Analysis the Song The Way We Were Essay Example for Free

Analysis the Song The Way We Were Essay There is a song—a love song that has touched several hundred thousand audiences’ hearts; it expresses the overflowing feelings of a woman who used to live in her intense true love. â€Å"The Way We Were,† by Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, and Marvin Hamlisch illustrates the innermost emotions and regret of a middle-aged woman when she reflects on the youth which she had gone through. This song has a light beat and slow tempo forming delightful sensations for the listeners, but it also leaves audiences a profound message to think about. Sophisticated audiences may find themselves in the song. It brings out fervor, especially for people who have been living in love. Marilyn Bergman uses simple words, but it is very touching and emotive. Basically, it is a classical song which was played by symphony orchestras and performed by Barbra Streisand. By just looking at the lyrics, one would feel the sentimental soul and an introspective mind of a sensitive woman. In the first line of the song, she writes â€Å"Memories, light the corners of my mind. Misty watercolor memories of the way we were. These memories have been engraved in her heart; they are neither gloomy nor euphoric, but they are vivid images which she wants to repress in the most innermost sphere of her mind. It is not just something very hurtful; it is not blissful to think of either. Her feeling is a mixture of nostalgia, melancholy, and a little bit of regret that is rushing through her body. Former familiar scenes were depicted in her mind, but, somehow, t hey are both painted with watercolor and blurred, symbolizing a mystical ethereal world that solely exists in her imagination and belongs to her only. Near the middle of the song she wonders, â€Å"If we had the chance to do it all again. Tell me would we? Could we? † She already knows her former love would never come back again; the melody sounds like she is missing and regretting her loss of love. The term â€Å"Would we? Could we? † is deliberately sung slowly and softly as mumbling is also a way to convey her thoughts. Despite her haunting regret, she prefers keeping that regret to making up her love again because she knows wistful moments and romantic longings that she has right now wouldnt exist if her love remained today. It is such an uncanny feeling and an agonizing struggle between the logic and the sentiment of a human being. The last couple lines expose changes in her mood, â€Å"Memories may be beautiful and yet whats too painful to remember. We simply choose to forget, so its the laughter we will remember whenever we remember the way we were. † She used to live in love with both happiness and bitterness, but she had to learn how to forget unpleasant experiences to keep the most exquisite feelings inside herself. Does she â€Å"simply† choose to forget? It is not something easy to do. The way Barbra Streisand sings shows internal struggling when she decides to get rid of mental pains. The word â€Å"laughter† here is not simply something funny and delightful to laugh at; it is also a pang of remorse and regret about the love and the youth that are gone from her life. Marilyn Bergman used simple words to describe emotion of the woman in this song, so it is quite easy for listeners to apprehend the meaning; however, its melody and the way Barbra Streisand performs it, the most essential factor, helps the song convey the message to audiences . The intended stress in every single word of her lyrics is absolutely touching. For example, the word â€Å"smiles† in the second line was purposely lengthened to give a hint to the audiences so that they can comprehend the whole significance of the song. It is a beautiful song evoking diverse memories for listeners. Each listener will feel and interpret the song in different ways depending on their character and their personal experiences. However, one thing for sure is that these audiences will feel more appreciative of people around them so that they will not be regretful later on.

Formal Informal Social Support Systems Health And Social Care Essay

Formal Informal Social Support Systems Health And Social Care Essay Realising that it is the natural right that all those who labour should enjoy to the fullest extent the fruits of their labour the Colonial Government of the Gold Coast initiated a package for public service workers who went on retirement after serving in the public service for over 30 years, passed an ordinance as part of the reforms in the colony. That ordinance came to be known as CAP 30. The following category of workers were entitled to enjoy this package, Ghana Armed Forces, Police Service, Fire Service, Ghana Education Service, Ghana Health Service, Civil Service etc. However, by 1972 the law was amended to allow another body, SSNIT to take responsibility of some category of workers contribution towards their retirement. After 1972, employees of the Ghana Education Service, Ghana Health Service, and Judiciary Service amongst others were directly under the SSNIT Pension Scheme with the exception of the Security Services. The Social Security Pension Scheme was established under the PNDC Law 247 of 1991. The Scheme is administered by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to cater for Civil and Public Servants, Employees in the private sector, Professionals, Traders, Artisans, Farmers and also the self-employed. The Social Security Scheme is the only basic Social Security Scheme that insures a worker against the following contingencies: Old Age, Invalidity and Death. The worker contributes 5% of his/her basic salary and the employer adds 12.5% of the workers basic salary, making a total of 17.5% which is paid to SSNIT. The rate of Contribution for Self-Employed or Voluntary Contributor is 17.5% of declared income. It would interest you to know that Government Pension or cap 30 attracts a huge sum of money than the SSNIT pension which is relatively lower. This disparity in the pension administration has brought about workers agitation for fairness in their retirement benefits. In the public sector a person qualifies for full pension at the age of 60years and you must have made a minimum contribution of 240 months in aggregate but can voluntarily go on retirement at age 55years for reduced pension and must have made a minimum contribution of 240 months. As a result of ill-health one qualifies for invalidity pension. In that case you must have made contributions for not less than 12months in aggregate within the last 36 months and you must have been declared permanently invalid and incapable of any normal gainful employment by a qualified and recognized medical officer and certified by a Regional Medical Board on which a SSNIT Medical Officer is represented. Since 1957 when the country gained independence expatriate officers in the Ghana Civil Service opted to retire and many vacancies occurred. This created the opportunity for Ghanaians who were on pension to be re-engaged in the Civil Service on contract. These officers enjoyed their pension in addition to their remuneration as contract officers. However, in 1968, the Government of Ghana ordered the cessation of the payment of the pension package in addition to the salaries attached to the contract appointment. This measure obviously did not go down well with the affected pensioners who considered it a stab at the back and a breach of faith. ( Tachie-Menson, 2003). In Accra, a group of pensioners engaged the services of lawyers to fight their cause for them. They succeeded and thus the emergence of the Ghana Government Pensioners Association for Accra which also assumed a national status. The way was then opened for branches in all the regional capitals to register members and make payment of part of their monthly dues to Accra. In Wa the pensions Association was formed in 1986 to cater for retired workers in the municipality. Pensioners under the Government Pensions Association are over six hundred as the number keep dwindling due to death. Pensioner with the SSNIT, as at February, 2010 stood at one hundred thousand four hundred and fifty eight with a retirement rate of 0.65%. It was my doubt that some retired public service workers would live uncomfortable lives after long years of contributing meaningfully to mother Ghana as those kinds of assumptions, suggestions, and my personal experience of my aged parents that prompted me to undertake this proposal in this area. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM There is a general perception out there that retirement from active service in Ghana renders one jobless and with nothing to do which often leads to frustration and early death in life if one does not plan life properly. This is attributed to the fact that people on retirement who do not plan well use their benefits to find shelter for themselves after which they end up living on their meager monthly allowance. It is claimed because most workers are not able to put up shelter during their working lives before they go on retirement. This has been the situation over the last decade and more and has rather impoverished retirees. Such claims are not hard to find in the municipality if one visits these retired workers at their homes. Therefore retired workers whose family members are not there to support them are left to their fate or are forced to put up with neighbours. It is also worrying to find frail looking pensioners go to their banks every fortnight to struggle for their allowance s. In some situations those incapacitated to the extent that they cannot make the journey to the bank would not have access to their money unless they prepare an authority note to be endorsed by the Association and countersigned by the Accountant Generals representative for the bank to effect payment, a process quite laborious. Calculation of retirement benefits of Government Pension which was originally based on the pension constant of 1/960th of ones terminal salary multiplied by the number of years served in months was reviewed in 1946 by the Harragin Salary Commission to 1/600th and has since been increased to 1/480th. The amount arrived at is spilt for 25% to be paid as gratuity and the remaining 75% as pension which is spread over 20 years and is payable monthly. On the death of a pensioner what is due him/her from the remaining period out of the twenty years is paid to his/her beneficiaries as commuted pension. (Tachie-Menson, 2003) For beneficiaries of a deceased pensioner to claim the unexpected portion of the twenty years pension there are three approaches towards that end:- (a)The nomination form filed with his Department while a civil servant in which he indicated his beneficiaries is the first to be used as authority for disbursement. However, the nomination forms can be revised at any time that the person wishes. (b)The will is the next authority to be used for disbursement, if it super cedes the nomination form. (c)In the absence of the two above, Letters of Administration prepared jointly by the head of the pensioners family on one side and the wife and children on the other, must be obtained from the Law Courts with which to claim the commuted pension. As the years roll by for inflation to set in adjustments are made to salaries by the grant of allowances in various forms to the basic salaries of Civil Servants. However, when allowances are added to the basic salaries to mitigate the effect of the rising cost of living, it does not reflect in the pension calculation. This prompts the Ghana Government Pensioners Association to enter into serious negotiations with the Government for pension to be increase. When the consolidated salary was introduced pensioners were left in the lurch. The Associations negotiating machinery was put to the test with the bargaining power of the Public Services Workers Union of which the Association is a Division; Government then consented to the grant of 50%. Therefore to address the issue of social support for the retired public sector workers in the municipality, it is important to know that the enormous concern of this essay is focused on the poor adoption of measures on the part of local authorities and community members to provide additional welfare resources and other social interventions to support the retired. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY: This research would give an in-depth knowledge of the formal and informal social support systems of retired workers and to know the plight of retired workers so as to come out with remedies to assist these aged citizens. It would also contribute to prepare would- be retirees to adequately plan for their future retirement. Furthermore, before a research of this nature is meaningfully carried out in the municipality of Wa, it is imperative to have some knowledge about what the area under study is made up of. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The objectives of the study are as follows: Specific objective: A. To evaluate the adequacy of available formal and informal support and welfare resources to the retired persons at the community level. The investigation will be directed toward the identification of social support systems that would meet the growing and changing needs of the retired. GENERAL OBJECTIVES: 1. To determine, in some Ghanaian communities, social support systems for elderly persons. 2. To study both support providers and the beneficiaries comprehensively in order to understand how poverty and the needs of the retired are distributed, and how they are dealt with in practice. 3. To determine the degree of success of formal interventions of support provision to the elderly. 4. To ascertain the social pattern of relief and support, and to draw the social implications of the existing and changing patterns so that appropriate and adequate social policies may be formulated. RESEARCH QUESTIONS: These specific objectives above will be framed around the following specific and general questions: How adequate are the formal and informal social support and welfare resources of retired public sector workers? GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. What are the general cultural expectations about the retired person in the community and how are these changing? 2. What resources are available to them? 3. To what extent do retired persons avail themselves of the community resources and at what cost? 4. What factors encourage or discourage utilization of such resources? 5. To what extent do the resources available complement one another to meet the needs of the retired and what needs are left unmet? 6. What are the principles of reciprocity involved in these various support arrangements in the family and the community? LITERATURE REVIEW: In reviewing literature, the study will triangulate conceptual and theoretical frame work of the topic understudy. The operational definition of key concepts include the terms formal, informal, social support systems and public sector workers. I am interested in defining formal as the official government situation in the line of events. Informal means private and unofficial initiative. Social support system means social interventions to the vulnerable. My construct of these concepts is similar to other concepts that are in use. However, in the past Social welfare protection, in the form of insurance and assistance programmes, emerged in Europe in the 1800s in order to provide citizens with an economic safety net during periods of illness, economic hardship, and other shocks as discussed (Palacios Sluchynsky, 2006). Today, nearly every country has some form of social protection developed to provide economic support in times of need (International Social Security Association, 2005). Assistance comes in the form of old-age pensions, survivor benefits, family allowances or other supports. In Africa, the author suggests that social welfare programmes were originally developed in the 1950s and 1960s as a safety net for white workers (Dixon, 1987). Employer-based contributory pensions were the dominant model. Still today, these pensions primarily serve the wealthiest workers who live in urban areas and have secure careers in the public sector (Palacios Sluchynsky, 2006). Those who are excluded from these benefits are left to rely upon the traditional safety net of family aid, mutual support, and communal living. For example, in Kenya, the clan system has operated as a labour union world, pooling resources and providing extra support during vulnerable periods (Dixon, 1987). This informal system has eroded. However, as countries have developed and urbanized, sources of livelihoods have diversified, family sizes shrunk, and the population aged. Moreover, throughout sub-Saharan Africa, poverty has further destabilized households, changed demographic patterns and orphaned enormous numbers of children (UNICEF, 2006). Vulnerable populations face a social protection vacuum when both formal programmes and informal practices fail to provide the safety nets that families need to survive, even though social protection is a proven component in fighting poverty and responding to families overwhelmed by disease or other shocks (Barrientos DeJong, 2004; Bourguignon, Ferreira, Leite, 2002; Chronic Poverty Research Centre, 2005; Skoufias di Maro, 2006). Throughout Africa, social protection programmes could well be mechanisms that enable families to economically survive and help children reach their potential. The reality that social welfare schemes in Africa exclude more people than they cover, has been established (Dixon, 1987; Fultz Pieris, 1999; Taylor, 2001) and yet there are important reasons to revisit this topic. He argues that in the last decade, a growing number of countries have expanded or developed new programmes in an effort to reduce poverty as well as to invest in human and economic development. Evidence of the growing momentum around social protection schemes include the Livingstone Call For Action (2006) where thirteen Eastern and Southern African governments pledged to draft costed national social transfer plans within two to three years. In a related situation, the African Union is driving and supporting efforts to promote the development of better social welfare systems; while heads of states throughout the world, have committed to building, where needed, and supporting the social security systems that protects the aged (United Nations General Assembly, 2006). The purpose of this paper is to investigate the characteristics of existing social welfare policies in Ghana and countries throughout Africa. These policies are described