Automotive Fuel Vehicles :: essays research papers

INCENTIVES AND LAWS The main federal incentives for the purchase or conversion of individual alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) are the federal income tax deductions of $2,000-$50,000 for clean fuel vehicles, and the income tax credit of up to $4,000 for electric vehicles (EVs). An income tax deduction is also available for the installation of refueling or recharging facilities for AFVs. Except for the federal tax credits and deductions, most of the federal incentives are programmatic grants oriented toward large investments such as infrastructure and larger purchases. The lead federal agencies for AFV programs are the U.S. Department of Treasury (i.e., IRS), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Federal Tax Deduction This is a deduction for clean fuel vehicles and certain refueling properties. A tax deduction for the purchase of a new original equipment manufacturer (OEM) qualified clean fuel vehicle, or for the conversion of a vehicle to use a clean-burning fuel, is provided under the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct), Public Law-102-486, Title XIX-Revenue Provisions, Sec. 179A. Electric Vehicle Tax Credit.A tax credit for the purchase of qualified EVs and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) is provided under EPAct Public Law-102-486, . The size of the credit is 10% of the cost of the vehicle, up to a maximum credit of $4,000. Beginning in 2001, the size of the credit is reduced by 25% per year until the credit is fully phased out. To qualify for the credit, the vehicle must be powered primarily by an electric motor. Clean Cities Program DOE's Clean Cities Program coordinates voluntary efforts between locally based government and industry to accelerate the use of alternative fuels and expand AFV refueling infrastructure. Federal Incentives EPAct establishes an incentive program for the purchase of AFVs and conversion of conventional gasoline vehicles to alternative fuels. Through federal tax incentives, companies and private individuals can offset a portion of the incremental costs associated with the purchase or conversion of an AFV. Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 The Clean Air Act (CAA) was passed in 1970 to improve air quality nationwide. Congress amended the law in 1990, passing the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA) and thus creating several initiatives to reinforce one of the original goals of the CAA to reduce mobile source pollutants.

Philosophy of Ernest Nagel from a First Person Essay

One burning and enduring problem in philosophy to which we have given considerable examination is the question of the existence of God–the superlative being that philosophers have defined and dealt with for centuries. After reading the classic arguments of St. Anselm and St. Thomas Aquinas, the contentious assertions of Ernest Nagel, and the compelling eyewitness accounts of Julian of Norwich, I have been introduced to some of the most revered and referenced arguments for and against God’s existence that have been put into text. All of them are well-thought and well-articulated arguments, but they have their holes. The question of God’s true existence, therefore, is still not definitively answered and put to rest; the intensity of this debate probably never will mitigate. Many theologians and academics honestly admit that no matter what any philosopher may assert regarding this topic, whether or not a certain person believes in God’s existence is a questio n of faith and nothing more. I am naturally inclined, then, even after reading the heavyweight philosophers of religion, to ponder this pressing issue. After all, what one person may gather out of serious consideration of this problem could totally alter his or her life. Even though I have been raised in the Episcopal Christian faith and have attended church regularly, I have never really taken the time to scrutinize the very existence of a being I have been worshipping for my whole childhood. Reading the famed selections in this course has alerted my attention to the topic, and this major philosophical problem continues to eschew my understanding. One would think that, because I have been raised a Christian and have been exposed to the doctrine and theory of Christianity, I would quickly lean toward the arguments for God and be more easily persuaded by them, hoping to find a defense for spending nearly every Sunday morning in the chancel at church. Actually, I am not automatically persuaded toward the theist position thanks to an atheist argument; the philosopher whom we have examined this semester who complicates this issue for me is Ernest Nagel, an atheist professor who wrote an outstanding defense of atheism. I found that his defense made atheism appear a much more attractive way to think than any theistic religion. I was not impressed, though, with his contentions against  the Ontological Argument of St. Anselm, and thus I refrain for now from venturing to the atheist way. Because of Nagel, I now have ambivalence towards believing in God, even though reading his work did not change my broader belief. One object of heated debate between convinced believers in God and convinced atheists is the Problem of Pain or Theodicy Problem, which asks how evil and suffering can exist in the world if an all-powerful and all-good God is overseeing what happens in his world. There are a few arguments that theists have constructed defending God’s existence in spite of this obvious conflict between doctrine and reality. Some of them, even though they have become classic arguments, are ridiculous; for example, Nagel confronts the argument stating that â€Å"the things called evil are evil only because they are viewed in isolation; they are not evil when viewed in proper perspective and in relation to the rest of creation† (605). This argument can be easily destroyed by a man of reason, and Nagel does so mainly by holding that â€Å"it is irrelevant to