Mind Is Not a Vessel to Be Filled, but a Fire to Be Kindled Essay Example for Free

Mind Is Not a Vessel to Be Filled, but a Fire to Be Kindled Essay â€Å"Education† may be an ordinary word to most people, but very few actually understand the deep meaning beneath it. In this dynamic world, we need to be equipped with the necessary skills and hard work to survive. Understanding the education system is integral to allow students to understand the purpose of studying, the purpose of going to school everyday. Is education in Singapore really â€Å"holistic†? Are there flaws? What is education? By definition, it would be something along the line of â€Å" transferring knowledge†. I beg to differ. In my opinion, education consists of more than just knowledge. From Kindergarden to University, students are put through the daily routine of waking up early in the morning, going to a place where teachers teach â€Å"the same old stuff†. By that, I am referring to knowledge. Knowledge is power, you might say. Indeed, being knowledgeable helps you stand out among the rest during the tests and examinations. But is that all about education ? Acing the tests and getting a degree? I’m afraid no. Years after years, Singapore universities and institutions are well-known on the global front for being able to produce students with top grades. These results just keep getting better and better. Foreigners come to Singapore for education. Most people might therefore think education in Singapore is perfect. I also acknowledge that these are true, but only to a certain extent. On the other spectrum ( which is usually not shown), there are students who are not performing as well as their peers, students who are doing well but facing a lot of unnecessary stress. This is prevalent as well. The obsessive reliance of tuition to produce grades, online forums to discuss ways to â€Å"headstart my child in education†. I find no meaning in these. This is passive learning. Similarly, there are exceptional cases which bring out the ugly truth about education in Singapore. Students faking degrees to earn scholarships, jobs , graduates saying vulgarities during graduation ceremony to ‘rejoice’ over the achievements, even local scholar prosecuted overseas for doing unethical things such as watching child pornography. If education in Singapore is so perfect, why would such disgraceful incidents occur? Let us look at some possible reasons. Memorizing dictionaries, memorizing textbooks, doing thousands of assessment books, attending endless tuitions and supplementary classes†¦ These are some things most pupils in Singapore are going through. They have my sympathy. Everything I have described until now is about passive learning, which revolves around results and lacking in true meaning of education. Now, let us zoom into another aspect. Imagine this : a child who does his work consistently, revises on daily basis, reads newspapers everyday. Everything without being told. Seems like a utopian child? No. It is possible. The only thing he has compared to other students is the passion. The burning passion inside him to learn, to absorb knowledge. This drive pushes him to do everything on his own. There is no tuition, no supplementary classes, reasonable number of assessment books. Yet, this child is scoring ‘A’s for his subjects. In Singapore schools, Ministry of Education is encouraging a whole new approach towards â€Å"holistic† education. Co-curricular activities, Community Involvement Program, Civics Morals Education†¦ these are programmes put in place after much effortful planning of the education ministries. There are even more recent policies such as not revealing top students for national examinations such as Primary School Leaving Examinations. I respect them for that. However, there are rooms for improvement. CCA, short for co-curricular activities, is a word that is often hung in the pupils’ mouth. Whether they say it out of pride in a good way or bad way, I do not know. This brings me to the point of CCA mismatch. Students who feel they are â€Å"not good enough† for a CCA only after a few years in that CCA, students who feel indignant as they feel they could have gotten into â€Å"better CCA†. What are the consequences of this? Students not attending CCAs regularly, students complaining about how ‘ sien ‘ ( boring and uninteresting) their CCA is. This leads to stereotyping about CCAs and split between different CCAs, especially Sports vs Non-Sports. While you might say it is good that CCAs are bonded together as a team, the purpose of bonding is wrong. They are making fun of other people and things they do. In the long run, this will not work. Another thing is when pupils do not attend CCAs, the school has no choice but to use deterrence methods such as demerit points. To tackle this whole situation, there is Direct- School- Admission put in place to reduce scenarios like this however the success is limited. After talking about limitations of the current education system put in place, I have some suggestions. What I will say is also something simple : passion. Again, a simple word yet deep meaning behind it. If a student is an active learner, problems such as late/no submission of work, lack of focus during lessons, loss of notes, game/social networking addiction etc will all be eliminated at once. Students will not complain ‘ Life is Tough’ or ‘ There is too much work yet too little time’ etc. Teachers no longer have to chase after the students for work, give students boring supplementary classes. Teachers no longer have to scold students, which deviates their focus on teaching that will result in drop in productivity. This will lead to more supplementary/remedial classes which make students get tired of learning. Ultimately, they lose passion in learning. This evil cycle of mad chase, forced homework, drilled practice will keep on going until the students change their attitude. If the students take charge of their own learning, they will automatically focus during lessons and give constructive feedback that can engage the whole class in a positive manner. This will accelerate learning so much that the teachers will be more willing to teach and even plan fun activities for pupils to play and learn at the same time. At the same time, the students will strive to do their best in everything including daily worksheet, assignments. Ultimately, success ( which is good grades people chase after) will follow them. Therefore, I strongly feel that passion is much more important than knowledge. To put this passion in them, I think teachers, parents and students themselves all play a crucial role to ‘kindle the fire’ within them. They can help create encouraging environment to allow pupils to share their opinions on certain topics and letting them think ‘out of the box’. They can reduce things such elitism stereotyping to encourage the pupils to exchange feedback healthily and letting them learn from one another. Occasionally, having useful motivation courses in schools by professionals also might help. Once this fire is lit, the action will follow. Students will start finding joy in learning and unknowingly, they will get good grades without even getting stressed or tired.

