hinduism increased, so increased the number of religious organizations. With the development of a greater Hindu population practicing religion at home and in specific religious organizations became the norm. Leonard also noted that as the number of Indian immigrants has increased, religion has naturally become more important, as it has become a part of Indian American identity. Hinduism helps Indian Americans differentiate themselves in the United States, from mainstream U.S. culture as well as from other Asian and South Asian groups . Like earlier immigrants, the post-1965 Indian immigrants maintained their belief system, which provided an important way to keep and transmit their values to following generations . Most of the Indian immigrants in America can practice their religion. As an Indian immigrant Rupu notes: I think thats what it is about America. Thats what brought everybody here. Its that being American you can be who you want to be and still be an American. Theres a freedom of religion, a freedom of expression . In America, the practice of Hinduism reflects its American surroundings. For instance, most related religious activities take place on weekends in order to suit work schedules and priests explain sacred texts in English, rather than Hindi or Sanskrit . Asian American immigrants faced lot of challenges due to strong religious beliefs which influenced their acculturation. For example, their religious beliefs may be challenged or even given up as they are exposed to the religious beliefs, practices, symbols, and rhetoric of the mainstream culture. For Asian American immigrants who are faced with prejudice, racism, and discrimination, religious conversion may provide a sense of refuge and facilitate processes of assimilation and acculturation, which may explain why the majority of Asian Americans in the United States identify themselves as Christian . But one should not assume that Asian American immigrants adopt Christianity merely as a way to be accepted by the majority culture. Indeed, for some Asian American immigrants, Christianity is their religion of choice. However, it is different in the case of immigrants from India. As Khandelwal claims, unlike other Asian immigrants, Indians who are mostly from Hindu religion, have displayed little questioning of their faiths and they are unlikely to convert to another religion. Moreover, Hinduism, the dominant religion in India, faces the challenge of being a minority religion in America, where Christianity is dominant . These immigrants will therefore face the challenge of maintaining their belief system in the minority, which is opposite from their homeland. This in turn, will affect their acculturation process greatly as they struggle with their religious views. Clearly religion plays a major role in the process of adapting to a new culture. Religion is especially important for Asian Indian immigrants, who already place a high value on their own belief system. Whether holding fast to their own religion, or converting to some other religion, these immigrants will practice some kind of religion after their arrival in the U.S. 3.2.4 Food Indians who have a vast variety of food habits have a hard time adapting easily to Western food. One of the major causes for this lies in the great number of religions practiced by Indian immigrants. As a result of religious food laws many of Indias people do not consume animal products, which include eggs. The work of Bankston and Hidalgo shows that Indian immigrants are highly unwilling to change their food consumption habits. For example, most Indian Hindus avoid beef and pork, while Pakistanis avoid pork and alcoholic beverages. Most Indians prefer meals from their own culture. However, in households with children, American style meals have become more frequent . Indians have preferred home-cooked meals for a long time, and it has been a part of their culture. They believe that eating at home together with all members of their family is an important ritual for bonding with each other. Many Indian Americans continue to preserve their traditional food habits in America. However, most of the Indians are also adapting to Western food. One example is that pizza is the next alternative food in popularity when compared to their native foods, as well as a timesaver when cooking at home. Indian parents in America expect their children to appreciate home-cooked food more than meals eaten outside the home, although sometimes US born children have a hard time understanding why they need to eat homemade food . Some Indians run Indian restaurants, where they serve national food for not only Indians but also other Americans. As Indian food is mainly spicy, the waiters ask American customers if they prefer their food mild, medium or spicy. One owner of an Indian restaurant had the following to say: I have seen situations where Indian food can send them sweating all over [running to decrease their spiciness by drinking more water or juices] that is not good for our business, so we try to accommodate them . For many Indian immigrants food plays a major role in the acculturation process. While religion prohibits complete adaptation to American food, traditional spices and preparation of Indian cuisine varies greatly from that of Western cuisine. This also plays a role in preventing some Indians from accepting the new style of food. Naturally everyone must eat, therefore food plays a major role in the acculturation process. 