argue that were we something other than what we are, our evaluations of what is good and bad would be different† (606). Calling the argument â€Å"unsupported speculation,† (606) Nagel easily downturns this faulty response to the Theodicy Problem. What I found most admirable about this section of Nagel’s â€Å"Philosophical Concepts of Atheism† was his own solution to the problem–simply that it cannot be resolved: â€Å"I do not believe it is possible to reconcile the alleged omnipotence and omnibenevolence of God with the unvarnished facts of human existence† (606). Since Nagel has demonstrated that the Theodicy Problem cannot be taken down, it remains a solid argument for atheists and a very good disproof of the existence of an all-good, all-powerful God. I have not seen a response to this problem so effectively stated, honest, and convincing. Nagel’s arguments concerning the Theodicy Problem show that atheists think in a much more straightforward and practical fashion than do theists. The way Nagel uses the words â€Å"unvarnished facts of human existence† (606) leads to another attractive element to atheism and to his work–Nagel appeals to the earthly life, and only the earthly life, in describing how atheists think. Instead of reaching out to another world or deity that does  not even certainly exist, atheists â€Å"often take as their ideal the intellectual methods employed in the contemporaneous empirical sciences† (607). Because atheists use empirical evidence obtained through science, i.e. use evidence that certainly exists and can be sensed, all of the thinking they do is based solely on what clearly and distinctly exists in reality. To atheists, says Nagel, â€Å"controlled sensory observation is the court of final appeal in issues concerning matters of fact† (608). Not all of theist thinking is based on something that is proved to exist, since God has not been absolutely proved to be, so the essential base of the theist thoug ht is composed of supposition and theory. Atheists simply ground their logic in what is certainly known, and no assumptions found their reasoning. Even in matters of human morals, atheists think practically: â€Å"The conceptions of the human good [atheists] have advocated are conceptions which are commensurate with the actual capacities of mortal men, so that it is the satisfaction of the complex needs of the human creature which is the final standard for evaluating the validity of a moral ideal or moral prescription† (608). Nagel also excellently applies practicality to atheism in the way he describes â€Å"the stress upon a good life that must be consummated in this world† (608). Nagel dismisses the need of â€Å"some unrealizable other-worldly ideal† (608) so well that atheism appears supremely attractive among all the other religious modes of thought. Since Nagel implements practicality so well and perpetuates the question of the Theodicy Problem in â€Å"Philosophical Concepts of Atheism,† I found not only Nagel’s text, but also the atheist way very reasonable (literally) and intellectually striking. While Nagel superbly makes atheism appear much more attractive as a way of thinking than a theist religion because of its practicality and direct method of reason, I do not think he deals with St. Anselm’s argument for God’s existence well enough. Nagel refutes Anselm’s Ontological Argument by saying, â€Å"the word ‘existence’ does not signify any attribute† (601). I starkly disagree with this position. I think, as does Renà © Descartes, that existence in reality is a descriptor. When we, for example, reflect upon the life of one who has died, we experience that person as he or she exists in our understanding and in our imagination by remembering him or her; although  this individual is no longer existing in reality, he or she still exists, but on another plane of being. I am aware that this is, indeed, a highly debatable topic, but I am quite convinced that existence is an attribute, and thus I find that Anselm’s assertions withsta nd Nagel’s assaults. Even though the fact that atheists are practical, down-to-earth thinkers attracts me, I am still not convinced that God does not exist. For the time being, then, I will retain my theistic beliefs and remain a churchgoer, even though I now have ambivalence toward theism. I am not convinced that God does not exist because of some other reflections, shared especially by many within the scientific community. My current beliefs regarding God’s existence, those that I find more convincing than even the Ontological Argument, follow an deductive chain of reasoning; the argument I support most is the near impossibility that everything in creation came about by accident. The chances for molecules and cells, the very building blocks of the incredibly intricate natural creation, to come together entirely by themselves are so extremely slim that it is hard to believe that the world and all that lives in it are products of chance. The fact that the planet Earth is in exactly the right spot in space to support life, the fact that there are just the right amounts of chemicals and substances to sustain biological life on Earth, and the fact that there is only one species with the intellectual firepower to overcome physical inferiorities and become the ruling class of organisms on the planet all contribute to the suspicion that there may be a certain genius that planned out this harmonious structure of life. This is a tough argument for atheists to refute, but then again, it still could have been chance–it still could have been that one in a billion trillion times that happened. With that in mind, a great secondary argument is Anselm’s Ontological Argument, a piece of reasoning I think both Nagel and Gaunilo fail to overcome. If it ever is overcome, I may begin to take steps across the bridge to the atheist way. Work Cited: Cahn, Steven M., Patricia Kutcher, George Sher, and Peter J. Markie, eds. Reason at Work: Introductory Readings in Philosophy. 3rd Ed. Florence, KY: Thomson Learning, Inc., 1996.

