Essay on Macbeth and Tragic Hero - 1071 Words

Macbeth, a tragedy written by William Shakespeare in the 17th century, expresses clearly the strong pull that desire for power can have over a man. Macbeth, the title character of the play, is often expressed as being the villain of the tragedy. However, through studying the play closely it is clear to see that, rather than being an innately evil character, Macbeth is in fact a tragic hero, doomed by fate from the start to descend into the madness which he did. Had it not been for his hamartia and his interaction with the witches and his wife then the play would have had a very different ending. Like every tragic hero in literature Macbeth suffered from a tragic flaw, or a hamartia. In his case, his flaw was his vaulting ambition,†¦show more content†¦Though initially he did not believe what they said, once he was granted the title Thane of Cawdor, he started to consider that it could possibly be true. There is a noticeable difference in his attitude toward the prophecy before and after he is made Thane of Cawdor. Before, there is a clear disbelief in his approach, though it’s obvious that he hopes for it to be true. Where as afterwards Macbeth is starting to view his promotion to King as not just a possibility, but rather an inevitable truth. His desire for this power arose and his ambition started to take control. It was this moment that started his transformation from hero, to tragic hero. However, the alteration was a slow one and throughout the tragedy the Witches continued to contribute to Macbeths growing insanity. Their prophecies begun to dictate his every move. This reliance on the witches is seen in the final scenes of the play, where Macbeth shows increasingly reckless behaviour in the battle scene due to the witches’ prophecy that â€Å"none of women born would harm Macbeth† (act IV, scene I). He became enraptured by a longing for power, a desire that would not have consumed him so, had it not been for his interaction with the witches. For if the Witches had not come along, than it is certain that Macbeth would not have fallen victim to the clutches of madness like he did. However, it was not only the Witches who contributed toShow MoreRelatedMacbeth as a Tragic Hero985 Words   |  4 Pages In William shakespeare’s Macbeth,Macbeth is a classic example of a tragic hero in shakesperean work.Macbeth display the major characteristics of a tragic hero throughout the play until his tragic end.The play potrays Macbeth as a lost cause by showing how he fell from being a honest and just man who fought for whats right, to a cruel,superstitious,ambicious dictator.In william shakespreares Macbeth,Macbeth is a tragic hero because he compromises his honor and negates his moral values in orderRead MoreMacbeth As A Tragic Hero1139 Words   |  5 PagesThe Macbeth character in Macbeth by William Shakespeare can be played many ways.  Macbeth s relationship with other characters in the play and Aristotle s theory of a tragedy are ways in which Macbeth is shown as a tragic hero I am going to explain to you how Macbeth is a true tragic hero. At the very beginning of the play,  Macbeth  and Banquo are returning to Scotland from a fierce battle between the Norwegians and the Scottish. They have just won the war for Duncan.   This shows a noble virtueRead MoreMacbeth as a Tragic Hero1513 Words   |  7 PagesMacbeth as a Tragic Hero William Shakespeare s plays have the reputation of being among the greatest in the English language and in Western literature. Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the 16th century. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, and Macbeth, considered some of the finestRead MoreMacbeth as a Tragic Hero1453 Words   |  6 Pagespresents Macbeth as a tragic hero? The 17th century play, ‘Macbeth’ by William Shakespeare, was written during a time when James the first became the first king of both Scotland and England. The characters in the play are also based upon his descendants. The play itself focuses on the character of Macbeth who is manipulated into committing regicide by 3 witches. As the play progresses, both him and his wife begin to lose all sense of morality, resulting with both of their deaths in the end. Macbeth isRead MoreMacbeth As A Tragic Hero893 Words   |  4 PagesSeidewand Andreacchi February 13th 2017 ENG2D1-02 Macbeth as a Tragic Hero A tragic hero can be described as a character obtaining heroic qualities that is, at the same time, destined for their own downfall. Unfortunately, Macbeth is an example of a character that has this title. In Shakespeare’s time during the writing of the play was the reign of King James of England, and the play ‘Macbeth’ reflects on Shakespeare’s own relationship with this king. Someone of greatRead MoreMacbeth - a Tragic Hero2214 Words   |  9 PagesShakespeares play Macbeth, written in the 1600s is a perfect example of Shakespeares ability to manipulate his audience through creating a tragic hero. A tragic hero who, because of a flaw, tumbles from a well-respected hero to a cowardless murderer. It is through Shakespeares manipulation of figurative language, dramatic conventions and social expectations of the seventeenth century, do the audience witness the demise of this mixed up man. Macbeths persona of the tragic hero is enhanced evenRead Mor eMacbeth as a Tragic Hero846 Words   |  3 Pages The tragic hero has been a major storytelling tool in recent years that makes the audience relate to, respect, and feel sympathy for a character which is undone by the end of the story. But can this title be given to Macbeth, the titular hero of the Shakespeare play by the same name? Yes, absolutely- Shakespeare’s Macbeth follows this plot path in numerous ways. Throughout the play, we are introduced to Macbeth’s belovedness, the crushing of said established belovedness, and his own undoing. Read MoreMacbeth As A Tragic Hero1685 Words   |  7 Pagesprotagonist who appears to be a â€Å"tragic hero† in the overall play. In other words, this character is one who has made an error in his judgement, providing that this error eventually leads to their own ruin or destruction. Within Macbeth, Macbeth the character is regarded as a tragic hero, but with the distinct and evident explanation of his evil and the succession of his acts of violence, it may not be as clea r cut as to whether he is a tragic hero or not. Though Macbeth does commit an error that leadsRead MoreMacbeth As A Tragic Hero2154 Words   |  9 Pages Karen H. Macbeth Show how Macbeth is seen as a tragic hero â€Å"The catastrophe of the tragic hero thus becomes the catastrophe of the fifth-century man; all his furious energy and intellectual daring drive him on to this terrible discovery of his fundamental ignorance - he is not the measure of all commodity but the commodity measured and found wanting.† The words ‘tragic hero’ has undergone a deceptive and detrimental process, it goes from a favorable connotationRead MoreMacbeth As A Tragic Hero2015 Words   |  9 PagesMacbeth Show how Macbeth is seen as a tragic hero â€Å"One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon-instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.† The words ‘tragic hero’ has undergone a deceptive and detrimental process, it goes from a favorable connotation to a repulsive connotation. A tragic hero makes â€Å"judgment errors† that are inescapable and it ultimately

Effect Of Stress On The Human Body - 1577 Words

Stress can be defined as a state in which the normal dynamic equilibrium of the complex attributes that maintain life are challenged, threatened or an individual feels that such equilibrium is threatened. The aspects that threaten this equilibrium within ones brain are called stressors and individuals struggle to restore the normal state by coming up with physiological and behavioral responses to that effect (Thoma, La Marca, Brà ¶nnimann, Finkel, Ehlert, Nater, 2013). Within the human body, there are hormones that play a significant role in restoring this balance mainly the neuroendocrinic hormones. For stress to be experienced, the threshold of any stressor must be exceeded. When that threshold is passed, it is the stress system that is at the central nervous system that plays a major role in making sure that the equilibrium is restored by propagating a series of complex physiological and behavioral response (Thoma et al. 2013). Music has been applied for treating of psychosocial and physiological attributes of illnesses and health situations. The techniques used employs systematic methods training people to gain behaviors and non-musical skills which are determined by specialist in music therapy. There are various facets of music used including the emotional, physical, aesthetic, spiritual, social and mental that the specialist target with a view to maintain and improve human health (Das Mukherjee, 2014). The use of music to heal people has a long history and datingShow MoreRelatedThe Effects Of Stress On The Human Body968 Words   |  4 PagesNo matter how different each human being is from another, from the fingerprints to the eye and hair color, every human being experiences stress at some point within their life, but what exactly is stress? Stress is â€Å"a state of mental tension and worry caused by problems in life, work, etc.; something that causes strong feelings of worry or anxiety† (Defi nition of Stress). Angela Farrehi also says this about what stress is and some of its causes, â€Å"Stress has been conceptualized in a number of waysRead MoreThe Effects Of Stress On The Human Body860 Words   |  4 PagesStress may affect many adults on a daily basis, but to effectively reduce stress, one must understand the contributing factors and proper reduction techniques. After taking a stress self-assessment on Mindtools.com, I answered multiple questions related to my life. The results yielded a particularly high score of 316. According to the Holmes and Rahe stress scale (1967), This score puts me in a category where a high probability of my health becoming affected in the future exists. I was caught offRead MoreThe Effects Stress Has On The Human Body937 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿The Effects Stress Has on the Human Body: Mentally, Physically, Emotionally, Behaviorally Stress is very well known for just what it means: STRESS. Its effect on human beings from a local and a global standpoint is far greater than any of us imagine. Stress can overtake one’s body physically, mentally, emotionally, as well as behavioral aspects. This is not something to take lightly. This is actually very serious. If you notice, it’s not just older people that die this day and time with heartRead MoreThe Effects Of Heat Stress On The Human Body Temperature1636 Words   |  7 Pagespersistent high temperature. Several occupational related activities are afflicted by difficulties linked to heat stress, most especially when carried out in a high temperature and tropic environment (Stewart, 1982). 1.0 Introduction For the human body to function more effectively, body temperature at a constant temperature level is required. Achieving this constant body temperature, the human body temperature must consistently give out a certain level of heat to the surrounding environment at the sameRead MoreThe Effects Of Physical And Psychological Stress On The Human Body946 Words   |  4 PagesStress produces physical, mental, and emotional responses with in the human body. These responses can influence one, positive or negatively. Each response serves a purpose. Physical, mental, and emotional responses assist our human psyche to thrive and flourish. Physical response to stress is often overlooked but can have profound effects. These are not always negative but sometimes positive. 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The immune response, depression, aging and death, and sexual reproduction are just some of the topics Sapolsky discusses and how stress affects each of these. Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers I chose Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers (1994) because I was intrigued by the similarities between humans and animals in regardsRead MoreEssay on The Breakdown of Mental Health and Stability1611 Words   |  7 Pagescould say that much progress was made in the field of science in terms of understanding the functions of the human brain and some of its behavior. It seems that as each new day passes, something new is discovered about the brain, whether it be a new mental or physiological brain condition, or merely a link and clue to one of the vast number of questions the world has considering the human brain and behavior. These discoveries and answers are becoming more and more important and imperative due toRead MoreThe Effects Of Sleep Deprivation On The Body798 Words   |  4 Pageswork, go to school, or even both. What keeps the human brain active during these hard tasks? Sleep is the answer to this question. What is sleep? Sleep is when the human body is unconscious. O nce unconscious the body will restore the energy it needs for the next day. Sleep is vital to everyone. A human body needs sleep to restore the powers of the body. Some causes of being sleep deprived include a poor diet, stress, and hormonal imbalances. The effects of sleep deprivation include health problems,Read MorePsychological Effects Of Cancer And Cancer1457 Words   |  6 PagesPsychological Effects of Cancers, when we are live with cancer we are face many mental and physical problems and this type of people doing higher efforts to cope with cancer. Introduction There are many types of cancers. In America many person are live with cancer. So in this research I tried to present mental effect of cancer patient. How they fill and if we have proper information about disease so It’s could be easy to understand it and solve it. Basic Mental Understanding Human mind is main part

