Life in the 1960s was Better than Life Today Essay

Life in the 1960s was both better for the people and significantly different to life today. When comparing the 1960s and today, there are many significant differences. The 1960s held events that were unique to that era, such as the Vietnam War and the landing on the moon, and today we are trying to find ways to advance technology further. The two eras also had different lifestyles, clothing, technology and pass-times. Life in the 1960s was better than the life today because the world hadn?t yet advanced too far, and life was revolved more around friends and family then other things. Events in the 1960s changed the people of that era. People who did adventurous things such as Neil Armstrong walking on the moon and those men who†¦show more content†¦Although these events are important, they have not given as much positive influence on the people of New Zealand as the events of the 1960s. There are many differences between the lifestyle of today and the lifestyle of the 1960s. Back in the 1960s, people had a lot of fun after the war. They wore fluorescent coloured clothing, listened to good music, took time to do things, ate healthier, protested for world peace and overall enjoyed themselves. In the 1960s, it is true that there was a lot of drug activity, but it was the people?s choice whether or not they wanted to experiment with drugs, so this was only a problem for those who chose to. Today, life is nowhere near as fun and carefree. Families have to work long hours to get enough money to live and put food on the table, life has become more busy and fast-paced, more fast food is available, children are ungrateful and starting to disrespect their parents more, the celebrities that children look up to set bad examples, the media is taking control, the music has no soul, people care more about how they look, and children spend more time with machines then with their fa milies. The comparison between these lifestyles clearly points to the 1960s being the better era. In the 1960s, children did not have a lot of technology, so their lives were more simplistic. TheShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of 60 s Music Tells The Story Of The Secret Life Of Bees1085 Words   |  5 Pages60’s Music Playlist This playlist of 1960’s music tells the story of The Secret Life of Bees in chronological order. Several of the songs incorporated in the playlist are applicable to different events or characters in the story, as many of the events portrayed in it, such as running away, close relationships, and love have connections to multiple characters. This playlist will take you through a series of deep thought, emotion, and different connections to not only The Secret Life of Bees, but toRead MoreThe, Last Man Out1177 Words   |  5 Pagesin, last man out. A limp follows his every step telling the story of a body that has long seen its best days. He has White hair, wrinkles, and round glasses, that allow him to look cartoonish, if you didn’t know him better. He stands tall and proud, working as hard if not harder than any young man in the company. At 66 years old, Julian still feels strong and willful enough to manage a crew of 6 in Atlas refinery, where he’s worked for ov er 30 years and can be contributed for a lot of the company’sRead MoreThe Civil Rights Activist Malcolm X1631 Words   |  7 Pagesit today† said Malcolm X (â€Å"1960’s). To fully understand what Malcolm X was trying to say, one would have to understand what â€Å"future† really means. Future: the time or a period of time following the moment of speaking or writing; time regarded as still to come (Merriam). An interpretation of this is that one should prepare for the future, so that when the future becomes the present, a person knows she or he did everything thing he could have to make today better than yesterday. The future was alwaysRead MorePostwar Essay1315 Words   |  6 PagesPostwar In the 1950s the number of people living in the suburbs came to actually equal the number of people living in cities. This wave of people was due mainly to the availability of affordable housing; which allowed middle-class Americans to move to an area previously inhabited only by the wealthy. The houses and neighborhoods built in mass numbers on assembly lines came to look identical to each other. As a result of this, a model American life was created. People all around theRead MorePrejudice and Discrimination in America Today Essay1663 Words   |  7 Pagesprofessionals in all arenas of work has risen to the point where seeing a black physician, attorney, or a college professor are becoming more a common sight. More and more black people are holding positions of respect and authority throughout America today, such as Barack Obama, Colin Powell, Condelezza Rice and many other prominent black executives. As a result of their apparent success, these black people are seen as ro le models for many Americans, despite their race. However, these groups of blackRead MoreThe 1950s and 1960s: A Time of Great Changes Shaping the America We Have Today1006 Words   |  5 PagesWhen most people think of the 1950’s or 1960’s, they think of Elvis, Greasers, jukeboxes, Woodstock, and rainbow peace signs and hippie love. Although these symbols are somewhat accurate (and very popular), not many people think about the changes society and culture went through. The 1950’s and 60’s were a time of great change and freedom for many Americans. Everything from World War II, to the gay liberation movement, to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 helped to change society. Many of the viewsRead MoreEvents from the 1960s1526 Words   |  7 PagesThe 1960s is a decade filled with a series of remarkable and significant events that still resonate today. From the charismatic John F. Kennedy winning the nation s highest office to Vietnam War, the 1960s was a dec ade of transformational changes (Whithaus, 2004). Adding to this transformation were a host of technological breakthroughs. For the first time in American history a presidential political debate, between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, was aired on TV. In 1963 Lee Harvey OswaldRead MoreDecade of Dominence: The 1960s Essay873 Words   |  4 PagesDECADE OF DOMINENCE: THE 1960’S When people think of a time in our world where rebellious, free spirited and mindful people play a part in, the 1960’s come to mind. To be a decade known for that is why the 1960’s is the most loved decade of them all. The youth lived with no hatred, no care, and peace. The 1960’s were the big time for the Hippie movement and that’s what the youth did. Hippies, war, and music are what were going on during this decade. This decade is what showed the world that weRead MoreThe Civil Rights Movement, Woodstock, Vietnam War, And South Africa853 Words   |  4 PagesWho knew how powerful the 1960’s would be? You had the civil rights movement, Woodstock, Vietnam War, and an explosion in rock and roll, as well as soul? Exactly, and that’s just in America. In Africa, countries were gaining freedom and independence. By 1980 the British, French, Italians, Spanish, Portuguese, and Dutch were being conquered and most of Africa had claimed independence a s countries, all the while apartheid was still going on. Even with the riots between warring states, weren’t enoughRead MoreBarack Obamas Success Essay1011 Words   |  5 Pagesachieve this success? Certainly, a major factor of his success today is the dramatic change in racial viewpoints since Barack’s birth in the early 1960’s. However, in order for him to have risen to this stature, we have to look at the factors surrounding his youth, which paved the path to his success today. There are three major contributing factors, which lead to Barack as a successful person, environment, education and family. Barack was born in 1961, during a decade of tremendous racial turmoil

Tradition in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Essay