Socrates s The Apology And Crito - 2035 Words

1. In the Apology and Crito, Socrates explains his reasoning, stating that it is better to be wronged, than to do wrong. Socrates was explaining to Crito than even though in their opinion that Socrates being put to death is wrong that they cannot do something wrong also. In the Crito one of Socrates main points is that â€Å"Even if your enemies have wronged you, you still have to do the right thing†. Socrates isn’t rejecting self-defense he rejects the notion of doing something wrong back to the person or the city. One of the many people putting Socrates to death, Meleteus is simply damaging his soul by doing such an injustice. In the Apology Socrates explains Socrates goes on to explain that he is damaging his soul, and if Socrates escapes,†¦show more content†¦In our own nation, the Boston Tea Party represented a massive act of civil disobedience.† Dr. King is tying the practice of civil disobedience that he was currently doing to past examples and showed that it was necessary at the time. By civil disobedience Dr.King doesn’t mean anything with physical violence, he simply means disobeying the rules that are set in place. 3. In the sense that King and his organization promotes nonviolent action. He and his team believe that the strongest way to promote their message is to not retaliate to the backlash that they receive. Dr. King states in his letter that â€Å"Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue†. Dr. King had followed in the footsteps of Socrates and also Mohandas Gandhi which had both portrayed that non-violence is the way to get your point across and fighting fire with fire is never the answer. Part 2 1. In the Crito, Socrates explains that one’s moral duty to obey the law has many reasoning. An interesting explanation he had given that one has the responsibility to their city even if they think that the city is treating them unfairly. Socrates explains to Crito, that him being born in the city (Athens) and living there until he is seventy he has taken on an agreement to be a citizen and follow their rules and regulations even if he disagrees with it. Socrates asks CritoShow MoreRelatedSocrates s The Apology And Crito2040 Words   |  9 PagesIn 1. the Apology and Crito, Socrates explains his reasoning stating that it is better to be wronged, than to do wrong. Socrates was explaining to Crito than even though in their opinion that Socrates being put to death is wrong that they cannot do something wrong also. In the Crito one of Socrates main points is that â€Å"Even if your enemies have wronged you, you still have to do the right thing†. Socrates isn’ t rejecting self-defense he rejects the notion of doing something wrong back to the personRead MoreTry to Persuade Socrates Friends to Save Him Against His Will1191 Words   |  5 PagesTry to persuade the Socrates`s friends to save him, against his will. Socrates Is one of the most colorful figures of the ancient Greek world, who the strangeness of privacy life have always been of special philosophical and political science. He was convict to death because he does not believe in God and corrupted the youth people to do the same. In Plato`s dialogue Crito, Socrates spent his last time in the prison. Crito is coming to save Socrates and have plans how toRead MoreSocrates Sides with Creon or a1379 Words   |  6 PagesSocrates#8217; Sides With? Through my reading of Plato#8217;s Apology of Socrates and Crito, I have been able to see how Socrates makes important decisions and what he primarily bases his decisions on. As a individual person we have individual morals which lead us to our own moral or immoral decisions. Sometimes are own morals or beliefs might oppose the views of the state or the enforced law that clams to find justice. In this case we rely on our own beliefs that may be through passedRead MorePlato s Apology And Crito983 Words   |  4 Pagesmarked the history of humanity on earth. In the following written works, Plato’s Apology and Crito, The Gospel According to Mark, and Dante’s Inferno, religion and politics are shown to be intertwined, which emphasizes the impact of each individual character in each written work. Also, these written works explain how politics are affected by religion and vice versa. Plato’s Apology and Crito are plays that explain how Socrates, who was considered an honored and the wisest man in all of Athens by the OracleRead MoreEssay on Socrates Fight for Justice1101 Words   |  5 Pagesworks Apology and Crito there is an attempt by Socrates to defend himself in court and defend his choice to receive the death penalty when found guilty. Although he makes very valid and strong arguments throughout one can only wonder why such