3.2.5 Marriage Customs According to Indian tradition, Indians get married based on an arranged marriage usually within their own community. This tradition has been preserved from generation to generation. The selection of a marriage partner depends on a set of persons recommended by the partners families (with the full approval and consent of the parents). Family or community members continue to be involved in the selection of a suitable mate. The family and educational backgrounds of the potential partner are thoroughly examined before introductions are made. Indians believe that their children will be happier if they are married to someone who shares the same history, tradition, religion, and social customs and who will be able to impart these values to their children, thus ensuring the continuity of the community. They believe that such marriages made within the community tend to be more stable and long lasting than those that cross community borders . In fact, many American born Asian Indians encounter tremendous obstacles in dating and marriage. On the one hand, their parents warn them not to date until they marry and expect that the children get married according to an arranged marriage which is a custom brought over from India . Indian parents believe that sexual contact before the marriage is immoral and corrupt. On the other hand, the American born children have friends for whom dating is very common and normal. These immigrants desire to fit in the environment in which they find themselves. Accordingly there have been many cases where some Indian lovers are secretly married, and in the worst case, some couples have committed suicide as of result of their relationship being rejected by family. However, some Asian Indian American men and women still prefer to return to their homelands for arranged marriages. In these cases, family members at home seek out appropriate possibilities for marriage to their son or daughter. At the right time, the son or daughter returns home to choose from the candidates assembled by their family . Even the other religion practiced by these immigrants plays a role in the process of acculturation. For example Muslim parents usually accept interfaith marriages for boys, because children customarily follow the fathers faith. However, daughters face a greater challenge because parents do not want their grandchildren to lose their Islamic affiliation . Some Indians came after their marriage in India, whereas some came as students. Most of the students have returned to India for getting married. There are also a few instances where an Indian married an American because of the relationship between the countries and individuals. Other Indians have dated Americans. However, the fact is that dating is not a traditional Indian custom and Indian parents tend to warn their children not to date, although they are slowly yielding to their offsprings demands to be allowed to date . The situation of arranged marriages in India is changing too. As second-generation immigrants Sanjay and Veera observed that: Even in India you see people pushing back and becoming more Westernized, more mainstream. Ive seen my cousins, and [by, #184] leaps and bounds, theyve gone past what is traditional. [Indian American young adults] dont drink and smoke and have lived a sheltered life. Theyve always lived at home and havent gone out much. My cousins in India are more advanced. A lot of my cousins married their boyfriends . Customs surrounding marriage can have a major impact on the acculturation process. Especially for those coming from India, where marriages are still arranged by family, the concept of dating before marriage creates an obstacle for many parents and their children. While customs among Indian immigrants are changing, allowing for young people to find their own spouse, many first-generation immigrants have a hard time letting go of old habits. For these families the acculturation process will be influenced by the marriage customs of the U.S. 3.2.6 Language Different languages are spoken in India depending on different regions. Some languages are quite independent and difficult to understand by the neighboring people who speak a different language. In spite of these language differences, most people are able to speak Hindi due to its status as a national language and English due to British colonial rule for two centuries in India. The Indian government recognized the English language as an additional official language. Language is one of the main norms that brings people together and helps them to adapt to the U.S. Proficient English knowledge is one of the reasons Indians migrate to America, and it also helps them to assimilate more easily into life in America . After 1965 most of the Indians arrived in America from different language groups. However, they all knew English. Most immigrants join Indian communities, where they can practice not only Hindi but also their regional language. As Khandelwal claims, first and second-generation immigrants practice different uses of language in America. As for the first-generation, they tend to speak English and at the same time they tend to maintain their native language. However, first-generation immigrants face linguistic problems to speak American English due to their thick Indian accent. The second-generation immigrants who are already born and brought up in the US are usually thought to speak English with an American accent and rejected their parents Indian accent, in turn; their parents considered their childrens English as too American. These second-generation Indian immigrants are involved with Indian languages through movies, songs or when they visit India. Though they understand their parents language, most of them are not able to speak or to write it . According to Khandelwal, the first-generation immigrants tend to be more integrated speaking both English and their mother tongue, whereas the second-generation grows up speaking English as a mother tongue and learn their parents language only to satisfy their parents wishes. Obviously, language plays an important role in the acculturation process for Indian immigrants. While many immigrants have already learned English before they arrived, their English proficiency affects their ability to assimilate into the new culture.

Summary Of Neutral Tones By Thomas Hardy English Literature Essay

