Schools Killing Creativity Essay Example for Free

Schools Killing Creativity Essay In this â€Å"TED talk† segment by Ken Robinson, an English born professor explains why the educational system in the U.S. is remaining stagnant and unfulfilling to students needs. Robinson begins his arguments by stating, â€Å"The educational system of the United States has been accompanied by the same curriculum for the past 125 years†. Schools are unknowingly turning creative minds into memorizing machines to meet the criteria of acceptance for colleges across the nation. The educational system has labeled failure as inexcusable; in return generations of children become afraid to take a risk. Robinson implies, â€Å"Failure is essential to success, when a student looks at failure as no option, they neglect their ability to grow and think for themselves†. In many parts of the nation, high school dropouts exceed the number of graduates by a 60% margin. Robinson also states that, â€Å"the current educational system is robbing students of the creative minds we are all born with†. Research proves your brain’s imaginative and creative lobes are most active during childhood years. Replacing this creativity with standardization, results in a disengaged classroom. Standardized testing produces a false evaluation of a child’s capabilities, only basing statistics on the core subjects of math, science, and literacy. The average high school dropout rate in the United States remains a staggering 60% in the majority population. Within minority populations as much of 80% of students will fail to obtain a high school diploma. Unaccounted for in these statistics are students who are disengaged in the classroom, and will get nothing out of it. America stands as a global leader in money spent on education, yet we are displacing this investment of would-be graduates within our economy, to even more money spent on repairing the result of a dropout generation. An estimated one trillion dollars of revenue within our economy could be salvaged if we could take the nationwide 60% and reduce this number to 30%. Professor Robinson touches on the fact that we as humans are instinctively creative. Creativity is essential for a child to achieve something that is  new, distinct, and imaginative. Education professionals are being forced to follow specific guidelines of standard testing, resulting in a conclusion of what a child is capable of conforming to. Without a broad spectrum of testing we are limiting the student to his or her adaptability rather than what they naturally excel at. Good teaching habits, such as engaging students to think for themselves and motivating them to be creative, are being jeopardized by core curriculum. Robinson refers to education as a result of learning. Educating the students on how to learn, creates any environment the student is capable of thriving in. The system is lacking a variety of studies that engage creativity. Subjects such as the arts, humanities, social sciences and even things such as dance are not being recognized as crucial to a well rounded educ ation. Studies show overall test scores are substantially lower in schools that lack a variety of exploratory classes. Robinson argues, â€Å"to fully understand math science and literacy, one must explore a diverse culture of learning. Without a variety of knowledge and creativity the information taught in these core classes becomes meaningless†. The subjects focused on by standard testing cannot be accurately measured as a generalization of a child’s capabilities. He tells a story of girl who couldn’t focus in school. She was unable to sit still long enough to do any work she was being assigned. This behavior resulted in her being clinically classified as suffering from ADHD. While doing homework alone one afternoon, her parents examined her behavior unknowingly to her. After just minutes of sitting at her desk she would get up and begin to move around in a dancing fashion. Her parents then realized that there was nothing wrong with her at all, she was meant to be a d ancer. She went on to have one of the most successful dance careers of her generation. Robinson reinforces this story with the notion that all of us are created differently with unique talents; here stands the flaw of standardization. In all of the world’s greatest educational systems, there are similarities within the education culture that America has lacked. In these countries educators are being held to a higher standard and looked at as an investment. Here in the United States teachers are often looked at as a transportation of information. Throughout countries that thrive in education, it is realized that students are only as good as the teachers. Teaching curriculum is acknowledged at the school level where learning is actually taking place; in  comparison to state and government regulated districts, which are essentially disengaged with what is going on inside the classroom here in the US. Without the pressure to meet the demands of a set curriculum, students are able to become engaged in interests and talents individually. Throughout the entire lecture, Robinson invokes the point that Americas educational system is in need of reform. Our system of testing should accompany an overall goal of learning and not be held as primary evidence of a student’s potential. There are many variables that accompany a student’s capabilities besides what is being focused on as a means of evaluation. The standard testing should be held as partial review of capabilities, not as an entirety. Subjects that individual stud ents find spark their interests are being deemed unimportant, leaving the student to feel as though they are incapable of success. Courses that students find passion in will create a sense of curiosity in learning. When the light of curiosity becomes a student’s motivation is when true self learning takes place. The tragedy is that more than 60% of Americans drop out of high school feeling that they are unable to meet the requirements of life. Robinson makes clear of the fact, â€Å"Not any-one human is built the same; we are a world full of individuals†. School systems should give students the tools necessary to find what they are best at and pursue those areas they excel in. The lecture is ended by a request that we start changing the way we approach education. Begin to put learning before standards; with this movement we can tap into brilliant minds that otherwise would be ignored. Once this movement has begun we can in turn, start a revolution. Works Cited Robinson, Ken. Ted Talks.Ken Robinson: How to Escape Educations Death Valley.YouTube. YouTube, 10 May 2013. Web. 17 Sept. 2013. Robinson, Ken. Ted Talks. Sir Ken Robinson: Do Schools Kill Creativity? YouTube. YouTube, 06 Jan. 2007. Web. 17 Sept. 2013.