Tradition; it is the back bone of every culture and civilization. It is what keeps the beliefs, philosophies, and activities of societies alive, to be passed down from generation to generation. However not all traditions are practiced with pure intentions. Some activities become so routine, people don’t know a life outside of them. Societies become so accustomed to â€Å"tradition† that they will participate in pastimes without questioning the ethics or morals of the situation. Ultimately when tradition takes the place of a rationalizing mind the outcome can be incredibly dangerous. The role of tradition is an underlying theme in the short story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, forcing readers to ask themselves â€Å"At what point do†¦show more content†¦Now that all the papers are handed out the men begin to unfold the slips of paper to reveal blank pieces of paper. However one man is left with a paper with a black dot on it. The man unlucky enough to receiv e this slip of paper is Bill Hutchinson. Promptly Tessie Hutchinson, Bill’s wife, begins to panic saying he didn’t have enough time to pick his paper. Being a reasonable official Mr. Summers allows Hutchinson and each of his family members to reselect a paper. Bill, his two sons, one daughter, and wife Tessie each take a paper and Tessie Hutchinson is left with the paper with the black dot. The townspeople begin to clear a space around Tessie Hutchinson. One of the younger boys from earlier in the story hands her son a stone. While she screams â€Å"It isn’t fair, it isn’t right,† the townspeople begin stoning her, the lottery â€Å"winner†. Shirley Jackson’s use of characters is very detrimental to keeping the theme of the story lively. Whether they play a minor or significant role to the story each character reveals a lot of information about the tradition of the lottery and its intentions, varying from subtle to obvious details. On e of the most important characters is Old Man Warner, an elderly man who is very conservative about the preservation of this tradition He holds it dearly to his heart, despite the fact that this tradition is slowly deteriorating in villages around him. Old Man Warner represents the stubborn nature of all the townspeople who are reluctant toShow MoreRelatedTradition in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson1774 Words   |  8 PagesAmerica’s most beloved short stories, â€Å"The Lottery,† by Shirley Jackson, leaves readers with excitement and perhaps a small sense of doubt. Doubt could be an aspect of the reader’s mind due to the gory fact of the cultural tradition in the small farming town of the story. Shirley Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery† displays the theme of unwavering ritualistic tradition and the use of symbolism throughout the story. This means the village is unable to move past their tradition while symbolism is shown through character’sR ead MoreIgnornance of Tradition in The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson1014 Words   |  5 Pages Tradition, defined as the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another without written instruction. (Tradition) Tradition is a core trait of humanity, from the time before recorded history to present, humanity has followed traditions or customs that have been passed down from generation to generation. More often than not communities all over the world blindly follow these practices with little regard to who startedRead MoreThe Meaning of a Tradition in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson574 Words   |  2 PagesShirley Jackson wrote many books in her life, but she was well known by people for her story â€Å"The Lottery† (Hicks). â€Å"The Lottery† was published on June 28, 1948, in the New Yorker magazine (Schilb). The story sets in the morning of June 27th in a small town. The townspeople gather in t he square to conduct their annual tradition, the Lottery. The winner of the lottery will stoned to death by the society. Although there is no main character in the story, the story develops within other important elementsRead MoreTraditions in The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson Essay576 Words   |  3 PagesThesis: After a long period of time passes people forget the true meaning of their traditions by slowly disregarding as the years pass. I. The first part of the traditional ritual that is changed is the chips of wood. A. Chips of wood, Mr. Summers had argued, had been all very well when the village was tiny... B. Its perceived as though there is no regard to how the ancestors of this village put on the lottery. II. The second part of the traditional ritual that is changed is the recitalRead MoreTradition in The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson Essay1769 Words   |  8 PagesTradition in â€Å"The Lottery† There are many things that people do every day without questioning why they do them. These are our habits and traditions, and though for the most part they are unimportant they can be a crucial part of our culture and our interactions with each other. Sometimes there are traditions that can cause harm or are morally unacceptable. What should be done in this case? Edmund Burke, a nineteenth century politician and author, argues that it is best to stick with traditionRead MoreTraditions in The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson Essay464 Words   |  2 Pages Shirley Jacksons story, The Lottery is about a group of towns people who meet every year on the 27th of June. On this day a stoning takes place, as it washes away the sins of everyone that lived in the village. However, should the tradition of the stoning be changed when it becomes your time? On this day every year the people of the village began to gather in the square, around ten oclock (Jackson) to prepare for the stoning. This event would take about two hours as there wereRead MoreEssay on â€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson: A Brutal Tradition608 Words   |  3 Pagesthe oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people,† capturing the main message of the short story â€Å"The Lottery,† by Shirley Jackson, perfectly, because of the themes of peer pressure and tradition present throughout the story. In this story, the people of a small village gather for their annual tradition, a lottery, in which one person is picked at random out of a box containing each of the villagers’ names. The village, which is not specifically named, seemsRead MoreTradition Stays Put in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson1053 Words   |  4 PagesTradition Stays Put Easily regarded as one of America’s most beloved short stories, â€Å"The Lottery,† by Shirley Jackson, leaves readers with excitement and perhaps a small sense of doubt. Doubt could be an aspect of the reader’s mind due to the gory fact of the cultural tradition in the small farming town of the story. Shirley Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery† displays the theme of unwavering ritualistic tradition and symbolism. This means the village is unable to move past their tradition while symbolismRead More Theme of Tradition in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Essay1322 Words   |  6 PagesThe Lottery by Shirley Jackson Americans day after day live much of their lives following time-honored traditions that are passed down from one generation to another. From simple everyday cooking and raising children, to holidays and other family rituals, tradition plays a significant role on how they go by there everyday lives. In Shirley Jacksons short story, The Lottery, the citizens of a small farming town follow one such tradition. A point is made regarding human nature in relationRead MoreTraditions in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson and A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner1176 Words   |  5 PagesThroughout the world there have been bazaar rituals or traditions that don’t usually happen in the United States. To us it may seem wrong and cruel but to those countries seems to be the right thing to do because that is what they believe in. Some countries do their rituals or traditions like every single year. Most of them are somewhat similar or different but still have the same aspect. There are many people who still follow these traditions or try to escape to another place so they can be free