a wise person would choose death over life. The following essay will analyze three quotes from Apology and Crito, find the correlation between them, and reveal any flaws that may exsist inside these arguments made by Socrates. In Plato’s Apology Socrates explainsRead MorePlato s The Trial And Death Of Socrates Essay1671 Words   |  7 PagesPlato’s The Trial and Death of Socrates presents the reader with complex competing conceptions of what should be considered â€Å"the good life†. According to Socrates, â€Å"the most important thing is not life, but the good life† (Crito, 48b). The majority, who live a non-philosophical life, believes the goods of life include wealth, reputation, and honor: all things that can easily be taken away or destroyed. On the other hand, Socrates lives a philosophical life filled with self-sufficiency. He views wisdomRead MoreSocrates World Views1549 Words   |  7 PagesSocrates Paper The goal of this paper is to discern and construct the world views of Socrates through the various readings, lectures and videos that we have seen in class. Some of these sources include: Socrates by G. Rudebusch; excerpts from The Last Days of Socrates by Plato; and The Allegory of a Cave. Of the nine world views covered in class, I will delve into my interpretation of four of them as seen through the various sources that we have been exposed to in class. These four world views willRead MoreComparison Between Crito and Apology1661 Words   |  7 PagesComparison between Crito and Apology For these two articles that we read in Crito and Apology by Plato, we could know Socrates is an enduring person with imagination, because he presents us with a mass of contradictions: Most eloquent men, yet he never wrote a word; ugliest yet most profoundly attractive; ignorant yet wise; wrongfully convicted, yet unwilling to avoid his unjust execution. Behind these conundrums is a contradiction less often explored: Socrates is at once the most Athenian, mostRead MorePlato: Normative Ethical Theory1077 Words   |  5 Pagesterms that focus on the moral agent. These thinkers are interested in what constitutes, e.g., a just person. They are concerned about the state of mind and character, the set of values, the attitudes to oneself and to others, and the conception of one s own place in the common life of a community that belong to just persons simply insofar as they are just. A modern might object that this way of proceeding is backwards. Just actions are logically prior to just per sons and must be specifiable in advanceRead MorePlato s Life And Accomplishments874 Words   |  4 Pageswas in his late teens or early twenties he heard Socrates teaching, he was so impressed with his teachings that changed his plans to pursue a literary career as a playwright; he destroyed his early work and devoted himself to philosophy. Plato studied philosophy, which means â€Å"love of wisdom† under the guidance of Socrates for the next nine years. Socrates taught by a conversational method, analyzing everything, which was known as dialectic. Socrates had his students find logic in most of their topics

Dr Conrad s Heart Of Darkness And Salih s Season Of...

The unpleasant and painful experience of colonialism in Africa has great effects on almost all faces of life such as language, education, religion, popular culture and the like. Colonial and post-colonial novels in Africa have therefore become unusual weapons used to change the European idea about the third world peoples and to illustrate how the European colonizer could create unequal relations of power, based on binary oppositions such as â€Å"First–world† and â€Å"third–world†; â€Å"white† and â€Å"black†, â€Å"colonizer† and â€Å"colonized†, etc. This duality can be seen clear in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Salih’s Season of Migration to the North. Conrad’s novel is filled with literal and metaphoric opposites: the Congo and the Thames, black and white, Europe and Africa, good and evil, purity and corruption, civilization and triumphant bestiality , light and the very heart of darkness . It is therefore true to say that the primary concern of most post-colonial African novelists, like Al-Tayyib Salih, Chinua Achebe and others, is to change for better the history of their people which colonialism has taken off or manipulated. The African novel occupies a central position in the criticism of colonial portrayal of the African continent and its people. It grew, in part, from a history of active resistance to the colonial encounter. It has been crossing boundaries and assaulting walls imposed by History upon the horizon of the continent whose aspirations it has been striving to

Contemporary Adolescence Fiction Encourages Coping,...