Tess, Gatsby and Rapture Essay Example for Free

Tess, Gatsby and Rapture Essay ‘For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.’ The assertion made here, being that true love does not involve physical actions but strong emotional bonds, is evident in both the novels, Tess of the D’Urbervilles as well as The Great Gatsby and in the poetry collection ‘Rapture’ as we see all three protagonists experience a volume of intense feelings towards the object of their affections; from the passionate love that they feel for their other half to sheer desperation of their others approval. However there are many physical obstacles that stand in their way, such as Alec and Tom who touch Tess and Daisy physically and materially but not emotionally. In Rapture, the lovers become separated due to the unconventional nature of their relationship, this arguably intensifies the love felt by the poet as many say, ‘Distance makes the heart grow fonder’.It is obvious to us as the reader that Tess is willing to obtain true love at all costs; even though that may mean death, this shows how very deeply Angel has touched Tess emotionally and not just physically. It shows her obsession with Angel and her dismay at Alecs persistent love interest in her; ‘I don’t see how I can help being the cause of much misery to you all your life. The river is down there. I can put an end to myself in it. I am not afraid†¦I will leave something to show that I did it myself – on account of my shame. They will not blame you then.’ Here Tess takes all the blame for Angel’s decision to end their relationship and offers to kill herself in order to save Angel the embarrassment of having to explain why his marriage failed. Tess takes the heavy burden and almost exaggerates it ‘being the cause of much misery to you all your life’ seems to be a bold statement of guilt yet it was not just her who wasn’t a virgin when Angel and Tess’s relationship commenced. The use of simple sentences in this extract gives Tess’s decision a sense of finality and determination; she will do anything to see that Ang el is happy. The use of such negative language sparks a sympathetic despair in the reader as Tess seems so set on ending her life: ‘misery’ ‘end’ ‘not’ ‘shame’ and ‘blame’ all have connotations of conclusiveness, as if nothing will change Tess’s mind because she is convinced that she must take the suffering in order to appease Angel. Her final though ‘They will not blame you’ not only evokes a sense of  definiteness but is perhaps a comment on the social conventions that the Victorian reader would be accustomed too; should one have an affair or it be discovered that a gentleman’s wife was not virginal before their marriage then the primary concern for the man was to avoid scandal as it could destroy his reputation. No matter how in the love the couple may have been, it was not easy to forgive ones wife is such a discovery was made as it was a social embarrassment and ultimately a social inconvenience. Here Tess demonstrates her knowledge of Angel’s concern as she attempts to solve this problem by suggesting that she drown herself. A modern reader would not be quite so concerned with the idea of people finding out that one was not virginal before marriage as one critic comments: her soul remains unstained regardless of what happens to her body. This comment on how Tess remains pure even though her body is violated, is a particularly modern view, society no longer frowns upon a girl if she is not chaste till marriage as they did in the Victorian era. This is why the statement ‘They will not blame you’ has such an impact on both the readers’ acceptance of the novels social context and the readers realisation that Angel has touched Tess’s heart and soul and not just her ears and lips.Similarly in the poem ‘If I Was Dead’ from Duffy’s collection ‘Rapture’ the main theme of the poem is around the idea that the love recei ved from the poets lover is strong and powerful enough to raise her body along with her own love from the dead: ‘I swear your lovewould raise me out of my grave,in my flesh and blood,like Lazarus;hungry for this,and this, and this,your living kiss.’ Duffys use of the images of death, especially the Biblical reference to the man who was awoken from the dead, in contrast to the vagarious kiss of life show the physical distance of the lovers yet it emphasis the strength of the bond of true love between them, even in death. In a similar way to the way Hardy uses Tess’s family tomb in ‘The Woman Pays’, to heighten the sense of a bleak future for Angel and Tess, Duffy uses a ‘grave’ to illustrate not only the powerful, reawakening nature of love, but the foreshadowing of the metaphorical death of their relationship. In this poem, the graphic images of ‘flesh and blood’ being restored to arise from a grave create a gothic image of the supremacy of love. Instead of using a noun such as ‘skin’ Duffy chooses the word ‘flesh’  to show the rawness of the emotions associated with death and she almost begins to compare these with the emotions indicative of love as she w rites that the speaker is ‘hungry’ for the lovers ‘living kiss’. The adjective ‘living’ provokes one to think of the kiss of life. The lover breathes life and love into the carcass of her other, in order to restore what once was there; this kiss is so heart-rending that it touches not only her lips, but her soul as it rekindles the light of life within her. Contrastingly in Gatsby, the love felt by the protagonist is never truly reciprocated as it is for Tess and Angel and Duffy and her lover, as Daisy ultimately cannot admit that she wishes to be with Gatsby and not her husband Tom. However, the love that Gatsby feels, to him is pure and all engulfing, as it is what has driven him to seek corrupt means of becoming successful as he feels this is what is stopping himself and Daisy being together. Yet Gatsby’s idealised version of Daisy is what forces his love to stand the test of time: ‘He had been full of the idea so long, dreamed it right through to the end, waited with his teeth set, so to speak, at an inconceivable pitch of intensity†¦because of the colossal vitiality of his illusion†¦no amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man can store up in his ghostly heart.’ The fact that at this point in the novel, when Gatsby and Daisy get their first intimate moments alone together, Hardy choses to describe Daisy as Gatsbys illusion is incredibly poignant.

A Study Of Food And Culture

A Study Of Food And Culture INTRODUCTION This assignment is basically based on gastronomy. In this assignment we need to discuss about gastronomy and its influences such as cultural, science sustainability and how they are influences buy gastronomy. How gastronomy is related with culture, transportation religion and many more things. MAIN BODY DEFINITION Gastronomy is the study of food and culture, with a particular focus on gourmet cuisine. Modern gastronomy has its roots in several French texts published in the 1800s, but the idea of relating food, science, society, and the arts has been around much longer. True gastronomy is a demanding multidisciplinary art examining food itself along with its context, presentation, freshness, and history. While commonly associated with gourmets and gluttony, gastronomy is actually its own discipline, although some gourmets are certainly gastronomes, as are some gluttons. The principle of gastronomy is that food is a science, in addition to an art form. By understanding how all of the senses contribute to an experience, a gastronome can more completely understand what is happening when a consumer claims to dislike or enjoy a particular food item. Gastronomy also examines the sociological implications of food, along with integrating other social science disciplines such as anthropology, psychology, and philosophy. The role of food in the fine arts such as performance art, painting, and sculpture is also examined, as part of a closer look at the role of food in society in general. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-gastronomy.htm INFLUENCE ON NATIONAL FOOD CULTURE People mostly connect to their cultural or ethnic group through food patterns. For Immigrants food now become the means of retaining their cultural identity. Each and every individual have different cultural backgrounds and have different eating habits. The ingredients, methods of preparation, preservation techniques, and types of food eaten at different meals are different among cultures. The areas and the climate factors in which families live- and geographical location where their ancestors originated also influence food likes and dislikes. These food preferences result in varieties of food choices within a different cultural or regional group. Food items themselves have meaning and some cultural identity attached to them. For example in many Western countries a box of chocolates would be viewed as an appropriate gift while in other countries chocolates might be a less appropriate gift. Different nations or countries are frequently associated with certain foods. For example, many people associate Italy with pizza and pasta but Italians eat many other foods, and types of pasta dishes are popular throughout Italy. Methods of preparation and types of food also vary by regions and culture of a nation. Some families in the United States prefer to eat meat and potatoes, but in some families meat and potatoes are not eaten on a regular basis, nor even preferred, by many in the United States, so would not be labelled as