Innovation And Entrepreneurship Management-Myassingnmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Innovation And Entrepreneurship Management? Answer: Introduction Innovation and entrepreneurship have gained critical importance in economic globalization with the fashion industry, not an exception. The emergence of enterprise has stimulated a heated competition in the clothing and boutique industry changing the landscape of businesses significantly with the firm seeking to outwit their competitors through competitive advantage (Friday, 2007). This study investigates the relationship and impact of innovation and entrepreneurship to the boutique clothing stores. Nature of Boutique clothing store business The clothing industry is a highly volatile market with its uniqueness and the element of style featuring prominently which is short-lived. This market has the following characteristics, but not limited to: Short life-cycles the product in line with current trend and designed to capture the mood of the moment, consequently, it has a short-lived lifespan. High volatility The demand for the product in the market is rarely stable depending on several factors like celebrity endorsement, weather, and films extra (Gilsoo, 2010). Low predictability It is virtually impossible to forecast the total demand of these products in the market due to their volatility and other factors sharply impacting them. High impulse purchasing Many consumers make buying decisions based on stimulation at the point of purchase. In other words, the shopper makes a quick and unplanned purchase, hence the critical need for availability of the stock. Innovation in the boutique clothing business Innovation is an important aspect in any business growth and development with the fashion and clothing, not an exception. The market environment is characterized by uncertainties and dynamism which makes business landscapes to be tricky needing uniqueness from what the competitors offer. The clothing industry has globally become sophisticated thus requiring high levels of creativity and innovation to develop appropriate business strategies and counter the competitor rivalry. Disruptive innovation is particularly applicable in the boutique and clothing business. It is much interesting because this type of change focuses on short term or immediate goal to impact on the business processes. Disruptive innovation helps create a new market consequently disrupting the existing one through setting different values. Further, the change skips standard routine and knowledge disengaging the past and irreversible (Parmar, 2014). Technological sustainability issues in the boutique and clothing business The viability of innovation and entrepreneurial activities is a critical matter that impacts on the reputation of the business and its smooth operations. These concepts dictate that companies confine to meeting the current needs without compromising the quality of life of the future generation. Sustainability aspects of innovation tend to focus on the impact of this activity on the environmental, human and social factors (Grant, Hackney Edgar, 2010). The clothing industry has an extended supply chain tied to the risk of mass environmental and social impacts. Therefore, Sustainable innovations examine the whole supply chain and ensure the material inputs through to the final products does not cause disturbance, depletion or other harm to the environment than conservation. Further, innovations and entrepreneurship activities needs are constrained to sustainability demands so that resources and environment are preserved for posterity. Otherwise, resources stand the risk to depletion and further damages to the reputation of the concerned companies. Some of the sustainability issues are discussed below, which includes but not limited to: Pollution prevention This entails resource productivity and environmental management. The business activities including wastes and output should not have an adverse impact on the environment. Conclusively, the process of acquiring raw materials and utilizing should not present any environmental hazards or leads to depletion of natural resources (Boons Ldeke-Freund, 2013). Sustainable technology Since innovation aspect involves the investment of technological equipment, sustainability dictates that the technology involved does not cause harm to the environment or introduce features in the product that will harm the end users or natural resources (Perkmann Spicer, 2010). Innovation aspects of Boutique clothing store business Recycling The clothing business has an innovative way of recycling products to achieve creativity and thus making sales (Muthu, 2014). Clothes can be reused to design even better trendy outfits. E-commerce and marketing The clothing industry has invented ways to market their products both online and through other media. Example, many entrepreneurs have set up online cloth stores and successfully operated their businesses. The technology factor boosts their target market and improves the business efficiency, knowledge and feedback management. Further, this industry has invested marketing through models. Nevertheless, innovations are also being carried out in the process, logistics, recycling, and upcycling (Osterwalder Pigneur, 2010). Tied to this, some of the limitations of current sustainability initiatives as follows. A significant change and revamping of dominant business models is therefore needed to achieve systemic changes in the process of attaining sustainability. Instead of viewing sustainability in the lenses of compliance and risk management, companies should recognize the value-creating potential of sustainable business models (Martin, 2013). This work explains the possibilities for building business models for sustainability by use of innovation by using applying the analysis of the case called the IOU Project, which was made by the young business entrepreneur Kavita Parmar, which was e-commerce initiative that offers fashion-conscious consumers a very distinct platform. Benefits of Innovation and Entrepreneurship to Boutique Clothing Business Disruptive technologies have the potential to to introduce into the market a very different value proposition than previously available, and also, most importantly, some products innovated as a result of disruptive technologies can be cheaper in price, simpler, and also smaller and are more frequently made and very convenient to use (Aneja, 2010). Innovation increases the firm's performance by contributing to competitive advantage. Regarding the fashion companies and fashion designers, the clothing industry has numerous examples of the individuals who are in simultaneous terms, investors, owners, and also managers of fashion business firms. These emerged as a product of commercialized fashion ideas and design, manufacture, business or marketing methods that caused a revolutionary or an incremental change in clothing industry. Their impact as elements of the competitive advantage in the general clothing industry is also highlighted. Focusing on the last part of the study, innovation management in the boutiquue and clothing industry is evaluated. Despite the high influence of fashion in modern society, its analysis from a management perspective has not been sufficiently conducted, and hence "fashion creativity and business intellect" have been categorically viewed separately (Adam, Wim Micheline, 2011). Technological setback factors to Boutique Clothing Business Setbacks including PESTLE factors discussed below Economics Funds and capital required to invest in innovation and boosting the business. In most cases, change consumes resources which ultimately translates into funds. Therefore, an inadequate fund is an impediment to the growth of innovation. Social Factors Some specific communities perceive some cloth designs and style innovation negate their values and culture. Example, seductive and revealing fashion are perceived by some communities as disrespecting