The Trial in To Kill a Mockingbird Essay Example

The Trial in To Kill a Mockingbird Essay Boring, slow and pointless are what many people think of the first 15 chapters in the novel ‘To Kill A Mocking Bird’. Well, I have news for you, without the first half of the novel we would not have been introduced and shown all the little details about Maycomb and the people in it. The novel introduces all the different themes needed in order to carry on into the second half of the novel. We explore key themes including race, determination, compassion, tolerance, respect, empathy and equality. All of which are carried on throughout key events in the rest of the novel. Chapter 3 explores the themes of tolerance, respect, and empathy.Which are all vital to the rest of the novel. In this chapter Scout learns valuable lessons about tolerating and respecting people and their ways, no matter how different or how much you disagree with them.This is shown in the quote, ‘He ain’t company, Cal, he’s just a Cunningham -‘ ‘Hush your mouth. Don’t matter who they are.’† Here Scout learns that is doesnt matter who a person is, you should always respect them, she tells Calpurnia that Walter is just a Cunningham, making him not company, but Calpurnia tells Scout that is doesnt matter who he is, he is still company. This is important as this is then carried on into the rest of the novel, as it changes Scouts view on other people and changes her way of thinking. She also learns to have empathy for other people and not judge people. As shown in the quote We will write a custom essay sample on The Trial in To Kill a Mockingbird specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Trial in To Kill a Mockingbird specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Trial in To Kill a Mockingbird specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer â€Å"You never really understand a person until you see things from his point of view until you climb into his skin and walk around in it† This example is a key lesson in the book. This lesson is putting yourself in someone else’s shoes, it teaches Scout to look past the surface and really understand who the person is and what they really are before judging them. This lesson is important as it again changes Scouts view and thinking, which therefore influences the course of e

Expert Interview with Andy Greenberg About Recruiting and Hiring

Expert Interview with Andy Greenberg About Recruiting and Hiring Andy Greenberg, CEO and president of The Recruiting Division, took the time to talk with us about his company, recruiting and hiring trends. With 17 years of experience in the field of recruiting, Andy has valuable, insightful information to offer. Heading The Recruiting Division, Andy works closely with clients and candidates to consistently find the best for the best. Here he shares a bit about that process.What’s different about The Recruiting Division that makes it so successful?We extend the capabilities of a contract recruiter with a unique solution that is team-based and on-demand. The result is a more flexible, scalable and cost-effective way of engaging a contract recruiter. What are three attributes that employers want to see in a job candidate?Intellectual curiosityPassionFlexibilityHow about three qualities they’d rather not see?InflexibilityArroganceInability or unwillingness to bring something extra to the roleWhat do you look for in a job candidate?Abilit y to self-assess, meaning that they are able to understand and articulate their strengths, weaknesses, boundaries and their own internal brandPassion!Ability to convincingly articulate why and how their background, skills and experience will translate into success for the positionWhy is it key for companies to have good relationships with recruiters like you to find the best team?Contract recruiters like those here at The Recruiting Division are able to act as a fully accountable, seamless extension of a client’s team, since we are not motivated or paid by placement fees or commissions, nor are we bound by the typical contingency-based agency model that necessitates alignment with candidates as opposed to HR and hiring managers.Are you seeing any particular hiring trends lately? If so, please tell us a bit about them.Although the economy has certainly improved, employers are still very cautious in their hiring and are willing to wait for candidates that meet all of the criter ia on their list.There is still strong demand for information technology and sales professionals, and we are also seeing an increase in temporary hiring as a result of the Affordable Care Act. Another interesting trend is a growing number of companies that are bringing jobs back to the United States after frustrations with offshoring.From a recruiting perspective, we are seeing a huge interest in social recruiting. Besides LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, there are a host of social aggregation and deep web mining tools that recruiters are flocking to, including SwoopTalent, Gild, TalentBin, Talenthook and HiringSolved.Why is timeliness so important in the hiring process?That’s a double-edged sword. On the one hand, there is a cost associated with a company not being able to achieve its goals due to a lack of manpower. But on the other hand, there is also a cost associated with rushing the hiring process and hiring sub-par employees. We are all doing our best in the search for the holy grail of hiring top talent as quickly as possible.How do you go about finding the top talent to place?For starters, make sure that your recruiters themselves are top talent. Think about it – it takes top talent to be able recognize top talent.Those who know me know that I love to arm my recruiters to the teeth with lots of cool tools like the ones mentioned above. That said, I am the first to admit that a great recruiter can work their magic simply by using LinkedIn and nothing else. The key to LinkedIn is learning how to target the right people and then message them softly and professionally. Your goal should be to achieve a response rate of at least 30%. And anything less than 20% means that you are spamming and not doing relationship-sourcing.Also make sure that you know your company’s brand and can articulate it effectively throughout the entire sourcing and vetting process. Candidates that are in demand know that they have choices, and they are looking fo r employers with a compatible brand, mission and values.Along with company branding, do your best to provide a great candidate experience. Candidates are sharing their interview experiences on social media sites like Glassdoor and Vault, and your ability to attract top talent can be either enhanced or stymied by your reputation on social media.