How My Cousin Manuel Brought Home A Wife :: essays papers

How My Cousin Manuel Brought Home A Wife Manuel Arguilla and Charlson Ong’s stories may have an almost similar title, with each of the main characters bringing home a wife who is different from the local people. However, the newer version addresses a much more serious issue. In Charlson Ong’s â€Å"How My Cousin Manuel Brought Home A Wife†, the writer used contrast of characters(particularly Consuelo and Mei Lu) and contemporary language to show that even in the modern age, racial discrimination still exists and destroys one’s happiness. Hearing about his son’s return with a Brazilian wife, Mei Lu is devastated. Her agony clearly worsens to the extreme upon seeing her daughter-in-law: Consuelo, a huge and black woman whom she describes as â€Å"bigger than the great wall and blacker than the pit of her kettle†. â€Å"She might learn to live with the fact of a foreign daughter-in-law, Spanish-speaking and all. But Consuelo? The woman simply failed to strike me as being in the universe of possibilities Aunt Mei Lu could imagine.† It is made clear by the writer in these lines that a foreign daughter-in-law of a skin color other than black would be bearable for Mei Lu. Mother says Carlos should not have brought Consuelo to the house. But did they not send Carlos to the airport to bring the couple back home? Apparently, they were expecting a white Brazilian. At 70 and being â€Å"from an age where the word beauty conjured a fairness often described as being edible and where petite, teen-age, virgin brides were tucked neatly into fragile sedan chairs fit for babes†, Mei Lu can not accept the fact of having Consuelo, who has just the opposite qualities, as the wife of her only son. She regards Consuelo as subhuman. This she reveals by her wailing: â€Å"You call that a daughter-in-law?† Furthermore, she associates Consuelo’s black skin color with evil. Eventhough she has not spoken a word to Consuelo, except for the words â€Å"O kui† she called to her face, Mei Lu automatically as sumes that she tried to kill Manuel, who was actually saved through Consuelo’s psychic abilities, and is only after Manuel’s money, which is not as much as Mei Lu thinks at all.

