Economic issue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Economic issue - Essay Example The progressive widening of this gap occasions the government to take an active role in addressing emerging issues in that regard. Wealth concentration to a few people while the rest of the population battles poverty and middle class-related social and economic issues only worsens the state of the larger economy. In this respect, it is important to review the minimum upwards. Finally yet importantly, putting more money into people’s pockets will ultimately improve life standards in diverse and dynamic ways. More people across America will realize improved purchasing power, consumption of goods and services will increase, and reliance on unemployment benefits will reduce as more people enter the job market. Even though minimum wage debates have proven to be contentious, it is important to consider individual and/or household benefits that an increase in minimum wage will provide to the American population. Morath, Eric. White House: State, Local Minimum-Wage Efforts to Help 7 Million Workers. The Wall Street Journal, Aug. 12, 2014. Web. 15 Sept. 2014.

Critical Evaluation of Current Integrated Marketing Communications Essay - 2

Critical Evaluation of Current Integrated Marketing Communications Practice - Essay Example d sales promotions as well as the people with intention to have a major positive effect on the people decision and perception when they are combined together. IMC is also referred to as â€Å"a strategic marketing process specifically designed to ensure that all messaging and communication strategies are unified across all channels and are centered on the customer† (JIMC, 2011). It is done in a way that allows one medium’s weakness to be offset by the strength of another medium it is used together with. This process according to the journal of integrated marketing process emphasizes that customer prospects should be identified and assessed so that messages are tailored towards such customers in a way that is profitable and can allow for evaluation of its success to minimize waste. This, they propose can be done in five steps beginning with customer identification from behavioral data, evaluation of customer prospects, creating and delivering messages and incentives, estimating returns on customer investment and finally to budgeting, allocation, evaluation and recycling. The process is cyclic. This paper is going to look into how Ford motor vehicle manufacturer has been if true been using IMC to do its marketing while reflecting on the impact of this marketing tool to the overall strategic goals of the company. It is also going to look into the company’s success story from the use of this marketing strategy. Ford’s business strategy is based on its plan which was adopted in 2007 and has guided the company since then (Ford, 2014). It is indeed true that Ford motor company is adopting the use of integrated marketing communication as a strategy of winning more customers and increasing their market presence and revenue in overall. According to the definitions of the integrated marketing and communications discussed above, it is possible for a company to succeed in it by creating their strategy from the basis of their business while centering on the customer

The Peace of Paris Essay Example for Free

The Peace of Paris Essay The years following the Peace of Paris (1763) through the outbreak of war in the wake of the French Revolution marked a period of remarkable change for England. The American Revolution effectively ended the first British empire, but England extended its power in the East, managing remarkable imperial growth. 28 The impetus for this expansion was industrialization, which fueled a need for markets in which to sell manufactured goods. Between 1750 and 1800, British imports and exports trebled in value, while growing naval superiority allowed her to win and hold trade and bases. 29 Rather than repeat the occupation and population they had in North America, the English copied the Dutch, establishing a network of trading and naval stations. 30 One of the things which captured the fascination of the English during this period was their belief n the existence of a southern continent. Its existence having been speculated as early as Ptolemy, this Terra Australis Incognita was often visualized as having fantastic size and wealth. 31 The effective search for this new continent was initially hindered by two difficulties. First, there was no effective way to measure longitude, so that which meant that effective mapping was all but impossible. Second, the ships were ill-suited to serious exploration, often in poor condition, designed for other tasks, and manned by men of no scientific interest or talent. 32 Much of this changed with the growing interest in astronomy in England. In 1763, William Herschel established that Uranus was a planet, the first planet discovered in modern times. 33 Enthusiasm over this prompted new interest in astronomy, including a decision by the Royal Society to take observations of the passage of Venus across of the sun, to occur in 1769. The Royal Society decided that it should obtained measurements of this phenomenon from various locations around the globe, including Tahiti. 34 In this endeavor, the Royal Society was offered the assistance of the remarkable James Cook. The Royal Society knew the wealth of data to be gleaned from ships’ logs and mariners’ journals, filled with numeric data, maps, and coastal profiles. 35 Cook had distinguished himself during the Seven Years War when his skill in navigation and charting helped the English to sail up the St. Lawrence River to attack Quebec, when the French believed that no landing could be made. Later, he had mapped the coastline of Newfoundland, and after carefully observing an eclipse from there, had given his notes to the Royal Society. Self-taught and with no aristocratic connections, Cook’s talents so awed the Royal Society that it chose him to lead the Tahiti voyage, to the chagrin of the aristocratic Alexander Dalrymple. 