Childhood Depression Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Childhood Depression - Essay Example Depression also occurs in children; the diagnosis criterion is the presence of symptoms over a fortnight. The symptoms could include sadness, low enjoyment of previously enjoyable activities, and loss of appetite or feelings of low moods. Accompanying these feelings is low self-esteem, which can alter behavioral changes in an individual. In addition, this mental illness has detrimental effects on the body functions. Clinical depression can be classified into manic (bipolar), major depression and dysthymia. All of these types of clinical depression affect children at varying rates and severity (Lack & Green, 2009). Between 2- 6% of children and teenagers experience depression. Suicide, which may be caused by depression, is the third leading cause of death in individuals between 10-19 years old (Whittington et al, 2004). This paper delves into the often maligned issue of childhood depression, its causes and management. Childhood Depression Diagnosis of clinical depression in childhood is not a clear-cut issue as it elicits several debates. Firstly, it is a relatively new phenomenon while there is no agreement on the legitimacy of its diagnosis. One view holds that definitions of major depression in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM IV) do not adequately distinguish between emotions in response to loss from emotions in depression (Clarke, 2011). Another view holds that children may outgrow depression. In addition, children may be diagnosed with other mental illnesses; thus, diagnosis of childhood depression is a difficult task. People get distressed at various stages of their life. Sadness may wane over time, however, and depression may persist over longer periods of time. For children, the experiences of depression may be difficult to detect. Most therapists, health workers and clinical psychologists assumed that children were immature to undergo depression. With time, healthcare practitioners and therapists recognized the presence and nature of the illness as an identifiable mental illness. The difficulty in diagnosing depression in children is harder since adults may assume that certain behaviors are normal or are simply development stages. Additionally, children may not be able to communicate their feelings. Children may exhibit irritability; thus, their actions may be misinterpreted as naughtiness. Depression occurs across all races, social classes, and economic settings. A proper diagnosis of depression is crucial since less than 30% of adults and children receive the appropriate treatment (Bhatia & Bhatia, 2007).  

Human Resource Management - Yahoo Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Human Resource Management - Yahoo - Coursework Example ent high numbers of employees who are highly paid do not create the required difference in order to improve the competitiveness of the company in the market. The demand for labor in Yahoo is based on pressure put by competitors. With only few qualified personnel in the market, the company is under pressure to hire new employees in order to prevent them from joining the rival firms. However, instead of the company hiring out of pressure, it should first maximize the returns by the existing subordinates. This is through providing them with a serene working environment where they can be able to maximize their potential through innovation. This would play a significant role in improving the competitive advantage of the company in the market. The first action that will strengthen the internal recruitment process is training of the panel that will be recruiting new employees. New recruits need to fit in the organizational structure. Therefore, the panel needs to ensure that they recruit an employee who would auger well with the current organizational goals and objectives. Therefore, through training, the panel will be able to select the best employees who will be able to integrate with the organizational culture. The internal recruitment process would be strengthened through drafting an effective performance appraisal. The drafting process should involve all the employees. This is through collecting their views on what they would like the performance appraisal to look like. This would make them feel appreciated and work hard because they are sure that the appraisal would be able to recognize their effort. The use of the performance appraisal would make the recruitment to be more transparent, an aspect that would motivate the employees to put more effort in order to be promoted. The Yahoo corporate strategy is to grow and become more competitive (Hill and Gareth 233). The employees understand the challenges that the company is going through. Therefore, this strategy