Pink Floyd The First Band In Outer Space Essay Example For Students

Pink Floyd: The First Band In Outer Space Essay For many people, the group Pink Floyd is considered as un-popular, aged, and without any sense in todays modern society. Its so unfortunate that true rock and roll music is being left behind for the new head-splitting garbage that infests the airwaves today. The newest generation is unaware of the history behind all the â€Å"music† they listen to now. Where did it all begin? Who first wandered into the realms of psychedelic music to create a style and a culture that would last for decades, and never be copied? The answer of course is Pink FloydPink Floyd was the first band in outer space. Since the mid-60s, their music has relentlessly tinkered with electronics and all manner of special effects to push pop formats to their outer limits. At the same time they have wrestled with lyrical themes and concepts of such massive scale that their music has taken on almost classical, operatic quality, in both sound and words. While Pink Floyd is mostly known for their extravagant concept albums of the 1970s, they started as a very different sort of psychedelic band. Soon after they first began playing together in the mid-60s, they fell firmly under the leadership of lead guitarist Syd Barrett, the gifted genius who would write and sing most of their early material. The Cambridge native shared the stage with Roger Waters (bass), Rick Wright (keyboards), and Nick Mason (drums). The name Pink Floyd, seemingly so far-out, was actually derived from the first names of two ancient bluesmen (Pink Anderson and Floyd Council). And at first, Pink Floyd were a much more conventional act that the act into which they would evolve, concentrating on the rock and RB material that were so common to the repertoires of mid-60s British bands. Pink Floyd quickly began to experiment, however, stretching out songs with wild instrumental freak-out passages incorporating feedback, electronic screeches, and unusual, eerie sounds created by loud amplification, reverb, and such tricks as sliding ball bearings up and down guitar strings. In 1966, they began to pick up a following in the London underground; onstage, they began to incorporate light shows to add to the psychedelic effect. Most importantly, Syd Barrett began to compose pop-psychedelic gems that combined unusual psychedelic arrangements with catchy melodies and incisive lyrics that viewed the world with a sense of poetic, child-like wonder. The group landed a recording contract with EMI in early 1967 and made the Top 20 with a brilliant debut single, Arnold Layne, a sympathetic, comic song about a transvestite. The follow-up, the kaleidoscopic See Emily Play, made the Top Ten. Their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, also released in 1967, may have been the greatest British psychedelic album ever. Dominated almost wholly by Barretts songs, the album was a charming funhouse of driving, mysterious rockers, odd character sketches, childhood flashbacks, and freaky pieces with lengthy instrumental passages that mapped out their fascination with space travel. The record was not only like no other at the time; it was like no other that Pink Floyd would make, colored as it was by a vision that was far more humorous, pop-friendly, and light-hearted than those of their subsequent epics. The reason Pink Floyd never made a similar album was that Piper was the only one to be recorded under Barretts leadership. Around mid-1967, the prodigy began showing increasingly alarm signs of mental instability. Syd would go catatonic onstage; playing music that had little to do with the material, or not playing at all. An American tour had to be cut short when he was barely able to function at all, let alone play the pop star game. .ua403e27c2d7c43ad746e5fc1c22e8374 , .ua403e27c2d7c43ad746e5fc1c22e8374 .postImageUrl , .ua403e27c2d7c43ad746e5fc1c22e8374 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ua403e27c2d7c43ad746e5fc1c22e8374 , .ua403e27c2d7c43ad746e5fc1c22e8374:hover , .ua403e27c2d7c43ad746e5fc1c22e8374:visited , .ua403e27c2d7c43ad746e5fc1c22e8374:active { border:0!important; } .ua403e27c2d7c43ad746e5fc1c22e8374 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ua403e27c2d7c43ad746e5fc1c22e8374 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ua403e27c2d7c43ad746e5fc1c22e8374:active , .ua403e27c2d7c43ad746e5fc1c22e8374:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ua403e27c2d7c43ad746e5fc1c22e8374 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ua403e27c2d7c43ad746e5fc1c22e8374 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ua403e27c2d7c43ad746e5fc1c22e8374 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ua403e27c2d7c43ad746e5fc1c22e8374 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ua403e27c2d7c43ad746e5fc1c22e8374:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ua403e27c2d7c43ad746e5fc1c22e8374 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ua403e27c2d7c43ad746e5fc1c22e8374 .ua403e27c2d7c43ad746e5fc1c22e8374-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ua403e27c2d7c43ad746e5fc1c22e8374:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Civil Disobedience Essay Dependent upon Barrett for most of their vision and material, the rest of the group was finding him impossible to work with, in concert or in the studio. Around the beginning of 1968, guitarist Dave Gilmour, a friend of the band who was also from Cambridge, was brought in as a fifth member. The idea was that Gilmour would enable the Floyd to continue as a live outfit; Barrett would still be able to write and contribute to the records. That couldnt work either, and within a few months Barrett was out of the group. Pink Floyds management, looking at the wreckage of a band that was now without its lead guitarist, lead singer, and primary songwriter, decided to abandon the group and manage Syd as a solo act. Such calamities would have proven insurmountable for 99 out of 100 bands in similar predicaments. Incredibly, Pink Floyd would regroup and not only maintain their popularity, but eventually become even more successful. It was early in the game yet, after all; the first album had made the British Top Ten, but the group was still virtually unknown in America, where the loss of Syd Barrett meant nothing to the media. Over the next four years, Pink Floyd would continue to polish their brand of experimental rock, which married psychedelic sounds with ever-grander arrangements on an operatic scale. Hidden underneath the pulsing, reverberant organs and guitars and insistently restated themes were subtle blues and pop influences that kept the material accessible to a wide audience. Abandoning the singles market, they concentrated on album-length works, and built a huge following in the progressive rock underground with constant touring in both Europe and North America. While LPs like Ummagumma, Atom Heart Mother, and More were erratic, each contained some extremely effective music. By the early 70s Syd Barrett was a fading or nonexistent memory for most of Pink Floyds fans, although the group, one could argue, never did match the brilliance of that somewhat anomalous 1967 debut. Their album Meddle sharpened the bands sprawling epics into something more accessible, and polished the science-fiction ambience that the group had been exploring ever since 1968. Nothing, however, prepared Pink Floyd or their audience for the massive mainstream success of their 1973 album, Dark Side of the Moon, which made their brand of cosmic rock even more approachable with state-of-the-art production, more focused songwriting, an army of well-time stereophonic sound effects, and touches of saxophone and soulful female backup vocals. Dark Side of the Moon finally broke Pink Floyd into superstardome in the United States, where it reached #1 on the Billboards. More astonishingly, it made them one of the biggest-selling acts of all time. Dark Side of the Moon spent an incomprehensible 741 weeks on the Billboard album chart. Additionally, the primarily instrumental textures of the songs helped make Dark Side of the Moon easily translatable on an international level, and the record became (and still is) one of the most popular rock albums worldwide. It was also an extremely hard act to follow, although the follow-up, Wish You Were Here, also made it to #1, highlighted by a tribute of sorts to the long-departed Barrett, Shine On You Crazy Diamond. Dark Side of the Moon had been dominated by lyrical themes of insecurity, fear, and the cold sterility of modern life; Wish You Were Here and Animals (released following Wish You Were Here) developed these morose themes even more explicitly. By this time Waters was taking a firm hand over Pink Floyds lyrical and musical vision, which was consolidated by The Wall in 1979. The bleak, over ambitious double concept album concerned itself with the material and emotional walls modern humans build around themselves for survival. The Wall was a huge success (even by Pink Floyds standards), in part because the music was losing some of its heavy-duty electronic textures in favor of more approachable pop elements. .u1cf5bdff185e61a493bf4baa8a88b812 , .u1cf5bdff185e61a493bf4baa8a88b812 .postImageUrl , .u1cf5bdff185e61a493bf4baa8a88b812 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u1cf5bdff185e61a493bf4baa8a88b812 , .u1cf5bdff185e61a493bf4baa8a88b812:hover , .u1cf5bdff185e61a493bf4baa8a88b812:visited , .u1cf5bdff185e61a493bf4baa8a88b812:active { border:0!important; } .u1cf5bdff185e61a493bf4baa8a88b812 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u1cf5bdff185e61a493bf4baa8a88b812 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u1cf5bdff185e61a493bf4baa8a88b812:active , .u1cf5bdff185e61a493bf4baa8a88b812:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u1cf5bdff185e61a493bf4baa8a88b812 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u1cf5bdff185e61a493bf4baa8a88b812 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u1cf5bdff185e61a493bf4baa8a88b812 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u1cf5bdff185e61a493bf4baa8a88b812 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u1cf5bdff185e61a493bf4baa8a88b812:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u1cf5bdff185e61a493bf4baa8a88b812 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u1cf5bdff185e61a493bf4baa8a88b812 .u1cf5bdff185e61a493bf4baa8a88b812-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u1cf5bdff185e61a493bf4baa8a88b812:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Changes To The Bill Of Rights Essay Although Pink Floyd had rarely even released singles since the late 60s, one of the tracks, Another Brick in the Wall, became a transatlantic #1. The band had been launching increasingly elaborate stage shows throughout the 70s, but the touring production of The Wall, featuring a construction of an actual wall during the bands performance, was the most excessive yet. In the 1980s, the group began to unravel. Each of the four had done some side and solo projects in the past; more troublingly, Waters was asserting control of the bands musical and lyrical identity. That wouldnt have been such a problem had The Final Cut not been such an unimpressive effort, with little of the electronic innovation so typical of their previous work. Shortly after its release, the band split upfor a while. In 1986, Waters sued Gilmour and Mason to dissolve the groups partnership (Wright had lost full membership status entirely), but Waters lost, leaving a Roger-less Pink Floyd to get a Top Five album with Momentary Lapse of Reason in 1987. In an irony that was nothing less than cosmic, about 20 years after Pink Floyd shed its original leader to resume its career with great commercial success, they would do the same again to his successor. Waters released ambitious solo albums to nothing more than moderate sales and attention, while he watched his former colleagues (with Wright back in tow) rescale the charts. Pink Floyd still possesses a huge fan base, but theres little thats noteworthy about their post-Waters output. They know their formula, they can execute it on a grand scale, and they can count on millions of customers (many of them unborn when Dark Side of the Moon came out, and unaware that Syd Barrett was ever a member) to buy their records and see their sporadic tours, but they will never regain the musical genius they once had, both with Barrett and with Waters. One doesn’t just listen to Pink Floyd, he or she experiences it.Music