36 Outfitting his voyage for practicality rather than style, Lieutenant Cook picked as his ship a collier, a ship without style that it had no figurehead but admirably suited for a scientific expedition. Among the scientists Cook carried was Banks, the leading naturalist of his time. 37 The result was a remarkable voyage, although at the time, it was the presence of the botanist Joseph Banks which caught attention. In three years, Cook had charted some 5,000 miles of coastline, including the two islands of New Zealand and the east coast of Australia. 38 On his return, the account of his voyage was put into print, with official approval and support, setting a precedent for future publication. 39 The account of Cook’s and other voyages was soon supplemented by the report of the voyage of Henry Wilson, who with his crew was shipwrecked in the Palau Islands. The account described accurately the islanders with whom Wilson dealt, and began a trend away form the fanciful descriptions of all such people as noble savages and exemplars of natural virtue. 40 On his second voyage, Cook carried a chronometer accurate enough to allow computation of longitude based on the disparity of the sun’s position shipboard versus the position it would have had in Greenwich. Cook dispelled the idea of a huge continent in the south Pacific, mapped key features of the area, and gave order to the understanding of the ocean. 41 On his voyages, Cook observed aboriginal peoples carefully. Noting that the Australian aborigines had no houses and wore minimal clothing, Cook reported that they were remarkably happy in their lack of desire for material goods. Living in a warm climate with adequate resources, they lived happily with no need for material goods. 42 Cook then sailed a third time, trying to find the western entrance to the Northwest Passage. While failing in this endeavor, he produced maps of the coast of North America and the Hawaiian Islands, perishing there in a fight with natives. 43 This voyage did produce benefits. Cook described abundant sea otters along the north-west Pacific coast. The luxurious pelts were readily accepted in Canton, where the East India Company was building the tea trade. 44

Method Of Language Teaching: The Silent Way

Method Of Language Teaching: The Silent Way The Silent Way is the name of a method of language teaching devised by Caleb Gattegno. Gattegnos name is well known for his revival of interest in the use of coloured wooden sticks called cuisenaire rods and for his series Words in Colour, an approach to the teaching of initial reading in which sounds are coded by specific colours. His materials are copyrighted and marketed through an organization he operates called Educational Solutions Inc., in New York. The Silent Way represents Gattegnos venture into the field of foreign language teaching. It is based on the premise that the teacher should be silent as much as possible in the classroom and the learner should be encouraged to produce as much language as possible. Elements of the Silent Way, particularly the use of colour charts and the coloured cuisenaire rods, grew out of Gattegnos previous experience as an educational designer of reading and mathematics programs. (Cuisenaire rods were first developed by Georges Cuis ­enaire, a European educator who used them for the teaching of math. Gattegno had observed Cuisenaire and this gave him the idea for their use in language teaching.) The Silent Way shares a great deal with other learning theories and educational philosophies. Very broadly put, the learning hypotheses underlying Gattegnos work could be stated as follows: 1) Learning is facilitated if the learner discovers or creates rather than remembers and repeats what is to be learned. 2) Learning is facilitated by accompanying (mediating) physical objects. 3) Learning is facilitated by problem solving involving the material to be learned. Let us consider each of these issues in turn. 1. The educational psychologist and philosopher Jerome Bruner distinguishes two traditions of teaching that which takes place in the expository mode and that which takes place in the hypothetical mode. In the expository mode decisions covering the mode and pace and style of exposition are principally determined by the teacher as expositor; the student is the listener. In the hypothetical mode the teacher and the student are in a more cooperative position. The student is not a bench-bound listener, but is taking part in the play the principal role in it (Bruner 1966: 83), The Silent Way belongs to the latter tradition, which views learning as a problem-solving, creative, discovering activity, in which the learner is a principal actor rather than a bench-bound listener. Bruner discusses the benefits derived from discovery learning under four headings: (a) the increase in intellectual potency, (b) the shift from extrinsic to intrinsic rewards, (c) the learning of heuristics by discovering, and (d) the aid to conserving memory (Bruner 1966: 83). As we shall see, Gattegno claims similar benefits from learners taught via the Silent Way. 2. The rods and the coded-coded pronunciation charts (called Fidel charts) provide physical foci for student learning and also create mem ­orable images to facilitate student recall. In psychological terms, these visual devices serve as associative mediators for student learning and recall. The psychological literature on mediation in learning and recall is voluminous but, for our purposes, can be briefly summarized in a quote from Earl Stevick: If the use of associative mediators produces better retention than repetition does, it seems to be the case that the quality of the mediators and the stu ­dents personal investment in them may also have a powerful effect on mem ­ory. (Stevick 1976: 25) 3. The Silent Way is also related to a set of premises that we have called problem-solving approaches to learning. These premises are succinctly represented in the words of Benjamin Franklin: Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn. In the language of experimental psychology, the kind of subject involve ­ment that promotes greatest learning and recall involves processing of material to be learned at the greatest cognitive depth (Craik 1973) or, for our purposes, involving the greatest amount of problem-solving activity. Memory research has demonstrated that the learners memory benefits from