St.Michael

â€Å"St. Michael the Archangel† For my saint, I picked Saint Michael the Archangel. I picked St. Michael because Michael is my middle name. Saint Michael is a name meaning â€Å"He who is like God† in Hebrew. He is said to be placed over all the angels. He is the Patron Saint of soldiers, security guards, and sick people. Saint Michael is one of the seven archangels, him being one of the three mention in the Bible. He is the leader of the army of God during the Lucifer upraising.It is said by Pope Gregory the Great â€Å"Whenever some act of wondrous power must be performed, Michael is sent, so that his action and his name may make it clear that no one can do what God does by his superior power. † Saint Michael is one of the principal angels. In Latin, the word â€Å"Angel† means messenger, such as a Jeanne-Nicole Saint-Laurent, who earned her doctorate in religious studies from Brown University in June 2009, has been named assistant professor of religiou s studies at Saint Michael's College, starting this fall semester. Dr. Saint-Laurent was a junior fellow at Dumbarton Oaks Research Library in Washington, D. C. , for the 2008-2009 academic year where she researched and completed her dissertation, titled â€Å"Apostolic Memories: Religious Differentiation and the Construction of Orthodoxy in Syriac Missionary Literature. † A specialist in Early Christianity: Christianity in Late Antiquity and Syriac Studies, Dr. Saint-Laurent will be teaching Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxies and Early Christianity this semester, and probably Christianity, Past and Present next semester.Dr. Saint-Laurent earned her bachelor's degree summa cum laude in religious studies and classics from Gonzaga University of Spokane, Wash. , in 2000. She earned a master's degree in early Christian studies from the University of Notre Dame in 2002 with a thesis titled â€Å"The Vita Tradition of Ephrem the Syrian: a Hagiographical and Theological Analysis. â⠂¬  She was a Fulbright Scholar in Austria in 2002-2003, studying at the Theologische Facultat of Salzburg University on a project titled â€Å"Christianity in Late-Antique Austria: A Social History. † I see myself as starting a new journey that I have always wanted to take-it's been my dream really,† Dr. Saint-Laurent said about coming to a college like Saint Michael's. â€Å"I feel very grateful to be here, especially for the all the nice people. † She said her goal was to teach in a small Catholic college where she could work closely with students on texts from the ancient Christian world, and continue her passion for research.â€Å"I hope to instill in my students appreciation of Eastern Mediterranean Christian cultures and history, a greater knowledge of the early Christian church,† she said. I heard about Saint Michael's from my father, a French Canadian, who grew up in the Northeast, and always spoke of this special little college in Vermont,† she said. Dr. Saint-Laurent has published a coauthored essay, â€Å"Tools of the Trade: Instrumenta Studiorum,† in the book Oxford Handbook of Early Christianity (2008), and a solo-authored essay, â€Å"Early Christianity in Late Antique Austria: Eugippius and Severinus,† in Studia Patristica (2006). She has published a book review in Religious Studies Review, and six reports on conferences in Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies (four reports), E-Gorgias, and Syriac Dialogue.She has presented papers at 18 conferences or scholarly meetings, many for the Patristic Society or Syriac conferences. She has also given numerous talks to community groups, church gatherings and retreats on such topics as Early Christianity, Female Mystics in the Medieval Church, History of Monasticism, Saints throughout the Ages, Martyrs and Monastics, Women in the Early Syriac Church, and more. Dr. Saint-Laurent, a resident of Winooski, has run four marathons and loves running. She is also a cl assical singer and hopes to get involved with a choral group.Saint Michael's College is a distinctive Catholic liberal arts college that provides an education with a social conscience, producing graduates with the intellectual tools they need to lead a successful, purposeful life that will contribute to peace and justice in our world. Founded in 1904 by the Society of St. Edmund and headed by President John J. Neuhauser, Saint Michael's is identified by the Princeton Review as one of the nation's Best 371 Colleges, ranking as 9th among institutions in Quality of Life and 2nd in Town-Gown Relations.It is one of only 270 colleges and universities nationwide, and one of only 20 Catholic colleges, with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter on campus. Saint Michael's has 1,900 undergraduate students, some 250 graduate students and 100 international students. In recent years Saint Michael's students and professors have received Rhodes, Woodrow Wilson, Pickering, Guggenheim, Fulbright, National Science Foundation and other grants, and its professors have been named Vermont Professor of the Year in four of the last nine years.The college is currently listed as one of the nation's Best Liberal Arts Colleges in the 2009 U. S. News & World Report rankings. Saint Michael's is located just outside of Burlington, Vermont, one of America's top college towns.  ©2011 Saint Michael's College One Winooski Park, Colchester, Vermont, USA 05439 | 802. 654. 2000 | Privacy Policy Web site Powered by ActiveCampustm Software by Datatel