Review of Shelter a Mickey Bolitar Novel Essay Example

Review of Shelter: a Mickey Bolitar Novel Paper Shelter: A Mickey Bolitar Novel Harlan Coben is the author of Shelter, a young adult thriller/mystery novel set in Kasselton, New Jersey. Harlan Coben is the author of many books including the series Myron Bolitar which began in 1995. Shelter is a spin-off of the series Myron Bolitar. Harlan Coben has four of his novels which have reached number one on the New York Times bestseller list. Harlan Coben is the author of twenty novels to date and Shelter is his first Young Adult novel. Harlan Coben was born in Newark, New Jersey. After graduating from Amherst College a political science major, Harlan worked in the travel industry. He now lives in New Jersey with his wife, Anne Armstrong-Coben MD, a pediatrician, and their four children Shelter is a thriller and mystery surrounding the loss of Mickey father and now his missing friend Ashley. Shelter is written in first person with Mickey actually telling the story. Mickey begins a new school after the death of his father which he witnessed. As the new kid in school, he seemed to have a hard time fitting in. His uncle, Myron had been the basketball star back in his time and some thought that Mickey should live up to that heritage, but Mickey does not like his uncle. Mickey befriends Ema on the first day and slowly they forge a friendship, but his love interest is Ashley and after only a short time in school she goes missing. She vanishes into thin air with no one able to provide answers to Mickey; the plot thickens and the mystery begins. The mysterious old lady and secrets that could turn Mickey’s world upside down make this novel a spellbinding read full of intrigue. We will write a custom essay sample on Review of Shelter: a Mickey Bolitar Novel specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Review of Shelter: a Mickey Bolitar Novel specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Review of Shelter: a Mickey Bolitar Novel specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Shelter is a narrative of awakening and partial development. Mickey finds himself despite having lost so much in such a short amount of time. Mickey also finds more than himself; he finds the answers to questions he did not know existed before he arrived in Kasselton, New Jersey. His father is deceased, his mother is in rehab, his love interest vanishes and he is in a new school with no sign of his former life. Once the mystery begins to unfold, Mickey realizes that things are not always what they seem nor are people. He learns what sacrifice really is and in the process learns who he really is and how much he is willing to sacrifice for those he loves. Mickey also learns exactly what has been sacrificed for him. Shelter is suitable for anyone teenage to adulthood although it states it is for Young Adults. There is nearly no foul language, minimal violence and the subject matter is that which could be easily understood by a child of at least thirteen and beyond. The suspense is unbelievable as the mystery mounts with many twist and shocks that are completely unexpected. This was one of the best novels I have read in a very long time.

Kyoto Accord essays

Kyoto Accord essays No matter how bright a solution may seem, it may only be drawing near the eye of the storm. A problem cannot be completely resolved without creating more. Such is the effect of the Kyoto accord. At this point in time, the Kyoto treaty should not come to pass because of its overwhelming negative effects. Among the many reasons why it should not be signed, are that jobs will dramatically be decreased in the energy industry, global warming occurs periodically without human induced factors, and the unknown cost of this project could prove fatal to the Canadian economy. Even though the greenhouse gases produced by the energy industries play a role in such global warming effects as cataclysmic storms, floods, and drought worldwide, these disasters would occur naturally anyway and it is still not quite certain as to how much it contributes to them. Without a certain amount of warming, all life on the planet would cease to exist. Furthermore, a reasonable increase in present global temperatures could be beneficial as warming could result in greater precipitation, which would aid in the production of agricultural. The idea that an increase in the climate would cause more violent storms worldwide is untrue also as storms are more closely associated with cold weather than warm weather. Only two of the top twenty deadliest storms occurred during extreme heat conditions. As for the decrease in the emissions to cool down the planet, this is merely a speculation since forty million years ago the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was ten times greater than today yet the temperature was substantially cooler. Too many facts are still unknown about the overall effect of the Kyoto project for it to come to pass. Although gas emissions would be reduced considerably, many jobs would be lost in the process. Hundreds of thousands of workers jobs would be put at stake just for the slight chance of a decrease in the climate, whi ...