creatively searching out, discovering and depicting (Bower and Winzenz 1970). In the Silent Way, the teachers strict avoidance of repetition forces alertness and concentration on the part of the learners (Gattegno 1972: 80). Similarly, the learners grappling with the problem of forming an appropriate and meaningful utterance in a new language leads the learner to realization of the language through his own perceptual and analytical powers (Selman 1977). The Silent Way student is expected to become independent, autonomous and responsible (Gattegno 1976) in other words, a good problem solver in language. Approach Theory of language Gattegno takes an openly sceptical view of the role of linguistic theory in language teaching methodology. He feels that linguistic studies may be a specialization, [that] carry with them a narrow opening of ones sensitivity and perhaps serve very little towards the broad end in mind (Gattegno 1972: 84). Gattegno views language itself as a substitute for experience, so experience is what gives meaning to language (Gattegno 1972: 8). We are not surprised then to see simulated experiences using tokens and picture charts as central elements in Silent Way teaching. Considerable discussion is devoted to the importance of grasping the spirit of the language and not just its component forms. By the spirit of the language Gattegno is referring to the way each language is composed of phonological and suprasegmental elements that combine to give the language its unique sound system and melody. The learner must gain a feel for this aspect of the target language as soon as possible, though how the learner is to do this is not altogether clear. By looking at the material chosen and the sequence in which it is presented in a Silent Way classroom, it is clear that the Silent Way takes a structural approach to the organization of language to be taught. Language is seen as groups of sounds arbitrarily associated with specific meanings and organized into sentences or strings of meaningful units by grammar rules. Language is separated from its social context and taught through artificial situations, usually represented by rods. Lessons follow a sequence based on grammatical complexity, and new lexical and structural material is meticulously broken down into its elements, with one element presented at a time. The sentence is the basic unit of teaching, and the teacher focuses on prepositional meaning, rather than communicative value. Students are presented with the structural patterns of the target language and learn the grammar rules of the language through largely inductive processes. Gattegno sees vocabulary as a central dimension of language learning and the choice of vocabulary as crucial. He distinguishes between several classes of vocabulary items. The semi-luxury vocabulary consists of expressions common in the daily life of the target language culture; this refers to food, clothing, travel, family life, and so on. Luxury vocabulary is used in communicating more specialized ideas, such as political or philosophical opinions. The most important vocabulary for the learner deals with the most functional and versatile words of the language, many of which may not have direct equivalents in the learners native tongue. This functional vocabulary provides a key, says Gattegno, to comprehending the spirit of the language. Theory of learning Like many other method proponents, Gattegno makes extensive use of his understanding of first language learning processes as a basis for deriving principles for teaching foreign languages to adults. Gattegno recommends, for example, that the learner needs to return to the state of mind that characterizes a babys learning surrender (Scott and Page 1982: 273). Having referred to these processes, however, Gattegno states that the processes of learning a second language are radically different from those involved in learning a first language. The second language learner is unlike the first language learner and cannot learn another language in the same way because of what he now knows (Gattegno 1972: 11). The natural or direct approaches to acquiring a second language are thus misguided, says Gattegno, and a successful second language approach will replace a natural approach by one that is very artificial and, for some purposes, strictly controlled (1972: 12). The artificial approach that Gattegno proposes is based on the principle that successful learning involves commitment of the self to language acquisition through the use of silent awareness and then active trial. Gattegnos repeated emphasis on the primacy of learning over teaching places a focus on the self of the learner, on the learners priorities and commitments. To speak requires the descent of the will into the voluntary speech organs and a clear grasp by ones linguistic self of what one is to do to produce definite sounds in definite ways. Only the self of the utterer can intervene to make objective what it holds in itself. Every student must be seen as a will capable of that work. (Gattegno 1976: 7) The self, we are told, consists of two systems a learning system and a retaining system. The learning system is activated only by way of intelligent awareness. The learner must constantly test his powers to abstract, analyse, synthesize and integrate (Scott and Page 1982: 273). Silence is considered the best vehicle for learning, because in silence students concentrate on the task to be accomplished and the potential means to its accomplishment. Repetition (as opposed to silence) con ­sumes time and encourages the scattered mind to remain scattered (Gattegno 1976: 80). Silence, as avoidance of repetition, is thus an aid to alertness, concentration, and mental organization. The retaining system allows us to remember and recall at will linguistic elements and their organizing principles and makes linguistic communication possible. Gattegno speaks of remembering as a matter of paying ogdens. An ogden is a unit of mental energy required to link permanently two mental elements, such as a shape and a sound or a label and an object. The forging of the link through active attention is the cost of remembering paid in ogdens. Retention by way of mental effort, awareness, and thoughtfulness