Summary Of Neutral Tones By Thomas Hardy English Literature Essay The speaker addresses an estranged lover and reminisces about a foreseen moment in their past, from where he already anticipates the demise of their relationship. The first three stanzas (lines 1-12) describe the past incident when the speaker faces the bleak moments of a break up process. The speaker is mentally perturbed by the disillusions of love, believing that things were once beautiful. He is frustrated when love perishes and felt deceived by the sweet promises love had to offer. It started off with cold winter where the speaker stood by a pond with his lover and everything was neutral in colour with sombre effects of whites and greys to depict the sense of hopelessness and death in all living things. The tension gradually picks up in the second stanza where the speaker explores deeper into the nature of their relationship: Your eyes on me were as eyes that rove over tedious riddles solved years ago., which is interpreted to mean that the couple had repeated fights with no progress in their relationship. The insignificance of their communication exposed through the tired and morbid undertone seen in lines such as And some words played between us to and fro-. This shows fundamental flaws in their communication, making a meaningful relationship seem impossible. The first line of the third stanza describing her smile contains a disheartening oxymoron. Usually, a facial gesture would be associated with happiness and joy; where as in Neutral Tones the smile is des cribed as the deadest thing. The cold causality of the gesture serves as reminder to the bitterness of the poem. This oxymoronic metaphor continues, with the phrase: alive enough to have the strength to die. This phrase further enhances the emotional turmoil experienced by the speaker, presenting a horrifying image of something that just has enough energy to die. Based from this line, the speaker had already known that his lover would deceive him in love; just as her smile that defeats the purpose of joy and happiness. Lastly, the fourth stanza reflects upon the memories of the past incident and explains on the nature of love. It is a sad, pessimistic and melancholic poem that portrays love as painful and never lasting till it is fragilely doomed. What meanings do you find in the title? The poet tells on the termination of a relationship creates its melancholic note in the title itself, called Neutral Tones. Ironically, the colours of landscape are neutral but the lovers features, as in her eyes and smile, may seemed neutral but they are in fact bitter and hurtful. Throughout the poem, a variety of techniques are used to highlight sadness and emotions in the speaker with soothing yet depressing language that functions on duality. Neutrality effects from the poem may seem calm and soothing, yet it contradicts to the real meaning of the context, which actually depicts hopelessness and disillusionments about love. Explain in your own words the metaphor in line 2. In line 2, Hardy uses a very neutral monosyllabic word like the sun was white, as though chidden of God. The sun that normally appears to be yellow, symbolizes happiness and life. But in Neutral Tones, as the title suggests that all living things and nature becomes sombre in colour, which in this context the sun becomes white to create the feelings of frigidity as well as to symbolize the coldness of the relationship within the poem. The speaker once thought that love would be a happy and lively feeling of joy, instead of having a tragic ending of coldness towards the relationship. Sadly, even a possible hope of love has been chidden of God as if it is cursed and forbidden. What connotations appropriate to this poem does the ash (line 4) have that oak or maple would lack? The ash carries a double meaning, where as oak and maple merely mean a type of tree. Unlike the maple and oak, ash could also means a grey powdery substance that is left after something is burnt besides having another meaning as a type of tree. In other words, Hardy uses ash to connote to the demise of the speakers relationship as well as the love that fades in time. Hardy creates a gloomy environment with a grey ash to emit the ambiance of a winter season where everything is neutral in colour. The few leaves, which have fallen from the ash gives hint towards the dying of life. Yet, it is not life that died, but love. What visible objects in the poem function symbolically? What actions or gestures? The setting contributes to a mood of torpor or constriction the sun is white, as if drained of all its vitality. Dead leaves lie on the ground as a reminder of the end of the natural cycle of life and death. These leaves are grey and come from an ash: Both words reinforce the gloominess of this colorless, inert scene. Essentially, Hardy creates a dying environment to symbolize a perishing relationship. In addition to serving as an objective correlative, the bleak world Hardy describes in Neutral Tones also symbolizes the speakers dead relationship. Through his use of imagery, construction of the poem, and paradoxes, Hardy creates a bleak world of once-beautiful things lying in despair, which invokes a sense of hopelessness and melancholia in the reader. The description of the womans glance and their conversation suggests that their love had become boring and meaningless to her. Things become even direr in stanza 3, when the lovers smile is likened-in a metaphor instead of the simile of stanza 2-to the deadest thing/ Alive, and her bitter grin is compared to an ominous bird aà ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢wing. use of symbolism is the ominous bird a-wing, this could have been put in as a kind of prolepsis to the final stanza, the ominous bird representing his know shattered trust, the word ominous almost suggest something paganistic about this. The pain predicted by this bitter grin is confirmed in stanza 4 the death of their relationship, but even more pain and suffering followed in the deceptions and wrongs that ensued. The vagueness and generalized tone of this last stanza implies that the assertion that love deceives, / and wrings with wrongs is a generalization that applies to all love, not just this particular love.

Analysis of Analytical Discrimination Essay -- Essays Papers