The Best Way to Read the Passage in SAT Reading

The Best Way to Read the Passage in SAT Reading SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The SAT Reading section presents you withchallenging tasks. Not only will you have to sustain your focus over a long 65-minute section, but you’ll also have to search activelyfor evidence in each passage to back up your answers. The testmay be time intensive and full oftricky â€Å"distractor† answers, but you can learn to avoid the common pitfalls with the right approach. This guide will discuss the best strategies for reading the passages effectively and achieving a high score on the new SAT Reading. To start, let’s go over what the redesigned passages are going to look like on your test. Types of Reading Passages On the SAT Since the 2016 SAT (out of 1600 points) was rolled out, every SAT reading test featuresfour individual passages and one pair of passages. One of these passages comes from US and World Literature, two come from History and Social Studies, and two deal with Science.In total, each passage (or set of paired passages combined) will contain about 500 to 750 words. One or more of them will feature a graph, table, or chart. You’ll be tasked with answering a total of 52 Reading questions.You’ll complete the Reading section all at one time in one 65-minute section- the first section you'll do on the SAT. There are a few strategies you can use when readingthe passages. Before delving into these reading strategies, let’s review the types of Reading questions you’ll encounter. Types of Reading Questions On the SAT The new SAT asks reading comprehension questions about main points, details, inferences, vocabulary in context, function, author technique,evidence support, and data analysis from a graph, table, or chart. The new SAT is primarilyconcerned with howyou connectevidence to your answersand deconstruct logic and arguments. By keeping this emphasis in mind, you can keep an eye out for relevant details and meaningas you read through the passages. These are the main ways that College Board will test your reading comprehension skills: Big Picture / Main Point: What is the overall purpose of the passage? Is it describing an issue or event? Is it trying to review, prove, contradict, or hypothesize? Little Picture / Detail: Detail questions will usually refer you to a specific line within the passage. They might ask what a sentence means or how it functions within the overall passage. Inference: These questions ask you to interpret the meaning of a line or two in the passage. Don't worry, they won't be too vague or open to interpretation, as there can only be one absolutely correct answer. Vocabulary in Context: These questions usually also refer you to a specific line and ask how a word functions within a sentence. These words are often not too advanced; instead, they're often common words that may have an unusual meaning based on context. Function: These questions often ask what a phrase, sentence, or paragraph is accomplishing within the context of the whole passage. This links to your understanding of the big picture / main point. Author Technique: What's the author's tone, style, or other technique in this passage? Paired passage questions often ask you to compare and contrast author techniques or opinions. Evidence Support: These questions ask you to choose a line or series of lines that provide the best evidence to your answer to a previous question.Therefore, an evidence question could refer back to any of the question types mentioned above, with the exception of vocab-in-context. These evidence support questions often take the form, â€Å"Which choice provides the best evidence to the previous question?† While these questions can help you check your thinking, they may also contain a trap; if you answered wrong to the previous question, you'll probably find that the mistake in your thinking hasa corresponding answer in the evidence question. Data Analysis: These questions are entirely new and refer to graphs and charts. They may ask something like, â€Å"Which claim about traffic congestion is supported by the graph?† The hardest ones may combine with an inference question, like, â€Å""The author is least likely to support which interpretation of the data in this figure?† Understanding the types of passages and questions will begin to improve your understanding of the Reading section and how you approach each passage. As you take SAT practice tests, keep a critical eye on how each question fits into one or more of the above categories.Now let's look specifically at what steps you should take when reading through the passages to maximize your comprehension and take control of your time management. One step at a time... How to Read the Passages Some students jump into reading, others read the questions first, and still others swear by a â€Å"back and forth† method. In our view, the five steps described below represent a tried and true approach that works for most students. It uses effective methods to understand the important points of the passage before you even read it, and it helps you save time digesting the passage. With five passages to read and 52 questions to answer in only 65 minutes, time is of the essence. Read over these steps, give this approach a try, and see if it helps you preserve your focus and work efficiently as you prep for the SAT Reading. Step 1 A good standard approach is to glance over the corresponding questions before you begin to read the first passage. This way, you'll have a sense of what you're looking for and where to focus your attention. Even though the passage may be a fascinating description of space mining or Japanese marriage customs, deep reading is not your goal here- answering the questions correctly and efficiently is. You can always learn more about a topic after the SAT. For now, you want to laser your focus onto the tasks at hand. As you read the questions, you can circle the Big Picture / Main Point questions right off the bat. You can leave these for the end, as in this example from College Board'sSAT Practice Test 1: Here,the main purpose question comes first. You can choose to answer it last, though, once you have a strong understanding of the passage. As for the specific line questions, you can make a mark on the lines referenced and pay special attention to them when reading. All of this marking and prioritizingis not to suggest that you won't be quickly reading the whole passage; instead, it's a way to know what you're looking for before you start. Again, this is an approach that saves time for most students, but you should also feel free to use the method that works best for you. Step 2 Quickly read the information blurb that comes at the very beginning of the passage. This shouldhelp you situate the passage in context. When is the author writing, for instance? Is she an author of fiction, a scientist, or a historian? Having this context at the beginning may help you begin to have an understanding of the tone, style, and purpose of the passage. This passage is from the dads of DNA themselves! Things are about to get science-y! Step 3 Now, go ahead and read the passage. You should read quickly, even skimming for important features. These include the last line of the introduction (usually the thesis of the passage), opening sentences of paragraphs, and the conclusion. Also, look out for transitional words and phrases, like however, additionally, and despite,that might mark a shift in or continuation of ideas. This approach will be much more helpful and time-saving than trying to understand each and every word. Another consideration as you read is your own mindset. You probably know that being interested in a subject helps you pick it up faster. You may think you can't help what you're interested in, but actually, you have a great deal of control over your mindset. If you try to approach the passages beingreally interested in, even fascinated by, the topic at hand, then you'll be able to speed up your reading and improve your retention. You might be skeptical, but the SAT actually can have some pretty intriguing, random information, and they have such a great range you're likely to be interested in some, if not all, of the passages. Step 4 On to answering the questions. Leave the ones you circled for the end. It can be helpful to predict your own answer before actually looking at the answer choices. They are designed and worded so that they all sound plausible, so they could distract you from your original understanding of the question. If your passage includes a chart or graph, then you'll have one or two data interpretation questions. You may be able to answer these even before skimming the passage, but in most cases it will be helpful to have context. Many of these questions don't ask for data analysis alone, but instead ask if the data supports a claim made in the text or if the author incorporated a data point to prove or refute an argument. These kinds of questions will call on you to find evidence in numbers as well as in prose, as in this tableand questionbased on the above mentioned passage by Watson and Crick: Notice how this question isn't straightforward data analysis. It goes one step further by asking a "little picture/detail" question about the authors' proposed pairing of bases in DNA. You'll have to locate info in both the passage and the table. As you work through the various passage and data-based questions, itcan be distracting to go back and forth between the test booklet and bubble sheet. It can be useful and save timeto answer the entire set of questions in your test booklet and then transfer all your answers to the bubble sheet in one chunk.But make sure you don't run out of time doing this, and be careful that your answers line up corrently on the bubblesheet! The detail questions shouldgo in chronological order with the passages, so the first detail question might refer to a line near the beginning of the passage and continue in order after that. They're not all mixed up in random order, but rather coincide with the flow of the passage. Step 5 Once you've answered the other questions, you can go back to the general purpose questions you circled. You should have your best sense of the passage at this point, after you've read it and answered other questions about it. Finally, you can go ahead and carefully transfer your answers to the bubble sheet. These 5 steps are an effective approach for most students reading and answering questions on the Critical Reading passages. If you've never tried this kind of reading strategy before, definitely try it out on your next practice test and see if your score improves. This is especially effective if you find that you keep running out of time! Let's discuss some other tips and strategies that are helpful to keep in mind. Be on the lookout for SAT "red herrings"! Tips and Strategies forCritical Reading Beyond practicing your reading efficiency, you can use some other strategies as you answer the questions and prep for this section. The age-old trick of process of elimination is alwayse useful. An unexpected preparation strategy is to practice answering ACT Science questions. Read on for a few more useful strategies that will help you do your best on SAT Reading. Want to learn more about the SAT but tired of reading blog articles? Then you'll love our free, SAT prep livestreams. Designed and led by PrepScholar SAT experts, these live video events are a great resource for students and parents looking to learn more about the SAT and SAT prep. Click on the button below to register for one of our livestreams today! Look to Eliminate Wrong Answers None of the answers will be glaringly wrong. In fact, they're worded in such a way that they'll often all seem plausible! This means you'll have to play interception on your own brain. It may be easily distracted by answers that seem sort of right, but you have to halt your distracted thought processin its steps. If you find yourself overly rationalizing or justifying an answer, it's probably not the correct one. There is only one 100% correct answer, and it won't cause you too much overthinking. Generally, wrong answers are too specific, too broad, describe a relationship in reverse order, or just present a totally unrelated concept. This article goes into further detail about how to eliminate wrong answers in order to land on the one 100% correct one. A good rule of thumb is to avoid extremes. Words like "never" or "always" are not usually present in the correct answer. But to follow my own advice, I should never say never! Another essential mindset, and one that the new SAT will ask to use explicitly, is one that looks for evidence. Back Up Your Answers With Evidence Don't just choose an answer that "feels" right- instead, make sure you can back up all your answers with evidence direct from the text. None of these questions require you to have any pre-existing knowledge of the topic. Instead, they're testing your reading comprehension. All your answers should be proven and supported by the passage. Even if the answer were to be factually inaccurate (don't worry, it won't be), the questions are still completely about the passage, not about knowledge you already have. This is an important point to remember for the SAT, which will use texts with which you may be familiar or that are especially relevant to history or contemporary life. To answer questions correctly, it's crucial that you turn off your personal biases or opinions and base your understanding completely on the text at hand. Luckily, the new evidence support questions will be a good reminder to keep referring back to the text for your responses. You’ll likely get two to three evidence support questions per passage that explicitly ask you to choose one or a few lines that prove your answer to a previous question. These help you check your thinking and ensure that you have proof for an answer. Even if a question is not followed by an evidence support question, though, you should try to use this mindset of backing up your responses with evidence directly from the text. That way you know you’re basing your answer on the words on the page, rather than on your own assumptions. Practice Data Analysis with ACT Science Questions Those who consider themselves English buffs may not love the addition of charts, tables, and graphs in their SAT Reading questions. What's this data doing in a reading comprehension section, anyway? According to College Board, the inclusion of data analysis is part of itsattempt to connect the new SAT with what students are learning in the classroom and with real-world skills. You can actually sharpen your data interpretation skills by practicing with ACT Science questions. The ACT questions may call for more specialized scientific knowledge, but they still demand the same skills of interpretation as will the SAT Reading questions. By referring to charts and graphs for your answer and looking for evidence in data, you'll be better prepared for the data and evidence-based Reading questions on the SAT. Know Your Literary Terms and Techniques SAT Reading is primarily concerned with understanding function (of words, sentences, paragraphs) and argument. Therefore, most of your SAT reading practice should focus on deciphering the logic and structure of a piece. However, it's stilluseful to review the most common literary terms, like theme, style, tone, foreshadowing, and imagery, as well as some of themost common words to describe them.In addition to reviewing definitions, you should learn how to apply and find them in something you read.It's one thing to know that a tone can be somber, hopeful, or suspicious; it's another to determine the tone of a given passage. Test prep will help you get better and better at this, along with reading and analyzing as much as you can in and out of the classroom. Study Vocabulary As mentioned above, the vocabulary questions based on passages will not test your understanding of little-usedbig words.Instead of obscure vocab, Reading questionsmight ask aboutrelatively common words that are used in an unusual way within the context of the passage.This means you should practice interpreting meaning in context, along with understanding the denotations (definitions) and connotations (what words imply or suggest) of words. To give a simplistic example, note how the phrase, "Nice job," can have two very different connotations in these two contexts. "Nice job," Kathy snickered to her friends, after tripping you in the cafeteria. "Nice job!" Kathy said admiringly, as you showed her the bowl you made in ceramics. Understanding multiple-meaning words, as well as tone, is all aboutcontext. Given these steps and strategies,how can you strengthen your Reading skills? Practice, Practice, Practice The Reading section on the SAT is not always so closely aligned with your high school English classes, although the redesigned version is more connected than ever before with its emphasis on evidence-based reading. While your English classes may encourage you to be creative and support all kinds of interpretations, your SAT Reading questions will only have one absolutely correct answer, and that answer must be derived from and supported by the text itself. You can strengthen your ability to read and answer questions quickly with serious test prep, which will not only help your reading comprehension skills, but also your time management and pacing. Reading sources outside of class, like news articles from the New York Times, will also help you hone your skills of analyzing logic, deconstructing arguments, and determining author opinion and tone. If you're applying as a humanities or social sciences major, you especially want to make sure you score highly on the Reading section of the SAT. Take practice tests, identify your weaknesses,understand your mistakes, and practice often and effectivelyso you can score highly on Reading. With the right approach and sufficient test prep, youcould even achieve a perfectReading score. What's Next? Now that you know about the changes tothe Reading section, check out ourComplete Guide to the New SATto learnabout the rest of the redesigned test! Are you deciding between the new SAT and the ACT? You can readall about how the two tests compare to each other here, as well as learn about the changes taking place to theWriting section of the ACT. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points?We have the industry's leading SAT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and SAT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so you get the most effective prep possible. Check out our 5-day free trial today:

David A. Sklansky's view of Katz v. United States Essay

David A. Sklansky's view of Katz v. United States - Essay Example (Sklansky, 2006) According to the author, Katz case remains a landmark both because it provides the constitutional framework that continues to govern electronic surveillance, and because it provides the modern test for a 'search' within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment has been the cornerstone in many legal cases for the limits to which the privacy of the person can be breached for the investigation and prosecution of criminal cases. However, the case itself remains rather ambiguous, and there is still doubt, whether taking into account the modern situation after the events of 9/11 electronic surveillance and eavesdropping should be allowed without a warrant Some suppose that the judicial decisions made by Burger and Rehnquist may diminish the effect of Katz's case. It is possible to have a look at least one of the cases ruled by these justices in relation to the Fourth amendment: 'Smith v. Maryland, 442 U.S. 735 (1979). ... he urgency of the Katz's case is still relevant and even in the light of terrorist threats in the modern society it has its weight, it gives more questions, than answers. It was interesting to note, that actually Katz is viewed as a failure among scholars. It is agreed, that his striving to prove that surveillance is legal, but only under a warranty, is important, but the case itself has not set any reasonable limits for privacy and it should be defined; whether this framework should be adopted outside the domestic law enforcement and what it has to do with the new communication technologies. Sklansky notes, that 'reasonable expectation of privacy sounds nice, but what does it mean' (Sklansky, 2006) The question is absolutely reasonable, taking into account that the privacy has become a subject of major concern now with the cases of privacy breaches more and more frequent, and inability of Courts to define the reasonable privacy limits when it comes to crime. Noting again the events of 9/11 and bearing in mind that terrorist acts' elimination requires special thorough investigation and action, there is a question how privacy issue and national security issue can be weighted by both public safety entities and the court In Katz's case Justice White still left certain space for consideration, noting that in 'national security cases electronic surveillance upon the authorization of the President or the Attorney General could be permissible without prior judicial approval.' (Kitch, 1968) As a result and following the case, the executive Branch has asserted the power to use unwarranted electronic surveillance in the two specific types of national security situations: against foreign intelligence and against domestic subversion. This has been an attempt to weight privacy and

Health Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Health Communication - Essay Example However, official advisories and disaster preparedness alerts were issued five days later; specifically on 28th October, practically few hours before the heavy storms and strong winds forcefully swept across the East Coast cities of New York and New Jersey. Admittedly, the massive casualties inflicted by the hurricane on the East Coast can be attributed to the untimely provision of risk communication by the relevant authorities. In a period of only two days from October 22 to October 24, 2012, the FEMA regional office in Miami, Florida had ascertained that the hurricane’s strength was growing exponentially. However, issuance of official public advisories was delayed until the hurricane’s storms hit a limit of 105 miles per hour (Downing & Smith, 2013). Apparently, delay in issuance of official communication was caused by the bureaucratic nature of coordination between the FEMA National Watch Center and the NOAA National Weather Service. In essence, both the FEMA and the NOAA were avoiding public panic resulting from early issuance of immature information regarding to the hurricane’s development (CDC, 2012). The potential severity of Hurricane Sandy became clear as early as 19th October, 2012 when a wave in the Northern Caribbean Sea transformed from a tropical wave to a tropical storm in a period of under six hours. When the tropical storm reached Southeast Florida on 22nd October, its winds were sustained at approximately 40 miles per hour. By the evening of October 23rd, the growing tropical storm had cruised over the vast distance between Florida’s Jupiter Inlet and the Upper Keys, including Craig Key (Downing & Smith, 2013). At 0500 hours on 24th October, it became evident that the tropical storm was headed for cities along the upper East Coast, and that the storm’s wind speeds had intensified considerably. As at the evening of 24th October, the storm was upgraded to a hurricane

Police Brutality Essay Example for Free

Police Brutality Essay Most of us have seen the videotape of police officers savagely beating Rodney King. But how typical was this behavior? The Rodney King incident is not representative of most police officers around the country. Television shows, newscasts, and written media exacerbate the problem when they do not focus on the criminal as the root of the problem. [C]urrent images of the police are drawn largely from television programs bearing little resemblance to reality (Delattre 29). Police brutality is a matter of serious concern, but it is not as prevalent as the media would have us believe. Police brutality is not a national crisis. Rodney King has become synonymous with police brutality. But what is police brutality? Bornstein states that [p]olice brutality is the use of excessive force by police officers (39). Most police are trained to use only the minimum amount of force necessary to control a given situation. The decision to use force is often made on a split second basis usually under difficult circumstances. The boundaries between justified and excessive force can sometimes be blurred under these circumstances. Under one set of circumstances, a particular action might be considered justified, but under differing circumstances, the same action might be considered brutality. Most cops do not like to hurt people; cops sometimes use unnecessary force. They also use extraordinary restraint (Sulc 80). Many police officers feel anguish after using fully justified force; few take pleasure in it. There are great strains on individual police officers: competing responsibilities, values, temptations, fears, and expectations. Police officers are called on to be patient mediators, skilled therapists, effective admonishers, daring crime fighters, obedient members of paramilitary agencies, etc. In the midst of these requirements is the violence inherent in police work. Police officers often witness women battered by husbands and boyfriends, children burned and broken by parents, pedestrians maimed by drunk drivers, teachers raped by students, and innocent strangers savaged by predators in  our streets. Even so, most police do not have a bunker mentality. They go on the force knowing what they will have to encounter. They like their jobs and are ready and able to stand the pressureusually. Some police adjust poorly to the pressures of police work. They become cynical from the danger, the perceived failure of the system, and the repetitiveness of their work. Some police officers despair over the violence, suffering, hopelessness, and ignorance they encounter every day. Even so, the majority of police officers continue the performance of their duties without resorting to brutality. In spite of the seriousness of the publicized incidents, far more serious than police brutalit y is the frequency of assault and murder perpetrated against the police. According to the U.S. Department of Justices Police Use of Force, 44.6 million people, or 21% of the population had face to face contact with police during 1996. Police contacts that resulted in the use of force or the threat of force totaled only five hundred thousand, or one percent of the total. Often times the use of force was preceded by some provocative action. Criminals often threaten the officer, assault the officer, argue or interfere with an arrest, posses a weapon, try to escape, elude, or resist arrest. After accounting for justified use of force, which is inherent in police work, less than one quarter of one percent of police contacts resulted in questionable use of force. This is hardly an epidemic. Given the small number of cases, a preliminary conclusion that could be drawn is that use of force is rare in police-citizen contacts and it is often accompaniedby some possibly provocative behavior (Police 14). On the flip side, if the media cares to report the flip side, 46,695 police officers were assaulted in 1996 (United States 65), resulting in 14,985 injuries and 55 deaths (United States 3). The statistics show that police officers are brutalized three thousand seven hundred and sixty times more frequently than criminals are. Americans are well served with professional dedication and with frequent instances of physical courage. The people who stand between violence and the public are the police. Sometimes criminals do not want to cooperate, but police are still expected to arrest them. Most police officers abhor  violence and despise fellow officers who use excessive force. Police brutality is not the epidemic we are led to believe it is. Let police do their job, if they violate the law, prosecute them as individuals without condemning every police officer in the country. Works Cited Borenstein, Jerry. Police Brutality. New Jersey: Enslow, 1993. Delattre, Edwin J. Character and Cops: Ethics in Policing. Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute of Public Policy Research, 1989. Police Use of Force Bureau of Justice Statistics Website. 22 November 1998. Sulc, Lawrence. Police Brutality Is Not a Widespread Problem. Policing the Police. Ed. Paul A. Winters. San Diego: 1995. 79. United States. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation, Criminal Justice Information Services Division. Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted. Washington, DC: GPO, 1997