is more efficient in terms of ogdens consumed than is retention attained through mechanical repetition. Again, silence is a key to triggering awareness and hence the preferred path to retention. Retention links are in fact formed in the most silent of periods, that of sleep: The mind does much of this work during sleep (Stevick 1980: 41). Awareness is educable. As one learns in awareness, ones powers of awareness and ones capacity to learn become greater. The Silent Way thus claims to facilitate what psychologists call learning to learn. Again, the process chain that develops awareness proceeds from attention, production, self-correction, and absorption. Silent Way learners acquire inner criteria, which play a central role in ones education throughout all of ones life (Gattegno 1976: 29). These inner criteria allow learners to monitor and self-correct their own production. It is in the activity of self-correction through self-awareness that the Silent Way claims to differ most notably from other ways of language learning. It is this capacity for self-awareness that the Silent Way calls upon, a capacity said to be little appreciated or exercised by first language learners. But the Silent Way is not merely a language teaching method. Gattegno sees language learning through the Silent Way as a recovery of innocence a return to our full powers and potentials. Gattegnos aim is not just second language learning; it is nothing less than the education of the spiritual powers and of the sensitivity of the individual. Mastery of linguistic skills are seen in the light of an emotional inner peace resulting from the sense of power and control brought about by new levels of awareness. Silent Way learning claims to consolidate the hu ­man dimensions of being, which include variety and individuality as essential factors for an acceptance of others as contributors to ones own life and even moves us towards better and more lasting solutions of present-day conflicts (Gattegno 1972: 84). Design Objectives The general objective of the Silent Way is to give beginning level students oral and aural facility in basic elements of the target language. The general goal set for language learning is near-native fluency in the target language, and correct pronunciation and mastery of the prosodic elements of the target language are emphasized. An immediate objective is to provide the learner with a basic practical knowledge of the grammar of the language. This forms the basis for independent learning on the learners part. Gattegno discusses the following kinds of objectives as appropriate for a language course at an elementary level (Gattegno 1972: 81-83). Students should be able to correctly and easily answer questions about themselves, their education, their family, travel, and daily events; speak with a good accent; give either a written or oral description of a picture, including the existing relationships that concern space, time and numbers; answer general questions about the culture and t he literature of the native speakers of the target language; perform adequately in the following areas: spelling, grammar (production rather than explanation), reading comprehension, and writing. Gattegno states that the Silent Way teaches learners how to learn a language, and the skills developed through the process of learning a foreign or second language can fee employed in dealing with unknowns of every type. The method, we are told, can also be used to teach reading and writing, and its usefulness is not restricted to beginning level stu ­dents. Most of the examples Gattegno describes, however, as well as the classes we have observed, deal primarily with a basic level of aural/ oral proficiency. The syllabus The Silent Way adopts a basically structural syllabus, with lessons planned around grammatical items and related vocabulary. Gattegno does not, however, provide details as to the precise selection and arrangement of grammatical and lexical items to be covered. There is no general Silent Way syllabus. But from observation of Silent Way programs developed by the Peace Corps to teach a variety of languages at a basic level of proficiency, it is clear that language items are introduced according to their grammatical complexity, their relationship to what has been taught previously, and the ease with which items can be presented visually. Typically, the imperative is the initial structure introduced, because of the ease with which action verbs may be demonstrated using Silent Way materials. New elements, such as the plural form of nouns, are taught within a structure already familiar. Numeration occurs early in a course, because of the importance of numbers in everyday life and the ease w ith which they can be demonstrated. Prepositions of location also appear early in the syllabus for similar reasons. Vocabulary is selected according to the degree to which it can be manipulated within a given structure and according to its productivity within the classroom setting. In addition to prepositions and numbers, pronouns, quantifiers, words dealing with temporal relations, and words of comparison are introduced early in the course, because they refer to oneself and to others in the numerous relations of everyday life (Stevick 1979). These kinds of words are referred to as the functional vocabulary of a language because of their high utility. The following is a section of a Peace Corps Silent Way Syllabus for the first ten hours of instruction in Thai. It is used to teach American Peace Corps volunteers being trained to teach in Thailand. At least 15 minutes of every hour of instruction would be spent on pronunciation. A word that is italicised can be substituted for by another word having the same function. Lesson Vocabulary 1. Wood colour red. wood, red, green, yellow, brown, pink, white, orange, black, colour 2. Using the numbers 1-10 one, two, ten 3. Wood colour red two pieces. take (pick up) 4. Take (pick up) wood colour red two pieces give, object pronouns 5. Take wood colour red two pieces hive him where, on, under, near, far, over, next to, here, there 6. Wood red where? Wood red on table. Question-forming rules. Yes. No. 7. Wood colour red on table, is it? Yes, on. Not on. adjectives of comparison 8. Wood colour red long. Wood colour green longer. Wood colour orange longest. 