A Small Community Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

A Small Community Business - Essay Example A Small Community Business The local stores, farms, and their cooperatives in our location greatly benefit from the existence of Ice Cream Heaven because Mr. Haynes sources his milk, dairy products, and other restaurant and cooking needs directly from the local business suppliers. Ice Cream heaven gives off that American vibe that can only see in Pop Tate's ice cream parlor in the Archie comic books. Just as our community evolved over time, so did the menu and other offerings of the restaurant. Having started out as purely an ice cream scooping station, these days it boasts of meal menus and sandwich snacks for those quick fix meals that the busy parents and students in our neighborhood requires. What is even more admirable about the business is that it hires workers from within our community. Ice Cream Heaven has 20 high school part time job type of employees that admirably helps our local families from lower income brackets survive and boosts our local economy. The annual sales of Ice Cream Heaven should be around $250,000 or more a year because of the combined income from their ice cream scooping station, ice cream gallon sales, and sit down clients. Mr Haynes told me that the taxes he pays the community has helped maintain the local park and kept the community library in business by adding computer systems for the benefit of the local public school. Ice Cream Heaven has been an integral part of my childhood and continues to be a memorable place for me as I mature into an adult. This is the place where my parents and I often had my birthday dessert when I was a child.

Effects of oil spillage to the Dalian population Research Paper

Effects of oil spillage to the Dalian population - Research Paper Example The Chinese annual consumption of oil and its allied resources has been on an upwards trend due to the rapid industrialization in places such as Dalian reaching heights of nearly 6.66% per annum (Lu, 2004). The aftermath of the catastrophic oil spillage had great repercussions for the Dalian population because it disrupted all their socioeconomic activities while negatively affecting their health and overall quality of lives adversely. The Dalian oil spillage, however, is not the only one to occur in the recent years since other great oil spills have been reported all over the world with equal devastating effects on the surrounding cities and populations; for instance, the Deep-Water Horizon crisis in the gulf is one of them (Lustgarten, 2012). This paper will explore the effects of the oil spillage on the Dalian population by highlighting the adverse negative impacts of the oil spillage on the environmental as well as the socio-economic aspects of life in the city. Precisely, this p aper will highlight the manner in which the Dalian population was affected by the oil spillage in terms of the disruptions in their socioeconomic activities, particularly in crucial areas of the city’s economy such as in the tourism and fishing industries. Similarly, this paper will examine the effects of the oil spillage on the Dalian population in terms of its negative health effects as a result of the contamination of water sources and air by traces of oil following the spillage. Despite the numerous proactive disaster response initiatives taken by Chinese authorities to maintain the safety of human life and to stabilize the situation at the Xingang Port, the Dalian oil spillage resulted to adverse consequences not only for the environment, but also for the Dalian population (NTS Alert, 2010). Generally, the oil spillage resulted to adverse socioeconomic impacts, which greatly affected the lives of the population in the surrounding Dalian area; oil