‘Contemporary adolescence fiction encourages coping, survival and acceptance.’ Salinger and Boock both tackle the fears around the question of, â€Å"Who am I going to be, when I become an adult?† The two writers help create, shape and attempt to answer this through the narratives of their characters. The genre of ‘Adolescent Fiction’ gives the authors the opportunity to sculpt the lives and minds, giving their readers a glimpse or a chance to once again reminsce an age period that almost every human would experience once. Within the adolescent period the individual themselves will go through the motions of confusion, survival or coping, and then finally acceptance. But why not mastery? Salinger’s protagonist Holden in Catcher in the Rye strives so hard to remain in a state of mind where the outside ‘Phonys’ can not reach him. Boock’s Dare Truth or Promise third- narrative helps her audience to understand the inner turmoil that arises once two teenage girls named Louie and Willa meet for the first time. Three chara cters are in a race against time. Time becomes their enemy and friend within the two selected texts. It is reason why Holden, Louie and Willa are not able to fully master their own personal fears, instead they learn how to cope with what awaits them. In this essay I will be discussing how Boock and Salinger’s work contributed and enhanced the genre of adolescent fiction. Being a pathway between the loss of childhood and the beginnings of adulthood. Adolescence occurs

Parent Involvement Model †Free Sample Assignment Solution

Question: Provide a rationale for your parent involvement model, including an exposition of the theories and research that support the concept that families are young childrens primary teachers, and that family and community involvement are critical to successful early learning. Answer: The role of parents in aiding the development and growth of their children, is immense. Literature supports this notion and the facts are based on assertions that are grounded. The involvement of the parents in the child development has been analysed under three major categories- school based involvement, home based involvement and the parent teacher relationship (Waanders, C., Mendez, J. and Downer, J., 2007). Many parent involvement models have been proposed in order to establish the relationship between the children in their early childhood years and the role of parents in grooming their lives. The involvement of the parents with children is considered effective in terms of yielding positive outcomes. There are many reasons why parents get involved, like to develop a personal construction of the role of the parents in the education of their child, to develop positive sense of efficacy for helping their children progress and succeed in school and lastly, to fulfill the demands of t he schools and the education system that ask for their involvement in the process. Numerous education policy statements as well as the practice guidelines have provided notable consensus about the parents being the childrens first and the most enduring educators (OEDC, 2012). The term partnership is used to describe the relationship between parents and the ECEC (Early Childhood education care) professionals. The major principle underlying the working in partnership theory is that there is equal contribution of each of the parties in the growth and development of the children. According to the Dutch context of the educational partnership, four main aims have been specified- pedagogical, democratic, organizational and enabling (Kernan, M., 2012). The pedagogical aims deal with the interaction between the teachers/ listeners and the parents, sharing their knowledge about the child. The democratic aims give the equal right to all the parents to participate and judge the decisions and po licies of school and also participate either formally or informally in the decision making process about the aims and the developments of the school. The organizational aims enable the parents to provide practical help to organize and implement the activities in and outside school. Lastly, the enablement aims ensure the involvement of both the parents and the professionals, establishing a mutual relationship that caters to the benefits of the child (Kernan, M., 2012). The role of parents and families in the learning outcomes of children, has been studied and much research has been conducted to evaluate the impact of parental involvement and their support in the early learning of the children. The major focus of the research has been the cognitive outcomes (literacy and the language) and the social emotional outcomes (attitudes and behaviour). According to Desforges and others, the parental involvement helps in influencing and therefore, shaping the childs self concept as a learner and through setting high aspirations. Some other researchers have also contributed to the findings and concluded that there are three form of parental capabilities: personal dispositions like warmth, sensitivity and their attitude ; equal and easy access to education services and resources and access to education-related institutions (Lee and Brown, 2006). Goals The most common form of parental model that is found in literature is the one in which the outcomes can be assumed to be governed by selective factors that are strongly related to parents including the sociodemographic variables or parental attitudes. Certain factors that are related to the school often play a major role and these factors include the status variables and the process variables. However, this traditional or conventional model falls short in one major aspect- why do the parents get involved in the education of their children and secondly, how does this involvement yield positive outcomes? The major aims of parent involvement model that we wish to develop here are to involve the parents actively in the process of education of their children, to provide activities and various opportunities that will help the parents to become a part of the school, to provide parent education and the parenting growth tips and other relevant opportunities for getting to know about good parenting, to help the parents of al the children understand the progress of the students and also provide them and offer them ways to receive help in their efforts to improve the progress of their child. And lastly to improve the skills of communication both at home and at school. The expected outcomes of the presented model will be strictly focused on the social, emotional