Influences and Reality Essay -- Media Magazines Society Beauty Essays

Influences and Reality As adults do we tend to read the styles we've grown up with? Do we find ourselves subscribing to and reaching for magazines in the checkout line that our parents read? I do. As I become more independent I see subtle changes in the styles around me but find myself grounded in what my parents, my brothers and my environment have familiarized me with. Strewn around me are volumes of "Outdoor Life", "Prevention", "Better Homes and Gardens", "Midwest Living", "Vogue" and "Masonry Construction." A magazine to satisfy many interests, each containing pieces of my life. You will not find "Time" or "Forbes" in my hands unless I have research to do in them for school. I am not familiar with politics, big business or urban life and I find the style dull. I can't convince myself to pick up political magazines for pleasure. Richard Lanham in Revising Prose says, " A style that at first seems peculiar may not be a "bad "style but simply eloquent about an unexpected kind of reality, one that you may or may not like" (106). I read styles that are my reality and though some may not find "eloquence" in "Masonry Construction", I do. You may guess that someone in my family is involved in construction and wonder why I read such literature if it is not my career. As the daughter of a brick and stone mason I have grown up listening to my dad talk construction and have always been interested in what he does. Though "construction" doesn't have a soft tone to it, possibly not possessing "eloquence" , writing about it and the finished product can. Articles in "Masonry Construction" explicate the fine details of this labor through straightforward writing and a calm informative voice. I can "hear" my dad explaining the qualiti... ... I used to think it was funny and at a young age believed some of it; not to be fooled now. I used to read it for pleasure but since I started working with womens' and mens' clothing I've become interested in what is new in the world of fashion, the fabrics and styles. The writing style in "Vogue" and similar magazines is classy and fast paced (if writing can be that). The catwalk and thumping techno music seems to be in front of my eyes. For a while I find it interesting and exhilarating but soon find myself wanting to return to the country. I find that the styles strewn about me are influenced by my parents style; conservative, down to earth, knowing the importance of physical labor to make a living and seeing the beauty in what has been offered to us-where we live and what we've experienced. This is how I was raised and I will continue to live in this style. Influences and Reality Essay -- Media Magazines Society Beauty Essays Influences and Reality As adults do we tend to read the styles we've grown up with? Do we find ourselves subscribing to and reaching for magazines in the checkout line that our parents read? I do. As I become more independent I see subtle changes in the styles around me but find myself grounded in what my parents, my brothers and my environment have familiarized me with. Strewn around me are volumes of "Outdoor Life", "Prevention", "Better Homes and Gardens", "Midwest Living", "Vogue" and "Masonry Construction." A magazine to satisfy many interests, each containing pieces of my life. You will not find "Time" or "Forbes" in my hands unless I have research to do in them for school. I am not familiar with politics, big business or urban life and I find the style dull. I can't convince myself to pick up political magazines for pleasure. Richard Lanham in Revising Prose says, " A style that at first seems peculiar may not be a "bad "style but simply eloquent about an unexpected kind of reality, one that you may or may not like" (106). I read styles that are my reality and though some may not find "eloquence" in "Masonry Construction", I do. You may guess that someone in my family is involved in construction and wonder why I read such literature if it is not my career. As the daughter of a brick and stone mason I have grown up listening to my dad talk construction and have always been interested in what he does. Though "construction" doesn't have a soft tone to it, possibly not possessing "eloquence" , writing about it and the finished product can. Articles in "Masonry Construction" explicate the fine details of this labor through straightforward writing and a calm informative voice. I can "hear" my dad explaining the qualiti... ... I used to think it was funny and at a young age believed some of it; not to be fooled now. I used to read it for pleasure but since I started working with womens' and mens' clothing I've become interested in what is new in the world of fashion, the fabrics and styles. The writing style in "Vogue" and similar magazines is classy and fast paced (if writing can be that). The catwalk and thumping techno music seems to be in front of my eyes. For a while I find it interesting and exhilarating but soon find myself wanting to return to the country. I find that the styles strewn about me are influenced by my parents style; conservative, down to earth, knowing the importance of physical labor to make a living and seeing the beauty in what has been offered to us-where we live and what we've experienced. This is how I was raised and I will continue to live in this style.