Why Women Commit Crime - 2029 Words

Abstract This paper goes into great detail on explaining the reasons on why women commit crime. I will be focusing on risk factors that young girls face in adolescence that may lead them to a spiral path down the criminal justice system. This research will focus on the traumas of sexual assault, domestic violence, poverty, the use of narcotics, and many other risk factors that may trigger young and middle aged women to commit acts of violence. There will also be information presented on an interview conducted with a close friend. There are three women that I will be focusing on as well, Aileen Wuornos, Karla Faye Tucker, and Andrea Yates, whom of which are prime examples of women who fell into a life of crime through childhood traumas. Why Do Women Commit Crime? Why do women commit crime? Society has misinterpreted the idea that women are nurturing gentle beings who do not house one bad bone in their body. Yet, many women do fall through the cracks and slip into a life of crime. This life of crime could result in the risk factors that a lot of young adolescent girls face. Why do these risk factors drive women to steal, commit fraud, and murder? Through this research, you will be informed on the physical, psychological, and emotional traumas that affect young girls and place them at risk for a journey into prison. With the proper therapies and treatment, we may be able to prevent a lot of women from reentering the criminal justice system. In 2007, accordingShow MoreRelatedWhy Women Commit So Many Less Crime?976 Words   |  4 PagesStatistically women commit quite a bit less crime in almost every category especially violent crimes. Many people wonder why this is the case because we are all people and it shouldn t m atter that much. Though every year this doesn’t seem to change. So I will be discussing some of the reasons why this is the case in this paper and uncovering some causes. The first reason why women commit so many less crimes is because of the chemical balance and hormones in their bodies. Men have much more testosteroneRead MoreWhy Shouldn t Protect The Women Of College Campuses And Punish The Men Who Commit These Horrible Crimes1895 Words   |  8 PagesOne in five women are raped or experience attempted rape throughout their college career. However, most women are too scared or embarrassed to report what happened to them. Those who do report it, the colleges give the offenders a slap on the hand to keep the reputation of the college clean. My question is why hasn’t there been anything done to help protect the women of college campuses and punish the men who commit these horrible crimes? There have been so many cases in colleges all over the countryRead MoreWhy Do Men Commit Crime So Much Recorded Crime?939 Words   |  4 PagesThe purpose of this assignment will be to explain and understand why women don’t commit 50% of recorded cri me and why men commit crime so much recorded crime. Also, why corporate companies are more likely to get away with crime more than conventional crimes. This essay will look at theories of gender crime and explain why male/females commit specific crimes. As well as the economic factor of geographical crime and poverty. The Home office statistics will be used to explain the difference betweenRead MoreTheories, Conflict Theories And Developmental Theories957 Words   |  4 PagesModule six readings cover why certain groups of people may commit or not commit crime in comparison to other groups of individuals. Different theories this module covers to help explain different criminal patterns are labeling theories, conflict theories and developmental theories. Labeling theories also known as social reaction theory tries to explain how labeling a person can actually cause them to participate in more criminal behavior (Tibbetts, 2012, p. 173). They believe that by labeling someoneRead MoreWomen s Duration Of Criminal Crimes804 Words   |  4 Pagesclaims. The amount of crime women commit compared to the amount of crime men commit is still less in our society (Lecture). Women’s duration of criminal offenses usually starts earlier and ends earlier (Lecture). Men on the other hand usually commit crime later and they commit crime over a longer duration of time. Women that commit crime differ in the type and seriousness of crimes they commit compared to the type and seriousness of crime committed by men (Lecture). Men and Women are also committingRead MoreStereotyping of Female Offenders in the Criminal Justice System 980 Words   |  4 Pagesobvious that women are constantly being look down upon because of their sex. In general, women tend to be treated like fragile objects that could break at any moment; the truth is that women can be strong and courageous just like men. Society stereotypes women and the criminal justice system is no different. Throughout history, certain crimes have been separated into different categories base on their prevalence. For every crime, the offense and charge is different. In addition, not every crime is committedRead MoreLamb And The Slaughter By Roald Dahl914 Words   |  4 Pagesmurder weapon. The question may be asked why Mary was not a suspect in Patrick’s murder. Could it be that the officers knew the Maloney family well enough to know for a fact that Mary could not have committed the crime? The research question shows that women are killing more often, they are gradually committing crimes, they differ from men in the way they commit crimes, and society has labeled specific crimes based on which gender has committed them. Women are killing their husbands with no sympathyRead MoreCrimes Committed by Women820 Words   |  3 PagesFrequently, the image of women is associated with tenderness, care, and maternity, but sometimes the image is completely the opposite. Many different studies and books have been written about female offenders and circumstances that lead them to commit a crime. Belknap (2007) examines different theories and studies to determine the reason why a woman crosses the border of the law. There are a many different types of crimes that could be committed by women, such as property crimes and prostitution,Read MoreTrifles And A Doll House969 Words   |  4 PagesWomen in the early nineteen hundreds were not thought of as important as a man. The role of the woman was to stay home and perform household duties such as, caring for the children and the home. The role of the man was to work and speak for the family. The dramas Trifles and A Doll House, show how two women will commit a crime at all cost and somehow contrast with each other. Trifle is a word which is used to describe something with little importance or value. According to Suzy Clarkson HolsteinRead MoreAnalysis Of The Play Trifles And A Doll House 969 Words   |  4 Pages Motives Women in the early nineteen hundreds were not thought of as important as a man. The role of the woman was to stay home and perform household duties such as, caring for the children and the home. The role of the man was to work and speak for the family. The dramas â€Å"Trifles† and â€Å"A Doll House†, show how two women will commit a crime at all cost and somehow contrast with each other. Trifle is a word which is used to describe something with little importance or value. According to Suzy Clarkson