and behavioural aspect of childs development. The behavioural aspect can be studied by studying the involvement of the parents with the homework of the child and other co curricular or classroom activities. This will aid in the academic progress of the child. Secondly, if the parents will get involved with the early years of development of their child, the emotional stability and the social functioning of the child can be enhanced. By allowing discussion of the behavior of the child both in the classroom as well as at home, the behavioural problems will be discussed and the negative impact of the environment of classroom and the teachers can be significantly reduced. Schools are a form of communities that have no bridge to the neighbourhood. Families, on the contrary, reside in the neighbourhood. Often there is little connection among the families, the neighbourhood, schools and each other. But since all these entities affect each other in one or the other way, they need to collaborate at some level. This would eventually help in minimizing the problems and maximizing the results. The collaboration between the family and the school does not only mean simply working together but coordinating together. The basic decisions of the parents involvement are generally influenced by the role of the parents and the construction of this role, the sense of efficacy of the parents that is involved in helping the child, the general school based invitations for the involvement of the parents and lastly the general child invitations for the involvement of the parents. Although the major aim of the model is to explore the fact that the involvement of the parents should be encouraged, the intent is to explain the process of involvement and evaluation of its influence according to which the parental and educational practice (Nokali, N., bachman, H. and Drzal, E., 2010). The parent involvement model comprises of five main levels. The first level of the model deals with the decision of the basic involvement of the parents and this decision is governed by the role construction of the parents, their sense of efficacy in helping the child, the invitations for the involvement by the school and the child invitations for involvement. The second level of the model deals with the parents choice of involvement forms and this is influenced by many factors like the skills and knowledge of the parents, other demands on the time and energy of the parents and the specific invitations from the school and the child. The third level of the model deals with the mechanisms that are used for parents involvement on childs school outcomes. There are three major methods that can be used- modeling, instruction and reinforcement. The fourth level of the model describes the tempering or the mediating variables like the parents use of the strategies that are developmentally app ropriate and the balance between the involvement of the parents and the expectations of the school. The last level of the model deals with the outcomes for the students including the knowledge and skills and self efficacy for the success of school. Another component of the model is the sociological factor that influences the family school interactions and the use of this component to provide a psychological perspective on the parents who participate in the schooling of their children. The second level of the model accepted that once a choice to end up included had been made, logical variables (e.g., time and vitality, observations of particular welcomes for inclusion from the kid and the tyke's instructor) affected folks' decision of inclusion structures. Level 3 of the model recognized systems of parental inclusion's impact (i.e., demonstrating, fortification, and guideline) on the other hand the particular means by which folks influence kids' school results. Level 4 guessed that these systems are compelling to the degree that there is a "decency of fit" between the folks' activities and (1) the youngster's formative requirements and (2) the school's desires for inclusion. The model climaxed in a fifth level, understudy results (i.e., abilities and information, sufficiency toward oneself for school achievement). Built thusly, the model was a hypothetical "guide" that associated existing collections of information and made parkways for building new information. The parental involvement can be of many types. Parenting is one of the kinds. It helps the families to establish and maintain the environment resembling home and therefore help in supporting the children as students. The next type is communicating with the children on school as well home level. This helps the parents in knowing the development of their children and helps them access the academic progress of the child. Volunteering is another type that ensures that the parents participate in the discussions, meetings and other recruitments that involve the talk on their childrens development. Next type is the learning at home type of involvement in which the parents are guided on how to involve themselves with the students/ children at home. This can be done in form of engaging or helping the children with their homework or other co curricular activities or decisions. The next type is the decision making approach for involving the parents. This helps in including the parents and allow ing them to participate in the decisions of the school, either by electing or appointing parent leaders or by electing representatives of the same. The last type of involvement is the collaborating with the community type. This type deals with the process of integration of resources and the services from the community that can be used to strengthen the programs by the school, the family practices and the learning and development of the students. The families that are culturally different and are diverse in their attitude and behaviour, have difference in involvement in the education. For an instance, children of poor farm workers generally face failure of school due to numerous risk factors that hamper their chances of receiving education. Certain factors like educational ideologies, social inequalities, educational structures and the interactions that are interpersonal influence the educational outcomes of the migrant children. The model that is being developed here aims to promote equal and positive outcomes fro the culturally diverse children as well by means of family intervention programs which are based upon the understanding, respect and appreciation for the dynamics, beliefs