Medea By Euripides And Macbeth English Literature Essay

Medea By Euripides And Macbeth English Literature Essay Introduction Medea by Euripides and Macbeth by William Shakespeare are plays renowned for their portrayal of frightening female characters; Medea and Lady Macbeth. Such female characters are particularly controversial as they contradict the social expectations of women. Society constantly attempts to mold women into soft, gentle and compassionate beings. Due to such a stereotype whereby women are perceived as weak, Euripides Medea and Shakespeares Lady Macbeth are found to be quiet overly intriguing characters. Strong, fierce, angry and evil women were not heard of when such plays were written. Medea and Lady Macbeth are both prominent female characters of classic literature. Medea is the protagonist of the Euripides play Medea whilst Macbeths Lady Macbeth is one of Shakespeares most memorable female characters. There is a myth that lingers upon mankind suggesting that females are gentle, caring, weak beings and because the depiction of Lady Macbeth and Medea are quite the contrary, it is debatable whether they are in fact credible characters. To be credible means to be believable, comprehensible and encompass human characteristics such as strengths and weaknesses. This allows the audience to empathize with the characters and create a shared sense of humanity with them. If it is argued that Lady Macbeth and Medea are possibly melodramatic characters, suggesting that they are exaggerated, two dimensional and hence commit evil purely out of malevolence then such an accusation undermines the quality of the plays. Melodramatic works may temporally thrill an audience however they offer little insight to the human condition and encounter no lasting, intellectually satisfying impact. Consequently the question asked is, are Lady Macbeth and Medea credible characters? Whether or not Lady Macbeth and Medea can be appreciated as believable by the audience is absolutely vital to the plays achievement; if they were simply seen as evil, the plays would be regarded as melodramatic and hence fail to be literature of depth and quality. However, if the audience is given an insight into the human condition and is therefore able understand the motives behind evil deeds and the ways in which such actions impact the characters; the play will succeed in being credible and effective. Moreover, the success of each work as literature depends on the key characters being fully rounded and believable. The intention of this essay is to examine the two plays in order to prove that Lady Macbeth and Medea are indeed credible characters. How are Lady Macbeth and Medea presented? The opening scenes of the Euripides Medea commence with the plays protagonist offstage. A strong sense of anticipation is developed as Nurse and Tutor discuss the dilemma whereby Jason has betrayed his loyal wife. The audience is subsequently introduced to Medeas despair; she is heard off stage bewailing her situation, If only I were dead  [1]  . The way in which Euripides employs sound without having Medea visually appear onstage, contributes to the plays elements of stagecraft whilst emphasizing Medeas heartbroken tone of voice and allowing the audience to focus on her speech. Medea gains the audiences empathy early in the play due to such a passionate initial depiction. Lady Macbeth however, is initially revealed to the audience later in Shakespeares Macbeth. She first appears onstage whilst reading her husbands letter; she is excited, anxious and thrilled at the prospect of Macbeth becoming King. Love is the fundamental basis to Lady Macbeth and Medeas disposition. They adore their husbands profoundly, and it is this sense of devotion which adds to their characters credibility. Throughout the entire play, Lady Macbeth is an utterly loyal wife. She is ambitious for Macbeth and hence on no account indicates a quest for personal glory. Lady Macbeth goes to great lengths in order to ensure Macbeths rapid succession to the throne; she is clearly his dearest partner of greatness.  [2]  In fact, it is her devotion for Macbeth which leads to her pursuit for evil. At first Lady Macbeth encourages her husband to sin; she is responsible for influencing his demeanor. Next she develops a strategy in order to murder King Duncan and prepares the murder scene for Macbeth, before taking part in the crime herself. Such actions were evidently driven by Lady Macbeths immense affection for her husband. Medea is also absolutely faithful to her husband and similarly assists him to achieve heroi c status in regards to the capture of the Golden Fleece. Despite such loyalty on Medeas behalf, Jason betrays her for a royal bed; this initial predicament causes a different side to Medeas character to be unleashed and destruction to commence. It was Jasons sense of betrayal following Medeas unquestioning love which leads to her being involved with evil; she creates a scheme to murder her husbands mistress before killing her own children. Once both women are on the pathway of evil they begin to manipulate their husbands with remarkable effectiveness. When Lady Macbeths husband hesitates to murder Duncan the king of Scotland, she gives a chillingly disturbing statement emphasizing her sense of determination and pride, she would have dashed the brains out  [1]  of her own baby rather than go back on her word. She then attempts to undermine his manhood by referring to him as a coward  [2]  in order to influence his decision. Medea manipulates her husband Jason correspondingly. She engages in ruse, pretending to sympathize with her husband in order to bring him into her confidence, First Ill send a slave to Jason, asking him to come to me; and then Ill give him a soft talk.  [3]  Medea utilizes gifts in an attempt to break the ice between Jason, Glauce and herself. Ostensibly, the gifts are intended to convince him that the children stay in Corinth; little do Jason and Glauce know that the coronet and dress ar e in fact poisoned and will cause death to whoever touches them. Evidently, both women use their manipulative ability in order to skillfully persuade their husbands. Lady Macbeth and Medea at times appears totally given over to evil. The aggression of these female characters is particularly striking as it defies prevailing social expectations of how women. Women are generally tender human beings however Lady Macbeth and Medea exemplify vindictiveness and determination; general characteristics of man. Our first impression of Medea allows us to bond with her; she is terribly devastated at Jasons betrayal and the way in which she bemoans in her home is truly credible. As time elapses our impression of Medea alters as we gradually observe layers of her malevolence shed to reveal a tormented human soul. It is universally accepted that women are compassionate and soft hearted due to their motherly nature however Medea is stunningly said to be stone and iron; determined to kill her sons despite their desperate cry for salvage. It is very difficult to comprehend how a mother could murder her children; subsequently Medea is portrayed as evil. Although she never felt a sense of guilt for her wicked actions, Medea hesitated slightly before committing infanticide, I cant do it  [1]  she cried. Medea looks to her sense of pride for strength, Are my enemies to laugh at me? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦I must steel myself  [2]  , subsequently she swiftly gets over such dither and proceeds with the killings of her two sons. Witnessing Jason suffer brought Medea great satisfaction that prevailed over her own remorse at killing them, But my pains a fair price, to take away your smile  [3]  . Although the audience is thoroughly informed of Medeas brutal past, it was still very shocking and unexpect ed when she kills her children. At this particular moment in the play, the bond between Medea and the audience begins to diminish. Despite experiencing hardships and being emotionally torn, the audience cannot look past the brutality of such a scene. In the early scenes of Shakespeares Macbeth, Lady Macbeth appears to be stronger and more ruthless than her husband. The fact that she is in control of all evilness suggests that her sense of evil is inevitable. Despite the many attempts to reach evil, Lady Macbeth recognizes the need to mask her womanliness in order to find assistance for her plans. Evidence of such is how she yearns for her female essence to be to be replaced with poison, Unsex mecome to my womans breasts and take my milk for gall  [1]  she cries. This statement is an extracted portion from Lady Macbeths soliloquy whereby she calls on the dark spirits. She clearly acknowledges her femininity and the fact that she lacks the complete capacity for evil; she is unable to kill Duncan herself in spite of being exceedingly driven towards brutality. If one is truly evil there is no need to be unsexed. This particular speech also serves to highlight Lady Macbeths great level of passion and the extraordinary lengths she would go to ensure Macbeths speedy succession to King. It is understood that Lady Macbeth is familiar with religion and holds some religious conception. She realizes that she is contemplating a sin against God by wanting her femininity to be removed and consequently wants to be hidden from heaven  [2]  . This opens room to note that a cosmology which posits heaven above all also allows for hell, for guilt, for punishment. Although Lady Macbeth is aware that she will be punished for calling upon the dark spirits, she disregards such knowledge and sins. This form of negligence and ignorance indicates Lady Macbeths desperate desire. At this moment in the play, the audience scowl at her sense of hypocrisy. Why do they follow an evil pathway? Medea is human, however she is also related to the gods and worships Queen Hecate. Obviously elements of fantasy propel her story however she appears before the audience as a woman and must be understood as one. Clearly Medeas love for Jason was all consuming; she was willing to do anything and everything for her beloved. Such passion is evident from Medeas complete obedience; she abides by her husbands every word. As previously mentioned, all of the plays events proceed from the initial dilemma whereby a heartless husband betrays his obedient wife; this is why Medea results to her evil ways. She feels shamed, trampled on and unappreciated as she had supported and did great deal for him, for example she fled her home country and family to live with her lover. Medea even murdered her own brother for Jason. In addition to such, she persuades the daughters of a King to murder their father. Medeas deeds were unselfish and self sacrificing which is why Jasons betrayal drove her wild. To many it is incomprehensible for women to be driven by such an extent of ambition, love and betrayal as to call upon evil. However, Medea was harshly betrayed by the man who was her whole life  [1]  ; the audience can understand this motive for calling upon evil and desiring revenge. Jason lacked the decency to simply stop for a moment before wedding his young bride to recall all the extraordinary deeds Medea had done for him, actions she took for his benefit alone and which he could never express enough gratitude for. Such a degree of unfaithfulness evidently shreds Medea to pieces. The audience observes Medeas character evolve before their very eyes. Such is understood through the employment of soliloquies which are an essential element of stagecraft. Soliloquies are speeches made to oneself which allow the audience to hear the inner thoughts of a character. This permits the audience to be drawn into the characters mind and build a bond with the character. Soliloquies are of particular importance in Medea as they give the audience an insight into the way in which Medeas temperament evolves. It is Medeas self directed speeches which allow the audience to understand her state of mind and comprehend her thoughts as time elapses. Our first impression of Medea is that she is absolutely distraught and suicidal, If only I was dead  [1]  . This is an understandable and human response to such devastating rejection. The audience can relate to being betrayed and can hence understand why Medea later turns to evil; this adds to the credibility of her character. As time progresses her strength and passion drives her to mad; the first time Medea appears on stage she is not shaken with weeping, but cool and self-possessed.  [2]  If it were not for her soliloquies prior to her appearance such as, Oh, how I hate living! I want to end my life, leave it behind, and die  [3]  , the audience could not possibly understand or acknowledge her suicidal state of mind. Later Medea goes on to use her manipulative cleverness to avenge Jasons disloyalty with a series of murders, I have in mind so many paths of death for them  [4]  . Prior to such a statement Medea was begging Creon in order to allow her and her sons to stay the country for one more night. If it were not for the preceding soliloquy it would not be understood that Medea had manipulated Creon. The soliloquy reveals her true feelings; she will strike dead  [1]  her enemies. Medea is a descendant of the Sun god and is capable of passions of far greater intensity than mere mortals. Her only desire was to watch Jason suffer and she was willing to do absolutely anything to achieve just that. Medea is a proud woman, consequently when Jason trampled over such pride, compressing her ego and self concept, she was to avenge him, you were mistaken if you thought you could dishonor my bed and live a pleasant life and laugh at me  [2]  . Medeas fury bubbled and boiled to the severe extent whereby it began to take over her heart, mind and body. She is completely overwhelmed with anger and willing to even harm herself in order to wipe the smile off his face, my pains a fair price, to take away your smile  [3]  she says. Medea successfully devastates Jason by killing her own flesh and blood, her two sons despite the heartache it would cause her, simply to torment him. The way in which Medea gradually follows an evil pathway rather than undergoing a sudden tran sition of character makes her believable. Lady Macbeths love for Macbeth is also all consuming however not of the intensity of Medeas. She was also keen on doing everything and anything for the sake of her beloved. After Macbeth is informed of the prophecy he becomes rapt withal  [4]  and consequently his dearest partner of greatness  [1]  becomes determined to secure his position as King. Lady Macbeth begins to take control; she analyses Macbeths personality and considers him too straight forward and honest to be involved with evil, Yet do I fear thy nature, It is too full othmilk of human kindness, Tcatch the nearest way  [2]  . Lady Macbeth was immensely spellbound by the prophecy, she desired it sooner rather than later; she saw that her husband was ambitious to be king. Lady Macbeth notices that Macbeth requires her strong words to prompt him; subsequently she uses her influence to encourage him. Lady Macbeths evil desires escalate from this moment onwards. As time progresses she begins to take further control and eventually plans King Duncans murder. She employs a metaphor of hypocrisy, look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent undert  [3]  which is used in order to disguise her intentions of harming King Duncan. This particular metaphor is extremely prominent as it reveals a great deal of Lady Macbeths character. The audience begins to observe her strength of spirit and identify her opposite outlook to Macbeth. In addition Lady Macbeths willingness to be associated with evil is emphasized in this statement. The fact that Lady Macbeth becomes furious and challenges her husbands courage and honor when he has serious second thoughts about killing Duncan, indicates that she is indeed more brutal than he at this stage of the play. Lady Macbeth prepares the murder scene but was unable to kill Duncan herself claiming that the King resembled my father  [4]  as he slept. This exemplifies that she is not as ruthless as she appears and that she is rather vulnerable and compassionate. This particular statement adds to the credibility of Lady Macbeths character. It helps define that although one might carry out evil actions, certain things dear to them will expose their vulnerability. Lady Macbeth returns with bloody hands after smearing the chamberlains with blood in order to disguise herself and Macbeth of the deed. At the time the image of her bloody hands has no affect on her and she bluntly says, a little water clears us of the deed.  [1]  However in time, the memory of her bloody hands, which is a significant part of stagecraft symbolizing guilt, haunts and torments Lady Macbeths mind. As previously mentioned Lady Macbeth is aware of God and believes in heaven and hell. She acknowledges that she has sinned; consequently her guilty conscience begins to disturb her sleep. In time Lady Macbeth begins to experience the regular occurrence of sleepwalking. Whilst sleepwalking, she rubs her hands in a washing motion which modern psychology would regard as an obsessive compulsive disorder; she is unable to wash the guilt off her hands. Whilst performing the hand washing routine Lady Macbeth soliloquizes; Wash your hands; put on your nightgown; look not so paleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ whats done cannot be undone.  [2]  This further emphasizes her extent of her anguish. Soliloquies are a prominent element in regards to understanding and appreciating Lady Macbeths change of thought and attitude throughout the duration of the play. They help reveal the severe extent of her distress and disturbance. Along with soliloquies, symbolism is another form of stagecraft which is evident in the play; evidently Lady Macbeths sleepwalking is a sign of her great level of guilt. It is particularly ironic how earlier in the play Lady Macbeth calls upon darkness in order to hide her deed, Come, thick night  [1]  and how she now fears the dark; she has light by her continually  [2]  . Lady Macbeths sense of guilt and vulnerability towards the end of the play allows the audience to empathize and connect with her. In demonstrating such human qualities, her credibility was enhanced as unlike Medea, her actions did affect her conscience. The audience is able to relate to Lady Macbeths sense of guilt and therefore appreciate her credibility. Her guilty conscience a ffects her terribly, drives her to contemplate death and eventually commit suicide. The way in which Lady Macbeth gradually breaks down physically and mentally, demonstrates her human essence and hence makes her character credible and realistic to the audience. What is their involvement with evil? The audience is introduced to action from the moment the plays commence. The opening scenes of Macbeth introduce the audience to the prospect of Macbeth being king. Our first impression of Lady Macbeth is that she is a loving wife and excited and happy for him; the atmosphere is blissful. On the hand, the opening scenes of Medea introduce the audience to an atmosphere of misery. Jason has betrayed his wife for a royal bed and we first see Medea as distressed and a heartbroken woman. The audience is later informed of Medeas past; we understand that she has previously committed acts of evil including murder however such actions were driven by her love for Jason. On the other hand, the audience is not informed of Lady Macbeths past; it is presumed that she has had no prior involvement of evil. Medea has committed several murders before the play commences. She has killed her brother and whilst in her home town, Colchis, Medea used her devilish ways to manipulate the daughters of the local king and rival Pelias, into slaughtering their own father. From such details it understood that Medea is capable of committing horrifying deeds and that it was her love for Jason which ultimately suppressed her sense of evil throughout the course of their marriage. Consequently it was expected that once Jason hurt her Medea, she would revert to her violent demeanor and resort to greater brutality than that of which she had encountered out of love for him. After being rejected, Medea lays out a cunning plan pursuing a violent rampage in order to torment Jason. She manipulates Jason into trusting her and sends her sons off with a supposed gift for Jasons new bride. The gifts have been poisoned and princess Glauce endures a horrible death, The stuff was eating her flesh. Her eyes, her face, w ere one grotesque disfigurement; down from her head dripped blood mingled with flame; her flesh, attacked by the invisible fangs of poison, melted from the bare bone, like gum-drops from pine-trees bark- a ghastly sight.  [1]  When Medea gloats, Youll give me double pleasure if their death was horrible,  [2]  she is close to being considered melodramatic however we see enough of her humanity to prevent her from becoming theatrical. This statement highlights how deeply Jasons betrayal scarred his loyal wife. Although Medea fails to be struck by guilt after committing infanticide, she evidently wavers before killing her own children which illustrates her sense of humanity; she is not a cold hearted murder. Lady Macbeth only calls upon evil after she was informed of her husbands prophecy. Similarly to the way in which Medea reached out to evil out of love for Jason during their marriage, Lady Macbeth called upon evil with her husbands best interests at heart. She was ambitious for him to be King and desired to share such a royal status with him. Lady Macbeth begins her pursuit for evil by using her influence to manipulate Macbeth into killing Duncan; she ultimately becomes her husbands backbone encouraging the involvement of evil. Unlike Medea, Lady Macbeth didnt waver when sinning however her bad actions impacted on her and eventually her conscience and sense of guilt drove her to her own grave. The way in which Lady Macbeth is unable to endure guilt emphasises her weaknesses as a human being, thereby reinforcing her credibility. Conclusion In conclusion, at particular moments in the play Euripides Medea and Shakespeares Macbeth appear close to being melodramatic whereby the audience questions, Are Lady Macbeth and Medea credible characters? Eventually the audience sees the womens sense of humanity whereby it is clear that both Medea and Lady Macbeth are indeed credible. Lady Macbeth is one of Shakespeares most renowned and fearsome female characters; however after deeply analysing her character, one cannot restrain himself from feeling empathy for her. It is understood that although she reaches out to evil and commits terrible acts, Lady Macbeths sense of faith, guilty conscience and feminine essence restrains her from being a killer with no conscience; she is a criminal whose actions and guilt deeply affect her. It is her sense of humanity and weakness which ultimately leads to her destruction. This disregards her as a frightening character and emphasizes her credibility. Medea is also said to be a frightening female character. Although her actions were horrifying and savage, Medeas conscience and vulnerability allows her to waver before killing her children; a truly evil character would not waver before committing evil. Medea was heartbroken, scared, bruised and battered which was her ultimate drive for destruction. Consequently, the audience also empathizes with Medea after understanding and acknowledging her sense of humanity and connects with her emotions. Thus, despite the fact that Lady Macbeth and Medeas female roles go against the ordinary depiction of women, they are by no means melodramatic evil characters. If Lady Macbeth and Medea were melodramatically evil, the audience will feel that the plays are unconvincing thereby unjustly diminishing the playwrights achievements.