Analysis of Analytical Discrimination If one was required to put a definition on analytical discrimination, what would it mean? In the article â€Å"Discrimination is a virtue,† author Robert Keith Miller discusses the word â€Å"discrimination† and its true meanings, stating it as just knowing a difference. So if the question were asked once again, would it be possible to discriminate the appeals used in analytical analysis? Miller presents us stories and examples to point out a â€Å"lost† definition of a word often overheard, but never studied. His use of appeals sides with logos, discriminates against ethos, and makes anti-pathos a reality. His writing appeals to the mind, leaving much to ponder, though these thoughts may be lost in the whirlwind of ink ideas thrown into a paperback debate. This article focuses on different situations to discuss the problems within. This topical discussion is effective being as there are no two clear sides for argument, and no steps to concluding a definite answer. This articles presentation leaves it open for logos, the writer seemingly shuns or does not have the use of ethos and pathos. Miller has written for Newsweek, where this article comes from. He has also written writing handbooks, such as Motives for Writing (McGraw-Hill) and Hodges’ HarBrace Handbook (Harcourt College Publishers). He is an educator in argument techniques, writing Informed Argument: A Multidisciplinary Reader and Guide. The audience for his article is people of open mind and education. His appeals to logic show a need to take apart his examples and examine them to find their meanings. When he presents his ideas, there is a need to understand each situation, and... ...f logos is a main theme in the argument. Miller needs people to think about what he is presenting to have an effect on them. To a concentrated audience, his appeals make a good impression and even some realizations. An argument that offers a change in a language may come as hard for the reader to understand, but Miller presents examples in which he change makes sense to arouse the readers mind. This use of examples may be rampant and unconnected in some aspects, but all do serve the main purpose and relate to the main argument. Miller’s techniques form an informative and interesting essay. I believe that he has found his purpose and offered his point in the best possible way considering the subject matter. In interpreting his essay, Miller’s own words seem to sum it up best: â€Å"Let us be open-minded by all means, but not so open-minded that our brains fall out.†

Was He Just a Man? Essay -- American History, Jefferson Davis

â€Å"I worked night and day for twelve years to prevent the war, but I could not. The North was mad and blind, would not let us govern ourselves, and so the war came† (Thinkexist 6). These words were spoken by Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederate States of America. Although he was president of the confederacy, he was opposed to secession and spoke for peace between north and south before the beginning of the war. The effects of Jefferson Davis’s accomplishments can still be felt today. Jefferson Davis was born in June 3rd, 1808 (McGill 2). At age seven he was sent to a Dominican boy’s school in Kentucky (Jefferson Davis 3). When he was thirteen, he went to Transylvania College in Kentucky (McGill 3). He accepted a nomination to West Point in 1824 (McGill 3). He graduated twenty-third in his class of thirty-nine; he also had a total of 327 demerits on his record (McGill 3). If Jefferson Davis had never gone to school as a young child, he would have never received a nomination to West Point. Without his West Point schooling, he wouldn’t have gone into the military, which would have changed everything in his life. He never would have met his two wives. If he didn’t meet them, he wouldn’t have gotten into politics which, would have rewritten history. After his school he went into the army as a lieutenant. He served in the Black Hawk War (McGill 4). The Black Hawk War was a war between the U.S. and Sac and Fox Indians (Lewis 1). The war began when these Indian tribes left their reservation in Iowa to return to their homes in Illinois (Lewis 1). Upon hearing that the Indians had left their reservation, citizens broke into widespread panic (Lewis 1). There was only one major battle during the Black Hawk War; it was the battle... ...d never have been appointed to Secretary of War. What if Jefferson Davis wasn’t chosen for the Confederate presidency? Davis’s role in the success that the Confederacy achieved against a nation much more superior in numbers and resources was enormous. First of all, even though he was too noisy in military affairs, he often helped. Lastly, he held the south together until the end of the war, which allowed the south to fight for much longer and continue with a fighting chance. Even though Jefferson Davis was a strong supporter of the south, he tried to keep the south from seceding, as stated in his quote, â€Å"I worked night and day for twelve years to prevent the war, but I could not. The North was mad and blind, would not let us govern ourselves, and so the war came† This quote shows how hard Jefferson Davis tried to keep the union together (Thinkexist 6).

Bite Me: A Love Story Chapter 20

20. Hunters TOMMY AND ABBY Somehow it had seemed to make sense that he follow Abby's interpretation of Madame Natasha's reading, but now, standing on the dock by the black ship, with the night almost gone, he wasn't so sure. â€Å"You think she's in there?† â€Å"She could be. I saw in the City Blog that this ship arrived-there was a picture, and it looked cool, and-oh, I don't know, I'm new at this. You can't expect me to be good at everything. Why don't you go all misty and sneak aboard?† They heard bare feet on teak and suddenly a gorgon of blond dreadlocks popped up over the top of the smooth black carbon fiber of the cockpit. â€Å"Irie bruddah. Irie sistah. Howzit?† A young man, very tan, heat coming off him, but with a thin black ring inside his life aura. Abby elbowed Tommy and he nodded to show he'd seen it. â€Å"What did he say?† Tommy asked. â€Å"I don't know,† Abby said. â€Å"It sounds Australian. If he goes off about going down under to have a go on his dirigity-doo I'm going to kick him in the kidneys with my forbidden love Chucks.