9. Wood colour green taller. Wood colour red is it? 10. Review. Students use structures taught in new situations, such as comparing the heights of stu ­dents in the class. (Joel Wiskin, personal communication) Types of learning and teaching activities Learning tasks and activities in the Silent Way have the function of encouraging and shaping student oral response without direct oral instruction from or unnecessary modelling by the teacher. Basic to the method are simple linguistic tasks in which the teacher models a word, phrase, or sentence and then elicits learner responses. Learners then go on create their own utterances by putting together old and new information. Charts, rods, and other aids may be used to elicit learner responses. Teacher modelling is minimal, although much of the activity may be teacher directed. Responses to commands, questions, and visual cues thus constitute the basis for classroom activities. Learner roles Gattegno sees language learning as a process of personal growth re ­sulting from growing Student awareness and self-challenge. The learner first experiences a random or almost random feeling of the area of activity in question until one finds one or more cornerstones to build on. Then starts a systematic analysis, first by trial and error, later by directed experiment with practice of the acquired sub areas until mastery follows (Gattegno 1972: 79). Learners are expected to develop independence, autonomy, and responsibility. Independent learners are those who are aware that they must depend on their own resources and realize that they can use the knowledge of their own language to open up some things in a new language or that they can take their knowledge of the first few words in the new language and figure out additional words by using that knowledge (Stevick 1980: 42). The autonomous learner chooses proper expressions in a given set of circumstances and situations. The teacher c ultivates the students autonomy by deliberately building choices into situations (Stevick 1980: 42). Responsible learners know that they have free will to choose among any set of linguistic choices. The ability to choose intelligently and carefully is said to be evidence of responsibility. The absence of correction and repeated modelling from the teacher requires the students to develop inner criteria and to correct themselves. The absence of explanations requires learners to make generalizations, come to their own conclusions, and formulate whatever rules they themselves feel they need. Learners exert a strong influence over each others learning and, to a lesser degree, over the linguistic content taught. They are expected to interact with each other and suggest alternatives to each other. Learners have only themselves as individuals and the group to rely on, and so must learn to work cooperatively rather than competitively. They need to feel comfortable both correcting each other and being corrected by each other. In order to be productive members of the learning group, learners-thus have to play varying roles. At times one is an independent individual, at other times a group member. A learner also must be a teacher, a student, part of a support system, a problem solver, and a self-evaluator. And it is the student who is usually expected to decide on what role is most appropriate to a given situation. Teacher roles Teacher silence is, perhaps, the unique and, for many traditionally trained language teachers, the most demanding aspect of the Silent Way. Teach ­ers are exhorted to resist their long standing commitment to model, remodel, assist, and direct desired student responses, and Silent Way teachers have remarked upon the arduousness of self-restraint to which early expedience of the Silent Way has subjected them. Gattegno talks of subordinating teaching to learning, but that is not to suggest that the teachers role in Silent Way is not critical and demanding. Gattegno anticipates that using the Silent Way would require most teachers to change their perception of their role. Stevick defines the Silent Way teachers tasks as (a) to teach, (b) to test, and (c) to get out of the way (Stevick 1980: 56). Although this may not seem to constitute a radical alternative to standard teaching practice, the details of the steps the teacher is expected to follow are unique to the Silent Way. By teaching is meant the presentation of an item once, typically using nonverbal clues to get across meanings. Testing follows immediately and might better be termed elicitation and shaping of student production, which, again, is done in as silent a way as possible. Finally, the teacher silently monitors learners interactions with each other and may even leave the room while learners struggle with their new linguistic tools and pay their ogdens. For the most part, Silent Way teachers manuals are unavailable (however, see Arnold 1981), and teachers are responsible for designing teaching sequences and creating individual lessons and lesson elements. Gattegno emphasizes the importance of teacher-defined learning goals that are clear and attainable. Sequence and timing in Silent Way classes are more important than in many kinds of language teaching classes, and the teachers sensitivity and man ­agement of them is critical. More generally, the teacher is responsible for creating an environment that encourages student risk taking and that facilitates learning. This is not to say that the Silent Way teacher becomes one of the group. In fact, observers have noted that Silent Way teachers often appear aloof or even gruff with their students. The teachers role is one of neutral observer, neither elated by correct performance nor discouraged by error. Students are expected to come to see supportive but emotionally uninvolved. The teacher uses gestures, charts, and manipulates in order to elicit and shape student responses and so must be both facile and creative as a pantomimist and puppeteer. In sum, the Silent way teacher, like the complete dramatist, writes the script, chooses the props, sets the mood, models the action, designates the players, and is critic for the performance. The role of instructional