and values of the diverse families. Some of the strategies that have been incorporated are bilingual community liaisons, transportation, weekend as well as evening activities, provision of care of the child, refreshment for the school based activ ities, designing of a curriculum that reflects the values, culture, experiences, interests and the concerns of the migrant families, flexibility in the instructional programming, organized and co ordinate second chance opportunities for the training and education (Anderson, K. Minke, K., 2010). In order to commit to a high quality early childhood education with the help of involvement of th e parents it is important to strengthen the family approach. It is essential to provide quality care and education through the practices that are developmentally appropriate. For an instance, it is easier to communicate about the difficult issues in the family if the teacher-family relationship is good. The approach of reciprocal relationships is also a well served approach for the same purpose (Patall, E., Cooper, H. and Robinson, J., 2008). During early childhood if the early childhood professionals are able to develop good relationships with the family, they are in better position to understand the positives and the family stress. Eventually, they can offer appropriate information and provide their support more effectively. The development of this reciprocal relationship would mean that the parents are capable of recognizing the signs of abuse and also identifying the situations that may put their children at the risk and consequently aim for providing proper support to their families. The approach also helps the parents in understanding and responding to their childrens challenging behavior and building on the strengths of the families and the children (Olson, M., 2007). For the parents who actively get involved in the school of their children, there are many benefits along with the benefit of positive student outcome. But parents living under the poverty zone are less likely to participate in the events of the school or in their childs education. Such parents need to run errands, catch up on their sleep or care for their other small children or even care for the elderly parents (Vesler Orozco, 2007). Even th upbringing of the parents and the level of education that they have received determines how confident they are in participating in the education and academics of their children. The problem of poverty even affects the children as these children may fail or develop educational delays or not be able to graduate or may have lower marks or aggregate percentages, higher rates of absenteeism or tardiness or even dropping out of the school. Another barrier to this model is the attitude and habits of the parents (Green et al., 2007). Parents who are th e victims of drug or alcohol abuse often become the cause of academic failure of their children. Another barrier is the barrier of the language. English, being the base language, is used as the medium of communication in most of the educational institutions. But some parents may not be able to speak fluent English and this hampers their active participation and involvement (Nokali, N., bachman, H. and Drzal, E., 2010). Notwithstanding the dialect hindrance, a few folks' societies energize them not be ended up excessively included in school what's more feel to do as such is impolite (Velsor Orozco, 2007). There may be social issues that clash with clothing regulation limitations. Social issues might likewise keep families from partaking in occasion exercises focused around family values and convictions. Now and again, there may be folks who see the school as a threatening situation and feel that they are victimized by school staff, in this manner staying away from the school (Velsor Orozco, 2007). There are various strategies to overcome the communication or language barriers that prevent the successful implementation of this model. The communication system- two way, can be implemented using a home to school and school to home network. The flow of communication can be ensured by keeping the contact of the parents up to date. The regular use of the school and classroom newsletter should be encouraged so as to ensure that information is conveyed to all the parents. Encouragement and setting up of group meetings with the therapists, techers, counsellers, parents, administrators and the teachers should be made. The special visitors can conduct home visits and perform the administration related work whenever necessary. Ofcourse, by implementation of such measure and many more the language barrier can be eliminated from this model, but motivation and encouragement of the parents to actively participate in the developmental framework of their children, should be the major focus of th e model (Hornby, G. and Lafaele, R., 2011). References Anderson, K. Minke, K. (2010). Parent Involvement in Education: Toward an Understanding of Parents' Decision Making. The Journal of Educational Research, 100(5):311-323. Green, C L., Walker, Joan M., Hoover-Dempsey, K. Sandler, H. (2007). Parents' motivations for involvement in children's education: An empirical test of a theoretical model of parental involvement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99(3): 532-544. Hoover-Dempsey, K. and Sandler, H. (2009). Parental involvement in Childrens education: Why does it make a difference? Parental involvement, 311-322. Hornby, G. and Lafaele, R. (2011). Barriers to parental involvement in education : an explanatory model. Educational review, 63(1): 37-52. Kernan, M. (2012). Parental involvement in early learning. Internationa Child Development Initiatives (ICDI). Nokali, N., bachman, H. and Drzal, E. (2010). Parent Involvement and Children's Academic and Social Development in Elementary School. Child Dev Author manuscript, 81(3):988-1005. Olson, M. (2007). Strengthening families- Community Strategies that work. The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Patall, E., Cooper, H. and Robinson, J. (2008). Parent involvement in homework: A research synthesis, 78(4): 1039-1101. Waanders, C., Mendez, J. and Downer, J. (2007). Parent characteristics, economic stress and neighborhood context as predictors of parent involvement in preschool children's education. Journal of School psychology, 45(6): 619-636. Velsor, P., Orozco, G. (2007). Involving low-income parents in the schools: Community centric strategies for school counselors. Professional School Counseling, Jl(1), 17-24.