job outlook for a teacher :: essays research papers

Job Outlook Overall employment of kindergarten, elementary, and secondary school teachers is expected to increase faster than the average for all occupations through the year 2005, fueled by dramatic growth among special education teachers. However, projected employment growth varies among individual teaching occupations. Job openings for all teachers are expected to increase substantially by the end of the decade as the large number of teachers now in their forties and fifties reach retirement age. Employment of special education teachers is expected to increase much faster than the average for all occupations through the year 2005 due to legislation emphasizing training and employment for individuals with disabilities; technological advances resulting in more survivors of accidents and illnesses; and growing public interest in individuals with special needs. Qualified persons should have little trouble finding a job, due to increased demand for these workers combined with relatively high turnover among special education teachers. Many special education teachers switch to general education teaching or change careers altogether, often because of job stress associated with teaching special education, particularly excessive paperwork, and inadequate administrative support. Employment of secondary school teachers is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through the year 2005, and average employment growth is projected for kindergarten and elementary school teachers. Assuming relatively little change in average class size, employment growth of teachers depends on the rates of population growth and corresponding student enrollments. The population of 14- to 17-year-olds is expected to experience relatively strong growth through the year 2005, spurring demand for secondary school teachers. The population of 5- to 13-year olds also is projected to increase, but at a slower rate, resulting in divergent growth rates for individual teaching occupations. The supply of teachers also is expected to increase in response to reports of improved job prospects, more teacher involvement in school policy, greater public interest in education, and higher salaries. In fact, enrollments in teacher training programs already have increased in recent years. In addition, more teachers should be available from alternative certification programs. Some central cities and rural areas have difficulty attracting enough teachers, so job prospects should continue to be better in these areas than in suburban districts.