An integral part of teaching

An integral part of teaching How and why we assess our children has a massive impact on their life in education and consequently on how and what we plan and teach, and how children learn. The National Curriculum defines assessment as an integral part of teaching and learning (1999, p.17), emphasising the value of assessing the process of learning and teaching as well as the outcome. Suggestions on a range of assessment strategies and tools are included in the curriculum but to enable teachers and schools to continue the development of good assessment practice, more detailed guidance is necessary. To begin with it is perhaps necessary to define assessment as any process used to inform teachers as to a pupils progress and learning. There are many different types of assessment, usually discussed as different purposes of assessment while these assessments certainly differ in several significant aspects; they are united in their aspirations of making a positive contribution to bringing about learning. There are two main forms of assessment; formative and summative. I have observed both types in the classroom, recognising that the key to excellent assessment practice is to understand what each form and their methods contribute. From these observations I understand that in order to become successful in my pedagogy I need to construct my teaching to maximise the success of both formative and summative assessment in my classroom. To allow me competently use both assessment for learning and assessment of learning I must develop a range and knowledge of assessment purposes and strategies which I will now discuss. Formative assessment can provide a snapshot moment by moment picture of the success of teaching and learning. It provides the two way dialogue between educator and child, the knowledge which enhances pedagogy allowing teaching to become relevant and timely. Assessment for Learning in particular will be a clear focus for me as I look for opportunities to strengthen my own teaching practice, having observed first hand the strong contribution AfL, which the National Strategies defines as a natural, integral and essential part of effective learning and teaching and is a key element of personalised learning. Teachers and children continually reflect on how learning is progressing, see where improvements can be and identify the next steps to take (2004), can make towards effective teaching. It makes the difference between self-assured and stimulated pupils, and disenfranchised pupils who are uncertain of the rationale behind the learning objective. The case for clearly communicating the learning outcome to the class is picked up on by Clarke (2006). In my own experience and observation, this results in making learning relevant especially when the learning intention is placed in the context of previous and future learning. It also helps to illuminate which areas of subject knowledge are required to teach at which time and how this information or teaching of skills is to be structured. Clarke also recommends that the teacher works with children to identify success criteria. These are used to supply feedback to both pupils and the teacher regarding the extent to which the learning objective has been met. Consequently, the use of formative assessment enriches the process of teaching, planning and curriculum development. It can inform not only the short term goals for the class, but also the negotiated curriculum, as children are encouraged to become active learners by reflecting on their own progress and motivation. It must be stressed that not all assessment needs to be quantitative, nor does it need to be recorded .The teachers own reflective process is a vital part of assessment. The purpose of summative assessment is to illustrate that pupils have met their learning goals or reached a certain standard of accomplishment. Formative assessment in basic definition is the collection and use of evidence about the learning in relation to the explicit objectives and outcomes of a lesson. This type of assessment can then be used and interpreted by the teacher to identify what the pupil has achieved, any gaps in knowledge and to decide what steps are needed to enable the pupil to reach their potential and unit outcome. I have observed formative assessment being used to inform teachers of pupil progress and to enable them to adapt their planning and teaching to their childrens needs. The aim of formative assessment is to impact positively on pupil learning and effective pedagogy. There is a growing amount of evidence suggesting that formative assessment raises both progress and attainment levels Assessment begins in this way in the Early Years Foundation stage (EYFS), where in 2003; the Foundation Stage Profile (FSP) was introduced. The FSP consists of 13 scales relating to creative development, knowledge and understanding of the world, personal, social and emotional development, physical development, language and literacy and mathematical development. Children are assessed on each scale and their progress towards achieving early learning goals is judged. During my previous experience in my base school, I have observed how a pupil profile is built up over the EYFS, so that evidence can be used formatively and later summarised against the performance descriptions of the scales for reporting at the end of each term. Through my experience of the EYFS I have seen how teacher-based this form of assessment is, as the evidence accumulated for each child is derived from on-going learning activities. This normally takes place through the use of observation sheets and post-its. Occasi