† â€Å"Okey dokey,† Tommy said. The blond guy held up a pair of night-vision binoculars, looked quickly through them, then set them down again. â€Å"Shoots! You be deadies! Jah's love to ya, me deadies!† He vaulted up over the edge of the cockpit, landed on the deck eight feet below, then jumped over to the dock. He was very fit, very muscular, and smelled of fish blood and weed. â€Å"Pelekekona called Cap'n Kona, pirate of the briny science, lion of Zion, and dreadie to deadies of the first order, don't you know.† He extended his hand to Tommy, who shook it, tentatively. â€Å"Tommy Flood,† Tommy said, then, because he felt as if he should have a title, added, â€Å"writer.† Then the blond Rasta man took Abby in his arms, hugged her, and kissed her on both cheeks, then let his hands linger on her back and slide down. He let go when she bent one of his fingers back, driving him to his knees. â€Å"Back off, you fucking hemp Muppet! I am Countess Abigail Von Normal, emergency backup mistress of the Greater Bay Area darkness.† â€Å"Countess?† Tommy said out of the corner of his mouth. â€Å"And a slim and delicious deadie biscuit, too, as fine as a snowflake, yeah,† said Kona. â€Å"No harm, me deadies, I'n'I have grand Aloha for ya, but can't bring ya on the ship. That Raven ship will kill ya dead for good, don't cha know. But we can chant down Babylon right here, mon.† He produced a pipe and lighter out of the pocket of his baggies. Out of the other he pulled a sterile lancet, the kind diabetics use to poke their fingers for blood tests. â€Å"If one of me new deadie dreadies would donate to a mon's mystic. Jus' a drop two.† Abby looked at Tommy. â€Å"Renfield,† she said, rolling her eyes. Tommy nodded. She was talking about Renfield, the crazed blood slave of Dracula in the original Bram Stoker novel. The original â€Å"bug eater.† â€Å"Maybe we can help you with that,† Tommy said. Abby said, â€Å"You're not worthy of our aid, not worthy to be free, and we would surely both be tools, to help you, vampire fool.† She curtsied. â€Å"Baudelaire, Les Fleurs du Mal. I'm paraphrasing, of course.† â€Å"Nice,† Tommy said. She knew her romantic poetry, not very well, or accurately, but she knew it. â€Å"Ah, mon, I tried dat paraphrasing in Mexico one time. The boat, she stop too quick and dis brutha drop out da sky like one rock. No mon, Kona doan like de heights.† â€Å"Not parasailing, you imbecile, paraphrasing.† â€Å"Oh. Dat diffren.† â€Å"Ya think,† said Abby. Tommy said, â€Å"Kona, I will give you a drop of blood, but first, are you saying that this ship belongs to vampires?† â€Å"Ya mon. Me deadie masters, mon. Powerful old.† â€Å"Are they on the ship now?† â€Å"No, mon. They here to fix up this calamity. Vampire cats dat old one leave.† â€Å"Just the cats?† â€Å"No mon, dey clean it all up. All the peoples have seen them, or know about it. They cleaning house, brah.† Abby shook her head like she had water in her ears. Tommy knew how she felt. â€Å"So, these old vampires are here to take out witnesses and whatnot, and they left you in charge of this ship? Just you?† â€Å"Oh yeah, sistah. Kona ichiban top-rate pirate captain of briny science.† â€Å"Why would they do that? You're not even trying to keep a secret.† Kona let his good-time bravado slip, his shoulders slumped, and when he answered, the breezy island bullshit accent was gone, â€Å"Why would anyone believe a word I say?† â€Å"Good point,† Tommy said. â€Å"And besides, you two already knew about vampires. No heat in the night-vision goggles.† â€Å"Also a good point,† Tommy said. â€Å"So these are the vampires who came to get Elijah?† Abby had told Tommy that the Emperor had seen Elijah and the hooker, Blue, leaving with three vampires, taking a small boat out into the fog off the St. Francis Yacht Club. â€Å"Ya, mon. Dat old bloodsucka be locked up below now, air tight. Dat buggah stone crazy, him.† Tommy expected a chill of sorts, but instead of alarm, he felt his senses and mental acuity almost tightening down. There was no flight response, only fight. That was new. He said, â€Å"So Elijah, the hooker, and how many others?† â€Å"Just the three, mon. No hooker. She second gen vamp, mon. They doan make it long. Curl up and die for good, she.† Abby stepped up and tried to grab Kona by the throat, but her hand was too small and she just ended up knocking him over on the dock. â€Å"What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck are you talking about, Medusa?† â€Å"Oh, dey doan tink Kona know, but only dem vamps Elijah make live long time. How 'bout a drop of Zion, now, brah?† Kona held the lancet out to Tommy. Tommy was stunned. â€Å"One more thing. Why would they bring the ship back here? They had to know that we blew up Elijah's yacht.† â€Å"Ya mon, but the Raven, she ain't like dat. She protect herself.† Kona held up his arm and Tommy noticed for the first time he was wearing something that looked like a dog's shock collar on his wrist. â€Å"If I doan have dis here on, da Raven kill Kona dead dead, too. She knows. She knows them three. Anyone else, she send to Davy Jones.† Tommy took the lancet from Kona, unwrapped it, and pricked his finger with it. â€Å"Not going to happen,† Abby said, catching Tommy's hand as he was holding his bleeding finger out to Kona. â€Å"You are not getting dirty hippie mouth on you. You might be dead but you can catch heinous hacky-sac rot from someone like him.† â€Å"Gentle down, biscuit, Kona has him feelings, too.† She reached into her messenger and came out with a retractable pen. She unscrewed it, squeezed Tommy's blood into the cap, then handed it to Kona. â€Å"There.† The Rasta man sucked at the pen so hard he nearly aspirated it, then sat back on the dock and dazzled a wide, white grin. â€Å"Ya mon, takin' the ship home to Zion.† Abby's cell trilled. She checked the screen, said, â€Å"It's Foo,† then answered and turned away. Tommy could hear Foo Dog on the phone, begging Abby to come back to the loft right away. He shifted his focus to Kona. â€Å"Why?† he asked. â€Å"Shoots, brah, a mon love his blood ganga, so jumpin' ship be powerful hard, but when I sign on the Raven ship she have a crew of twenny. Dey say dem boys leave, but they ain't jumpin' ship when we out to sea five days. Dat Makeda deadie, full on African biscuit, too, she eatin' me shipmats, Jah's mercy. Only Kona left now.