and the characteristics of existing social welfare schemes are analyzed in order to facilitate dialogue on how governments, supported by the international community, can improve current welfare schemes and build new systems that are better aligned with the needs of vulnerable populations, in order to provide a meaningful social safety net. METHODOLOGY: In order to examine the characteristics of government and employer provided social support schemes to retired workers, the research must conduct an enquiry aimed at increasing knowledge based on facts. Therefore to achieve this, a systematic method and instruments of collating and collecting data should be used since the appropriateness of these methods and instruments to a large extent determine the validity and reliability of the data. Also the sample used should be a true representation of the population as well as the instrument utilized in the research. STUDY AREA The Wa Municipality is one of the oldest districts in the region, and the biggest of the nine districts. It is the capital town of the region. The estimated population of Wa Municipality for 2008 is 124,476 as against 105,065 in 2000, an increase of about19%. The population density of the area is 38 persons per square kilometers. It has about 32 communities. Because Wa doubles as the Municipal and Regional capital, it has a high population growth rate of 4% per annum with a greater proportion of the total population of the Municipality and the Region concentrated in it. Wa Municipality covers the Southwestern parts of the region. It stretches from longitude 1Ù’Â °40N to 2Â ° 45N and from latitude 9Â ° 32W to 10Â ° 20W. It covers an area of approximately 5899.30 square kilometers, which is about 32% and 2.56%of the region and the nation respectively. To the South, Southwest and Southeast, Wa Municipality shares common boundaries with Wa West/Wa East, Wa West and Wa East Districts respectively. To the north, Wa Municipality is bordered by Nadwoli District. It has more retired civil and public servants and also suitable in terms of providing sufficient sample sizes of retired persons. TARGET POPULATION The target population for this research is the retired civil and public sector workers in the municipality and their families. Retired civil and public sector workers are of two categories. The first category is made up of pensioners under Government Pension scheme and the second category is made up of pensioners under SSNIT Pension scheme. SAMPLE A number of samples will be drawn for the study. Unlike Census, where the entire population is covered by the study, sampling enables a researcher to study a relatively small part of the target population and yet obtain accurate and detailed data that are representative of the whole at a lower cost (Sarantakos, 2005). . The first sample of respondents will be made up of community members who are 60 years and above. The second respondents will be made up of family members, kin relationship and local authorities. SAMPLING PROCEDURE A snowball sampling procedure will be used. By this method a retired public sector worker is identified within the community and interviewed. This first respondent then leads the researcher to the next respondent who also falls with the target group. The process is continued until the required number of respondents is interviewed. CHOICE OF RESEARCH METHOD Considerable interest is shown in the choice of research methods to use in this research proposal. There is the quantitative data and method approach which often is associated with positivism, the prevailing paradigm in recent times. Under this approach scientific methods can more or less readily represent and measure concepts which seek to predict and explain causal relations among key variables. However, some critics are of the view that positivistic methods reduce the contextual meanings in the process of developing quantified measures of phenomena. Though the issue of empirical approach to research has been justified by its success in measuring quantitative research, in more recent years, scientists have been challenged to explain phenomena that defy measurement and their inability to quantitatively measure some phenomena, and the dissatisfaction with which the results of measurement of other phenomena have led to an intense search for other approaches to study human phenomena. A modern approach, which came to be known as post positivism, is a recent evolution of positivism which focus has been on qualitative methods, and is modeled on positivistic methods and experimental designs (Miles and Huberman, 1993). This approach has led to the acceptance of qualitative research approach which does not need empirical data to discover knowledge. However, one cannot help but to stuck by the success of qualitative research methods in the market place of academic ideas (Atkinson, 1995, p. 117). The tradition of using qualitative methods to study human phenomena is grounded in the social sciences. The tradition came about because aspects of human values, culture, and relationships were unable to be described fully using quantitative research methods. More recently, the practice of qualitative research has expanded to clinical settings because empirical approaches have proven to be of limited service in answering some of the challenges and pressing clinical questions, especially where human subjectivity and interpretation are involved (Thorne, 1997, p. 28). However, the use of qualitative research has its own flaws as well. It is unable to study relationships between variables with the degree of accuracy that is required to establish social trends. For the purpose of this proposal a triangulation of qualitative and quantitative methodology would be used to analyse data. However qualitative method has a more flexible approach in pr ocedure to construction of research design in the sampling, data collection and processing and reporting. DATA COLLECTION Data will be collected from a variety of sources within the selected community, from families, kin, neighbours, educationists, legal and health practitioners, from neighbourhood and community associations, religious groups, welfare agencies, specialised groups such as trade unions, from local councils and other organised groups. Further information gathered will come from retired persons themselves, from their families/kin, extra familial networks, neighbourhood, their community and from state agencies. The material gathered from these levels will be in a complementary relationship to one another in order to approximate a high degree of reliability and validity. The principal data that will be gathered include the followings: (a) Community profile: geographic, demographic, historical, political-social and economic conditions of the community, placed within the national context. (b) Prevailing cultural norms and the expectations concerning the retired persons and their care, conceptions about reciprocity and exchange, family and kinship relationship etc. (c) Inventory and detailed descriptions of indigenous informal support systems and of formal support systems available within the community. Another source of data collection will be a historical review of formal and informal support systems available in the community and local levels. At the formal level, data will include the public services and programmes instituted by the government at different levels. At the informal level, data will include information on the traditional supporting roles played by family, kin, patrons and others. Data collection will proceed by means of primary sources of data such as interviews, questionnaire, and focus group discussions. Secondary data through existing literature will be used by the researcher. In terms of priorities, it is expected that questionnaires will be constructed and pretested. INTERVIEWS The interview is a face to face meeting between a questioner and a respondent, or an oral presentation of an opinion or attitude scale (Zikmund, 1994). Structured interview will be used for meeting the respondents. It will however be inter space with unstructured interviews when interacting with non pensioners. QUESTIONNAIRES A questionnaire is a written instrument that contains a series of questions or statements called items that attempts to collect information on a particular topic. It is useful for large scale surveys that involve collection of data from literate respondents. Questionnaire will be administered to pensioners as well. FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION Another source of data collection will be focus group discussions. This third phase about 9-12 pensioners will be grouped for discussions about their personal experience before and after active service. The selection of participant will be balance in terms of sex to give it a fair representation. DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION In recording the information or data gathered, I will employ both quantitative and qualitative analysis. Data will be described and in other cases subjected to quantitative analysis regarding trends in each dimension of the topic. Correlations between aspects of the topic and a series of other variables to establish more detailed results will be conducted. Beyond this, the researcher is expected to explain behaviours more extensively