and resulting to them not supporting the businesses of those entrepreneurs. This caliber of people will cease from buying such fashion clothes and proceed to condemn the activity leading to a dented reputation (Fletcher Grose, 2012). Technological factors Entrepreneurship and innovation are directly impacted by the technology in place. Legal factors Innovation and entrepreneurship are globally checked by the legal regulations. Examples entrepreneurs innovate cloth lines and own the clotheslines. Inventory Intelligence and business uncertainty Boutique clothing retailers regularly contest with the volatile issue of seasonality having to stock up inventories and then deplete them at the appropriate times. There are certain factors outside human control like weather which will impact on the inventory of these entrepreneurs. On worst case scenario, the business will slash prices and dilute profit margins trying to get rid of stock that is not selling and consequently bringing on the apparel that was not available on shelves. Stock visibility, the inventory intelligence, and the operational agility to quickly change tack promptly are necessities in today's fashion supply chain (Brahe, 2007). This model does not only apply to the clothing industry but also emphases on the supply chain development in the industry and the relationship created between the initiative and its customers in the organization. It was also explained that if within the framework of the canvas the initiative created the relationship between the client and the artisans who were part of the supply chain. There are different types of innovation, namely sustaining, evolutionary, revolutionary, and finally disruptive innovation (Innovation in India, 2007). Firms have an uphill task to reduce the environmental and social impacts caused by the operations of their businesses.Rather than mitigating these impacts, the firms have a better option of solving the menace through internal development or acquisition of new capabilities that address the sustainability challenge. It has also been defined as moving from thought to action. Conclusion This paper has provided a conceptual focus on the impact of innovation and entrepreneurial activities in the cloth boutique industry. The business is affected by several factors, PESTLE that impacts on the business landscape and determines the fate of the business success. Despite, the business being excellent avenues for good returns, entrepreneurs in this industry face a couple of challenges which include sustainability issues, labor, technological and environmental factors. Further, the paper discusses the peculiar nature of the industry capturing its volatility, complexity, and dynamism. It is with these factors that prompt entrepreneurs to be strategic and action plans that will enable them to gain a competitive edge. References Business models for sustainable innovation: state-of-the-art and the steps towards the research agenda. Journal of Cleaner Production, 45, 919. Brahe, S. (2007). BPM on Top of SOA: Experiences from Financial Industry. Business Process Management 96111 Fletcher, K. Grose, L. (2012). Fashion Sustainability: design for change. London: Laurence King Publishing. Google Scholar Friday, O. (September 2007). The Value of the Creativity and Innovation in Entrepreneurship. Journal of Asia Entrepreneurship and Sustainability, Volume III, Issue 2. Gilsoo C. (2010). "Smart Clothing Technology and the Applications: Human Factors and Ergonomics," CRC Pres, United States of America Grant, K., Hackney, R., Edgar, D. (2010). Strategic Information Systems Management. Thomas Rennie Innovation in India, (2007). National Knowledge Commission, June. 5. Martin M (2013). Impact Economy, Creating sustainable apparel value chains: a primer on industry transformation. Suisse: Impact Economical. Available on: https://www.impacteconomy.com/papers/IE_PRIMER_DECEMBER2013_EN.pdf Muthu, S. (2014). Assessing an environmental impact of textiles and the clothing supply chain. UK: Woodhead Publishing. Google Scholar Osterwalder, A. Pigneur, Y. (2010). Business model generation: a handbook for visionaries, the game changers, and challengers. New Jersey: John Wiley. Google Scholar Parmar, K. (2014). The IOU Project. In MA Gardetti ME Girn (Eds.), the Sustainable luxury and social entrepreneurship - stories from the pioneers. Sheffield: Greenleaf Publishing.Google Scholar Perkmann, M. Spicer, A. (2010). What are business models? Developing a theory of performative representations. In: Nelson Phillips, Graham Sewell, Dorothy Griffiths (eds.) Technology and Organization: Essays in Honour of Joan Woodward. Research in the Sociology of Organizations, 29, 265275.

Round table discussion Essay Example

Round table discussion Paper My major Is business administration. I am a clear headed, ambitious individual who has taken the time to think about my future and my goals. I have undertook and completed my two years course in China. Being a transfer student to a foreign country requires me to continually focus, and focus more and more as the course has developed. And it is also give me an opportunity to continue a further education. I chose business administration as a general degree, which gave e the opportunity to learn and test all aspects of management and business so that I knew what I wanted to specialized in. By means of my education and experience, there are a few things In which I believe deeply that can develop individuals. First of all, we must choose the right direction, that Is, to choose a specific and clear objectives. Setting a goal Is Like building a pyramid. The power of target Is enormous. After the goal, we must establish It firmly. Then I believe everyone wants to succeed ND success Is around everyone, even If the success Is a small one. Actually, success means different things for different people. Some may equate it with money, some with work and still some with other. Whatever your dreams are, you have a goal there and then focus all your attention on it. Then success is sure to wait for you at somewhere. When it comes to values, my first thought was a standard criterion of everything. We will write a custom essay sample on Round table discussion specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Round table discussion specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Round table discussion specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer It is far away from success if you are only with the recognition of scholarship and ability by society. You should infect others with moral charm. Win the trust and respect of others, then you will the opportunities and success. Morality is a state, a pursuit, but also a force to promote its forward. Our responsibility Is to stick to the bottom line of moral in life. We should have social conscience. I believe that because good fortune had give me with better than average opportunity, I have a duty to perform In our communities. Thus, I must give more than receive. I believe one of the greatest ideas of all times is a convincing moral force which is the concept f the dignity and worth of human individual. That is my core value. In my life I have given myself certain goals, some relating to my personal life and some to my life in the business world, which I will do my best to complete. I do not believe in fate. No matter under what circumstances anyone would have a chance to change their destiny if they work hard. So I will continue to pursue the development of myself. That refers to the pursuit of my own qualities and enrich my own knowledge. Whats ore, let my family live In happiness. Being a good family member. I also planned financial goals. The most Important one is really assess my monthly expenses. Do I really need to pay such a hill of bills? While Im lucky enough at this point In my life not to be living month to month, that good fortune has made me lazier about making sure Im not Just wasting money. By the end of my graduation, I plan on analyzing the expenses and making adjustments that hopefully suit my lifestyle better and save me successful future.