a national cuisine. Grits, a coarsely ground corn that is boiled, is eaten in the southern United States. A package of grits is only available in the largest supermarkets in the upper Midwest and its difficult to find even in large Midwestern supermarkets a long time ago. This may be called as the geographical effect. Regional food habits also exist in nations and countries but they also change by time. As people travel from place to place food habits and preferences are imported and exported. Families move to other nations, countries or places bringing their food preferences with them. They follow their old recipes with new ingredients available at different places or experiment with new recipes, incorporating ingredients to match their own tastes. In addition, food itself is imported from other countries. Nevertheless, what is considered edible or even a delicacy in some parts of the world might be considered inedible in other parts. Although most of the times food is selected with some attention to physical need, the values or beliefs by which society attaches to potential food items and define what families within a cultural group will eat. For example, both plant and animal sources may contribute to meeting nutritional requirements for protein; soybeans, beef, horsemeat, and dog meat are all adequate protein sources. Yet, due to the some values and beliefs attached to these protein sources, they are not considered in all societies. Moreover, even when the foods perceived to be undesirable are available, they are not eaten by people who have a strong emotional reaction against those potential food item. CULTURE AND RELIGION Types and food associated to British culture: British cuisine encompasses the cooking traditions of the British Isles. It reflects the cultural influence of the colonial era as well as post-war immigrations. British cuisine boasts of a rich variety of sumptuous dishes from its different regions. Staple foods include chicken, beef, pork, lamb and fish, served with potatoes and other vegetables. The most popular dishes are fish and chips, sandwiches, trifles, pies and roast As the result of both globalization and global environmental change food systems face dramatic transformations. Change in global environment influence the physical and socioeconomic conditions that underpin terrestrial and marine food systems., Globalization is also responsible for transforming the production and storage of food, , access to and consumption of food, and the quality and safety measures associated with food and eating habits. Both processes also have direct effects on agricultural production, livelihoods, and the agricultural economies as well. More important, both processes can take place at the same time and interacting to create dynamic conditions that influence vulnerability to both rapid and gradual environmental changes. Global environmental change affects food systems by various means such as, the loss of productive farmland, loss of biodiversity, and changing climate conditions, including increase in number of extreme climatic events such as droughts and floods. Globalization-related changes also include liberalization of trade in agriculture products which also spreads the eating and buying habits from different culture, and supports for agricultural production, expansion of the role of multinational corporations and supermarkets in food production and distribution, it also results in shifts toward urban and industrial land uses. Food is also considered an important part of religious observance and spiritual ritual of many faiths including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. The role and importance of food in cultural practices and religious beliefs is complex and varies among different communities. Any introduction to such a diversified and complex topic will not be able to explain each and everything. Here are some examples of some ways in which various religious groups considered food a vital part of their faith. Understanding the role of food in cultural and religious practice is an important part of showing respect and responding to needs of people from a range of religious communities. This understanding towards different food culture also helps in increasing art of food, adding dishes from different menus and also helps in increasing revenues from tourist from different cultures and traditions. However, it is important to not to make any assumptions about persons culture and beliefs. T he various faiths of Christianity include Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY In this competitive and new era chefs (the main body of kitchen) are sometimes blamed of turning their kitchens very similar into scientific laboratories, theres no doubt that when they heat a piece of