and more accurately. Where data needs empirical analysis quantitative model will be used and where it needs description and collection and analysis occur simultaneously, qualitative model will be suitable. INTENDED BENEFITS The Government under the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare is seriously considering the development of a national policy for the aged. Local authorities should compliment government effort by initiating social and community activities to engage the elderly in the community as well as supplement government efforts of finding welfare resources for them. The results of this study should identify and address gaps in existing interventions. My contribution to the study is to draw to attention that every worker dreams of going on retirement one day. Therefore adequate preparations should be made for the aged who have live most of their life working to develop the country so that they dont retire and still wallow in poverty. My motivation stern from the very experience of having to handle my aged parents who were once public servants and are now on retirement and in addition to relations and friends who are affected in one way or another of their aged relatives. The intention of spending time and money on this exercise is to bring about an improvement of the status quo. TIME PLAN PHASE 1 PHASE 2 PHASE 3 FROM TO FROM TO FROM TO DATA GATHERING METHOD 1 use of questions 2 interviews 3Focus grp Dis. June-July. Pre test Decem.-Jan. Retired workers. June-July Cap 30 Retired Workers Oct. Nov. August-September Commty. profile Feb-Mar. Families Kin. Commty mmb August Sept. SSNIT Retired Workers Octob.- Novem. Prevailng cul. Norm April.-May edu, Leg., Health workrs ANALYSIS METHODS 1 Qualitative Mainly descriptive analysis of data. Often collection and analysis will occur simultaneously. METHODS 2Quantitative Mainly statistical analysis of data. Correlation between aspects of the topic and a series of variables will be established. BUDGET. Activity Quantity/number Frequency Unit Cost Total Cost GHÂ ¢ Internet Browsing Browsing and printing 20.00 Documents acquired 40.00 Travel expenses Fuel for local movement 20.00 Feeding accommodation Rent for two years and food GHÂ ¢ 120.00 240.00 Printing and photo copying questionnaires 15 pages 100 respondents 100.00 Printing 80 pages 8 copies 60GP 384.00 Binding of books 8 copies GHÂ ¢10.00 80.00 Grant Total GHÂ ¢884.00

Developing the Literate Child

Developing the Literate Child Introduction ‘Early-years educators relate what is being taught to what children  already know. In order to extend each child’s learning they support  and guide children through each new stage of learning. They know  that the abilities and attitudes that young children develop in the  early years are an important part of a life-long journey during which  children will need to acquire all the language skills necessary to  interpret, manipulate, control and organize language for their own  present and future purposes.’ (Browne 1996, vii) The above quote neatly summarises the need to ensure that young children’s language development is fostered in the best possible way by educators. What children learn now can have a life-long impact upon how they interact with the world in future. It is the child’s teacher, who has the capacity to greatly influence how a child acquires and uses language, to assess what the child already knows, and to use this knowledge to foster and guide the child through, ‘each new stage of learning,’ (Browne 1996, vii). It was with this clear intention in mind, with which the following study was undertaken. The aim, to assess one child’s current speaking and listening, reading and writing skills, to analyse any observations carefully, and to use the information gathered as a basis for planning the child’s future learning needs. The child chosen, a female, was aged 5 years and 9 months at the time of the study and does not have any recognised special educati onal needs. She will, henceforth, be referred to as, ‘Child A,’ for the remainder of the report. Reading Analysis Listening to Child A read on a one-to-one basis was extremely informative. She is starting to use some expression in her voice, and is attempting to make the text sound more like natural language, however, she has little sense of phrase boundaries, and consequently, can often sound stilted. She regularly has to decode words on a word-by-word basis, but is not always successful in her attempts, meaning that the language does not flow. There were frequent extended pauses during the reading of each sentence. On a number of occasions Child A was unable to decode a word but had a limited number of alternative strategies available to her, in order to help her to continue reading. The miscue analyses showed that Child A’s average negative miscue rate was 8.06% for the books chosen from her particular reading ‘stage’. It is recommended that when matching a book to a reader the negative miscue rate should lie somewhere between 3% and 8%, with a miscue rate of 10% representing frustration level, (Moon et al. 1994, 116).This evidence may suggest that the text was too difficult for Child A, resulting in a negative effect on her confidence and interest. Graham and Kelly propound that, ‘Surprising insights into children’s reading can emerge in the one-to-one conversations which you have with them,’ (Graham and Kelly 1997, 115). I talked at length with Child A and we discussed her reading habits and attitudes towards books. It quickly became obvious that Child A loves books in many forms. She confided that she often imagines that she is the princess in the stories which are read to her. Child A likes to look at the pictures in books and tell her own stories from these, but feels unable to read the words alone. It became clear that Child A has access to many books at home, and Mum and Dad evidently read a lot. She delighted in recounting her first experience of visiting a library, which occurred recently, and she was given ample time to choose a book to take home. Child A proudly confided that she knew the book by heart as she had read it that often. It was evident that Child A, not only enjoys reading, but also see s herself as a good reader. Observation of Child A during several guided reading sessions with her class teacher, presented a different picture. Child A frequently became easily distracted, and failed to focus on the text which was in front of her. She appeared to be restless and anxious to move off onto different activities. Child A was confident when attempting to read a word she thought she knew, however, when she came across an unfamiliar word she would not attempt to read it. With prompting she would begin to ‘sound’ a word out, but often gave up before completing the word. Again, Child A seems over reliant on picture cues and was attempting to tell the story from the pictures. She remained unfocused throughout each guided reading session and while other children were turning the pages of their books, Child A sat with her book shut. She was unable to participate in the group discussion concerning the book and was unable to relate the main points of the story to the teacher when asked. Child A was also observed during shared whole-class reading sessions. While she did not openly volunteer answers to the questions asked, she did respond once the class teacher asked her a direct question. In consideration of the above evidence, and in conjunction with the level descriptors provided by the National Curriculum (www.nc.uk.net), it is possible to suggest that Child A is working at Level One in terms of her reading: ‘Pupils recognise familiar words in simple texts. They use their  knowledge of letters and sound-symbol relationships in order to  read words and to establish meaning when reading aloud. In these   activities they sometimes require support. They express their   response to poems, stories and non-fiction by identifying aspects   they like.’ (www.nc.uk.net) However, it is clear that Child A meets only part of this level descriptor, as she is not yet using her phonic knowledge to read words, and to use the words to comprehend the story. Implications for Teaching and Learning: Reading It is clear from the evidence given above that Child A is not a confident of fluent reader. She is working in the early stages of National Curriculum level 1, and will need specific support if she is to begin to work in the later stages of the level, and indeed to start to work towards National Curriculum level 2. The problems with Child A’s use of expression and lack of awareness of phrase boundaries, could perhaps be addressed by adults modelling the reading process. Graham and Kelly suggest that this is a viable way of first introducing a book to a child, before they are given the opportunity to read the book for themselves, (Graham and Kelly 1997, 105). This could give Child A the confidence she needs and will expose her to the way books should be read, using lots of expression. It will also aid her awareness of phrase boundaries, particularly if the adult traces the text with their finger as they read and makes exaggerated pauses when full stops or commas are encountered. Child A’s reluctance to join in group and class discussion about books could be a result of a lack of confidence in her own abilities, or perhaps she is unsure of how to respond correctly and does not want to ‘risk,’ getting it wrong. Again, one-one-one reading sessions could be an ideal way to address this problem. Graham and Kelly (1997) suggest that there should be a specific pattern to one-on-one reading sessions with young children, this pattern consists of five separate steps. ‘Warming up the text,’ allows children to look at the book chosen with an adult, handling it and making links with their own experiences, making them feel more comfortable before they begin reading (Graham and Kelly 1997, 105). ‘Reviewing the book,’ is also an important part of the confidence building process, and would allow Child A to give her opinion on the book without fear of failure, (Graham and Kelly 1997, 106). These strategies will hopefully help to b uild Child A’s self confidence and she should then eventually be able to give her opinions in shared and guided reading sessions. The miscue analyses also indicated that the books from Child A’s ‘shelf,’ were perhaps too difficult for her, resulting in boredom and frustration, this could also have been the case during the guided reading sessions. Child A should be given books from a ‘lower shelf,’ to read in order to build up her self confidence. In addition to this, being placed with children of a similar, or slightly lower, ability for guided reading sessions could also have a positive impact. Speaking and Listening Analysis During whole-class, teacher-led activities Child A did not speak unless she was asked a direct question by the class teacher. On such occasions, Child A would sometimes respond accurately, at other times she would not respond at all. When the children were asked to respond to questions by raising their hands, Child A would not put up her hand. During such teaching sessions, Child A was often observed to be very restless, although she was keen to sit right at the front. The children were regularly asked to work with ‘talking partners,’ during the direct teaching, it was observed that Child A never responded to her partner in such situations, simply refusing to speak. During independent activities, Child A was observed to ignore other children on her table. Often her peers attempted to draw her into their activity or conversation, however, she did not respond to them in anyway, and indeed seemed to ignore them. Child A was also observed during ‘free-play,’ situations. Generally Child A would remain on her self-chosen task and did not initiate conversation with her peers. The exception to this being conflict situations, where Child A was extremely vocal in expressing her unhappiness to another child. When surrounded by other children, Child A still did not join in with their chatter. During free-play Child A would occasionally respond to a direct question from an adult observer, but at other times would attempt to ignore them. Occasionally Child A would address a direct comment to an adult observer, in relation to her self-generated task, but did not then become engaged in conversation. Play-times seemed to present a different view of Child A, in terms of her speaking and listening ability. She was observed on several occasions playing, with another girl from her class, a variety of different clapping and singing games. The two girls demonstrated different games to each other, and were evidently listening and responding to each other. ‘Pupils talk about matters of immediate interest. They listen to others  and usually respond appropriately. They convey simple meanings to  a range of listeners, speaking audibly, and begin to extend their ideas  or accounts by providing some detail.’ (www.nc.uk.net) This level descriptor indicates that, although Child A only meets part of the criteria for National Curriculum level 1, she is working at the lower end of this level. The observations made in the playground show that Child A is able, when the opportunity presents itself, to, ‘talk about matters of immediate interest,’ (www.nc.uk.net). Implications for Teaching and Learning: Speaking and Listening The evidence collected suggests that although Child A is confident when speaking to her peers at playtimes, she is not comfortable during class or group situations on and often prefers to remain silent. It is important to develop her ability to, ‘listen to others,’ and to, ‘respond appropriately,’ if Child A is to work towards National Curriculum level 2 for speaking and listening (www.nc.uk.net ). One of the key learning objectives for speaking and listening for children in Year One is, ‘to ask and answer questions, make relevant contributions, offer suggestions and take turns,’ (DFES 2003a, 24). The document Speaking, Listening, Learning: working with children in Key Stages 1 and 2 (DFES 2003a), offers some good suggestions for teaching towards this learning objective, and recommends a great deal of paired work, and teacher modelling of how to ask and answer questions. If Child A was able to observe adults modelling paired work, or some of her peers engaged in discussion work, she may start to feel sufficiently confident enough to join in herself. An additional strategy to help Child A during paired work, might be to try her with a variety of different partners to see if she responds better to a certain child. ‘All areas of the curriculum offer distinct opportunities for developing children’s speaking and listening,’ (DFES 2003b, 11) and consequently it may be possible to engage Child B more fully in speaking and listening activities when linked to a subject she enjoys. The use of paired discussion, could be better suited to a science lesson, for example, rather than confining such discussions to English lessons. Writing Analysis Several conversations with Child A led to the conclusion that she does perceive herself as a good writer. She enjoys writing for a purpose, she explained that she regularly writes lists and stories at home, giving them to her parents to read. It is clear from examining the writing samples, that while Child A is confidently identifying the initial and final phonemes in words, and writing these down, she appears to be having more difficulty with medial phonemes, as many of these are missing from the words she has written down. For example in Appendix III, the writing clearly shows that Child A has attempted to write the word, ‘wonderful,’ however she has clearly identified the sounds at the beginning and ends of the word, but the middle sounds have not been clearly audible to her, resulting in the word, ‘wunful.’ The three samples of Child A’s writing which were examined (see Appendices I, II and III), indicate that she is making phonetically plausible attempts at words as the writing can be clearly read without the aid of the child in most places. Child A does show an awareness of how to use full stops, although these are not consistently in the correct places. She does not yet seem aware that it is necessary to leave a clear space in between her words, and only does so in a couple of places. The evidence listed above, in conjunction with the writing samples contained within Appendices I, II, and III, indicate that Child A is working at National Curriculum level 1: ‘Pupils’ writing communicates meaning through simple words and  phrases. In their reading or their writing, pupils begin to show  awareness of how full stops are used. Letters are usually clearly  shaped and correctly oriented. (www.nc.uk.net ) It is clear from the above level descriptor, that although Child A is working at National Curriculum level 1, she does not meet all of the listed criteria and, therefore, should not be assessed for level 2. Implications for Teaching and Learning: Writing The evidence given supports the suggestion that Child A is progressing through National Curriculum level 1 and into level 2. There are several things that could be done to support this transition. It could be said that her main development point is to improve her spelling and to start to recognise medial sounds in words. Child A also needs to start leaving finger spaces in between words and to start using full stops correctly. The publication, Progression in Phonics: materials for whole class teaching, (DFES 1999) provides lots of suggestions for improving Child A’s ability to hear medial sounds. For example, the game, ‘Croaker,’ develops the children’s ability to hear and identify phonemes in a specified part of the word, using a puppet, (DFES 1999, 26). Such a game could improve Child A’s ability to hear and identify medial phonemes with the aim of improving her spelling. Reid suggests that shared and modelled writing are effective ways of supporting young children’s writing development, (Reid in Bentley and Burman et al. 1999, 103-104). This could be a good way of improving Child A’s use of finger spaces and full stops. If the teacher models the correct use of full stops and finger spaces, and also makes lots of deliberate mistakes which the children can help to correct, Child A will begin to understand how to use full stops and finger spaces effectively in her own writing. Conclusion In conclusion, the evidence presented above indicates that Child A is working at National Curriculum level 1 for her reading, writing and speaking and listening skills. It has already been suggested that effective teachers use what children already know