The Experts Guide to the AP European History Exam

The Expert's Guide to the AP European History Exam SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The AP European History course and exam cover the history of Europe from 1450 to the present. That means you'll be asked about everything from the Renaissance to the European Union - it's a lot!Not to mention,the exam was just revised in 2016, making everything a bit more complicated. If you need guidance for the AP exam, read on. In this article, I’ll give an overview of the exam, go in-depth on each of its sections, go over how the exam is scored, offer some preparation tips, and finally explain some key things to keep in mind on test day! AP European History Exam Format and Overview The AP Euro Exam for 2017 will be heldon Friday, May 12. The testis three hours and 15minutes long. It has two sections, each of which is further split into a part A and a part B. It is important to note that within each section, you will not be forced or signaledto move on from part A to part B at any point in time. You will need to manage the time within each section yourself, although you will be periodically informed of how much time is remaining. Here’s an overview chart of each part of the exam: Section and Part Question Type Number of Questions Time % of Score 1A Multiple Choice 55 55 recommended (105 total for section 1) 40% 1B Short Answer 4 50 recommended (105 total for section 1) 20% 2A Document-Based Question (DBQ) 1 55 recommended (90 total for section 2 including 15-minute reading period) 25% 2B Long Essay 1 (choose 1 of 2) 35 recommended (90 total for section 2 including 15-minute reading period) 15% As you can see, Section I consists of a 55-question multiple choice section, worth 40% of your exam grade, and a 4-question short answer section, worth 20% of your exam sky. Part I, in total, is 105 minutes, with a recommended 55 minutes on multiple choice and 50 minutes on the short answer. Section II, the essay section, consists of the document-based question, for which you have to synthesize historical documents into a coherent analysis of a historical moment, and the â€Å"long essay,† for which you will have to choose between two questions and then write an essay analyzing a historical moment with no outside sources at your disposal. The DBQ is worth 25% of your grade, and the long essay is worth 15%. You will receive 90 minutes for Section II, including a 15-minute reading period. The College Board recommends spending 55 minutes on the DBQ (including the reading period) and 35 minutes on the second essay. Section I is worth 60% of your exam score, and Section II is worth 40%. In terms of what individual parts are worth the most, the multiple choice section and the DBQ are the subsections worth the most on the exam, at 40% and 25%, respectively. It’s worth noting that the exam was revised for2016. Past administrations of the exam included more multiple-choice questions, no short answer, and had three essay questions instead of two.The recent revision means that there are not very many up-to-date practice resources available through the College Board for this exam, since old released exams have slightly different formats. That doesn’t mean you can’t use them, but you will need to be aware of the differences (see the section on practice resources below). In the next sections of this guide, I’ll break down each of the exam sections further. This is the old-old form of the exam. Section 1: Multiple Choice and Short Answer In this section, I’ll go over what you can expect to see on section 1 of the AP Euro exam. All question examples come from the AP Course and Exam Description. Part A: Multiple Choice On the multiple choice question, you’ll be presented with primary and secondary historical sources and then asked to answer two-five questions relevant to each source. In that sense, the 55 questions are almost divided up into a series of little mini-quizzes.The presentation of sources in the text ties into the revised exam’s focus on historical evidence and the actual work that historians do in evaluating and analyzing that evidence. There are two kinds of questions on the multiple-choice section of the exam: source analysis questions, and outside knowledge questions. Source Analysis Most of the questions in the multiple-choice section (probably about â…”) are source analysis questions. These are questions that ask you to analyze the source presented in some way. You may be asked to link the events described in the source to a broader historical movement, contrast the source with other sources, determine if the source supports or contradicts a particular historical trend, and so in. In general, you will need to have some degree of outside historical knowledge to complete these questions, but they are at their core questions about what the source says or means, often within the broader historical moment. Example: Outside Knowledge These are questions that have little, if anything, to do with the source itself, and instead ask you a historical question based on your own knowledge. It will most likely be about events connected to or immediately following the time period described in the source, but the source is not the focus of the question, and it will not provide much help in answering the question. Example: What could this mean? Part B: Short Answer The short-answer section is four questions long, with a recommended 50 minute response time (as part of Section I’s 105 minutes). This leaves about 12 minutes per question.On every short answer question, you will be asked to provide a total of three pieces of information. You might be asked to provide two pieces of information in favor of a historical thesis and one piece of information against, for example. For most of the short answer questions, you will be presented with a primary or secondary source and asked to answer a multi-part question analyzing the source and/or describing historical events relevant to the source. There is generally an element of choice to these questions- i.e., you will need to name one reason of many that something happened or two consequences of a particular event, but you will not be required to name particular events. Example: There are also short-answer questions without a source, for which you may be asked to analyze or examine a statement about history. Again, you will generally be asked to provide three total pieces of historical evidence, but you will have flexibility as to what events you could appropriately name to answer the question. Example: Keep your answers short like this guy. Section 2: Free-Response Section In this section, I’ll review what you’ll be asked to do on section 2 of the AP Euro exam. Part A: Document-Based Question On the DBQ, you’ll be given six-sevensources, made up of primary and secondary sources, and asked to write an essay analyzing a historical issue. This is meant to put you in the role of historian, interpreting historical material and then relaying your interpretation in an essay. You’ll need to combine material from the sources with your own outside knowledge. You’ll have 15minutes to plan the essay, and then 40 minutes to write it. The 15-minute planning period is specifically designated and timed at the beginning of section II, and you will be prompted to begin your essays at the close. However, no one will prompt you to move on from the DBQ to the long essay- you’ll need to manage that time yourself. Below