Preschool Assessment Essay

This paper addresses the many questions the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation has received about testing four-year-olds. Our reasons for sharing this paper with early childhood practitioners, policymakers, and parents is three-fold: (a) to provide basic information about the terms and issues surrounding assessment; (b) to add an empirical and pragmatic perspective to what can sometimes be an impassioned debate; and (c) to affirm our commitment to doing what is best for young children and supporting those who develop the programs and policies that serve them. High/Scope believes child assessment is a vital and necessary component of all high quality early childhood programs. Assessment is important to understand and support young children’s development. It is also essential to document and evaluate how effectively programs are meeting their educational needs, in the broadest sense of this term. For assessment to occur, it must be feasible. That is, it must meet reasonable criteria regarding its efficiency, cost, and so on. If assessment places an undue burden on programs or evaluators, it will not be undertaken at all and the lack of data will hurt all concerned. In addition to feasibility, however, assessment must also meet the demands of ecological validity. The assessment must addresses the criteria outlined below for informing us about what children in real programs are learning and doing every day. Efficiency and ecological validity are not mutually exclusive, but must sometimes be balanced against one another. Our challenge is to find the best balance under the conditions given and, when necessary, to work toward altering those conditions. Practically speaking, this means we must continue to serve children using research-based practices, fulfill mandates to secure program resources, and improve assessment procedures to better realize our ideal. This paper sets forth the criteria to be considered in striving to make early childhood assessment adhere to these highest standards. Background The concern with assessment in the early childhood field is not new. Decades of debate are summarized in the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) publication Reaching Potentials: Appropriate Curriculum and Assessment for Young Children (Bredekamp & Rosegrant, 1992). This position statement has just been expanded in a new document titled Early Childhood Curriculum, Assessment, and Program Evaluation: Building an Effective, Accountable System in Programs for Children Birth through Age 8 (www. naeyc. org/resources/position_statements/pscape. asp). 1  What is new in this ongoing debate is the heightened attention to testing young children as a means of holding programs accountable for their learning. Assessment in the Classroom (Airasian, 2002) offers the following definitions: Assessment is the process of collecting, synthesizing, and interpreting information to aid classroom decision-making. It includes information gathered about pupils, instruction, and classroom climate. Testing is a formal, systematic procedure for gathering a sample of pupils’ behavior. The results of a test are used to make generalizations about how pupils would have performed in similar but untested behaviors. Testing is one form of assessment. It usually involves a series of direct requests to children to perform, within a set period of time, specific tasks designed and administered by adults, with predetermined correct answers. By contrast, alternative forms of assessment may be completed either by adults or children, are more open-ended, and often look at performance over an extended period of time. Examples include objective observations, portfolio analyses of individual and collaborative work, and teacher and parent ratings of children’s behavior. The current testing initiative focuses primarily on literacy and to a lesser extent numeracy. The rationale for this initiative, advanced in the No Child Left Behind Act and supported by the report of the National Reading Panel (2000), is that young children should acquire a prescribed body of knowledge and academic skills to be ready for school. Social domains of school readiness, while also touted as essential in a series of National Research Council reports (notably Eager to Learn, 2000a and Neurons to Neighborhoods, 2000b), are admittedly neither as widely mandated nor as â€Å"testable† as their academic counterparts. Hence, whether justified or not, they do not figure as prominently in the testing and accountability debate. This information paper responds to questions being asked of early childhood leaders about the use and misuse of testing for preschoolers 3 to 5 years old. This response is not merely a reactive gesture nor an attempt to advance and defend a specific position. Rather, the paper is intended as a resource to provide information about when and how preschool assessment in general, and testing and other forms of assessment in particular, can be appropriately used to inform policy decisions about early childhood programming. As a framework for providing this information, High/Scope accepts two realities. First, testing is, will be, and in fact always has been, used to answer questions about the effectiveness of early childhood interventions. Since early childhood programs attempt to increase children’s knowledge and skills in specific content areas, evaluators have traditionally used testing, along with other assessment strategies, to determine whether these educational objectives have been achieved. Second, program accountability is essential, and testing is one efficient means of measuring it. Numerous research studies show that high quality programs can enhance the academic and lifetime achievement of children at risk of school failure. This conclusion has 2 resulted in an infusion of public and private dollars in early education. It is reasonable to ask whether this investment is achieving its goal. Testing can play a role in answering this accountability question. With this reality as a background, this information paper proceeds to address two questions. First, given the current pervasive use of testing and its  probably expansion, when and under what conditions can this type of assessment be used appropriately with preschool-age children? That is, what characteristics of tests and their administration will guarantee that we â€Å"do no harm† to children and that we â€Å"do help† adults acquire valid information? Second, given that even the most well-designed tests can provide only limited data, how can we maximize the use of non-test assessments so they too add valuable information over and above that obtained through standardized testing procedures? General Issues in Assessment Uses of Child Assessment  Assessment can provide four types of information for and about children, and their parents, teachers, and programs. Child assessment can: 1. Identify children who may be in need of specialized services. Screening children to determine whether they would benefit from specific interventions is appropriate when parents, teachers, or other professionals suspect a problem. In these cases, assessments in several related domains are then usually administered to the child. In addition, data from parents and other adults involved with the child are considered in determining a diagnosis and course of treatment. 2. Plan instruction for individuals and groups of children. Assessment data can be used by teachers to support the development of individual children, as well as to plan instructional activities for the class as a whole. In addition, information on developmental progress can and should be shared with parents to help them understand what and how their children are learning in the classroom and how they can extend this learning at home. 3. Identify program improvement and staff development needs. Child assessments can provide formative evaluation data that benefit program and staff development. Findings can point to areas of the curriculum that need further articulation or resources, or areas where staff need professional development. If children in the classroom as a whole are not making progress in certain developmental domains, it is possible that the curriculum needs revision or that teachers need some additional training. In conducting formative evaluations, child data are best combined with program data that measure overall quality, fidelity to curriculum implementation standards, and specific teaching practices. 4. Evaluate how well a program is meeting goals for children. It is this fourth purpose, sometimes called outcome or summative evaluation, that is the primary focus of this paper. 3 Note that it is the program, not the child, who should be held accountable. Although data may be collected on individual children, data should be aggregated to determine whether the program is achieving its desired outcomes. These outcomes may be defined by the program itself and/or by national, state, or district standards. How the outcomes are measured is determined by the inextricable link between curriculum and assessment. Ideally, if a curriculum has clear learning objectives, those will drive the form and content of the measures. Conversely, thoughtful design of an appropriate assessment tool can encourage program developers to consider what and how adults should be teaching young children. Reliability and Validity Any formal assessment tool or method should meet established criteria for validity and reliability (American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, & National Council of Measurement in Education, 1999). Reliability is defined as how well various measurements of something agree with each other, for example, whether a group of similar test items or two observers completing the same items have similar results. Validity has several dimensions. Content or face validity refers to how well an instrument measures what it claims to measure; ecological validity refers to the authenticity of the measurement context; and construct validity deals with the measure’s conceptual integrity. In assessing young children, two aspects of validity have special importance—developmental validity and predictive validity. Developmental validity means that the performance items being measured are developmentally suitable for the children being assessed. Predictive validity means the measure can predict children’s later school success or failure, as defined by achievement test scores or academic placements (on-grade, retained in grade, or placed in special education) during the elementary grades. Over the longer term, predictive validity can even refer to such outcomes as adult literacy, employment, or avoiding criminal activity. In Principles and Recommendations for Early Childhood Assessments, the National Education Goals Panel (1998) noted that â€Å"the younger the child, the more difficult it is to obtain reliable and valid assessment data. It is particularly difficult to assess children’s cognitive abilities accurately before age 6† (p. 5). Meisels (2003) claims â€Å"research demonstrates that no more than 25 per cent of early academic or cognitive performance is predicted from information obtained from preschool or kindergarten tests† (p. 29). Growth in the early years is rapid, episodic, and highly influenced by environmental supports. Performance is influenced by children’s emotional and motivational states, and by the assessment conditions themselves. Because these individual and situational factors affect reliability and validity, the Panel recommended that assessment of young children be pursued with the necessary safeguards and caveats about the accuracy of the decisions that can be drawn from the results. These procedures and cautions are explored below. 4 Testing. Appropriate Uses of Testing Standardized tests are used to obtain information on whether a program is achieving its desired outcomes. They are considered objective, time- and cost-efficient, and suitable for making quantitative comparisons. Testing can provide valid data when used appropriately and matched to developmental levels. Moreover, tests can act as teaching tools by providing a window into what children already know and where they need more time, practice, and/or help to improve. Creating a valid assessment for young children is a difficult task. It must be meaningful and authentic, evaluate a valid sample of information learned, be based on performance standards that are genuine benchmarks, avoid arbitrary cut-off scores or norms, and have authentic scoring. The context for the test should be rich, realistic, and enticing (Wiggins, 1992). It is therefore incumbent upon the creators of assessment tools to design instruments that—unlike artificial drills— resemble natural performance. If these conditions are met, young children are more likely to recognize what is being asked of them, thus increasing the reliability and validity of the results. Criteria of Reliable and Valid Preschool Tests Both the content and administration of tests must respect young children’s developmental characteristics. Otherwise the resulting data will be neither reliable nor valid. Worse, the testing experience may be negative for the child and perhaps the tester as well. Further, the knowledge and skills measured in the testing situation must be transferable and applicable in real-world settings. Otherwise the information gathered has no practical value. To produce meaningful data and minimize the risk of creating a harmful situation, tests for preschool-age children should satisfy the following criteria: 1. Tests should not make children feel anxious or scared. They should not threaten their selfesteem or make them feel they have failed. Tests should acknowledge what children know—or have the potential to learn—rather than penalizing them for what they do not know. 2. Testing should take place in, or simulate, the natural environment of the classroom. It should avoid placing the child in an artificial situation. Otherwise, the test may measure the child’s response to the test setting rather than the child’s ability to perform on the test content. 3. Tests should measure real knowledge in the context of real activities. In other words, the test activities as well as the test setting should not be contrived. They should resemble children’s ordinary activities as closely as possible, for example, discussing a book as the adult reads it. Furthermore, tests should measure broad concepts rather than narrow skills, for example, alphabetic and letter knowledge sampled from this domain rather than familiarity with specific letters chosen by the adult. 5 4. The tester should be someone familiar to the child. Ideally, the person administering the test would be a teacher or another adult who interacts regularly with the child. When an outside researcher or evaluator must administer the test, it is best if the individual(s) spend time in the classroom beforehand, becoming a familiar and friendly figure to the children. If this is not feasible, the appearance and demeanor of the tester(s) should be as similar as possible to adults with whom the child regularly comes in contact. 5. To the extent possible, testing should be conducted as a natural part of daily activities rather than as a time-added or pullout activity. Meeting this criterion helps to satisfy the earlier standards of a familiar place and tester, especially if the test can be administered in the context of a normal part of the daily routine (for example, assessing book knowledge during a regular reading period). In addition, testing that is integrated into standard routines avoids placing an additional burden on teachers or detracting from children’s instructional time. 6. The information should be obtained over time. A single encounter, especially if brief, can produce inaccurate or distorted data. For example, a child may be ill, hungry, or distracted at the moment of testing. The test is then measuring the child’s interest or willingness to respond rather than the child’s knowledge or ability with respect to the question(s) being asked. If timedistributed measurements are not feasible, then testers should note unusual circumstances in the situation (e. g. , noise) or child (e. g. , fatigue) that could render single-encounter results invalid and should either schedule a re-assessment or discount the results in such cases. 