as a basis for developing their language skills and facilitating their progression. The evidence collected has been carefully analysed with this aim in mind, and areas for the development of Child A’s literacy skills have been identified. Adult modelling of the reading and writing process should play a key part in this development, if Child A is to make good progress towards National Curriculum level 2. Peer modelling could also play an important role, and could also help to foster Child A’s self confidence. It is important that all these suggestions are linked to other areas of the curriculum in order to engage and interest Child A, although this should also be of paramount importance when teaching all children. If all these suggestions are put into action, Child A should start to make sound progress and will, in addition, be playing an important part in this progression herself. Bibliography Browne, Ann (1996) Developing Language and Literacy 3-8. London: Paul Chapman Publishing Limited. DFES (1999) Progression In Phonics: Materials for Whole-Class Teaching (The National Literacy Strategy) London: Department for Education and Employment DFES (2003a) Speaking, Listening, Learning: working with children in Key Stages 1 and 2: Teaching objectives and classroom activities. London: Department for Education and Employment DFES (2003b) Speaking, Listening, Learning: working with children in Key Stages 1 and 2: Handbook. London: Department for Education and Employment Graham, Judith and Kelly, Alison (1997) Reading Under Control: Teaching Reading in the Primary School. London: David Fulton Publishers Ltd. Moon, Cliff and Bourne, Jill (1994) The Open University Resource Pack: Learning to Teach Reading. Milton Keynes: The Open University. Reid, Dee Writing at Key Stage 1 in Bentley, Diana, Burman, Christine, Chamberlin, Rosemary et al. The Really Practical Guide to Primary English ( 1999) London: Stanley Thorne Publishers Ltd. www.nc.uk.net

Alexander The Great Essay -- essays research papers

Alexander the Great is said to be one of the greatest conquerors of all time, and yet, his significance in battle showed up late in his life. His early years were spent in poverty, and as the years progressed, his dream of being a war hero grew dimmer and dimmer.Ironically, while he was later known as a war hero, he was still feared by all because of his reputation as a drinker and murderer. But first, his background. He was born in 356 BC. His parents were Philip, the brother of King Perdiccas III of Macedon, in Northern Greece. His mother was Olympias, daughter of King Neoptolemus I of Epirus, in modern Albania. He also had a younger sister, Cleopatra (not the famous Egyptian queen).However, this family was not as ordinary as one might think. In fact, his parents absolutely hated each other. Philip had complied with Macedonian tradition and had a few wives. Soon, one of his wives had a baby which had mysteriously become disabled after birth. It was said that the disability was due to poisoning from Olympias. Olympias sometimes told Alexander that Philip wasn’t his real father, but this probably wasn’t true.After all, Philip certainly did seem to care for Alexander as if he was his real son. He even appointed Aristotle himself as Alexander’s first and only tutor. Yet, there were some things about Alexander that made Philip angry. He hated the fact that his was very skinny and the fact that he had a high-pitched voice. Still, Alexander felt lucky to have this man as his father and mentor. In 359 BC, when Alexander was three, Philip’s Brother, King Peridcaas III, died. It was originally planned that his son, Amyntas, was tosucceed him with Philip as his regent, but Philip usurped his nephew’s throne and made himself King Philip II. In a few decades, he proved to be a stronger king and he eventually conquered most of Greece. When he was in his teens, Alexander’s father came to him one day and told him that he had to leave to fight in a war. Thus Alexander, being his regent, would have to serve for the time being. While his father was away, Alexander led an expedition to a wild region of modern day Bulgaria. Here, he found a race of wild barbarians, whom he later subdued. He, then, established his first city, Alexandropolis, at the site of this defeat. This made his strength apparent to everyone and ... ...y from Roxane for a long period of time. His men refused to go any further, however, and he turned back to go home. On the march home, he fought many cities, and took an arrow in the chest, but lived.On a later visit to Persia, he found that many of his Governors had abused their power. He had them executed and, in an attempt to reunite the two civilizations, he married the old King’s daughter, Barsine, while still married to Roxane. His best friend, Hephaestion, married Barsine’s sister, Drypetis. He even gave some Persians high rankings in his army. But these attempts failed and even the marriages broke up.In the fall of 324 BC, Alexander’s best friend, Hephaestion, died.Alexander was heartbroken and in the following summer, Alexander became ill and died on June 13 in Babylon at the age of 32. Modern historians have long suspected that he died from Malaria, but, recently, it has been suggested that Typhoid Fever was the culprit. Today, we know Alexander as one of the greatest generals, leaders, and conquerors of all time, and we know that this was his main goal in life... To be remembered, not as a villain, but as his childhood dream.....A war hero.

Discuss the similarities and differences between ?new terrorism? and th

Pantha rei – as it was stated by the Greek philosopher, Heraclites of Ephesus (sixth and fifth centuries B.C.) – everything flows, everything changes. Change in the contemporary world is an extremely fast process. Nothing remains the same as it was in the past. In political science especially, some notions (e.g. sovereignty) demand redefinition. The changing nature of all things also includes the political concept of terrorism. The official approach to this changing terrorism is rather complicated. The terrorist of yesterday is the hero of today, and the hero of yesterday becomes the terrorist of today . There is then a great need to know what contemporary terrorism is and what it is not. Terrorism is a calculated use of power to achieve a political change, thus violence – or equally important, the threat of violence – is used and directed in pursuit of, or in service of a political aim . Terrorism is an expression of political strategy, a willful choice made by an organization for political and strategic reasons (efficacy) rather than as the unintended outcome of psychological or social factors . However, terrorism is difficult to define because the meaning of the term has changed so frequently over the past 200 years. It has morphed from positive connotation during the French Revolution (closely associated with the ideals of virtue and democracy ), through the revolutionary movement and finally to a religiously motivated act as it is mainly perceived today. Nevertheless, we have to ask ourselves whether â€Å"old† and â€Å"new† terrorism really exists, or maybe the phenomenon we are facing today reminds us an old wine in a new bottle. Two questions frame the discussed issue: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What is the nature of â€Å"new† terrorism? 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What is the magnitude of threat of â€Å"new† terrorism? â€Å"Old† and â€Å"new† terrorism are distinguishable in five points, as the table below shows . Old Terrorism  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  New Terrorism Ideological  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Vague or religious motivations Hierarchical  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Unorganized (lone wolf, ad hoc) therefore more difficult to penetrate Propaganda by deed (bringing issue to the table)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  More violent (killing for the sake of killing) Sub-national  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Transnational and International (global... ...uld be considered more dangerous. The new rules of an old game make it more lethal and unpredictable. Let us examine only one example: Nearly every terrorist group in Iraq has recently captured a foreigner but additionally, they have produced an accompanying video, where a list of demands is outlined, a deadline is set, hostages plea for their lives, and in several instances, they are killed by beheading. Then these kidnappings merge a technique of â€Å"old† terrorism in service of â€Å"new† style terrorism. Furthermore, now more than ever, the media are a tool of war. These dramas were broadcasted by the media all over the world. This is how the media helps to evolve terrorism – they send the terrorist a clear although unspoken message: to maintain access to the airwaves, you need to devise even more outrageous tactics. Thus, the new â€Å"global† terrorist, caught into the trap of globalization, will have to break more rules, cross more psychological borders, and crack more taboos in order to exist. This can be considered the most dangerous feature of the â€Å"new† terrorism – not only do we not know when the next attack will strike, we either have no idea what actually is going to happen .