see an example DBQ. Associated documents can be found in the Course and Exam Description. Example: Part B: Long Essay The Long Essay will ask you a broad thematic question about a period or periods in history. You will need to create an analytical essay with a thesis that you can defend with specific historical evidence that you learned in class. You’ll be given a choice between two questions for this essay. It’s recommended that you spend 35 minutes on this question, but again, you won’t be prompted to move from one essay to another so you’ll need to manage the time yourself. Example: A main theme of Europe: cheese. How the AP European History Exam Is Scored The multiple-choice section of the exam is worth 40% of your score, short answer is worth 20%, the DBQ is worth 25%, and the long essay is worth 15%. As on other AP exams, your raw score will be converted to a scaled score from 1-5. Last year, about 10% of all test-takers received a 5, and about 17% received a 4. The test is difficult, but it’s definitely possible to do well if you prepare.So how is your raw score obtained? I’ll go over how points are awarded on each part of each section. Multiple Choice Well, as on other AP exams, on the multiple choice section, you receive a point for each question you answer correctly. This means you could receive a total of 55 points on the multiple-choice section, weighted as 40% of your total score. Short Answer Every short-answer question will ask you to provide three pieces of information. You will receive one point for every correct, relevant piece of information you provide as directed by the question. For example, if a question asks for one cause of a particular conflict, one result of a particular conflict, and one similar situation in a different country, and you provided one cause and one result, you would receive two out of three points. As there are four short answer questions, you can get up to twelve points on the short answer section, weighted at 20% of your total exam score. The Document-Based Question The DBQ is worth 25% of your total score, and it is scored on a seven-point rubric. I’ll give a quick rubric breakdown here. Rubric Breakdown: Skill Name What The Rubric Says What It Means Thesis and Argument Development 1 point: Presents a thesis that makes a historically defensible claim and responds to all parts of the question. The thesis must consist of one or more sentences located in one place, either the introduction or the conclusion. Scoring note: Neither the introduction nor the conclusion is necessarily limited to a single paragraph. This point is for having a thesis that can be reasonably supported bythe documents and other historical facts. Your thesis must be located in your introduction or conclusion. Thesis and Argument Development 1 point: Develops and supports a cohesive argument that recognizes and accounts for historical complexity by explicitly illustrating relationships among historical evidence such as contradiction, corroboration, and/or qualification. You can get an additional point for having a super thesis. A super thesis is one that accounts for the complex relationships in history. Document Analysis 1 point: Utilizes the content of at least six of the documents to support the stated thesis or a relevant argument. One point is for making use of 6-7 of the documents in your argument. Document Analysis 1 point: Explains the significance of the author’s point of view, author’s purpose, historical context, and/or audience for at least four documents. One point is for going more â€Å"in-depth† on at least four of the documents by analyzing the author’s point of view or purpose, the historical context, or the audience of the document. Using Evidence Beyond the Documents Contextualization - 1 point: Situates the argument by explaining the broader historical events, developments, or processes immediately relevant to the question. Scoring Note: Contextualization requires using knowledge not found in the documents to situate the argument within broader historical events, developments, or processes immediately relevant to the question. The contextualization point is not awarded for merely a phrase or reference, but instead requires an explanation, typically consisting of multiple sentences or a full paragraph. One point is for locating the issue within its broader historical context. So be sure to mention any â€Å"big-picture† movements happening that are shaping the events you are writing about in the DBQ! Using Evidence Beyond the Documents Evidence beyond the documents - 1 point: Provides an example or additional piece of specific evidence beyond those found in the documents to support or qualify the argument. Scoring Note 1: This example must be different from the evidence used to earn other points on this rubric. Scoring Note 2: This point is not awarded for merely a phrase or reference. Responses need to reference an additional piece of specific evidence and explain how that evidence supports or qualifies the argument. One point is awarded for using a specific historical example not found in the documents as evidence for your argument. Synthesis 1 point: Extends the argument by explaining the connections between the argument and ONE of the following: A development in a different historical period, situation, era, or geographical area. A course theme and/or approach to history that is not the focus of the essay (such as political, economic, social, cultural, or intellectual history). A different discipline or field of inquiry (such as economics, government and politics, art history, or anthropology) Scoring Note: The synthesis point requires an explanation of the connections to different historical period, situation, era, or geographical area, and is not awarded for merely a phrase or reference. For this final point, you need to connect your argument about the specific issue presented in the DBQ to another geographical area or historical development or movement. In previous years, the DBQ was out of 9 points, instead of this year’s 7. Last year, the average score was 3.98 - just shy of 4. Most students, then, got under half credit on the DBQ. She diligently studies for the DBQ. Long Essay The long essay is worth the least of all of the exam components at only 15% of your total score. It’s scored out of a 6-point rubric. I’ll go over how you can get those six points here. This rubric is a little whacky because 2 of the points for â€Å"Argument Development† are completely different depending on what the â€Å"Targeted Historical Skill† is. So pay attention to which points are for which skills! Rubric Breakdown: Skill Name What The Rubric Says What It Means Thesis 1 point: Presents a thesis that makes a historically defensible claim and responds to all parts of the question. The thesis must consist of one or more sentences located in one place, either in the introduction or the conclusion. Your thesis makes a reasonable claim and responds to the entire question. It is located in the introduction or the conclusion. Argument Development: Targeted Historical Thinking Skill 1 point: Comparison: Describes similarities AND differences among historical individuals, developments, or processes. OR Causation: Describes causes AND/OR effects of a historical event, development, or process. OR Continuity and Change Over Time: Describes historical continuity AND change over time. OR Periodization: Describes the ways in which the historical development specified