7. When repeated instances of data gathering are not feasible (e.g. , due to time or budgetary constraints), an attempt should be made to obtain information on the same content area from multiple and diverse sources. Just as young children have different styles of learning, so they will differentially demonstrate their knowledge and skills under varying modes of assessment. For example, a complete and accurate measure of letter knowledge may involve tests that employ both generative and recognition strategies. 8. The length of the test should be sensitive to young children’s interests and attention spans. If a test is conducted during a regular program activity (e. g. , small-group time), the test should last no longer than is typical for that activity. If it is necessary to conduct testing outside regular activities, the assessment period should last 10–20 minutes. Further, testers should be sensitive to children’s comfort and engagement levels, and take a break or continue the test at another day and time if the child cannot or does not want to proceed. 9. Testing for purposes of program accountability should employ appropriate sampling methods whenever feasible. Testing a representative sample of the children who participate in a program avoids the need to test every child and/or to administer all tests to any one child. Sampling strategies reduce the overall time spent in testing, and minimize the chances for placing undue stress on individual children or burdening individual teachers and classrooms. 6 Alternative Child Assessment Methods Alternative forms of assessment may be used by those who have reservations about, or want to supplement, standardized tests. These other methods often fall under the banner of â€Å"authentic† assessments. They engage children in tasks that are personally meaningful, take place in real life contexts, and are grounded in naturally occurring instructional activities. They offer multiple ways of evaluating students’ learning, as well as their motivation, achievement, and attitudes. This type of assessment is consistent with the goals, curriculum, and instructional practices of the classroom or program with which it is associated (McLaughlin & Vogt, 1997; Paris & Ayres, 1994). Authentic assessments do not rely on unrealistic or arbitrary time constraints, nor do they emphasize instant recall or depend on lucky guesses. Progress toward mastery is the key, and content is mastered as a means, not as an end (Wiggins, 1989). To document accomplishments, assessments must be designed to be longitudinal, to sample the baseline, the increment, and the preserved levels of change that follow from instruction (Wolf, Bixby, Glenn & Gardener, 1991). Alternative assessment can be more expensive than testing. Like their counterparts in testing, authentic measures must meet psychometric standards of demonstrated reliability and validity. Their use, especially on a widespread scale, requires adequate resources. Assessors must be trained to acceptable levels of reliability. Data collection, coding, entry, and analysis are also time- and cost-intensive. This investment can be seen as reasonable and necessary, however, if the goal is to produce valid information. Alternative child assessment procedures that can meet the criteria of reliability and validity include observations, portfolios, and ratings of children by teachers and parents. These are described below. Observations In assessing young children, the principal alternative to testing is systematic observation of children’s activities in their day-to-day settings. Observation fits an interactive style of curriculum, in which give-and-take between teacher and child is the norm. Although careful observation requires effort, the approach has high ecological validity and intrudes minimally into what children are doing. Children’s activities naturally integrate all dimensions of their development—intellectual, motivational, social, physical, aesthetic, and so on. Anecdotal notes alone, however, are not sufficient for good assessment. They do not offer criteria against which to judge the developmental value of children’s activities or provide evidence of reliability and validity. Instead, anecdotal notes should be used to complete developmental scales of proven reliability and validity. Such an approach permits children to engage in activities any time and anywhere that teachers can see them. It defines categories of acceptable answers rather than single right answers. It expects the teacher to set the framework for children to initiate their own activities. It embraces a broad definition of child development that includes not only language and mathematics, but also initiative, social relations, physical skills, and the arts. It is culturally sensitive when teachers are trained observers who focus on objective, culturally neutral descriptions of behavior (for example, â€Å"Pat hit Bob†) rather than subjective, culturally loaded 7 interpretations (for example, â€Å"Pat was very angry with Bob†). Finally, it empowers teachers by recognizing their judgment as essential to accurate assessment. Portfolios One of the most fitting ways to undertake authentic, meaningful evaluation is through the use of a well-constructed portfolio system. Arter and Spandel (1991) define a portfolio as a purposeful collection of student work that tells the story of the student’s efforts, progress, or achievement in (a) given area(s). This collection must include student participation in selection of portfolio content, the guidelines for selection, the criteria for judging merit, and evidence of student self-reflection (p. 36). Portfolios describe both a place (the physical space where they are stored) and a process. The process provides richer information than standardized tests, involves multiple sources and methods of data collection, and occurs over a representative period of time (Shaklee, Barbour, Ambrose, & Hansford, 1997). Portfolios have additional value. They encourage two- and three-way collaboration between students, teachers, and parents; promote ownership and motivation; integrate assessment with instruction and learning; and establish a quantitative and qualitative record of progress over time (Paris & Ayres, 1994; Paulson, Paulson, & Meyer, 1991; Wolf & Siu-Runyan, 1996; Valencia, 1990). â€Å"Portfolios encourage teachers and students to focus on important student outcomes, provide parents and the community with credible evidence of student achievement, and inform policy and practice at every level of the educational system† (Herman & Winters, 1994, p. 48). The purposes for which portfolios are used are as variable as the programs that use them (Graves & Sunstein, 1993; Valencia, 1990; Wolf & Siu-Runyan, 1996). In some programs, they are simply a place to store best work that has been graded in a traditional manner. In others, they are used to create longitudinal systems to demonstrate the process leading to the products and to design evaluative rubrics for program accountability. There are also programs that merely have students collect work that is important to them as a personal, non-evaluative record of their achievements. When portfolios are not used to judge ability in some agreed-upon fashion, they are usually not highly structured and may not even include reflective pieces that demonstrate student growth and understanding. Portfolios are most commonly thought of as alternative assessments in  elementary and secondary schools. Yet they have long been used in preschools to document and share children’s progress with parents, administrators, and others. For portfolios to be used for program accountability, as well as student learning and reflection, the evaluated outcomes must be aligned with curriculum and instruction. Children must have some choice about what to include in order to feel ownership and pride. Portfolios should document the creative or problem-solving process as they display the product, encouraging children to reflect on their actions. Conversations with children about their portfolios engages them in the evaluation process and escalates their desire to demonstrate their 8 increasing knowledge and skills. Sharing portfolios with parents can help teachers connect school activities to the home and involve parents in their children’s education. Teacher Ratings Teacher ratings are a way to organize teacher perceptions of children’s development into scales for which reliability and validity can be assessed. Children’s grades on report cards are the most common type of teacher rating system. When completed objectively, report-card grades are tied to students’ performance on indicators with delineated scoring criteria, such as examinations or projects evaluated according to explicitly defined criteria. In these ways, teacher ratings can be specifically related to other types of child assessments including scores on standardized tests or other validated assessment tools, concrete and specific behavioral descriptions (e. g. , frequency of participation in group activities, ability to recognize the letters in one’s name), or global assessments of children’s traits (e. g. , cooperative, sociable, hard-working). Research shows that teacher ratings can have considerable short- and long-term predictive validity throughout later school years and even into adulthood (Schweinhart, Barnes, & Weikart, 1993). Parent Ratings Parent ratings are a way to organize parent perceptions of children’s development into scales for which reliability and validity can be assessed. Soliciting parent ratings is an excellent way for teachers to involve them as partners in the assessment of their children’s performance. The very process of completing scales can inform parents about the kinds of behaviors and milestones that are important in young children’s development. It also encourages parents to observe and listen to their children as they gather the data needed to rate their performance. An example of the use of parent ratings is the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) study, in which parents’ ratings of their children’s abilities and progress were related to measures of classroom quality and child outcomes (Zill, Connell, McKey, O’Brien et al. , 2001). Conclusion Recent years have seen a growing public interest in early childhood education. Along with that support has come the use of â€Å"high stakes† assessment to justify the expense and apportion the dollars. With so much at stake—the future of our nation’s children—it is imperative that we proceed correctly. Above all, we must guarantee that assessment reflects our highest educational goals for young children and neither restricts nor distorts the substance of their early learning. This paper sets forth the criteria for a comprehensive and balanced assessment system that meets the need for accountability while respecting the welfare and development of young children. Such a system can include testing, provided it measures applicable knowledge and skills in a safe and child-affirming situation. It can also include alternative assessments, provided they too meet psychometric standards of reliability and validity. Developing and implementing a balanced approach to assessment is not an easy or inexpensive undertaking. But because we value our children and respect those charged with their care, it is an investment worth making. 9 References Airasian, P. (2 002). A ssessment in the classroom. New Y ork: Mc Graw-H ill. American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, & National Council of Measu rement in E ducation. (1 999). S tanda rds for edu cationa l and psy cholog ical testing. W ashington, DC: American Psychological Association. Arter, J. A. , & Spande l, V. (199 2). Using p ortfolios of stud ent work in instru ction and a ssessment. E ducational Measurement Issues and Practice, 36–44. Brede kamp, S. , & Rosegra nt, T. (Ed s. ) (1992 ). R eaching Potentials: Appropriate Curriculum and Assessment for Young Children . Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children. Graves, D . H. , & Sun stein, B. S. (19 92). P ortfolio p ortraits . New Hampshire: Heinemann. Herma n, J. L. , & W inters, L. (199 4). Portfo lio research: A slim collection . E duca tional Lea dership , 5 2 (2), 48–55. McLa ughlin, M. , & Vogt, M . (1997) . P ortfolios in teacher education . Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association. Meisels, S. (2003, 19 March). Can Head Start pass the test? E ducation Week , 2 2 (27), 44 & 29. National A ssociation for the Educa tion of Yo ung Childre n and Na tional Assoc iation of Ear ly Childhoo d Specia lists in State Dep artments of E ducation (2 003, N ovemb er. E arly Childhood Curriculum, Assessment, and Program Evaluation: Building an Effective, Accountable System in Programs for Children Birth Through Age 8 . ) Washin gton, DC : Authors. Av ailable online at www. naeyc. org/resources/position_statements/pscape. asp. N ational E ducation G oals Pane l. (1998). P rinciples and rec ommen dations for early childh ood assessm ents. Washington, DC: Author. National R eading P anel. (200 0). T eaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. Washin gton, DC : National In stitute of Child Health and Human Developm ent, National Institutes of Health. National R esearch C ouncil. (20 00a). E ager to learn : Educating our preschoo lers. W ashington, DC: National Academy P ress. National R esearch C ouncil. (20 00b). N eurons to neighborhoods: The science of early childhood development. Washington, D C: National Acad emy Press. Paris, S. G . , & Ayers, L. R . (1994) . B ecom ing reflective s tudents a nd teach ers with po rtfolios and authen tic assessment. Washington DC: American Psychological Association. Paulson, F. L. , Paulson, P. R. , & Meyer, C. A. (1991). What makes a portfolio a portfolio? E duca tional Lea dership , 48 (5), 60–63. Schweinha rt, L. J. , Barne s, H. V. , & Weika rt, D. P. (19 93). S ignificant benefits: The High/Scope Perry Preschool study through age 27 . Ypsilanti, MI: High/Sco pe Press. Shaklee, B . D. , Barb our, N. E ., Ambros e, R. , & H ansford, S. J . (1997) . D esigning and using portfolios. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Valencia , S. W. (1 990). A portfolio ap proach to classroom reading asse ssment: Th e whys, whats an d hows. T he Reading Teacher , 4 3 (4), 338–340. Wiggins, G . (1992) . Creating tests wo rth taking. E duca tional Lea dership , 4 9 (8), 26–33. Wolf, D. , Bixby, J. , Glenn, J. , & Gardner, H. (1991). To use their minds well: Investigating new forms of student assessment. In G. Gran t (Ed. ), R eview of research in education, V ol 17 ( pp. 31–74). Washington D. C. : American Educational Research Association. Wolf, K . , & Siu-Run yan, Y.(19 96). Po rtfolio purpo ses and po ssibilities. J ournal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 40 (1), 30–37. Zill, N. , Conn ell, D. , Mc Key, R. H . , O’Brien, R . et al. (2001 , January). H ead Start FACES: Longitudinal Findings on Pro gram P erforma nce, Third Progres s Report. W ashington, DC: Administration on Children, Youth and Families, U. S. Depa rtment of Health and H uman Services. 10 High/Scope Assessment Resources High/Scope has developed and validated three preschool assessment instruments. Two are for children, one focusing specifically on literacy and the other more broadly on multiple domains of development. The third measure is used to assess and improve the quality of all aspects of early childhood programs. These alternative assessments are described below. Early Literacy Assessment In the Fall of 2004, High/Scope will release the Early Literacy Assessment (ELA), which will evaluate the four key principles of early literacy documented in the Early Reading First Grants and the No Child Left Behind legislation: phonological awareness, alphabetic principle, comprehension, and concepts about print. Evaluation will take place in a meaningful context that is familiar to children.