Casey Anthony Essay

As seen on national television in 2011, Casey Anthony, well known for her trial that hooked the whole world, pleaded not-guilty in July of 2011 for the murder of her two year old daughter. Reported missing on July 15th 2008, Caylee Anthony was found and pronounced dead on December 11th 2008. Majority of the world would disagree with Casey Anthony pleading, and becoming not-guilty, while a few on the other hand would agree. On July 15th Caylee was reported missing by her grandmother Cindy. When Caylee was reported missing it was said that she had already been missing for 31 days. Cindy said that Casey’s car smelled like â€Å"a dead body had been inside it.† Cindy said when she brought up not seeing Caylee in a while Casey had numerous explanations as to Caylee’s â€Å"whereabouts† until finally admitting that she had not seen Caylee in weeks (that was when the report was made by concerned, Cindy.) Not only did Casey not even report her own daughter missing, it took extensive questioning from family until Casey told family that Caylee was in fact missing, What kind of caring mother would hide the fact that there child is and has been for some time, missing? Casey also showed no emotion during her trials, or while investigating, or being interviewed. She was caught in numerous lies with police investigators, and never helped/wanted to help, or even seemed concerned with investigators during the search. That is suspicious behavior of someone who clearly already knew the fate of Caylee. On top of acting uninterested by the search, investigators found that chloroform and neck breaking were both found on Casey’s computer history. Large amounts of Chloroform were found in Casey’s car. Chloroform vapors can be deadly causing respiratory or cardiac arrest. Minor symptoms it can cause are fatigue, dizziness and headache. This is not coincidental, the obvious evidence is right in front of the world, but how is this woman found not-guilty? Although some people believe that Casey is in fact not guilty because she had several much more reasonable and less drastic alternatives that would have kept her from getting in so much trouble, and believe that the findings were coincidental. In conclusion weather or not Casey Anthony murdered her daughter or not she is and will forever be pronounced not-guilty of her child’s murder. But would you let her babysit your child?

Supervisory Model

I am motivated or guided y a very specific force regarding legal, ethical and even cultural concerns and we will explore that force and how it would play out in my everyday interactions of supervision. I am tremendously communal but realize that professionalism must play a part when I work with and serve under those in management and administration and I will talk about those aspects also. Today, social worker roles are tremendous and as a supervisor there is even more responsibility to the social workers who work under you.According to Shadbush (2002), â€Å"In addition to the efficient and effective administration of agency services, the education and support f social workers fashions the three-legged stool of modern social work supervision† (p. 2). L. Areas of Interest & Disinterest Supervision is not very appealing to me in relation to mental health and therapy due to the fact that most supervisors do not actually do much true therapy with clients like the clinicians that work under them. Actually doing therapy with the clients is the work that excites me.My early perception of a social worker was negative and brought to mind Miss Kebab, the nosy social worker who would visit Celandine Price. Celandine was a character in the movie by the same name, Celandine (1974), played by Dianne Carroll, a single African American woman living in Black Harlem with six children on welfare. Whenever Miss Kebab would come â€Å"calling†, she would be snooping to see if Celandine was working a Job, had a man, or was receiving gifts from someone. Celandine always had to lie to Miss Kebab because this information would cause Celandine's welfare to be cut considerably.The children were taught to hide anything that appeared to be extra to their poverty stricken lifestyle. Miss Kebab would be a nightmare for Edward Divine and the Charity Organization Society idea of a friendly visitor. II. Three Supervisory Roles In Administrative Supervision, Hackett (2014) explain s that in supervisory functions, being administrative deals directly with delivering a message, supporting a cause for staff or acting as a protective barrier regarding administrative issues between upper management and line staff.This is the first leg of our three-legged stool of supervisory functions. Depending on the subject matter and my passion for the topic. I would have to ensure diplomacy and tact in communicating a professional delivery of my message. The second leg is educational and thinking about giving instruction in a one on one fashion does not necessarily excite me. Hackett (2014) discussed education in a supervisory role as being concerned with â€Å"addressing ignorance barriers† to effective services (p. L).I have a passion for functioning in the role of educator – presenting subject matter in a broader fashion. Infusing and empowering staff members to provide effective services. The last leg of the three major components of supervision is supportive , which, according to Hackett (2014) is focused on â€Å"addressing emotional barriers† to effective services (p. 1). So line staff hat might be having a particular problem connecting with a client or experiencing stress because one of their families is dealing with particularly traumatic events, support from the supervisor is available from this role.This support can also be for the staff member himself or herself if they are experiencing difficulty in hearing portions of a client's harrowing story each week they come in. Support from the supervisor in this scenario could prevent a secondary trauma or something underlying that triggers the worker. There are many sources of stress for the social rocker and Hackett (2014) lists them in Supportive Supervision as the following: Performance & Compliance Demands Learning Demands Clients Organization Relationship with their Supervisor Vicarious Trauma (p. 3).Practicing self-care is something that social workers must apply regularly and l, as the supervisor, will need to ensure that my team gets the Abacas that Hackett (2014) refers to in Supportive Supervision as: awareness, balance and connection. My team will need these in place so that they can be emotionally healthy and continue to provide for our clients needs. Ill. My Style & Temperament I am a fun loving, outspoken person by nature and I am very orderly. I tend to be communal, and do not meet any strangers and I suppose that is because I spent twenty-two years in the Air Force.I spent time with people from many walks of life and cultures and had to grow up quite a bit through many circumstances that took place right in the different departments that I worked in. Shadbush (2002) states that humor can constrain and relieve stress caused on a Job by providing much needed space in stressful scenarios. I do appreciate humor as an icebreaker or to cause a tense atmosphere to dissipate. Even when things are not stressful I simply enjoy my ambiance better when humor and a certain display of cheerfulness.My current manager can be found laughing very often but sometimes it is inappropriate or appears unprofessional because she is very loud. I am concerned about how people view me in decision situations but realize that I cannot please all people. This creates a conundrum because as a supervisor it is given that not everyone will be happy with my decisions. So, coming short of appearing to be a dictator, I do realize that it is something I need to become more comfortable with and would need to evolve in knowing that I have made the best decision for the whole of my programs.In the lecture on Educational Supervision, Hackett (2014) discussed situational leadership and the fact that leaders determine a situation and espouse the best style for a particular posture. My temperament depends on my situation and for the most part I am pleasant and do my best to keep an atmosphere fairly light but professional. But if I sense that someone is mistrea ting my staff or desecrating our atmosphere with a negative mood because they are disgruntled, I can become someone very assertive.The lecture on Educational Supervision regarding situational leadership, Hackett (2014) determines that through â€Å"relationship behavior is the extent to which the leader engages in two-way or multiply communication. Includes listening to, facilitating, and supporting employees† (pig. 2). In these situations, my concern for my temperament is to preserve a very present disposition and be able to think through as things are being said. This allows me to cover all of the important points whether it is an employee or a client who has become upset because of something. ‘V.My Use of Motivation & Discipline Techniques By nature I love being a team player because I enjoy people so much and love to encourage others, cheering them on to their goals in life. In Strengthened, Rata (2007) describes the individual with the harmony theme as â€Å"One w ho looks for areas of agreement†. This theme suggests that this person believes that there is not much value in disharmony and I attempt to extinguish anything like this in conversation because of that. This describes