meat in the kitchen the reaction that takes place is a chemical reaction as in science labs. Science and cooking both are processes that have some rules and methods to follow and also go hand-in-hand, now more than ever before. The relation between science and cuisine is nothing new; we have several examples of this relation in past years as well. Studies such as chemistry, physics, biology and botany have always been closely related to cooking and also prove their existence in various terms. The terms molecular gastronomy and molecular cuisine become the topics of debates from a long time and the existence of science-based cuisine is also a controversial issue. To know about these terms in detail or to make the practical existence of such terms we need to consider or follow the approach adopted by chefs trained for such types of kitchens and other experts who want to know why things happen and have knowledge for their chemical reactions and which reaction is useful which is not. These types of kitchens and terms such as molecular gastronomy or cuisine will be no longer the topic of debates if they run under the guidance of their experts. Technology has dramatically improved and reshaped every part of our lives including kitchen standards as well. It doesnt left any aspect of our existence untouched. It also revolutionized the way we work, entertain ourselves and even change the concept of our eating and cooking patterns. The food industry has increasingly developed and modernized by adopting more advanced and latest technologies that can help us in bringing healthier, fresher and more varieties of food. In this modern era, the marketplace offers a vast variety of foods influenced by different people and cultures and we have a wide range to choose from, at a better quality and lower prices than in the past. With the introduction of new technologies and processes businesses can offer better products and services to the consumers in increasingly larger quantities and thus, satisfy a wider range of market. The same phenomenon works for the companies in the food industry. The expression nouvelle cuisine has been used several times in the course of the history of cooking, particularly in France in the middle of the eighteenth century. It was introduced to subordinate the practice of cooking to principles of chemistry that were to be established by Lavoisier later on. People had mixed feelings about it: for instance, Voltaire wrote I must say that my stomach does not at all agree with the nouvelle cuisine.' Today nouvelle cuisine refers to a trend of opinion that appeared in France in the 1960s. At the time, it caught on rapidly and was a great international success. Yet, as it got tangled up in its contradiction, it stopped being fashionable, and nowadays it has a negative connotation. In spite of that, it was an innovative and quite important movement, which brought about a revolution within the Grande cuisine whose lessons are still present in the grand chefs minds. http://www.enotes.com/nouvelle-cuisine-reference/nouvelle-cuisine LIFESTYLE, MEDIA AND INDIVIDUALS Today is the age of media; media is now become the backbone of every society and has a vital role in every field including kitchens as well. The universe of food-related blogs in particular is vast. It is estimated that there are at least 33,000 such blogs out there in cyberspace, but no one can give an exact or even approximate number of such blogs; this is one of the new and the widely using trend of the media. Some of the examples of Social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Stumble Upon and Blog Her provide valuable means for bloggers to connect with each other and share their content and views about different food ,ingredients ,recipes and methods , while food-specific communities such as Food Buzz (and countless others!) offer even more targeted networking. Add to these mix sites where users can post their reviews of restaurants, food shops and markets, such as Yelp, Chowhound and Trip Advisor and it becomes clear that the media space related to gastronomy is very wide and virtually endless. In addition means of television also plays a very vital role; there are many TV channels that telecast many cookery shows, travel guides and also provide information about different gastronomies. Media makes easy to travel with full information about the place to be visited. GEOGRAPHY AND TRANSPORTATION: As long as there has been food in existence, there has been gastronomy in some form or another. Questions regarding our eating habits have always been around: How can we add taste and make our food special? Which ingredients provide the best boost of energy? What types of foods have healing properties in them and how can we cultivate them to get more