† â€Å"You? You're the only crew on a ship this size?† â€Å"Ya mon. That Raven, she sail herself.† Abby turned around. â€Å"We have to go.† â€Å"What?† Tommy asked. â€Å"Foo said all the rats are dead. All of them.† Tommy didn't understand. He looked at the sky, which was starting to lighten. â€Å"We can't get over there now.† Abby checked her watch. â€Å"Fucksocks! Sunup in thirty.† RIVERA The sky was lightening behind the Oakland hills and the pink light reflected in the glass front of the Marina Safeway made it appear to be on fire. The Animals stood around their cars, unslinging the tanks and Super Soakers of Grandma Lee's tea. Clint had Barry's spear gun, and was holding it as if it were a holy relic. â€Å"We're out,† said Lash Jefferson. â€Å"What are we going to tell Barry's mom? We don't even have a body.† Rivera didn't know what to say. He hadn't thought of the Animals as people, really. It was wrong in so many ways he didn't have time to count them up. Not just endangering the public, but actively drawing citizens into a secret operation that got them killed. Amid all the unreal things that had happened, having Barry plucked out of their ranks was too real. Too wrong. â€Å"I'm sorry,† Rivera said. â€Å"I thought we were prepared for them. They're just cats.† â€Å"The Emperor told you that it wasn't just a cat,† said Jeff, the big ex-power forward. He was scratching Marvin's ears and the cadaver dog was smiling. Rivera shook his head. It was the Emperor. He was a loon. How could you know that that part of the story was true? â€Å"Did he have a wife, girlfriend?† asked Rivera. â€Å"We could put together some money for her.† â€Å"No, he didn't have a girlfriend,† said Troy Lee. â€Å"He worked graveyard shift like the rest of us. Got high in the morning, slept until time to go to work at eleven. Girls won't put up with that shit.† The other Animals nodded, sadly, for Barry and for themselves. â€Å"You can't quit now,† said Cavuto. â€Å"You don't even know if your spray works. Don't you want to see? Get revenge?† â€Å"What's the up side?† asked Lash. â€Å"You save the City.† Lash slammed the car door. â€Å"We have two hours to get our whole night's work done. You guys need to roll out of here.† Rivera said, â€Å"Can we have a couple of those sprayers, then? And you guys should keep them with you. We know that Chet retraces his territory. You might be territory now.† Clint reached into the back of his Volkswagen, grabbed a Super Soaker, and threw it to Cavuto. â€Å"Great,† said the big cop, â€Å"I'm going to save the friggin' world with an orange squirt gun.† â€Å"Okay, in the car, Marvin,† said Rivera. He opened the rear door of the Ford and Marvin leapt in. â€Å"Call us if you need us.† The two cops drove off. On the roof of the Safeway, the vampire Makeda checked her watch and squinted at the eastern sky, which was threatening sunrise. OKATA Okata had never been to the Levi's store on Union Square, yet that's what the burned-up girl had drawn on the map, so that is where he went. It appeared to be a good place to find blue jeans. He handed a young girl the list the burned-up girl had given him. He paid in cash and left fifteen minutes later with a pair of black jeans, a cotton chambray shirt, and black denim jacket. The next mark on his map was the Nike store, and he left there with a pair of women's running shoes and a pair of socks. Then, about a block along the way to his next marker, he turned, went back to the Nike store, and bought a pair of running shoes for himself. They were bouncy and light and on his way to the next mark, he started skipping, but then caught himself and returned to deliberately pacing out his steps with his sheathed sword. People might ignore a tiny Japanese man in an orange porkpie hat and socks, with a sword, but if you went around expressing unrestrained joy, they would have you in a straitjacket before you could belt out a verse of â€Å"Zippity Do-Dah.† Next Okata found himself in the very soft and satiny world of a Victoria ‘s Secret boutique. It was nearly Valentine's Day, and the entire store was festooned in pink and red, with very tall mannequins standing around in very small swaths of underwear. It smelled of gardenias. Young women moved back and forth, trailing bits of silk, not really talking, each entranced with her own decoration, in and out of fitting rooms, back to shelves, touching, feeling, stroking the lace, the satin, the combed cotton, then moving on to the next soft scene. He imagined that this must be what it was like in the control room for a vagina. He was an artist, and had never been in a control room, nor a vagina for nearly forty years, but he was sure he remembered it having a similar sensation. This was embarrassingly public, though, and he sat on a round red velvet settee to conceal the sudden memory rising in his trousers. He was approached by a petite Asian girl with a name tag. He gave her his list and said, â€Å"Please,† and was shocked out of his fuzzy, separate world when she answered him in Japanese. â€Å"Is this for your wife?† she asked. He didn't know what to say. She was there in the room with him, this young girl, in a vagina control room with him and his distant erotic memories. He could feel his face go hot. â€Å"A friend,† he said. â€Å"She is sick and sent me here.† The girl smiled. â€Å"She seems to know exactly what she wants, and her sizes are here, too. Do you know what color she likes?† â€Å"No. Whatever you think is best,† he said. â€Å"You wait here. I'll go get some samples and you can pick.† He wanted to stop her, or bolt out the door, or crawl under the cushion of the settee and hide his embarrassment, but gardenia was in the air like opium, and there was music playing with the rhythm of slow sex, and the young women moved like diaphanous ghosts around him, and his shoes were very, very comfortable, so he watched the young girl picking out pairs of bras and panties, gathering them like rose petals to be sprinkled over a snowy path to heaven. â€Å"Does she like basic black?