Good Eduction Essay

In my view questions about education always raise normative issues and therefore always require value judgements, i. e. , judgements about what we consider to be desirable. In plural democracies like ours we should not expect that there will only be one answer to the question as to what constitutes good education. It rather is a sign of a healthy democracy that there are ongoing discussions about the purpose and direction of such a crucial common endeavour as education. After all, education is not simply a private good; it is also – and in my view first and foremost – a public good and therefore a matter of public concern. Education, in its widest sense, is about how we welcome ‘newcomers’1 into our worlds. It therefore raises important questions about how we (re)present our worlds to newcomers – something which involves selection, choice and judgement. One reason why I consider it important to pay attention to the question as to what constitutes good education has to do with recent tendencies in policy, research and practice that seem to suggest that this question no longer matters or, to be more precise, that seem to suggest that this question can be resolved without engaging in discussions about value and purpose. One of these tendencies is the rise of an international ‘league-table industry’ which is increasingly influencing education policy at national and local level. Studies such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) and, most notoriously, OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), generate a never-ending stream of comparative data that are supposed to tell us which educational systems are better and which are best. Although there is nothing against attempts to make such judgements, the problem with league-tables is that they give the impression that the data can speak for themselves. As a result, the deeper question whether such studies indeed measure what we value or create a situation in which we are valuing what is or can be measured, is easily forgotten. Whether a high score on TIMMS, PIRLS or PISA does indeed indicate good education is an entirely open question that crucially depends on what we expect from education. And even if we were to accept the validity of such measures, there are always further questions about the material and immaterial costs involved in achieving a high score, both for individual students and for the educational system as a whole. 1 I use the term ‘newcomers’ to refer to anyone who is new in a particular situation. The category of ‘newcomer’ therefore includes children, immigrants, but also those who are new in relation to a particular trade or profession, such as student hairdressers, student teachers, and so on. Elsewhere I have made a case for seeing the idea of ‘coming into the world’ as a fundamental education category. see Biesta 2006). 1 A second tendency that has contributed to the marginalisation of questions about good education can be found in calls for turning education into an evidence-based profession based on research knowledge about ‘what works. ’2 Again, I do think that to a certain extent it can be use ful to examine the effectiveness of particular educational practices and procedures, as long as one bears in mind that in the social domain there are at most probabilistic relationships between actions and consequences and never deterministic relationships between causes and effects. After all, if teaching is going to have any impact on students, it is not because of some kind of mysterious force that teachers exert upon their students, but because of the fact that students interpret and make sense of what they are being taught. The links between teaching and learning are, in other words, achieved through processes of interpretation and such links are by definition ‘weak. ’ 3 But the most important point here is that ‘effectiveness’ in itself is never a ufficient reason for adopting a particular approach or procedure. There is, after all, both effective and ineffective brain washing, just as there is effective and ineffective torturing. ‘Effectiveness,’ to put it differently, is an instrumental value – a value that says something about the ways in which certain ends can be achieved, but which does not say anything about the desirability of the ends in themselves. To address the latter question we need normative judgem ents about what we consider educationally desirable. To call for effective schools, effective teaching, effective assessment, and so on, is therefore meaningless until one specifies what it is one aims to achieve and why what one aims to achieve is desirable or good. With regard to educational effectiveness we therefore always need to ask: â€Å"Effective for what? † – and also â€Å"Effective for whom? †4 These are some of the reasons why I consider it important to put the question of good education back on the agenda of educators, researchers and policy makers. But my ambition with this lecture is not only to make a case for considering the goodness of education – and in what follows I will say more about the ways in which I think that this question might be addressed. I also want to make a case for the importance of education or, to be more precise, for the need to use the language of education when we discuss educational matters. Putting it this way may sound odd, so let me try to explain why I not only want to make a case for good education but also for good education. The Problem with ‘Learning’ The simplest way to present my case for an educational language is to contrast it with the language I think we should not be using when discussing educational matters – and this is the language of learning. I am not suggesting that the word ‘learning’ has no place in education. But I do wish to argue that ‘learning’ and ‘education’ are two radically different concepts and that we shouldn’t conflate them. This is not simply a matter of the proper use of language. The concepts we have available in a particular domain of human action such as education in a very fundamental sense structure what we can say, think, and do and therefore also impact upon what cannot be said, thought and done. This is why language matters, also in education. 2 3 For a detailed analysis see Biesta (2007a). For more on this see Vanderstraeten & Biesta (2006); Biesta (in press[a]). 4 See Bogotch, Miron & Biesta (2007). 2 My concerns about the notion of learning – or, to be more precise, about the conflation of learning and education – should be understood against the background of the remarkable rise of the concept of learning within educational discussions over the past two or three decades; a phenomenon to which I have referred as the rise of the ‘new language of learning’ (see Biesta 2004a; 2006). This rise can, for example, be found in the redefinition of teaching as the facilitation of learning or the provision of learning opportunities or learning experiences. It can be found in the use of the word ‘learner’ instead of ‘pupil’ or ‘student’ or of the phrase ‘adult learner’ instead of just ‘adult’. And it is manifest in the transformation of the field of adult education into that of lifelong learning. It is also worth noting that the word ‘education’ no longer appears in the name of the two UK government departments that deal with educational matters (they are now known as The Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills), unlike in Scotland where there is at least still a Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning. What perhaps also fits in with this picture is the case of Watercliffe Meadow, an institution that was formed as a merge between three former primary schools in Sheffield and that decided to refer to itself as â€Å"a place of learning† rather than a school. 5 The rise of the ‘new language of learning’ can be seen as the expression of a more general trend to which I have referred – with a deliberately ugly term – as the ‘learnification’ of education (see Biesta 2009). By this I mean the translation of everything there is to say about education in terms of learning and learners. A focus on learning is, of course, not entirely problematic. Although not a new insight, the idea that learning is not determined by teaching but depends on the activities of students can help teachers to rethink what they might do best to support their students. There are even emancipatory opportunities in the new language of learning to the extent to which it can empower individuals to take control of their own educational agendas. Yet there are also problems with the rise of the new language of learning and, more specifically, with the concept of ‘learning’ itself. One problem with the word ‘learning’ is that it is basically an individualistic concept. It refers to what people do as individuals. This stands in stark contrast to the concept of education which generally denotes a relationship. Whereas one can educate someone and someone can be educated by someone else, one cannot ‘learn’ someone. This already reveals one problem with the language of learning: it makes it difficult to articulate the fact that education is about relationships, and more specifically about relationships between teachers and students. The language of learning makes it difficult to acknowledge the relational character of education and also makes it difficult to raise questions about the particular role and responsibility of the educator in such relationships. This is one reason why the words ‘education’ and ‘learning’ are not the same and are not interchangeable. This does not mean, of course, that they have nothing to do with each other. One could say that the general aim of educational activities is that people will learn from them. But that doesn’t make education into learning; it simply says that learning is the intended outcome of educational processes and practices. All this also doesn’t mean that people cannot learn without or outside of education. It simply highlights the fact that when we talk about education we refer 5 See http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Watercliffe_Meadow [accessed 26 February 2009] 3 to a specific setting in which learning takes place; a setting, moreover, with a specific set of relationships, roles and responsibilities. A second problem with the word ‘learning’ is that it is basically (but see hereafter) a process term. This means that it is open if not empty with regard to content. Yet in educational situations the aim is never simply that learning will occur; the interest is always in the learning of something and this, in turn, is connected to particular reasons for wanting the student to learn something. In education there is, therefore, always the double question of the learning ‘of what’ and the learning ‘for what. The problem with the language of learning is that it makes questions about content and purpose much more difficult to ask – yet education, unlike learning, is always structured by purpose and content. This is the second reason why education and learning are not the same and why the language of learning is actually quite unhelpful in discussing educational matters. An example of the emptiness of the language of learning can be found in the Scott ish Standard for Chartered Teacher which, unlike the Standard for Full Registration, is rather permeated by a language of learning. In the document one of the four ‘professional values and personal commitments’ is described as ‘effectiveness in promoting learning in the classroom,’ which is further broken down into the requirement to demonstrate the capacity to (1) ‘effect further progress in pupils’ learning and development’: (2) ‘create and sustain a positive climate for learning’; and (3) ‘use strategies which increase pupils’ learning’ (see GTCS 2002). Very little, if anything, is said about what students should learn and for what they should learn. Even less is said about what would be required from Chartered Teachers in terms of their ability to make informed value judgements about the content and direction of their teaching and wider educational endeavours. 6 When we look more closely at the language used, a phrase such as â€Å"increasing pupils’ learning† is actually rather incomprehensible in my view. Before I draw my conclusions about the language of learning and move to a discussion about the question of the goodness of education, there is one more peculiarity of the word ‘learning’ that I wish to address briefly. Although there are ongoing discussions within the educational literature about definitions of learning, it is generally accepted that learning can at least be defined as â€Å"any change that is not the result of maturation† or, in a slightly more precise definition, as â€Å"any more or less durable change that is not the result of maturation. † In addition to this, many definitions specify the kinds of change that are considered to be important, such as changes in skilfulness, in cognition, in mastery and so on. One important point here is that ‘learning’ refers to those changes that are the result of engagement ith our environments, which means that in this regard we can say that all learning is by definition experiential learning, i. e. , learning from experience and experiencing. An important implication of this line of thinking is that when we use the word ‘learning’ – such as in sentences like â€Å"Mary has learned how to ride a bicycle† or â€Å"Mary has 6 There is a similar problem with regard to the notion of effectiveness which is also used as something that is good in itself, rather than that it is positioned as an instrumental value. This can, for example, be seen in the following two statements: â€Å"the Chartered Teacher should regularly and systematically demonstrate and evaluate his or her effectiveness as a teacher;† and â€Å"the Chartered Teacher should demonstrate the capacity to contribute to the professional development of colleagues and to make a fuller contribution to the educational effectiveness of the school and the wider professional community than could be expected of teachers near the outset of their career† (see GTCS 2002). 