of it? Later on, cuisine became more specialized, and cooking books and apprenticeships are also developed to provide instruction on the preparation of different kinds of food. However, it wasnt until the 1800s that gastronomy started to develop as an actual field of study. Instead of simply learning how to make food, people began to focus on how dining could be an experience-how the senses interacted in order to create a whole meal to be enjoyed. Gastronomy is such a wide concept that no country can be away from its influence. There are many countries in which the influence of gastronomy and its related terms such as molecular gastronomy can be clearly seen. The main countries influenced by gastronomy are Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, France, Belgium and many other European countries. The history and popularity of Indian food in Britain is now almost four hundred years old and it has not only affected the cuisine but also a great change in the United Kingdom but also in its native land. In this field of food the reports of occasional explorers play a great role but the story really starts with the arrival in Surat of the English merchants of the East India Company in 1608 and then again and more successfully in 1612. As with the explorers or merchants the influence of the British in India grew, so did the popularity of Indian food back in Britain, leading to the publishing of recipes and Indian ingredients and the creation of curry powder at commercial level in 1780? The introduction of curry on a menu was at the Coffee House in Norris Street, Haymarket, London in 1773 but the first establishment dedicated to Indian cuisine was the Hindostanee Coffee House at 34 George Street, Portman Square, London in 1809 as recorded in The Epicures Almanack. It was opened by Dean Mahomet (or Mohamed/Mahomed) (See article) from Patna, Bihar, India, via Cork in Ireland. He appreciated the all Indian things and also offered a house for the Nobility and Gentry where they might enjoy the Hookha with real Chilm tobacco and Indian dishes of the highest perfection with real Indian taste. He also considered the Indian chefs for the real Indian taste. http://www.menumagazine.co.uk/book/restauranthistory.html As per UK gastronomy the growth of fast food is increasing day by day like people like fish and chips, burgers, KFC and many other fast food brands rather than having the proper meal. In which the quantity of vegetarian people is very less. As per the data and research people prefer organic food rather than other normal food. They are more conscious about healthy eating. The objective of food garnishing is, usually, to portray or to show the inherent beauty of food. And, just as when you are preparing food for eating, garnishing is one of the easiest and the important way of enhancing a dish for the camera. A garnish should be chosen very carefully, so that garnish can add just the right splash of colour in the dish, textural detail and/or height which really lifts the final image of the food. Some foods, such as mousses and soups can sometimes be difficult to capture their effect because of their flat and monotone surfaces. Adding a right and appropriate garnish makes it more attractive and also captures the eye of the customers. Sustainable agriculture as a means of the local farming is the practice of farming using principles of ecology, the study of relationships between organisms and their local environment. It has been defined as an integrated process of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will remain over the long term: in other words it is farming with natural resources. Conservation of natural resources is the main aim of this practice. This practice helps in satisfying human food and fibre needs of the people by natural way. Also helps in enhancing the environmental quality by understanding ecology system. It also proves beneficial in making the most efficient and appropriate use of non-renewable resources and integrate, natural biological cycles and controls. Enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole by providing various agriculture related benefits and also helps in minimising the farming related expenses. CONCLUSION At the end of the assignment author would like to conclude gastronomy plays a vital role in the hospitality industry. Art and science of food is appreciated all over the world and is also considered as value added equipment for the hotel industry. Gastronomy is influence by many factors such as culture, beliefs science, media and many more. It is one of the emerging trends of each and every country. It is also used as a tool to attract tourist from different parts of the world. Gastronomy proves itself as a revenue generating tool for hospitality industry.