† said the girl, noticing all the black denim peeking out of the Levi's bag. â€Å"Red,† Okata heard himself saying. â€Å"She likes red, like rose petals.† â€Å"I'll wrap these up for you,† she said. â€Å"Will this be cash or charge?† â€Å"Cash, please.† He handed her two hundred dollars. He waited on the settee, willing away his whereabouts, the smell and the music, the women moving, and thought about kendo exercises, training, and how tired-how really exhausted-he felt. By the time the girl returned to press the pink bag and his change into his hand, he was able to stand without embarrassment. He thanked her. â€Å"Come again,† she said. He started to leave, and then looked at the burned-up girl's map and saw the pictures of the pig, cow, and fish, and realized that it was going to be an ordeal to explain to a butcher what he needed, so he called to the salesgirl. â€Å"Excuse me. Could you do me a favor, please?† On a fresh piece of pink stationery with red and silver hearts on it, she wrote in English: 4 quarts, cow, pig, or fish blood. It would be much easier dealing with a new butcher with an order slip to hand them. He thanked her again, bowed, and left the store. It was no small irony that when he finally found a butcher who could sell him blood, it was a Mexican in the Mission who had to have Okata's one-item shopping list translated into Spanish. Of course, he had blood. What self-respecting Mexican butcher didn't save the blood for Spanish blood sausage? Okata didn't understand any of that. He only understood that after walking half the City carrying jeans, sneakers, and a pink bag of underwear, he finally had a gallon of fresh blood for his burned-up gaijin girl. After he left the shop the butcher went to the phone and dialed the number on the card the police inspector had left for him. Okata went against his normal discipline and took the F car instead of walking. He rode the antique streetcar all the way down Market Street, past the Ferry Building, and a few blocks up the Embarcadero, where he got off and took a moment looking at the extraordinary black sailing ship that was docked at Pier Nine, before dragging his gallon of pig's blood home. He was sitting beside the futon with a big grin and a tea cup full of pig's blood when she awoke. â€Å"Hello,† he said, with a great grin. â€Å"Hello,† said the burned-up girl, her fangs showing when she smiled. Her hair had grown through the day, and now hung down to her chest, but it was dry and crispy. Okata handed her the cup and steadied her hand while she gulped the blood. When she finished he gave her a paper napkin and refilled the tea cup, then sat down and drank tea from his own cup while she sipped the blood. He watched the color move over her skin like there was a pink light moving there, and she began to fill out, the flesh coming up on her bones as if she was being inflated. â€Å"Did you eat?† she said. She made the motion of chop-sticks scooping rice and pointed to him. No, he hadn't eaten. He'd forgotten to eat. â€Å"No,† he said. â€Å"Sorry.† â€Å"You need to eat. Eat.† She made the motion and he nodded. While she drank her third cup of blood he retrieved a rice ball from his little refrigerator and nibbled it. She smiled at him and toasted his tea cup with her cup of blood. â€Å"There you go. Mazel tov!† â€Å"Mazel tov!† said Okata. They toasted and he ate and she drank blood, and he watched as her smile became full and her eyes bright. He showed her what he had found for her at the Levi's store and the Nike store, and at Victoria ‘s Secret, although he looked away and tried to hide a little-boy grin when he showed her the red satin bra and panties. She praised him and held the clothes up to her body, then laughed when they looked too big and took a big gulp of the blood, spilling it down the sides of her mouth and on the kimono. And she saw his new shoes, too, and pointed and winked. â€Å"Sexy,† she said. He felt himself blush and then grinned and did a little dance step, a universal Snoopy dance of ecstasy to show just how comfortable the shoes were. She laughed and ran her hand over them while rolling her eyes. After he had drank a whole pot of tea and she almost a whole gallon of blood, she sat up on the edge of the futon and threw her thick red hair back over her shoulders. She was no longer a charred skeleton, a burned-up wraith, a desiccated marble crone, but a voluptuous young woman, as pale as snow, as cool as the room, but as vibrant and alive as anyone he had ever seen. Her kimono fell open when she stretched and he looked away. â€Å"Okata,† she said. And he looked at her feet. â€Å"It's okay.† She closed her robe, then ran her hand over his cheek. Her palm was cool and smooth and he pressed into it. â€Å"I need a shower,† she said. â€Å"A shower?† She mimed washing, falling rain. â€Å"Yes,† he said. He brought her a towel and a bar of soap, then presented the shower, which stood open to the room next to a pedestal sink. The toilet was in a little closet on the other side. â€Å"Thank you,† she said. She stood and let the kimono slide off her shoulders, laid it carefully on the futon, then took the towel and soap and walked to the shower, throwing a smile over her shoulder at him as she stepped into the tray. Okata sat, dropped really, onto the little stool by the futon, and watched as she washed the last bit of ash from her skin, then let the water stream over her until the whole apartment was full of steam, weariness, and wonder. He picked up his sketch pad from the floor and began to draw. He watched her move like a spirit in the steam, drying herself and then combing her hair out with her fingers. She came out of the steam, dropped the towel on the floor by his workbench. He looked away as she approached and she knelt and raised his chin with her finger until he had to look at her. Her eyes were as green as a jade plant. â€Å"Okata,† she said. â€Å"Thank you.† Then she kissed him on the forehead, then on the lips, and ever so gently, she took away his sketch pad, and dropped it to the floor, then pushed him back on the futon and kissed him again as she unbuttoned his shirt. â€Å"Okay,† he said.