materials The Silent Way is perhaps as well known for the unique nature of its teaching materials as for the silence of its teachers. The materials consist mainly of a set of coloured rods, coded-coded pronunciation and vocabulary wall charts, a pointer, and reading/writing exercises, all of which are used to illustrate the relationships between sound and meaning in the target language. The materials are designed for manipulation by the students as well as by the teacher, independently and cooperatively, in promoting language learning by direct association. The number of languages and contain symbols in the target language for all of the vowel and consonant sounds of the language. The symbols are colour coded according to pronunciation; thus, if a language possesses two different symbols for the same sound, they will be coloured alike. Classes often begin by using Fidel charts in the native language, colour coded in an analogous manner, so that students learn to pair a sound with its associate d colour. There may be from one to eight of such charts, depending upon the language. The teacher uses the pointer to indicate a sound symbol for the students to produce. Where native-language Fidels are used, the teacher will point to a symbol on one chart and then to its analogue on the Fidel in the other language. In the absence of native-language charts, or when introducing a sound not present in the native language, the teacher will give one clear, audible model after indicating the proper Fidel symbol in the target language. The charts are hung on the wall and serve to aid in remembering pronunciation and in building new words by sounding out sequences of symbols as they are pointed to by the teacher or student. Just as the Fidel charts are used to visually illustrate pronunciation, the coloured cuisenaire rods are used to directly link words and structures with their meanings in the target language, thereby avoiding translation into the native language. The rods vary in length from one to ten centimetres, and each length has a specific colour. The rods may be used for naming colours, for size comparisons, to represent people build floor plans, constitute a road map, and so on. Use of the rods is intended to promote inventiveness, creativity, and interest in forming communicative utterances on the part of the students, as they move from simple to more complex structures. Gattegno and his proponents believe that the range of structures that can be illustrated and learned through skilful use of the rods is as limitless as the human imagination. When the teacher or student has difficulty expressing a desired word or concept, the rods can be supplemented by referring to the Fidel charts, or to t he third major visual aid used in the Silent Way, the vocabulary charts. The vocabulary or word charts are likewise colour coded, although the colours of the symbols will not correspond to the phonetics of the Fidels, but rather to conceptual groupings of words. There are typically twelve such charts containing 500 to 800 words in the native language and script. These words are selected according to their ease of application in teaching, their relative place in the functional or luxury vocab ­ulary, their flexibility in terms of generalization and use with other words, and their importance in illustrating basic grammatical structures. The content of word charts will vary from language to language, but the general content of the vocabulary charts (Gattegno 1972) is paraphrased below: Chart 1: the word rod, colours of the rods, plural markers, simple im ­perative verbs, personal pronouns, some adjectives and question words Charts 2, 3: remaining pronouns, words for here and there, of, for, and name Chart 4: numbers Charts 5, 6: words illustrating size, space, and temporal relationships, as well as some concepts difficult to illustrate with rods, such as order, causality, condition, similarity and difference Chart 7: words that qualify, such as adverbs Charts 8, 9: verbs, with cultural references where possible Chart 10: family relationships Charts 11, 12: words expressing time, calendar elements, seasons, days, week, month, year, etc. Other materials that may be used include books and worksheets for practicing reading and writing skills, picture books, tapes; videotapes, films, and other visual aids. Reading and writing are sometimes taught from the beginning; and students are given assignments to do outside the classroom at their own pace. These materials are of secondary im ­portance, and are used to supplement the classroom use of rods and charts. Choice and implementation depends upon need as assessed by teachers and/or students. Procedure A Silent way lesson typically follows a standard format. The first part of the lesson focuses on pronunciation. Depending on student level, the class might work on sounds, phrases, or even sentences designated on the Fidel chart. At the beginning stage, the teacher will model the appropriate sound after pointing to a symbol on the chart. Later, the teacher will silently point to individual symbols and combinations of symbols, and on monitor student utterances. The teacher may say a word and have a student guess what sequence of symbols compromised the word. The pointer is used to indicate stress, phrasing, and intonation. Stress can be shown by touching certain symbol more forcibly than others when pointing out a word. Intonation and phrasing can be demonstrated by tapping on the chart to the rhythm of the utterance. After practice with the sounds of the language, sentence patterns, structure, and vocabulary are practiced. The teacher models an utterance while creating a visual realization of it with the coloured rods. After modelling the utterance, the teacher will have a student attempt to produce the utterance and will indicate its acceptability. If a response is incorrect, the teacher will attempt to reshape the utterance or have another student present the correct model. After a structure is introduced and understood, the teacher will create a situation in which the students can practice the structure through the manipulation of the rods. Vari ­ations on the structural theme will be elicited from the class using the rods and charts. The sample lesson that follows illustrates a typical lesson format. The language being taught is Thai, for which this is the first lesson. 