4 earned the first law of thermodynamics† – we are not so much describing something as that we are making a judgement about changes that have taken place. The point here is that when we look at Mary more carefully we will probably be able to find numerous changes going on all the time. The reason for identifying some of the changes as ‘learning’ and others just as ‘changes’ is because we value these changes and because we have reason to believe that these changes are the result of engagement with the environment, not just effects of maturation. Which isn’t to suggest that this distinction is easy to make and that the difference is always clear-cut. ) This implies that the use of the word ‘learning’ always implies a value judgement. ‘Learning,’ in other words, is not a descriptive term – it is not a noun – but it is an evaluative term. The upshot of this is that we can only use the word learning retrospectively, i. e. , after some change has happened. Whether any current activity will actually result in learning – that is, whether it will actually result in more or less durable changes that we find valuable – is not something we can know when we are engaged in he activity. Whether you will learn anything from listening to this lecture is, in other words, a question that can only be answered in the future – and sometimes it can take a very long time before we can conclude that we have learned something from a particular experience or event, which is an important argument against an exclusive focus on short-time result in education. This implies that the word ‘learning’ does not refer to an activity – and we can summarise this by saying that ‘learning’ is also not a verb. If we want to be clear and precise in the language we use to talk about education, we shouldn’t therefore refer to the activities of our students as ‘learning’ but rather use such words as ‘studying,’ ‘rehearsing,’ ‘working,’ ‘making an effort,’ etcetera. And for the same reason we shouldn’t refer to our students as ‘learners’ but should either refer to them with terms that specify the particular relationship they are in – which is what the word ‘pupil’ does – or with terms that specify the activities they are engaged in – which is what words like ‘student’ or ‘worker’ do. The Dutch progressive educator Kees Boeke referred to the students in his school as ‘workers’ and referred to the school that he established and which still exists in Bilthoven as a ‘workplace. ’) For all these reasons I therefore wish to a rgue that the language of learning is rather unhelpful for discussion of educational matters as it tends to obscure the relational dimensions of education – the fact that education is always about teachers and students in relationship – and also because it makes it more difficult to raise questions about content and purpose. I have also argued that when we use the word ‘learning’ we are actually involved in a judgement about change, a judgement we can only make after the event. For that reason using the word ‘learning’ to describe the activities of students is as imprecise as it is to refer to students as ‘learners. ’ This is also the reason why we cannot ask from students that they take responsibility for their own learning – they can only take responsibility for their studying, their activities, their efforts, etcetera, and it is this that teachers should demand from students. All this also means that learning can not be the object of any strategy. Despite the many teaching and learning strategies that are being developed in schools, colleges and universities, and despite the fact that many of such institutions make individuals responsible for ‘teaching & learning,’ it is only teaching – and related aspects such as curriculum and assessment – that can be the object of a strategy and thus can be the responsibility of individuals whose task it is to take care of what, with a simple word, we might perhaps best refer to as ‘education. 5 If this suffices as an indication of why we need education – that is, why we need an educational language with proper educational concepts – I now wish to turn to questions about what constitutes good education. Good Education My ambition with raising the question of good education is not to specify what good education, a good school, a good college or a good university should look like. As I said in my introduction, we shouldn’t expect that in plural democracies like ours there will only be one answer to this question. Yet it is of crucial importance that there is an ongoing discussion about the content, purpose and direction of education first and foremost because education is – and should be – a matter of public concern. I do not only think that it is important to have a plurality of opinions about what constitutes good education. I also believe that it is important to have a plurality of actual educational practices. Here I am partly biased as a result of my upbringing in the Netherlands, a country which over the past century has developed and has managed to maintain an interesting level of plurality within a state-funded system of compulsory education. Although there are some advantages of educational standardisation – and the main advantage, one that we have to take very seriously from a social justice angle, is that it can bring about an equality of provision – I also believe that there are many disadvantages to the MacDonaldisation (or perhaps we should now call this the ‘Starbuckisation’) of education. One disadvantage of standardisation is that it takes away opportunities for educational professionals to make their own judgements about what is necessary and desirable in the always particular situations they work in. My experience in England has been that the scope for professional judgement and professional action in education has systematically been eroded as a result of a massive top-down standardisation of education, combined with narrow-minded forms of inspection based on low trust. 7 At this point I can only say that I have encountered a significantly different culture within Scottish education, and here I particularly want to single out the idea of the Chartered Teacher as the expression of a belief in the power of education and as a serious investment in and commitment to the development of professionality and a high trust culture in education. A second disadvantage of educational standardisation is that it takes away any opportunity for a plurality of opinions about good education. This is often done through the construction of a quasi-consensus around an alleged common sense notion of what good education is. One popular version of such a quasi-consensus is the idea that in order to remain competitive within the global knowledge economy schools need to produce a highly-skilled workforce; hence the most important task for schools is that of raising standards in English, science and mathematics. While this story may sound appealing – and many policy makers at national and supra-national level (such as the OECD) seem to believe it – it is based on questionable assumptions, for example because it assumes that in the knowledge economy we will all have complex jobs that require a high level of education, whereas in reality those jobs are only available for a happy few and the bulk of jobs in many post-industrial societies is to be found in the low-skilled and low-paid service industry (and here we can, again, refer to MacDonalds, Starbucks, call-centres, and the like). Yet the problem with such 7 For more on this see Biesta (2004b). 6 constructions about what good education is, is not only that they are based upon questionable assumptions. The problem of stories that express a quasi-consensus about good education is also that they suggest that there is no alternative. It is, however, not too difficult to see that instead of economic competitiveness, we could also argue that as a society we should give priority to care – care for the elderly, care for the environment – or to democracy and peaceful co-existence. Such priorities suggest a complete different set of educational arrangements and articulate radically different views about what good education might look like. My contribution to the discussion about what constitutes good education is not about suggesting alternative futures for education. Although this is important as well, I wish to confine myself in this lecture to a more modest task, viz. that of presenting a framework that might be helpful in asking more precise questions about what good education is or might be. My main point in suggesting this framework is to emphasise that educational processes and practices serve a number of different functions and purposes. This not only means that the answer to the question as to what constitutes good education is likely to be different in relation to the different functions. By distinguishing between the different functions it also becomes possible to explore the extent to which emphasising one function might interfere with the quality of education in relation to one of the other functions. The framework can help, in other words, to think about costs and trade-offs of particular educational arrangements. Although the everyday use of the word ‘education’ often gives the impression that it refers to a single reality, ‘education’ is actually a composite concept. This becomes clear when we ask what education is for. In answering this question I wish to suggest that education serves (at least) three different functions. One important function of education has to do with qualification, that is, with the ways in which education contributes to the acquisition of knowledge, skills and dispositions that qualify us for doing something – a ‘doing’ which can range from the very specific (such as the training for a particular job) to the very general (such as in the case of liberal education). The qualification function is without doubt one of the major functions of organised education and is an important rationale for having state-funded education in the first place. The argument, as I have mentioned, is often an economic one, i. . , that people need knowledge and skills in order to become employable. But the acquisition of knowledge and skills is also important for other aspects of people’s lives. Here we can think, for example, of political literacy – the knowledge and skills needed to exercise one’s citizenship rights – or cultural literacy – the kno wledge and skills considered to be necessary for functioning in society more generally. 8 A second function of education has to do with the ways in which, through education, individuals become part of existing socio-cultural, political and moral ‘orders. This is the socialisation function of education. Schools partly engage in socialisation deliberately, for example, in the form of values education, character education, religious education or citizenship education, or, and this is more explicit at the level of colleges and universities, in relation to professional socialisation. Socialisation also happens in less visible ways, as has been made clear in the literature on the hidden curriculum and the role of education in the reproduction of social inequality. It is, in What kind of knowledge and skills we need to function in society is, of course, a complicated matter. I do not have the space to go into this here, but see Biesta (2002). 8 7 other words, both an important function and an important ‘effect’ of (engaging in) education. Whereas some would argue that education should only focus on qualification – this is often seen as the justification of the ‘traditional’ school as place for the transmission and acquisition of knowledge – and whereas others defend that education has an important role to play in the socialisation of children and young people, there is a third function of education which is different from both qualification and socialisation. This function has to do with the ways in which education contributes to the individuation – or, as I prefer to call it for a number of philosophical reasons, the subjectification – of children and young people. The individuation or subjectification function might perhaps best be understood as the opposite of the socialisation function. It is not about the insertion of ‘newcomers’ into existing orders, but about ways of being that hint at independence from such orders; ways of being in which the individual is not simply a ‘specimen’ of a more encompassing order. It is, to put a big and complex concept against it, about the ways in which education makes a contribution to human freedom. 9 Whether all education actually does contribution to individuation is debatable. Some would argue that this is not necessarily the case and that the actual influence of education can – and should – be confined to qualification and socialisation. Others would argue, however, that education always impacts on individuals and their ‘modes’ and ‘ways’ of being and that, in this sense, education always has an individuating ‘effect. ’ What matters more, however — and here e need to shift the focus of the discussion from questions about the functions of education to questions about the aims and ends of education – is the ‘quality’ of individuation, i. e. , the question what forms of subjectivity are made possible in and through particular educational arrangements. It is in relation to this that some would argue – and actually have argued – that any education worthy of its name should always allow for forms of individuation and subjectification that allow those being educated to become more autonomous and independent in their thinking and acting. The distinction between the three functions of education, that is, between three areas in which education operates and has ‘effects,’ can be helpful when we engage in discussions about what constitutes good education because it can make us aware of the fact that the question about good education is a ‘composite’ question: it consists of (at least) three different questions. An answer to the question what constitutes good education should therefore always specify its views about qualification, socialisation and individuation – even in the unlikely case that one would wish to argue that only one of them matters. To say that the question of what constitutes good education is a composite question, is not to suggest that the three dimensions of education can and should be seen as entirely separate. The contrary is the case. When we engage in qualification, we always also impact on socialisation and on individuation. Similarly, when we engage in socialisation, we always do so in relation to particular content – and hence link up with the qualification function – and will have an impact on individuation. And when we engage in education that puts individuation first, we will 9 I wish to emphasise that the idea of ‘freedom’ can be articulated in a range of different ways, from egocentric, self-obsessed freedom to do anything one wants to responsible, relational and ‘difficult’ freedom – to use a phrase form the philosopher Emmanuel Levinas. 