me and I am not afraid of healthy conflict but I find any conflict outside of that to be counterproductive.In my supervision style regarding titivation I would look for the benefits of my staff being team oriented and do my best to teach them the value in having a harmonious atmosphere. My desire would be to encourage them to see the benefit of their contribution to what we do in our program. According to Administrative Supervision, (according to Hackett, 2014 lecture, p. 1 1) â€Å"most experts on motivation affirm that praise, respect, recognition, empowerment and a sense of belonging are more lasting motivators than money'. In Herrings Hygiene Motivation Theory, (according to Hackett, 2014 lecture, p. 0) she tastes that money already provides limited motivati on, and then when it is absent from the Hygiene Factors then denomination will automatically kick in. Along the theme of motivation, in the bible (n. D. ), God gave Noah the task of building the ark and taking his family and specified numbers of each animal with him as God commanded according to Genesis chapter six, verse thirteen through chapter seven, verse sixteen. According to the bible (n. D. ), in chapter seven, verse one God says, â€Å"Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation†.In verse seven of the same chapter it says, â€Å"So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives went into the ark†. Noah was a servant leader that God used to replenish the earth and he had to determine how to motivate his family and all of those animals to get onto that boat. In verse nine of chapter seven, according the bible (n. D. ), it says, â€Å"two by two they went into the ark to Noah, male and female, as God had commanded Noah. Pastor Diego Mesa (2014), taught the lesson All Aboard-The Life of Noah and stated, â€Å"Noah had to live a certain way before his family in order for them to follow him†.This is encouraging for me as a supervisor because as God has called me to walk in my destined position in life, as His servant leader, he will give me the grace and strength to carry out the tasks that I am supposed to do in my supervisory capacity. This is further confirmed according to Hackett (2014) in Models of Leadership, she discussed a servant leader setting a goal, visualizing it and taking the necessary steps to get to that goal. My disciplinary style and techniques have mirrored the military in years past but so often an airman or seaman is Just doing what their superior is yelling at them to do.I am glad that I learned another way before I had children because my desire now is to affect change in their hearts and not simply in their behavior. In the chapter on Principles & Problems in Implementing Educational Supervision Shadbush (2007) states, â€Å"however useful or significant the material is generally, the worker is not likely to be motivated unless one can show its usefulness and importance for a problem or situation that is meaningful to him or her† (p. 176). As an employee, I have not always been model in compliance to the rules or policies.Especially when I was younger and did not understand the value of obedience, which now I understand really is better than sacrifice! In the lecture, Progressive Discipline, Hackett (2014) asks the question, â€Å"What's behind the problem? † (p. 2). This is a good question and maybe there really is something valid going on behind the noncompliance employee problem and I have to be balanced enough in my thinking to not Jump to conclusions about it. Stress, conflict in casework demands, personal issues that are distracting work performance, etc.These are all potential issues that in the correct view could be legitimate. In Progressive Discipline, Hackett (2014) discussed â€Å"missing the root cause of a problem†. Common Disciplinary Error #5 says, â€Å"Not knowing the root cause makes it difficult to work with an employee to improve performance† (p. 9). Regardless of the reasons, a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) could be utilized and a valuable employee can be saved. V. How I Manage Legal, Ethical & Cultural Issues Years ago I worked in an older adult clinic and had grown very fond of â€Å"Leticia†, my 70-year-old female Hispanic client of one year. Leticia† would bring me fruits and nuts from her son's orchard for most of the time I worked with her and I did not have he heart to tell her I should not accept gifts from her. But I would share them all with my co-workers to try to balance it out. â€Å"Leticia† really reminded me of my great Aunt Maggie who was in the beginning stages of dementia like â€Å"Leticia† and my relatives in Florida took care of her. In the later nineties, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (AIRIER) was created and it stopped allowing most public services to illegal immigrants.I had toiled over Leticia case and she had come a long way in her care and she was comfortable in the senior housing that her son and I got her into. I was tempted to continue providing â€Å"Leticia† services â€Å"off the books† because I did not want to abandon providing services to Leticia. Shadbush (2002) states in the chapter on Problems and Innovation that â€Å"a pervasive, ubiquitous ethical problem is how to resolve the disjunction between what we are ethically obligated to do for the client and the reality of what we can do, a dilemma exacerbated by practice in a managed care and increasing litigious environment† (p. 70). Legally and ethically I knew that I was in a very precarious situation, so I sought the counsel of my supervisor and explained my dilemma. In order for me to avoid ethical prohibition against my supervisor and l, we agreed to offer Leticia a referral for an assisted living facility that could better serve her. Then I was assured that Leticia would be safe. She was able to see a social worker that came around to see all of the seniors who lived there and this helped her adjust to her new surroundings. The bible (n. D. Is clear in Romans chapter thirteen, verse one and it says, â€Å"Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities for there is no authority except from God and the authorities that exist are appointed by God†. In the first art of verse seven it also says, â€Å"render therefore to all their due†. So as my Overseer in heaven has determined what I do in situations of a legal and ethical manner, so goes my National Association of Social Workers (NASA) ethical principles speaking and they agree with Him regarding doing the right thing in any situation.Developing a relationship with Leticia was simple because I have always been around many people of different hues and races in the military and most of my grade school years. I can remember distinctly having a cultural celebration every year at my grade school in Los Angels County. Currently I support our department Cultural Committee and have key relationships with those on the African American sub committee and both of my brothers married white women, a cousin married a woman of Filipino decent, so all of this is my comfort level in any way and anywhere.NASA (2014) says, â€Å"These activities seek to promote sensitivity to and knowledge about oppression and cultural and ethnic diversity. Social workers strive to ensure access to needed information, services, and resources; equality of opportunity; and meaningful participation in decision making for all people†. So any interactions I have, as a supervisor regarding ultra awareness and being competent over this area would be simple for me. I may likely have to educate those that work under me and this subject would be discussed Just as any other policy that has zero tolerance but I would do it in a patient manner.VI. Working with Management & Administration Because I am a secretary to a manager often I am carrying messages from my manager to the supervisors and vice versa. I additionally take messages from clerical staff to my manager so I am accustomed to diplomacy at my level. I do have concern about communicating with upper management and must ensure polish and tact. VI'. Examples of My Experiences My current manager is a good example of what model you do not want to pattern yourself after. She is often found to be laughing very loudly; she is somewhat argumentative in meetings and is an awful example of timeliness.So often for her it is â€Å"do as I say and not as I do† and in spite of the fact that she is very intelligent, it is difficult to follow and respect her because of the flaws that she has th at cause her to lose credibility. It is not her having flaws but it is the sort of flaws that she has. I only worked for her for a few weeks before she lost it because I chose to use a particular ender after she said she told me not to use them. I did not remember this and received a written correction from her for it, stating that if I did it again there would be further consequences.She is immediately scary if you make her angry so I Just do my best to not do that. This paper has taken you through many examples of supervision from my paradigm and many others. You learned that one-on-one training is not for me and who the worst friendly visitor is. We relearned our Abacas – awareness, balance and connection, along with my temperament being determined by situation. I discussed what might be behind problems and the lesson that Leticia aught my supervisor and l. We additionally went up and down the ladder with management and administration and how I express myself if I do not t ake moments to gather myself.