onally, a more formal assessment takes place where the teacher asks the child in question if they can perform a specific task, the evidence from which is then logged and used as assessment data, however these are still situated within the normal day to day routines of the children and no cause of distress. (Q 11 12) In comparison to the FSP, the assessment children experience in Key Stages 1 and 2 varies greatly and summative assessment plays a greater role. Summative assessment is the assessment of learning and is used to record the achievements of individuals at a particular point in their learning (usually at the end of a topic, term or year). Rather than a steady trickle of specific learning goals, it refers to a broader learning outcome which has been achieved over a longer period of time. In contrast to the singular outcomes of formative assessment, summative assessments are used in several different ways, some relating to individual pupils and some to aggregated results of groups of pupils. At the end of both Y2 and Y6, children are expected to undertake external tasks and tests in mathematics and English (SATS). The results of Key Stage 2 SATS in particular are a cause of immense pressure for both pupils and teachers, as they are reported and used to inform national statistics. It is only at the end of each Key Stage that pupil attainment must be reported in terms of national curriculum levels; however there is also a statutory requirement to provide parents with a summative report once each year. Many schools choose to include within this the levels children have reached during the academic year this trend has been reinforced by the use of optional SATS for years between 2 and 6. In addition to the assessment and tracking of individual pupils, test results (KS1 and KS2 SATS) are used to evaluate the effectiveness of the education provided by teachers, schools and local authorities and compared nationally. The results of these examinations have huge implications and c onsiderable importance for teachers as the results are used to inform targets which schools must take accountability for meeting. There are established Government national targets for the percentage of children achieving a level 4 in the key stage 2 tasks which schools are required to set targets for. The consequences of not achieving these targets are severe, with schools become subject to OFSTED inspections and categories, with lack of attainment becoming the main cause of a school being placed in special measures. (Q 11 12 13) In order to avoid such consequences, teachers are facing constant pressure to ensure children are achieving age related expectations, amid fears that they will fail to hit Government targets. Children in our primary schools are in danger of being taught a limited timetable as some schools and teachers focus on teaching to the test. This is despite recommendations by OFSTED that while à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦some schools are able to prepare pupils for tests without sacrificing the wider curriculumà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦but an emphasis on the core subjects limits what pupils do, particularly as teachers prepare them for key stage 2 exams (Marley 2008) As well as placing pressure upon teachers, national testing has a huge impact on pupils. It can cause a lack of motivation for lower ability children, as well as a view of learning as product rather than process for all children. There is much attention focussed on those children who are performing just beneath age related levels, while those who are either too far above or below the target level suffering a lack of attention. For my son, and for most 10-year olds in the country, the next nine months will be à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a sterile, narrow and meaningless exercise in drilling and cramming. Its nothing to do with the skills of his teacher who seems outstanding. Nor do I blame the school. Its called preparing for Key Stage 2 SATS (2006) It is clear that the emphasis has to be placed back on teaching rather than targets and tests. How then do we ensure the progress and attainment of the children in our schools without narrowing the curriculum? Assessing pupil progress (APP) has been accepted as recognising the differing purposes and audiences for assessment on both a day-to-day and periodic time scale. On a day-to-day capacity it provides a closer view of pupils, enabling teachers to support childrens learning through use of effective classroom intervention. Periodically it reviews a broader range of pupils work, which in turn can inform planning and enable teachers to monitor progress and attainment. The purpose of APP is to support effective planning; teaching and learning, The use of informed and consistent target setting will continue to play a crucial part in ensuring that teachers know what to teach to allow children to achieve their aims by guiding and challenging them. In my base school APP is used to support this aim, ensuring that targets are both appropriate and relevant to individuals. Similarly APP can be used to identify gaps in a pupils learning, allowing teachers to reflect upon their own teaching, especial ly in those cases where there are common mistakes and misconceptions on the part of the pupils. APP also reinforces Assessment for Learning (AfL) as a daily occurrence, leading to a more constructive impact on teaching and learning. In national guidance there is an increasing emphasis on the role of APP in tracking and recording performance. Whilst most schools recognise the opportunities to increase their teacher assessments