1. Teacher empties rods onto the table. . 2. Teacher picks up two or three rods of different colours, and after each rod is picked up says: [mai]. 3. Teacher holds up one rod of any colour and indicates to a student that a response is required. Student says: [mai]. If response is incorrect, teacher elicits response from another student, who then models for the first student. 4. Teacher next picks up a red rod and says: [mai sti daeng]. 5. Teacher picks up a green rod and says: [mai sii khiawj. 6. Teacher picks up either a red or green rod and elicits response from stu ­dent, If response is incorrect, procedure in step 3 is followed (student modeling). 7. Teacher introduces two or three other colors in the same manner. 8. Teacher shows any of the rods whose forms were taught previously and elicits student response. Correction technique is through student model ­ing, or the teacher may help student isolate error and self-correct. 9. When mastery is achieved, teacher puts one red rod in plain view and says: [mai sii daeng nung an]. 10. Teacher then puts two red rods in plain view and says: [mai sii daeng song an]. 11. Teacher places two green rods in view and says [mai sii khiaw song an]; 12. Teacher holds up two rods of a different color and elicits student response. 13. Teacher introduces additional numbers, based on what the class can comfortably retain. Other colors might also be introduced. 14. Rods are put in a pile. Teacher indicates, through his or her own ac ­tions, that rods should be picked up, and the correct utterance made. All die students in the group pick up rods and make correction is encouraged. 15. Teacher then says: [kep mai sii daeng

Philosophy of Education :: Philosophy of Teaching Statement

Philosophy of Education Webster defines philosophy as a critical study of fundamental beliefs and the grounds for them. In this philosophy, I will be talking about the three great philosophers: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. These three philosophers represent the birthplace of Western philosophy. Socrates, which is synonymous with wisdom and the philosophical life, was a teacher without a school. His goal was to help others find the truths that lie within their own minds. He helped his students reach deeper, clearer ideas by questioning, disproving, and testing the thoughts of his pupils. His teachings offended many of the powerful people of his time. They believed he was corrupting the youth in Athens. Since he believed and taught in this way, he was executed. Plato, a student of Socrates, followed in his teachings. After returning to Athens, he founded The Academy, considered by some to be the world’s first university. In Plato’s philosophy the human soul has three parts: intellect, spirit, and appetite. He felt that these three aspects interacted to determine human behavior. He urged that intellect be trained to control spirit and appetite. Aristotle was the student under Plato. He came to Plato’s Academy at the age of 18 and stayed for 20 years until the death of Plato. He went to northern Greece and taught Alexander the Great. After educating Alexander, he returned to Athens and set up his own school, the Lyceum. Aristotle placed more emphasis on the physical world than did Plato. He wrote works on biology, physics, astronomy, just to name a few. But, he is also renowned for his ethical and political theories. He thought the highest good for people was a virtuous life. By thinking this, he promoted the doctrine of the Golden Mean.

Intuitions :: Philosophy Judgement Papers

Intuitions This paper examines two attempts to justify the way in which intuitions about specific cases are used as evidence for and against philosophical theories. According to the concept model, intuitions about cases are trustworthy applications of one’s typically tacit grasp of certain concepts. We argue that regardless of whether externalist or internalist accounts of conceptual content are correct, the concept model flounders. The second justification rests on the less familiar belief model, which has it that intuitions in philosophy derive from one’s (often tacit) beliefs. Although more promising than the concept model, the belief model fails to justify traditional philosophical use of intuitions because it is not clear a priori that the beliefs at issue are true. The latter model may, however, legitimize a less a prioristic approach to intuitions. If anything unifies different philosophical methodologies it's some sort of reliance on intuitions. It's remarkable, therefore, how rarely we attempt to justify their employment in philosophy. The intuitions philosophers care about are typically judgements about whether specific (hypothetical or actual) cases are cases of a certain kind. Some philosophical topic such as reference, knowledge or personal identity is under investigation. A theory is proposed and is then tested against our intuitions about specific cases that bear on the topic. In general, if our intuitions contradict what a theory implies about whether, say, S refers to x, or knows that p, or is identical to T, this counts against the theory. If on the other hand, our intuitions match what a theory tells us about particular cases, this usually counts in favor of the theory. All procedures of this sort rest on a principle like I: I Intuitions about specific cases can be used as evidence for and against philosophical theories. This paper is about whether I can be justified. We examine two models, the Concepts Model (CM) and the Belief Model (BM). In our view, neither of them provides a solid foundation for I as it is traditionally applied in philosophy. CM CM has four components: 1. A concept, C, determines what it takes for something to fall under that concept (what it takes for something to be a C). 2. Someone who possesses or grasps a concept, C, doesn't always know explicitly what it takes to be a C because some (maybe most) concepts are understood by us in part tacitly. 3. Intuitions about whether specific cases fall under C are reliably guided by, or generally "match" one's understanding, tacit or otherwise, of C.