Updike, Harry Angstrom and Me :: essays research papers

This is a prose-poem on Updike. It follows Updike through his Rabbit Tetralogy. _______________________________ UPDIKE John Updike’s Rabbit tetralogy chronicles reflectively the decades since I first had contact with the Baha’i Faith back in 1953. With the help of a Guggenheim Fellowship Updike was working on the first of these four books, Rabbit, Run, when I became a Baha’i in October 1959. The book was published a few months later in 1960 and is the story of a young man, one Harry ‘Rabbit’ Angstrom, from a small town in the USA. The book concerns Harry’s attempts to escape the constraints of life. In my teens I, too, lived in a small town and, although I could see the attractiveness of escaping from social constraints, I also left the need for a set of limits. I was only too well aware of just how easily I could go beyond the appropriate limits. By the late fifties I could see what happened to those who did escape from life’s, from society’s, constraints. I knew from personal experience by my early teens, by 1957, what it was like to be c aught stealing, breaking and entering, going too far sexually, misbehaving around the family home, at school or with my play-mates and pushing the envelope of life. Had I read Updike’s book, Rabbit, Run I think I would have had my need, my desire, for limits reinforced. The Baha’i Faith provided that framework, those limits, at a critical stage in my life, my mid-teens. This Faith also provided that sense of the sacredness of life which is at the centre of Updike’s work. When I was preparing to leave North America for Australia in 1970/1 people were watching the movie Rabbit, Run. It had opened just as I began planning to leave Canada in 1970. Rabbit Redux, Updike’s sequel to Rabbit, Run came out four months after I arrived in Sydney for what became my life in Australia. Harry Angstrom took to the road in 1971 in Rabbit Redux as I took to a different road in the southern hemisphere. Updike’s final two Rabbit books took Harry Angstrom into the 1990s and his rather bleak retirement and old age. The following prose-poem compares and contrasts my life with Harry’s. –Ron Price with thanks to â€Å"Articles on John Updike’s Works,† in The New York Times on the Web.

Development Of The West Beyond The Mississippi :: American America History

Development Of The West Beyond The Mississippi The years 1840 to 1890 were a period of great growth for the United States. It was during this time period that the United states came to the conclusion that it had a manifest destiny, that is, it was commanded by god to someday occupy the entire North American continent. One of the most ardent followers of this belief was President James K. Polk. He felt that the United States had the right to whatever amount of territory it chose to, and in doing this the United States was actually doing a favor for the land it seized, by introducing it to the highly advanced culture and way of life of Americans. Shortly after his election he annexed Texas. This added a great amount of land to the United States, but more was to follow. The Oregon Territory became a part of the United States is 1846, followed by the Mexican Cession in 1848 and the Gadsden Purchase in 1853. At this point the United States had accomplished its manifest destiny, it reached from east to west, from sea to shining sea. No w that the lands it so desired were finally there, the United States faced a new problem- how to get its people to settle these lands so they would actually be worth having. Realistically, it is great to have a lot of land, but if the land is unpopulated and undeveloped, it really isn't worth much. And the government of the United States knew this. One of the reasons that many did not choose to settle there immediately was that the lands were quite simply in the middle of nowhere. They were surrounded by mountains, inhabited by hostile Indians, and poor for farming. Because of these geographical conditions, the government was forced to intervene to coax its citizens into settling the new lands. Basically the lands were not settled because they were available, they were settled because of various schemes the government concocted to make them seem desirable. The government participated in a great "push" to get its citizens to move to west. At first few people moved to the west, but this changed when gold was discovered in California in 1848. This caused a "gold rush" to the west coast which consisted of many prospectors seeking to find their fortunes in the gold mines of California. Many traveled to the west coast, however few actually found their fortunes. Development Of The West Beyond The Mississippi :: American America History Development Of The West Beyond The Mississippi The years 1840 to 1890 were a period of great growth for the United States. It was during this time period that the United states came to the conclusion that it had a manifest destiny, that is, it was commanded by god to someday occupy the entire North American continent. One of the most ardent followers of this belief was President James K. Polk. He felt that the United States had the right to whatever amount of territory it chose to, and in doing this the United States was actually doing a favor for the land it seized, by introducing it to the highly advanced culture and way of life of Americans. Shortly after his election he annexed Texas. This added a great amount of land to the United States, but more was to follow. The Oregon Territory became a part of the United States is 1846, followed by the Mexican Cession in 1848 and the Gadsden Purchase in 1853. At this point the United States had accomplished its manifest destiny, it reached from east to west, from sea to shining sea. No w that the lands it so desired were finally there, the United States faced a new problem- how to get its people to settle these lands so they would actually be worth having. Realistically, it is great to have a lot of land, but if the land is unpopulated and undeveloped, it really isn't worth much. And the government of the United States knew this. One of the reasons that many did not choose to settle there immediately was that the lands were quite simply in the middle of nowhere. They were surrounded by mountains, inhabited by hostile Indians, and poor for farming. Because of these geographical conditions, the government was forced to intervene to coax its citizens into settling the new lands. Basically the lands were not settled because they were available, they were settled because of various schemes the government concocted to make them seem desirable. The government participated in a great "push" to get its citizens to move to west. At first few people moved to the west, but this changed when gold was discovered in California in 1848. This caused a "gold rush" to the west coast which consisted of many prospectors seeking to find their fortunes in the gold mines of California. Many traveled to the west coast, however few actually found their fortunes.