consistency and reliability, it will take time for APP to become second nature to staff. However, the overarching aim of APP is clear it aims to enable us to recognize and celebrate overall progress in an aspect of learning, rather than just assessing learning of the most recently taught and learned. (Q 12 13 26a) As well as internal methods of assessment, schools have access to national and local data in forms of the raiseonline and national and local benchmarking data. This enables schools to pinpoint how well they are doing and any improvements they could and should make. Schools can make comparisons, not only on a national level but also against schools with similar levels of deprivation (eligibility for free school meals) or schools with similar levels of contextual value added. Supporting all schools improvement processes by providing a variety of methods to analyse their performance data as part of the self evaluation form (SEF). It is necessary however to interpret benchmarking data with care as rather than providing schools with the answers it is more likely that it would help them identify questions and issues that may need to be investigated. Whilst comparing data between schools may give accurate portrayals of a schools performance, it does not necessarily account for it. (Q 13) It is my opinion, after research and school based observations, that a successful assessment is an open one, where everyone involved, from staff to pupils are aware to some extent of what and how evidence is to be assessed. It is essential that we are completely transparent about the need for and purpose of assessment and why it is carried out in particular ways. Feedback to pupils is key in formative assessment, as it is only by showing pupils the steps they need to take in order to reach the next steps in their learning that we as teachers can bring about learning. While we cannot learn for the students, we can use feedback to make adjustments to our planning and teaching, enabling students to access the curriculum with all the tools they require. Even the very youngest pupils can be given some explanation of the assessment process, which in turns enables children to both self and peer assess. Self and peer assessment includes pupil involvement in both setting the success criteria and how they will show that they have been successful, empowering them to take control of their own learning. There are huge advantages to this type of assessment, the most significant of which are that it develops lifelong evaluation skills whilst supporting independent learning increases pupil motivation by involving them in the assessment process treats assessment as part of learning, so mistakes are seen as opportunities rather than a sign of failure. reduces the amount of teacher assessment but improves the quality. In my base school I have observed a number of self and peer assessment strategies including children marking each others work, the use of a traffic lighting system, suggesting improvements to each others work and reflecting upon their own. Of course there are possible issues surrounding the use of peer and self assessment, with many believing that it should be used only for formative assessment as it is possible that children may allow friendships to affect their objectivity. It is necessary that teachers use peer and self assessment to support their own assessment, teaching and planning rather that relying upon it completely. (Q 28) Through my reading and observations during my time in school, it has become clear to me that there is no part of interaction which is not assessed. Though this may not seem manageable, the variation of assessment strategies that I have witnessed, I have come to the realisation that assessment does not always have to have a written outcome. Instead, it suggests to me that assessment can bring about conscious teaching and informed planning. My developing understanding of a range of assessment strategies including APP, self and peer assessment , AfL among others, will enable me to use day-to-day assessment to provide the pupils in my care with instant feedback, relevant next steps, appropriate support and individual targets, allowing me to adjust my planning in line with the needs of those in my care. (Q 26a, 12, 13, 19) Although I believe that some form of summative assessment is necessary in schools, I believe that on many occasions grades, marks and levels are assigned to pupils work more often than strictly necessary when it may be more appropriate to provide formative feedback. This is something I intend to avoid in my own practice, especially as I have experienced the use of excellent formative assessment in my base school. I have found that feedback given in this way to inform a target is highly effective in motivating pupils, and goes some way towards personalising learning. Furthermore it builds confidence and the long-term aim of helping children to become independent learners. It is essential then, to ensure good teaching and learning, that assessment involves a great deal more than just testing. It should be a continuing process that encompasses many activities, both formal and informal, designed to monitor and improve teaching and in turn the bringing about of learning across all areas o f the curriculum.(Q22, 25a) Teaching will inevitably be focused on what s assessed. When conducted by testing this impact is bound to have a narrowing effect on what is taught because tests only sample the learning outcomes and include those outcomes more easily assessed by tests. If teachers use a much wider range of assessment methods, the result can be much more positive.