Contribute to the Support of the Positive Environments

MU2. 8Contribute to the support of the positive environments for children and young people 3. 1Explain how to effectively care for children and young people’s skin, hair and teeth In every setting it is essential that children’s learning curriculum for personal care covers their skin, hair, teeth and overall personal hygiene. When teaching about skin, children and young people should be encouraged to wash their hands after using the toilet or before eating. We should also encourage them to wash themselves in the morning and before bed.Encouraging children to wash their faces (having individual flannels) is a good way to enforce this. We must point out to them the importance of the water temperature so they know the difference between the hot (red) and the cold (blue) types of taps, to avoid them scalding themselves, although in the setting children should not be using warm water unsupervised. Babies are a little different when skincare is involved. Their nappies must be changed regularly to prevent infection, and the skin must be moisturised well.It is important that we speak with parents about each child as some children may have allergies or skin conditions such as eczema. This may lead to them only able to use certain skin products and not being able to use soap. Personal hygiene and care are important to the child’s development when growing up. We also need to teach children about sun care and the dangers the sun can have on our skin if we stay out in it for too long or at the wrong times, without using sun cream and covering up our skin as much as possible as too much exposure to the sun can cause skin cancer.Babies under 6 months should always be kept out of the sun so it is important that we have sheltered areas for the babies. Children should wear sun hats and t shirts and ensure their faces are protected. When looking after hair, again we must discuss this with the parents as children may have allergies and require specific product s. African-Caribbean children sometimes rub oils into their hair to keep it in good condition; they may also use a special comb. Head Lice can often be an issue in my setting.If a child is infected with head lice it is important that a note is sent home with all children in the class to ensure all parents stay vigilant, so if the spread they can be treated immediately. This will help to stop them spreading. Advice might be given to parents and special combs or ointments must be used to kill them. Ensuring children know about the importance of keeping their teeth clean and healthy from an early age is equally important. We must ensure they know how and when to clean their teeth and by the time they are older, brushing their teeth twice a day should become part of their routine. . 3Explain how a positive environment and routine meet the emotional needs of children and their families When considering a child’s needs and routines in your setting, it is important that we communica te with the parents and find out a little about the home setting so we can carry it on when they come into our care, the more we talk to the parents the more we can help the child’s emotional needs and routines. If parents are working full time and the child is in our care all day, the parents may require the child to have a sleep or rest period throughout the day.This will enable the parents to have more time to spend with the child in the evening when they are at home. Depending on the parents requests really comes down to how much rest time the child will have in the setting and at what times. In some cultures the children go to bed at the same time as the parents so they may have more rest time during care hours than others. If a child is unwell, they may rest for a lot of the day. However the amount of rest or quiet time a child has during the day, and depending on the requests from parents, it is important that the child has routine.Careers soon get to know when the chi ld is tired and as the child gets older, they come to know their routine and it is important that as careers, we stick to it. Children feel settled and more secure when they know their routine and when changes are made it may disrupt them. 3. 4Describe the importance for physical and mental well-being of balancing period of physical activity with rest and quiet time It is important that we as careers balance rest and play as developing and practicing their physical skills will help them in their overall development.We should ensure that the setting is well equipped to give a wide variety of experiences in a safe environment. Equipment should be provided for both indoor and outdoor play. Soft play areas are good for to develop their ‘gross motor skills’. Some smaller settings may have to divide an area off for their physical play and rest area. Whilst other larger settings may be equipped with outdoor play areas such as climbing equipment, football pitches or an obstacle course. Getting the balance right is essential as children who are well rested will benefit more from the physical activities.