8 usually still do so in relation to particular curricular content and this will always also have socialising effects. The three functions of education an therefore best be represented in the form of a Venn-diagram, i. e. , as three overlapping areas, and the more interesting and important questions are actually about the intersections between the areas rather than the individual areas per se. The distinction between the three functions of education is not only important when we engage in discussions about the aims and purposes of education and the shape and form of good education; it can also be a helpful framework for analysing existing educational practices and policies. With regard to this I just want to make one brief observation which is that in many recent discussions about the shape and form of education, particularly at the level of education policy, the discussion is shifting more and more towards the socialisation function of education. Increasingly discussions about the aims and ends of education try to describe the kind of person that should be ‘produced’ through education, rather than that the focus is on the things that should be learned as a result of engagement with education. A ‘good’ example of this can be found in the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence which, although it refers to itself as a document about Curriculum, actually specifies the intended outcomes of education in terms of personal qualities – and many of you in this room will be familiar with the four ‘capacities’ that frame the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence: successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens, effective contributors. 0 Although I generally welcome attempts to introduce new languages into the educational discussion as they allow us to see and do things differently, I do think that the shift towards socialisation such as expressed in the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence is worrying for two reasons. One is that by emphasising what students should be or become, questions about what they should know and be able to do become secondary. The danger here is, in other words, that we forget to pay sufficient attention to the qualifi cation function of education and thus might forget that in many cases and for many individuals knowledge is still power. The other reason why I think that the shift towards socialisation, towards the ‘production’ of a particular kind of individual, is worrying, is that it gets us too far away from the individuation or subjectification function of education. It puts the emphasis too much on ‘moulding’ individuals according to particular templates and provides too little opportunity for ways of being that question and challenge such templates. In my own research I have explored this issue particularly in relation to citizenship 11 . Here I have argued that the idea of responsible citizenship puts the emphasis too much on a-political forms of citizenship that are mainly confined to doing ‘good deeds’ in the community, and provides too little opportunity for the acquisition of political literacy, the promotion of political activism and the development of political agency. Good education in the domain of citizenship should therefore not be about the production of ‘obedient citizens’ through effective socialisation, but should also operate in the domain of individuation and 10 The National Curriculum for England and Wales has recently adopted a similar language to articulate the aims of education for ‘key stage 3 and 4’. It is interesting to see, however, that they have included three of the four Scottish capacities – viz. , successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens – but not that of effective contributors. See http://curriculum. qca. org. uk/key-stages-3-and-4/aims/index. aspx [accessed 1 March 2009] 11 See, e. g. , Biesta & Lawy (2006); Biesta (2007b); Biesta (2008); Biesta (in press[b]). subjectification by promoting forms of political agency that both contribute to and are able to question the existing social, cultural and political order. From this angle it is perhaps significant that the word ‘critical’ does not appear in any of the four capacities of the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence. This brings me to my concluding remarks. Conclusions In this lecture I have tried to make a case for good education. I have not done this by specifying what I think a good school, college or university should look like. What I have done instead is first of all to argue for the importance of the question of good education itself. I have argued, in other words, that in our discussions and deliberations about education we should acknowledge openly and explicitly that we are dealing with normative questions, and hence with questions that require value judgements. These are questions, in other words, that can not be resolved simply by having more information, more data, more knowledge or more research. Secondly I have argued that in order to address the question of good education properly we need to make sure that we have a vocabulary that is appropriate for what we are discussing. It is here that I have argued for the importance of an educational vocabulary rather than a vocabulary of learning. Thirdly, I have introduced a distinction between different functions and purposes of education that might help us to ask more precise questions and have more focused discussions about what good education might look like. I see the importance of making the distinction between the three functions of education first and foremost in that it can help us to find a balance in our educational endeavours rather than to end up in one of the possible extremes. Just as an exclusive focus on qualification is problematic – and I think that the damaging effects of such a focus are continuing to influence the lives of many students and teachers around the world – I also think that an exclusive focus on socialisation is problematic – and perhaps we are beginning to see some of the problems of such an approach as well. In all cases it belongs to my definition of good education that there is also sufficient attention to opportunities for individuation and subjectification so that education can continue to contribute to what the philosopher Michel Foucault has so aptly described as â€Å"the undefined work of freedom. † Finally: for me the question of good education does not stand on its own. I do believe that we are living in a time in which the question of goodness is one that we should ask about all our collective human endeavours. This is first of all important in the economic sphere, which is why I would argue that we urgently need to shift the discussion from questions about profitable banking to questions about good banking. It is also important in the domain of politics and democracy, which means that there is also a need to engage with questions about what constitutes good politics and good democracy. The particular answers we give to these questions are perhaps slightly less important than our commitment to seeing these questions for what they are – viz. ormative questions – and our commitment to a continued engagement with these questions, both in generating answers to the question as to what might constitute good education and by continuing to raise critical questions about such answers as well. Good education should at least enable and empower everyone to engage in such crucial deliberations about the shape, form and direction of our collective endeavours. Thank you. 10 References Biesta , G. J. J. (2002). How general can Bildung be? Reflections on the future of a modern educational ideal. British Journal of Philosophy of Education 36(3), 377-390. Biesta, G. J. J. (2004a). Against learning. Reclaiming a language for education in an age of learning. Nordisk Pedagogik 23, 70-82. Biesta, G. J. J. (2004b). Education, accountability and the ethical demand. Can the democratic potential of accountability be regained? Educational Theory 54 (3), 233250. Biesta, G. J. J. (2006). Beyond Learning: Democratic Education for a Human Future. Boulder, Co: Paradigm Publishers. Biesta, G. J. J. (2007a). Why ‘what works’ won’t work. Evidence-based practice and the democratic deficit of educational research. Educational Theory 57(1), 1-22. Biesta, G. J. J. (2007b). Education and the democratic person: Towards a political understanding of democratic education. Teachers College Record 109(3), 740-769. Biesta, G. J. J. (2008). What kind of citizen? What kind of democracy? Citizenship education and the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence. Scottish Educational Review 40(2), 38-52. Biesta, G. J. J. (2009). Good Education in an Age of Measurement. Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability 21(1), 33-46. Biesta, G. J. J. (in press[a]). On the weakness of education. In D. Kerdeman et al. (eds), Philosophy of Education 2009. Biesta, G. J. J. (in press[b]). What kind of citizenship for European Higher Education? Beyond the competent active citizen. European Educational Research Journal 8(2). Biesta, G. J. J. & Lawy, R. S. (2006). From teaching citizenship to learning democracy. Overcoming individualism in research, policy and practice. Cambridge Journal of Education 36(1), 63-79. Bogotch, I. , Miron, L & Biesta, G. (2007). â€Å"Effective for What; Effective for Whom? † Two Questions SESI Should Not Ignore. In T. Townsend (ed), International Handbook of School Effectiveness and School Improvement (93-110). Dordrecht/Boston: Springer. GTCS (General Teaching Council for Scotland) (2000). The standard for chartered teacher. Vanderstraeten, R. & Biesta, G. J. J. (2006). How is education possible? A pragmatist account of communication and the social organisation of education. British Journal of Educational Studies 54(2), 160-174. 11 Biography Gert Biesta (1957) is Professor of Education at the Stirling Institute of Education and Visiting Professor for Education and Democratic Citizenship at Orebro and Malardalen University, Sweden. He is editor-in-chief of Studies in Philosophy and Education, an international journal published by Springer Science+Business Media. Before joining Stirling in December 2007 he worked at the University of Exeter (from 1999) and before that at several Universities in the Netherlands. He has a degree in Education from Leiden University, a degree in Philosophy from Erasmus University Rotterdam, and a PhD in Education from Leiden University (1992). From 1995-1997 he was a Spencer Post Doctoral Fellow with the National Academy of Education, USA. A major focus of his research is the relationship between education and democracy. His theoretical work focuses on different ways of understanding democracy, democratisation and democratic education, with particular attention to questions about educational communication both at the micro-level of classroom interaction and the macro-level of intercultural communication. He has also written about the philosophy and methodology of educational research, and the relationships between educational research, educational policy and educational practice. His empirical research focuses on democratic learning of young people and adults, with a particular emphasis on democratic learning in everyday settings. He has a research interest in vocational education and lifelong learning, democratic conceptions of the learning society, learning theories and theories of education, the professional learning of teachers, and the civic role of Higher Education. He has published widely in many national and international journals. Recent books include Derrida & Education (Routledge 2001; co-edited with Denise Egea-Kuehne); Pragmatism and Educational Research (Rowman & Littlefield, 2003; co-authored with Nicholas C. Burbules); Beyond learning. Democratic education for a human future (Paradigm Publishers, 2006; a Swedish translation, Bortom larandet: Demokratisk utbildning for en mansklig framtid, was published by Studentlitteratur in 2006; a Danish translation will appear in 2009); Improving learning cultures in Further Education (Routledge; co-authored ith David James); an English and a German version of George Herbert Mead’s Lectures on Philosophy of Education (coedited with Daniel Trohler; Verlag Julius Klinkhardt 2008; Paradigm Publishers 2008); Education, democracy and the moral life (Springer 2009; co-edited with Michael Katz ande Susan Verducci); Derrida, Deconstruction and the politics of pedagogy (Peter Lang 2009; co-authored w ith Michael A. Peters); Rethinking contexts for teaching and learning. Communities, activities and networks (Routledge 2009; coedited with Richard Edwards and Mary Thorpe). In 2008 his book Beyond Learning won the American Educational Studies Association Critics’ Choice Book Award. Contact details: The Stirling Institute of Education, University of Stirling Stirling, FK9 4LA Scotland, UK e-mail: gert. biesta@stir. ac. uk website: www. gertbiesta. com 12 The Stirling Institute of Education University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA www. ioe. stir. ac. uk Scottish Charity Number SC 011159