in the prompt was different from and similar to developments that preceded AND/OR followed. Essentially, this point is for comprehensively addressing the historical skill referenced in the prompt. If you are supposed to compare, you compare. If you are supposed to describe causes and/or effects, you do. Note that you will lose points if the question specifically asks about causes AND effects (for causation) or events before AND after a given historical development (for periodization) and you only address one. Argument Development: Targeted Historical Thinking Skill 1 point: Comparison: Explains the reasons for similarities AND differences among historical individuals, events, developments, or processes. OR Causation: Explains the reasons for the causes AND/OR effects of a historical event, development, or process. OR Continuity and Change Over Time: Explains the reasons for historical continuity AND change over time. OR Periodization: Explains the extent to which the historical development specified in the prompt was different from and similar to developments that preceded AND/OR followed. You don’t just mention events connected to the historical skill (comparison, causation, continuity/change over time, or periodization)- you explain and elaborate on the reasons for those events taking place. Argument Development: Using Evidence 1 point: Addresses the topic of the question with specific examples of relevant evidence. Your historical evidence involves specific examples that are relevant to the specific topic at hand. Argument Development: Using Evidence 1 point: Utilizes specific examples of evidence to fully and effectively substantiate the stated thesis or relevant argument. Scoring note: To fully and effectively substantiate the stated thesis or relevant argument, responses must include a broad range of evidence that, through analysis and explanation, justifies the stated thesis or relevant argument. Your examples are deployed to in a way that effectively supports your thesis; you tie your historical evidence back to your argument. Synthesis 1 point: Extends the argument by explaining the connections between the argument and ONE of the following: A development in a different historical period, situation, era, or geographical area A course theme and/or approach the history that is not the focus of the essay (such as political, economic, social, cultural, or intellectual history). A different discipline or field of inquiry (such as economics, government and politics, art history, or anthropology). Scoring note: The synthesis point requires an explanation of the connections to the different historical period, situation, era, or geographical area, and is not awarded merely for a phrase or reference. You make a connection to another historical period or discipline. You need to explain this connection in your paper, not just mention it offhand or in one quick sentence. As you can see, this rubric is really concerned with choosing appropriate, specific evidence to support your argument and adequately explaining those examples. To succeed, you’ll need to have a pretty strong knowledge base in specific historical content, more so than on any other section of the exam. You will have some element of choice in which of the two questions to select. That covers it for what’s on the exam. Next, we’ll address how you should prepare. You can't tell by looking, but this kitten is an AP Euro expert. How to Prepare for the AP Euro Exam There are five key ways to prepare: Start Reviewing Content Early One major thing you can do to help yourself on this exam is to start reviewing content early in the year. As soon as you know enough to start reviewing, you should be periodically looking back at old material to refresh your knowledge. If you make sure your knowledge is constantly renewed, you’ll have less work to do as you get closer to exam day because you’ll maintain a fairly high level of familiarity with an entire year’s worth of historical material. That means you’ll be able to focus primarily on building skills for the exam. Fill In Gaps As soon as you realize you don’t know or understand very much about a particular historical period or movement- maybe after doing less than awesome on a test, paper, or project- you should work to shore up that knowledge with extra studying and review. Consult with your teacher on what you are missing if you can. This will help keep you from serious weakness on the exam if the DBQ (or, heaven forbid, both the long essays) ends up being about an area you don’t really know anything about. Seek Breadth and Depth in Knowledge As you review historical content, you’ll want to balance acquiring breadth and depth. You definitely need to understand the major historical movements and moments of European History. But you should also know some specific facts and events about each era to maximize your chances of success on the short-answer and free-response sections. Of course, you aren’t going to be able to memorize every single date and person’s name ever mentioned in class for the purposes of the AP exam, but you should try to make sure you have at least a few facts that you could use as specific evidence in an essay about any of the major historical happenings covered in the course. Understand Historical Evidence One of the most important skills you can build for the AP Euro exam is understanding historical evidence. When you confront primary and secondary sources on the AP exam, you’ll need to think about who is writing, why they are writing, their audience, and the historical (or current) context they are writing in. What is the source evidence of? Is it relating facts, opinions, or interpretations? For more guidance on working with primary and secondary sources, see this online lesson from a college history professor. Practice the DBQ Because the DBQ somewhat unusual compared to the typical AP essay, you’ll need to make sure you understand how to plan and write one. You’ll need to really work not just on your skills understanding historical evidence, but also your ability to synthesize different pieces of historical evidence into a coherent interpretation or argument about a historical topic. On top of that, you’ll need to make a connection to another time period, movement, or discipline! Use the rubric as a guide to improving your DBQ skills, and check out my guide to writing a great DBQ essay. Filling in some very important gaps. Tips for Test Day Of course, all of the typical preparation tips apply: get a good night’s sleep, eat a good breakfast, manage your time closely, answer every question, and so on and so forth. But here are two specific AP Euro test tips to help you make the most of your exam time. Focus On the Multiple-Choice and DBQ Sections There are four components to the test, but they aren’t all equally important. The multiple-choice section is worth 40%, the DBQ is worth 25%, the short-answer is worth 20%, and the long essay is worth 15%. This means that the multiple-choice and DBQ sections together form up the majority of your score, so make sure you pay them adequate attention in time and effort. Obviously, you should do your best on every part of the test, and your score for the other two sections does matter. But if you find yourself pressed for time on either section 1 or 2, the multiple-choice and the DBQ are worth more than the other pieces of their respective sections. Mine Sources for Contextual Information The redesigned AP European History test has a renewed focus on primary and secondary sources. While most questions do still require some outside knowledge to answer, you can use the primary and secondary sources to orient yourself in history and pick up contextual details that will help you answer questions even if you are initially a little lost as to the particulars of the historical moment being described. Here’s an example multiple-choice question with a source: What can we figure out from this source? Well, we know that this is a song by French market women from the 18th century from the caption. But what is the source itself telling us? In the first line we see the word â€Å"Versailles.