Analyzing Notes of a Native Son Essay -- James Baldwin

Analyzing â€Å"Notes of a Native Son† James Baldwin is a highly renowned African-American essay writer who is best known for his ability to interweave narrative and argument into concise well-written essays. He had his first book published at the early age of 19 and has published some astounding literature during the time of civil rights activism. He succeeded himself to rise out of his poverty to become an amazing writer through self-determination and courage. In his essay entitled, â€Å"Notes of a Native Son†, Baldwin does an excellent job making use of binaries and repetition of words and phrases as well as switching back and forth from narrative to analysis. He also cleverly connects his progressively raising maturity and understanding of the world to the unique style in which Baldwin writes throughout his work. We will now dissect this essay and see how Baldwin uses special writing techniques to make for a very powerful and meaningful composition. The essay starts strongly with Baldwin providing insightful narrative in order to set the stage of his writing. By the second page of his essay, Baldwin has already developed his first binary. He emphasizes the black/white relationship. He continually refers to the â€Å"blackness† of his father and how his father was a proud, beautiful and powerful black man in his day (Baldwin 64). He then tells of his discovery of how â€Å"white people† helped to kill his father (65). Soon after, Baldwin addresses another binary, this one being life and death. His mother realizes that it was James’ father who â€Å"kept the family alive† (66). All the while, Baldwin’s father is slowly dying. Another example of the life/death binary occurs when Baldwin acknowledges that his â€Å"father had spent too much of his ener... ...ather really is as a person and is ready to express his inner feelings to his father. At the end of the essay, a strong message is conveyed. Baldwin learns that love, which is synonymous to his constant use of the word hatred, must prevail and that with love, acceptance and equal power can finally be attained (84). He also says that bitterness is pointless and that life and death are far more important and significant than the black/white power struggle. The end of the essay closes gracefully because Baldwin has now revealed the use of his writing techniques of â€Å"Notes of the Native Son† and he has also fully matured and is now able to see his father in a positive light for the very first time in his life. Works Cited Baldwin, James. â€Å"Notes of a Native Son.† 1955. James Baldwin: Collected Essays. Ed. Toni Morrison. New York: Library of America, 1998. 63-84.

Ontario Regulation 455/07 and the Demerit Point System

The Ontario Regulation 455/07 is a regulation put into place that deals with stunt driving, as well as racing and contest driving. The regulation clearly outlines and defines what races, contests, and stunt driving are, covering the many different situations and scenarios that fall under those three categories. It also outlines the many punishments that can be given to those who are caught racing or stunt driving. The punishments are extremely severe, ranging from heavy fines to jail time, license suspension, and even having your vehicle detained. The demerit point system is used to enforce safe driving, but to also discourage, dissuade, and not overly drivers who are caught breaking the law. Rather it is a system that encourages drivers to reform their actions, so as to become better and safer drivers. As the severity of the offence increases, more demerit points are given out and can result in fines, license suspension, and even jail time. Regulation 455/07 works well in conjunction with the demerit point system. Stunt driving and Racing are often the result of careless drivers. Rather then ruining the lives of these drivers by punishing them in a way that severely affects their life, demerit points can be used as a way to punish these drivers, yet at the same time encourage them to reform their ways, without destroying their current way of living. For the safety of all road users, those who break the driving regulations by participating in activities like stunt driving, racing, and contest driving, should be severely punished and reprimanded and this can be achieved in many ways, from fines to jail time and demerit points. Demerit points serve as a key way to punish such actions because of the systems tendency to encourage reform rather then just punishment for the sake of punishment.