Desertification In Sub Sahara Africa Environmental Sciences Essay

Without a uncertainty, Planet Earth is merely the right topographic point for humanity to brood in. Planet Earth is deteriorating due to the issues and jobs cause by humanity and natural catastrophes. Earth faces many jobs day-to-day and the effects are huge toward humanity. Some parts of Earth are worse than others due to the irresponsibleness of population. Sub-Sahara Africa suffers from many jobs like dirt eroding, deforestation, and desertification but Sub-Sahara Africa ‘s chief issue is desertification. Many parts in Sub-Sahara Africa face monolithic effects of desertification. In Sub-Sahara Africa the society is altering due to desertification and the effects it has on society and furthermore desertification is easy turning and it is a chief job in Africa due to the African tropical conditions and the sloppiness of the people ‘s work toward the land. Sub-Sahara Africa is one of the chief topographic points where desertification is happening due to the overexploitation of land and irresponsibleness of the population. Using land without superior cognition and good apprehension people cause the land to deteriorates. There are many causes of land desertification in Sub-Sahara Africa and many of them are natural causes. One of the natural causes that root the land to deteriorate is soil eroding. Soil eroding is when the surface soil is take or taken away faster than the forming of dirt can take topographic point ( Welcome to the European Soil Portal ) . Soil eroding happens all around the universe in each twelvemonth. When dirt eroding happens, the good dirts are washed off go forthing merely the bad, difficult dirt left for husbandmans to farm, so without the thin dirt bed, barley anything could turn in it. Soil eroding will take a short clip to destruct first-class dirts where good dirts take highly long clip to do. In Ethiopia abou t one million dozenss of top dirt is lost every twelvemonth where there are soil erodings ( William Von Cotthern ) . The 2nd natural cause of land desertification is draught ; and draft is one of the chief causes of desertification in Africa. Every twelvemonth there are checkerss. â€Å" The Sudano-Sahel part, for case, has experienced unpredictable and terrible drouth, the most recent of which lasted about 20 old ages † ( Lilian Ahianga ) . Drought could last a really long clip and when it lasts that long, the society will be in danger. Over 25 states in the continent have faced deficit of nutrient over a decennary ago due to the long lasting of drouth ( Lilian Ahianga ) . Without rain for a really drawn-out clip, land could be tough to farm and afterward the land will be unserviceable for anything. Draught affects a monolithic sum of dry lands and with several drouths each twelvemonth, dry land debasement additions. Factors like the growing of homo and carnal population cou ld besides do desertification ( Lilian Ahianga ) . Land desertifications non merely are they being caused by natural catastrophes but are besides being degrades by humanity. The over utilizing of land is one of the many ways where humanity could do land debasement. Farmers and workers and utilizing land over and over once more without allowing the land remainder and turn back. Farmers non leting grass and land to turn back after animate being grazed on them. Animals maintain on croping on them until they turn brown or ruddy and are no longer able to turn. Colonial scientists blame the African husbandmans and Herders as the cause of the spread of desertification ( Gregory Maddox ) . They overgrazed of land and fire down forest for Savannah. The 2nd job is that there are excessively many people for one little topographic point. There are excessively many people populating on one little topographic point where things are being used every twenty-four hours over and over once more, go forthing the land no clip to turn. Trees and resources do non hold adequate clip to really turn back. Once they are cut, and are renewing, animate beings would come and eat them. The chief ground is that there are more people who cut down trees than those who works them. The populations are cutting down trees faster than trees are able to turn. Peoples did non let the cut trees to turn back alternatively they let the animate beings graze on them. About 30,000 kilometre square per twelvemonth of trees is cut down ( Aldo Bonincontro ) . Destroying trees increases the growing of desertification in Africa. Desertification in Africa causes many jobs for the population ( Jorn Laxen ) . In Sub-Sahara Africa, desertification plays a large function in the population ‘s poorness. Many people, non merely in Africa, have been affected by Desertification. Desertification has many effects on the universe today, particularly in Africa itself. There are many effects cause by desertification, such as: deceases, diseases and poornesss. Thousands of people die due to famishment. Starvation is the negative result of desertification of land which leads to deaths. Besides people deceasing every month. â€Å" Death in Sub-Sahara Africa leads to the deceases of an estimated 3 million people in the mid-1980s † ( P.C Sinha ) . The affects of desertification could do deceases to countless people. Degraded lands are no longer able to supply harvests, nutrient for animate beings, and even firewood for firing. Poverty is besides a chief ground why there is poorness in Africa. Million of people could hold insufficient of nutrient because of the worsening of harvests yield. â⠂¬Å" The consequence is that Sub-Sahara Africa is the lone part in the universe where nutrient production is stagnating, and hungriness is on the rise † ( Jan Baert ) . Hunger and poorness is lifting due to the slow and small production of harvests. Desertification causes farming to decelerate down and bring forth small sum of resources. Since there is small of harvests and resources, the economic system so will raise the monetary values of points such as rice because they are scarce. This will greatly impact the lower category people ( Lilian Ahranga ) . For every job and issue, there are bars and solution. Desertification must be stopped and authoritiess and organisations have been stepping in to assist out. Many methods had already been done to assist set down debasement ; methods such as redressing of flora screen and commanding dirt eroding. â€Å" The job appears to be a deficiency of cognition and likely besides the economic restraints that prevent the optimal use of these valuable resources † ( Jorn Laxen ) . One the best manner to forestall desertification is merely instruction. The authorities and organisation should give some kind of instruction the population, particularly husbandmans. Teaching them how to farm and to utilize the land decently in the right manner where land will non be destroyed ; is one of the chief bar of land debasement. The 2nd manner to forestall land debasement is to protect the environmental resources that are available to them. If they use it heedlessly and destroyed them wholly, they will h old a difficult clip turning back, and besides it will take them a drawn-out clip to turn. â€Å" Adopt sustainable land-use policies and sustainable direction of H2O resources † ( P.C Sinha ) . Bing able to keep the dirt birthrate decently is besides helpful. In 2005 the World Bank and NEPAD launched the TerrAfrica by mobilising alliances, cognition and raising money for Africa ( Jan Baert ) . Alan Paton, the writer of Cry, the Beloved Country, used desertification as an influence to compose Cry, the Beloved Country. The writer chooses to utilize desertification as one of the chief job to why people moved from countryside to the metropolis. In chapter one of Cry, the darling Country, Paton compared the good land with the debauched land. â€Å" Where you stand the grass is rich and matted, you can non see the dirt. But the rich green hills break downaˆÂ ¦ for they grow ruddy and bared ; they can non keep the rain and mist, and the watercourses are dry in the kloofs.Too many cowss feed upon the grass, and excessively many fires have burned it † ( 33 ) . The book started out speaking about the job of the land as a symbolism that it will effects on the characters in the book. All the immature work forces and strong misss left the topographic point to travel to the metropolis to look for work because the land could give them nil. â€Å" The work forces are off, the immature work forces and the misss are off. The dirt can non maintain them any more † ( 34 ) . Boys and misss left the topographic point because of the debauched land. And because of the motions from state side to the metropolis, the metropolis could non keep all of them. That was one of the jobs in the society that clip, there were more people in the metropolis than the state side. Most of them have to populate on the streets. And that is why there were so many black mineworkers in the metropolis. In chapter 30 the land is still in desolation. There were no rains for the land and for farming. Paton stated, â€Å" aˆÂ ¦the dirt is ill about beyond healingaˆÂ ¦they can non plow or works, and there will be hunger in this vale † ( 253 ) . The debauched land awfully effects the society. It seems like it is impossible to retrieve to its standard signifier. If the land can non be healed, the society as good can non be healed. Equally long as the land stays the manner they are now, the society can non travel on. Thingss will ne'er remain the same as they are if difficult plants are putted in. In chapter 32 there was hope at last for the land and for the society at that place, rain eventually came. â€Å" But it was this for which all work forces were waiting, the rain at last † ( 277 ) . Rain eventually came, and there was hope. Hope could merely be at that place if the people really cognize how to farm and take attention of the land. Desertification happens due to the natural causes like dirt eroding and draft, but largely due to the cause by humanity. Desertification can be prevented if instructions and larning are spread to the population. Teach the population how to farm and how to carefully utilize the resources is the first measure to forestalling land debasement. The society will be in a better form and healthier conditions if the environments are clean and good taken cared of. Take attention of the environments and in return the environments will take attention of you. Citations: â€Å" AfricaNews – Africa: Desertification Threatens Livelihoods – Articles. † AfricaNews.com – Sharing Positions on Africa. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/12768 & gt ; . Aluanga, Lilian. â€Å" AFRICA: Human-centered Catastrophe Feared As Desertification Spreads. † Online-Lab | International Institute for Journalism | InWent. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //inwent-iij-lab.org/Weblog/2009/08/20/africa-humanitarian-disaster-feared-as-desertification-spreads/ & gt ; . Bonincontro, Aldo. â€Å" Desertification in Africa – by Aldo Bonincontro – Helium. † Helium – Where Knowledge Rules. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.helium.com/items/1885501-desertification-in-africa & gt ; . Mabogurije, Akin L. â€Å" The Environmental Challenges In Sub Saharan Africa. † MIT. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //web.mit.edu/africantech/www/articles/EnvChall.htm & gt ; . Maddox, Gregory. â€Å" Sub-saharan Africa: an Environmental†¦ † Google Books. Web.22.2011. & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //books.google.com/books? id=JFSSMeNTAVkC & A ; printsec=frontcover & A ; dq=Sub-Saharan Africa: an environmental history by Gregory Maddox & A ; beginning & gt ; . Laxen, Jorn. â€Å" Rehabilitation of Degraded Lands in Sub-Saharan Africa. † European Tropical Forest Research Network. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.etfrn.org/etfrn/workshop/degradedlands/themesdrylands2week4sum.htm & gt ; . Sinha, P.c. † Desertification. â€Å" GoogleBooks.Web.22Feb.2011. & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //books.google.com /books? id=jZb2Qq9cEz0C & A ; printsec=frontcover & A ; dq=P.C Sinha & A ; hl=en & A ; ei=FY5jTanPDYG8ceDn4dwJ & A ; sa=X & A ; oi=book_result & A ; ct=result & A ; resnum=3 & A ; ved=0CDIQ6AEwAg # v=onepage & A ; q & A ; f=false & gt ; . â€Å" Sub-Saharan Africa News ( SciDev.Net ) | DESERTIFICATION. † DESERTIFICATION | All about Drought, Desertification and Poverty in the Drylands. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //desertification.wordpress.com/2007/10/06/sub-saharan-africa-newsscidevnet/ & gt ; .