Outcomes of divorce on children Essay

Divorce, while lengthy and sometimes hurtful, can be beneficial to the children and spouses. Children coming from situations of abuse and neglect actually benefit from the separation of parents. These parents may remain single or remarry, still studies have shown that the children have and are thriving in a way they were unable to before the separation. While there are exceptions to every rule, the divorce has become a positive alternative in some families. Children coming from homes where violence and abuse is an ordinary occurrence, are not only victims in their childhood, but are continually affected as adults. According to the Traumatogentic model, proposed by Dr. Finkelor (1987), the abused child produces a number of different psychological effects and long term behavioral changes. Leaving a child in such a situation would not only cause continual physical harm, but also the long term psychological problems. In such cases divorce is encouraged for the benefit of both the spouse being abused and the child involved. After divorce children have been shown to thrive in the new, abuse-free environment; showing improvements in their education, attitude, and overall social development. Another factor of positive divorce is the presence of neglect in the household. Accumulating information from the Attachment Theory proposed by John Bowlby in 1980, researchers have compiled evidence of the side effects of the lack of a secure attachment to caregivers at an early age. Because of rejection and inconsistent attention, among other forms of neglect, these children have â€Å"developed anxious, insecure or disorganized/disoriented attachments with their primary care providers† (U. S. Department of Health and Human Services). With two parents this neglect from one or both can turn to a feeling of hatred for one or both parents from the child. â€Å"This lack of secure attachment relationship then hinders the infant’s or toddler’s ability to explore his/her environment and develop feelings of competence† (U. S. Department of Health and Human Services). Divorce here is an apparent necessity to the children involved. Based on the long term effects of neglect from numerous studies, children are better with one parent that cares for them or a non-biological parent than two that do not accurately care for the child’s needs. While being exposed to the process of divorce, children have become aware that struggle is a normal part of marriage and have been able to use their parents as examples. In a study done by â€Å"Psychology Today†, twenty-eight college students were interviewed to see how their parents divorce influenced their own current and past relationships. The group was divided into three different groups according to their responses. The first group were named the â€Å"Modelers†. This group mimicked their parents relationship, continuing to be dysfunctional. The second group were the â€Å"Strugglers†, this group showed a cautiousness in trusting others and hesitancy in opening up to others. The third were the â€Å"Reconcilers†. These students strove to learn from their parents mistakes and the problems they witnessed, to create more successful relationships in their own lives. The group that the students fell into also had to do with the type of relationship they had with their parents before the breakup and after. It was found that the â€Å"modeler† group had â€Å"limited insight† to the problems that their parents were going through. The â€Å"strugglers† lost touch with their parents and received little support after the divorce. In contrast, â€Å"reconcilers† kept touch with their parents and were given positive reinforcement† (H. Parker). In these cases the students learned from their parents divorce by example. Neither regretting their parent’s decision nor harboring ill feelings toward them for the separation. Good communication between parents and children was key to a happy outcome post-divorce. In an interview done by Dr.  Joyce Arditti of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, fifty-eight young women who were raised by only their mother were asked their feelings on the situation. The women all agreed that the relationship between themselves and their mothers could never be closer. The relationships evolved into that of a best friendship rather than an authority figure and child. Although they are not the traditional mother-daughter relationships, they still provide support for the child in all the ways that a typical mother could and even go beyond that to the type of support that only a friend could provide. Growing up in a family with both parents present, was somewhat less than picture perfect in my own experiences. As a child, hearing constant arguing from both parents caused me to have a bias opinion on the parent doing the least amount of yelling or the parent that was fighting for my cause. This fighting being a constant in my life, made me wish that they would divorce, but because of personal religious reasons they have not. This, in turn, causes me to have apprehensions about marriage and doubt some of the stipulations that I was raised to associate with marriage. Divorce in my case would benefit my relationship with both parents and ease my own apprehensions about marriage. Divorce will always be a tough situation for the parents and children involved, but that does not mean that it has to be a negative one. The term divorce has been, in recent years, coined with a negative connotation. This however, is out-dated and one sided. With the recent studies and the help of psychologists, the term divorce has become somewhat less than taboo in our society today.