Green Thought By Jon Stallworthy Reading Response Essay Example

Green Thought By Jon Stallworthy Reading Response Paper Green Thought by Jon Stallworthy is an interesting and valuable poem about love. During my essay I will justify why Green Thought is a worthy poem to be entered into a young students poem anthology. The poem is an excellent choice because of Stallworthys choice of characters, imagery and his skill in showing the power that love has to heal. Within the poem, Stallworthy tells a story of love and death. Written in first person narrative, the poet describes an old man as he reminisces about his wife during the good times, and bad. Ultimately, the young poet learns a valuable lesson about love through the experiences of this old man. The story within the poem is one of my reasons for choosing this poem as it is about a mature romance, so young adults would benefit and learn a lot about love from it. The poem also shows us that life is a very precious thing so we should live our life to the very best we can, as we cannot predict what will happen in the future. But most of all, teenagers would benefit from the hope the story conveys. It gives hope that in any bad situation we can anticipate and expect good events to follow. We will write a custom essay sample on Green Thought By Jon Stallworthy Reading Response specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Green Thought By Jon Stallworthy Reading Response specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Green Thought By Jon Stallworthy Reading Response specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Despite being a story of mature love, which may seem to be an unusual subject for younger readers to enjoy, the lesson learned about love in the poem is very relevant. It gives readers the hope and expectations that love can have the power to heal pain. Seen through the eyes of the young poet, it helps the young students to relate to the story through Stallworthys perceptions of events. Similar to the young readers, the poet admits to not know much about love, so the theme of the story could be very educational. I expect that Stallworthys perspective of the old man would also be similar to the readers. His observations are very reliable as he conveys that we learn from older and more experienced people, as that is where our perception of life comes from. The poet effectively creates a variety of different images during the course of the poem. From the opening lines I knew the comparison between love and grass was definitely effective. He has described love as common as grass. From this image, I imagined that what was meant by it, is love is everywhere. Even though it may sometimes refuse to take root on a lawn, which means that even when you cannot seem to receive or give love when and where you want, it will always appear very unexpectedly. Love is a constantly growing factor in life. Not only is love a positive and significant occurrence, it is also able to split asphalt. This image tells us that love is very destructive. Love also has the ability to bury a bombsite. This means that love is a very effective healer and can cover over hurt. Being able to grow in any ditch, niche or gutter, shows love is persistently surrounding us, even between the most unlikely of couples. The realistic portrayal of the characters throughout the story is another reason for choosing the poem. The old man in the story is conveyed as a well dressed and mannerly man with his scrupulous tweeds and courtesy, and someone who we would regard as a grandfather figure. I feel that we are able to look up to him and that many people will be able to relate to his personality and description as of that of someone they know. When he is dressed up he is described as part of the ritual tea while he remembers a girl, not yet his wife and how happy things used to be. The readers would be able to feel compassion for the old man at this point in the poem. The portrayal of his wife is two sided. In the good times, she is regarded as a happy character, who runs for more tea into the singing kitchen. The personification of the kitchen is an effective way of an example of how happy she was. However, the image of her is soon changed to that of a gaunt, tragedy queen. This is a very dramatic image of her as an unhappy person which is a very reliable description as the man only had selective memories of her as a princess not nineteen and he only remembered the good times. Tears and agonies, that even the doctors could not understand backs up my earlier view of a mental illness and shows her depressive moods. I imagine being around her at this point would be quite traumatic as the last tantrum ended by her hand. This childlike connotation and the repetitiveness of the word conveys some kind of mental illness and uncontrolled emotions that she had. It is shown how important this love is to the man by the ritual of the Sunday afternoons. This religious imagery is then continued with the woman; as he loved her so much he even worshipped her in a religious sense. The shrine this is continues the imagery as a shrine is seen as a religious and special place, and I think that as this ritual was so important to him, it actually became like a religion. The effective descriptions, images and lessons learned from the legend of the funeral in the poem are definitely very positive reasons for choosing this poem. He is described to be brought to the brink of her graveside. This makes me imagine he is physically brought face to face with what he refuses to accept, but also that he is mentally brought to the end of her life and the funeral makes it all final. Again, imagery is used to expose emotion. Healed with fine snow, is a perfect example, in that the snow is healing the pain of the mourners. The personification of every tree in sight bowing a moonlit head illustrates that even the trees were respecting her death by bowing in sympathy with him. In some way, the old man is protected by love. The snow falls by bandaging the bruised earth. This means that love acts like a bandage to a temporary scar. As the old mans love for his wife was so powerful, it was able to bandage the pain that she is gone. The snow has even more effect by being so peaceful and tranquil. It made the circumstances seem less harsh and eased the pain slightly. Due to Stallworthys excellent use of imagery, description and characters, I have learned a lot about love. I have learned that even in the most damaging, painful situations, love will always have the power to heal pain. In particular, the poets character analysis has given me very high expectations about love and marriage. The old man is a perfect example of how love should be. The vows made in marriage were certainly kept in his case. He loved his wife in sickness and in health, no matter how bad it seemed he did not leave her; this is true love. In conclusion, I definitely believe that this poem is suitable to be included in a poetry anthology for young students, simply because it gives hope, expectations and explanations of what love is and any young reader would benefit from the lessons learned about love in this poem.