Rorschach essays

Rorschach essays There are several different tests that psychologists can use to analyze different things. While some social psychology tests are like the Thematic Apperception Test or others like the Rorschach Test are ore widely used in the field, they all have the good and the bad side of the test. The Thematic Apperception Test is used primarily to see how individuals reveal parts of their own personalities while looking at an ambiguous picture. The TAT consists of 31 pictures that depict a variety of social and interpersonal situations. The subject is asked to tell a story about each picture to the examiner. Of the 31 pictures, 10 are gender-specific while 21 others can be used with adults of either sex and with children. One test found online asked you to write for 10 minutes about this picture. The test can be located at: http://www7.psy.utexas.edu/liwc/. While this particular test is only to be for example use, it does a generally good job at the evaluation. Most people have heard of the Rorschach test (pronounced "raw-shock"), but few have ever seen a real Rorschach inkblot. The blots are kept secret. When you see an inkblot in a popular article on the test (as in the Encyclopedia Britannica entry on the Rorschach test), it's a fake: it's an inkblot, but not one of the inkblots. There are only ten Rorschach inkblots. Psychologists want the blots to remain a secret from the general public so that reactions to the blots will be spontaneous. Dr. Rorschach hoped these spontaneous reactions would yield valuable clues to the test subject's personality. Whether they do remains controversial. Many psychologists think the Rorschach test is hopelessly unreliable; others see it as one of the cardinal tools of modern psycho diagnosis. Even among those who acknowledge the value of the test, there is disagreement on interpretation of responses. During the Rorschach test, the psychologists gives you points based on everything you do a ...

A Holy Nation Essays - Books Of Samuel, Samuel, Saul, Eli

A Holy Nation Essays - Books Of Samuel, Samuel, Saul, Eli A Holy Nation A Holy Nation After creating the world, a paradise for human kind, God is forced to banish Adam and Eve because they disobey His orders to not eat fruit from the tree of wisdom. This results ultimately in the fall of man to earth. Immediately from the beginning of his time on Earth, man chooses not to follow the path set before him by God but instead spreads evil throughout the world. Therefore, the inherent problem humans face is the pressure to judge between good and evil, the need to aspire to be like God. God's first solution to this problem was to flood the world killing everyone, but those on Noah's arch. God realizes, however, that this is not an answer to the problem that humans are, and decides upon a second solution, that being the Holy Nation of Israel. God creates Israel, so that the Holy Nation and its history can serve as a guiding-light to the world. Israel is therefore an example in which the world can look upon and learn from. A pivotal character within the great history of Israel, is the Holy Nation's first king, King Saul. Saul epitomizes the problematic human being, and his character fully illustrates human pride, the need to rise up and be like God in judging what is right and wrong. This pride is ultimately the central source of all other sins. The rule of Saul over the people of Israel is a major turning point for the Holy Nation, for it marks the end of a line of Judges and begins a line of Kings. Saul is anointed king of Israel due to the sin of the people of Israel. The citizens of Israel, notice not only that Samuel, the Judge, was growing old, but also that his sons, whom he appointed to succeed him as Judge, did not follow their father's ways but were intent on their own profit, taking bribes, and perverting the course of justice(8:3). As a result the people demanded a king be appointed to rule over them, even after they were given a solemn warning of the future king's tyranny (8:10-8:18). Because the Israelites reject the order of Judges, they thereby reject God's word that He will save them, and have, as a result, lost faith in God. God states to Samuel, Listen to the people and all that they are saying; they have not rejected you, it is I whom they have rejected, I whom they will not have be their King(8:7). In sp ite of His people's sin against Him, however, God finds a king to rule over Israel, and chooses Saul. In the beginning Saul is a strong and humble leader to his people. When is uncle questions him about Samuel's remarks, Saul replies, 'He told us that the donkeys had been found'... but he did not repeat what Samuel had said about his being king(10:16). He does not tell his uncle that he is to become king of Israel because he is not overconfident and prideful in his position as ruler over God's chosen ones. Moreover, Saul becomes very zealous and effective leader when he chooses to [take] a pair of oxen, cut them in pieces, and [send] messenger with the pieces all through Israel to proclaim that the same would be done to the oxen of any man who did not follow [Samuel and himself] to battle(11:5). Saul's first acts and first successes as king prove not only that he possesses the qualities of a good leader, but also reinforces in the mind of the people that he is God's chosen. Saul's first victories against the nation's enemies cause great joy and excitement amongst the Israelites. During this moment of rejoicing, Samuel gives a warning to the people of Israel that is more directed towards Saul himself. Samuel states, If you will revere the Lord and give true and loyal service, if you do not rebel against his commands, and if you and the king who reigns over you are faithful to the Lord you God, well and good, but if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against his commands, then his hands will be against you

Tropic of Cancer - Overview and Geography

Tropic of Cancer - Overview and Geography The Tropic of Cancer is a line of latitude circling the Earth at approximately 23.5Â ° north of the equator. It is the northernmost point on Earth where the suns rays can appear directly overhead at local noon. It is also one of the five major degree measures or circles of latitude dividing the Earth (the others are the Tropic of Capricorn, the equator, the Arctic Circle and the Antarctic Circle). The Tropic of Cancer is significant to Earths geography because, in addition to being the northernmost point where the suns rays are directly overhead, it also marks the northern boundary of tropics, which is the region that extends from the equator north to the Tropic of Cancer and south to the Tropic of Capricorn. Some of the Earths largest countries and/or cities are at or near the Tropic of Cancer. For example, the line passes through United States state of Hawaii, portions of Central America, northern Africa, and the Sahara Desert and is near Kolkata, India. It should also be noted that because of the greater amount of land in the Northern Hemisphere, the Tropic of Cancer passes through more cities than the equivalent Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere. Naming of the Tropic of Cancer At the June or summer solstice (around June 21) when the Tropic of Cancer was named, the sun was pointed in the direction of the constellation Cancer, thus giving the new line of latitude the name the Tropic of Cancer. However, because this name was assigned over 2,000 years ago, the sun is no longer in the constellation Cancer. It is instead located in the constellation Taurus today. For most references though, it is easiest to understand the Tropic of Cancer with its latitudinal location of 23.5Â °N. Significance of the Tropic of Cancer In addition to being used to divide the Earth into different parts for navigation and marking the northern boundary of the tropics, the Tropic of Cancer is also significant to the Earths amount of solar insolation and the creation of seasons. Solar insolation is the amount of incoming solar radiation on the Earth. It varies over the Earths surface based on the amount of direct sunlight hitting the equator and tropics and spreads north or south from there. Solar insolation is most at the subsolar point (the point on Earth that is directly beneath the Sun and where the rays hit at 90 degrees to the surface) which migrates annually between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn because of the Earths axial tilt. When the subsolar point is at the Tropic of Cancer, it is during the June solstice and this is when the northern hemisphere receives the most solar insolation. During the June solstice, because the amount of solar insolation is greatest at the Tropic of Cancer, the areas north of the tropic in the northern hemisphere also receive the most solar energy which keeps it warmest and creates summer. In addition, this is also when the areas at latitudes higher than the Arctic Circle receive 24 hours of daylight and no darkness. By contrast, the Antarctic Circle receives 24 hours of darkness and lower latitudes have their winter season because of low solar insolation, less solar energy and lower temperatures. Click here to see a simple map showing the location of the Tropic of Cancer. Reference Wikipedia. (13 June 2010). Tropic of Cancer - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropic_of_Cancer

Sociology Of Education And The Role Of Education In Society Case Study - 3

Sociology Of Education And The Role Of Education In Society - Case Study Example According to Alan Barcan(1993), the word ‘sociology’ has come from the Latin word ‘socii’ meaning ‘groups’ or ‘allies’. This means that sociology is the study of social groups. The word ‘sociology’ was first used by Auguste Comte in 1837 and it was rough during the days of Comte, it has been explained by Craig J. Calhoun, & Joseph Gerteis(2007) that theories began to be sociological. Theories began to focus on social life as an object of study. This new perspective of the social side of human existence developed, argue Craig. J. et al (2007), due to the rise of science, individualism, modern states, large scale capitalistic markets, modern industry, and European explorations and colonization. Thus, as man’s life expanded beyond his town or village, he began to study to, to use the words of The British Sociological Association (BSA) ‘how society is organized and how we experience life’. Let us see the definition given by American Sociological Association (ASA) and find out where we can place education in the domain of sociology: This definition, especially its last point, tells us how sociology is related to education since it is a unification of all studies of mankind. Thus ‘sociology of education’ and ‘educational sociology’ are the sub-disciplines of sociology and education. Education of an individual is not only confined to an individual’s life but it is also a social phenomenon in reciprocal terms. An individual is influenced by society when he gets an education and, in turn, he may influence society after getting an education. All the people of great genius like Aristotle, Confucius, Homer, Sir Isaac Newton, Galileo Galilei, Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso, Michelangelo, William Shakespeare, Abraham Lincoln, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, and others in different fields, influenced society.