Bloomberg and the Soda Law Essay

The soda law introduced by Mayor Bloomberg to ban the sale of sodas larger than 16 fl. oz. at restaurants across the city will have zero to minimal economic impact on people who are currently buying them. The soda ban will have an extremely small net positive economic impact on businesses. And the rationale behind this is the fact that whoever drinks more soda will acquire more soda, regardless of how big or small the drink is. A 20 fl. oz. soda, when banned will be replaced by a 16 fl. oz. cup of soda. How much soda an individual drinks may even increase if instead of drinking just one 20 fl. oz. soda, he decides to get a refill of his 16 fl. oz. soda, something that most restaurants allow. The benefits projected for the society from this law, that may reduce obesity are preposterous. The cost of soda for restaurants is roughly $0. 0132 per ounce (see Appendix). On a 20 fl. oz. soda, the net cost to the restaurant is about $0. 22 (Appendix). A 20 fl. oz. cup of soda at an establishment such as McDonald’s, perhaps the main target of this law, sells for roughly $2. 50. Once the 20 fl. oz. cup is gone, it will be replaced by the 16 fl. oz. cup, but at the same price. The restaurants will re-label the 16 fl. oz. cup as the new large, introduce a 12 fl. oz. cup as a medium and keep the 8 –ounce cup as a small. But will this add significantly to the revenues of the restaurant? It is very unlikely, since the customers will just get refills for their 16 fl. oz. cups. The only economical benefit for the restaurant might be the people who do not refill their cups and this is minimal since the cost of soda is just a rounding error for most restaurants. This law is ineffective because it does not stop the consumer from consuming any less soda from what was being consumed before. The economic impact on the society will be in the red because of the hundreds and thousands of dollars spent on structuring the bill, the flawed methodologies of research that determined a small cup would result in less consumption of soda, and finally the money spent by various groups opposing or supporting this law. To effectively tackle the problem of obesity, the government needs to look at other avenues. Soda is a big cause of obesity, it is made of sugar and has calories, but the ban on a larger serving is not the solution. An effective solution would be to raise the taxes on sodas. Another solution is to ban refills, thus prompting the customer to purchase another soda, which will either discourage the purchase or add more to tax revenues collected by the government. In turn, this tax revenue can be used to build jogging tracks, exercise equipment and other recreational facilities for the community. Another option for the government is to advertise the ill effects of drinking soda and promote healthier alternatives such as fruit and vegetable juices at affordable prices at those restaurants. There are several other options for soda drinkers to consume the same amount of soda when this law is enforced. Restaurants and movie theatres give free refills, convenience stores such as 7-11 are exempt from this law, and grocery stores still sell the large bottles and cases. The answer to this problem lies in educating the people about the ill effects of soda and only then will this law be economically beneficial for the society. This law does not have any health benefits that can be converted in to economical benefits for the society. Appendix: â€Å"Costing Out Soda & Free Refills – How to Price Soda. † Wholesale Food & Restaurant Distribution by Pate Dawson Company. Pate Dawson Company, 2009. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. .

Desert Biome

De iomee ert B s n g rick Bor By: E Period:2 Where is the desert biome located Usually located in U. S. A, South America, Africa,Europe,Austalia,and Asia. located in hot, dry locations around the Earth. Deserts cover about one fifth of the Earth's land surface. What's the climate like? All deserts are dry, arid places, but some may be cold depending on the location. Desert regions usually only receive 10 inches of rain per year. A very low latitude climate. Usually have average temperature over 64Â ° F(18Â ° C). The climate is formed by high-pressure zones in which cold air descends.Who lives in the Desert? The animals that live in the desert such as camels, snakes, lizards, scorpions, coyotes, armadillos, hawks, and kangaroos, have special adaptations that allow them to survive the extreme temperatures and conditions that present in a desert. There's also things like plants such as cactus, ocotillo a leafy green plant that produces flowers) and shrubs. Plants in the desert are for ced to make many adaption's in order to survive in this dry, hot land. Some adaption's are when rain falls they sprout at that moment. SpecialityReceives a extremely low amount of perspiration. More water is lost by evapotranspiration. Deserts can be Cold or hot. Cold deserts are usually covered in snow or ice. classified by their geographical location and dominant weather pattern. Sand covers about only 20% of earths deserts. Antarctica is actually the biggest desert. level of biodiversity I believe the level of biodiversity is hot and dry. Not to many living things live in the desert, because of heat. Deserts don't really have plants because it rarely rains. Animals that can live in the heat can sustained the deserts biodiversity.