† If you know that’s where French royalty lived, you’ll start to think: does this source have something to do with royalty? (If you don’t know that Versailles is where French royalty used to live, you aren’t out of luck- the second stanza offers this information implicitly).Then we see in the second line that â€Å"We brought with us all our guns.† This implies that something violent occurred at Versailles. So, something violent at the place where royalty lives. The second stanza switches into present tense. So that means whatever happened at Versailles with the guns already took place. In the present, they say â€Å"we won’t have to go so far...to see our King...since he’s come to live in our Capital.† The King, then, lives in Paris now- so the ladies don’t have to go to Versailles to see him. If they went to show the king their guns at Versailles in the first stanza, and in the second stanza he’s been removed to Paris, this implies that the king was forcibly removed to Paris. In this light, the line â€Å"We love him with a love without equal† is ironic: they love him now that they have defeated him. The only one of the answers that is possibly compatible with the idea of defeating a king is choice (B), creating a republican government in France.So by using sources, you can navigate many questions even if you are initially at a total loss in terms of historical contextual information. France: beautiful architecture and bloody revolution. Key Takeaways The AP European History exam is three hours and 15 minutes long and consists of two sections.The first section has two parts, a 55-minute, 55-question multiple choice exam, and a 4-question, 50-minute short answer section. The second section also has two parts: a 55-minute document-based question, and a 35-minute long essay. Note that you will not be prompted to move from part A to part B on either section, but must manage the time yourself. The multiple-choice section is worth 40% of your exam score, and you receive one point for every correct answer. You can expect to see questions that ask you to analyze historical sources and evidence, and questions that force you to rely completely on your own knowledge of historical events. The short-answer question is worth 20% of your exam score. On each of the four questions you will be asked to provide three pieces of information about a historical movement or period, and you’ll get one point for each correct piece of information you provide. The DBQ is worth 25% of your grade. You’ll be given six-seven sources and need to write an essay synthesizing your interpretation of a historical movement or period using the sources. You’ll then receive a grade out of 7 points. Finally, the long essay is worth 15% of your grade. On the long essay, you’ll have a choice between two questions. Then, you’ll need to write an original essay supported with specific historical evidence. To prepare for the exam, here are my best tips: Start reviewing content early in the year, and keep it up throughout! As soon as you realize there’s an era or movement you aren’t fully comfortable with, fill in those gaps in your knowledge! Seek both breadth and some depth in your knowledge of the content. Learn to understand and analyze historical evidence and primary and secondary sources. Build exam-specific skills, particularly for the DBQ. Here’s my advice to make the most of test day: Focus most of your energy on the multiple-choice and DBQ sections, especially if you start to run out of time. Use sources to orient yourself in history when you need to! With all this knowledge at your fingertips, you’ll crush the AP European History exam like the Hapsburgs crushed in the 30 Years’ War! Too soon? What's Next? Need more AP test-taking tips? Or help finding AP practice tests? Looking for more of our expert guides? We have complete AP exam guides for AP Human Geography, AP Language and Composition, AP Literature and Composition, AP World History, AP US History, AP Chemistry, AP Biology, and AP Psychology. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Criminal Profile of Serial Killer Joel Rifkin

Criminal Profile of Serial Killer Joel Rifkin For five years, Joel Rifkin avoided capture as he used the city streets across Long Island, New Jersey, and New York City as his hunting ground, but once he was caught, it took little time for police to get him to confess to the murders of 17 women. Joel Rifkins Early Years Joel Rifkin was born on January 20, 1959, and adopted three weeks later by Ben and Jeanne Rifkin. Ben worked as a structural engineer and Jeanne was a homemaker who enjoyed gardening. The family lived in New City, a hamlet of Clarkstown, New York. When Joel was three, the Rifkins adopted their second child, a baby girl who they named Jan. After a few more moves the family settled into  in East Meadow, Long Island, New York. East Meadow was then much like it is today: a community of mostly middle to upper-income families who take pride in their homes and  community. The Rifkins blended quickly into the area and became involved in the local school boards and in 1974, Ben earned a seat for life on the  Board of Trustees at one of the towns main landmarks, The East Meadow Public Library. The Adolescent Years As a child, there was nothing particularly remarkable about Joel Rifkin. He was a  nice child but terribly shy and had a difficult time making friends. Academically he struggled and from the start, Joel felt that he was a disappointment to his father who was very intelligent and actively involved on the school board. Despite his IQ of 128, he received low grades as a result of undiagnosed dyslexia. Also, unlike his father who excelled in sports, Joel proved to be uncoordinated and accident-prone. As Joel entered middle school, making friends did not come easy. He had grown into a clumsy adolescent that appeared uncomfortable in his own skin. He naturally stood hunched over, which, along with his unusually long face and prescription glasses, led to constant teasing and bullying from his schoolmates. He became the kid that even the nerdy kids teased. High School In high school, things got worse for Joel. He was nicknamed Turtle due to his appearance and his slow, unsteady gait. This lead to more bullying, but Rifkin was never confrontational and seemed to take it all in stride, or so it appeared. But as each school year passed, he distanced himself further from his peers and chose instead to spend much of his time alone in his bedroom.   Considered to be an annoying introvert, there were no attempts made from any friends to coax him out of the  house unless it was to pull a mean prank, including hitting him with eggs, pulling down his pants with girls around to see, or submerging his head into a school toilet.   The abuse took its toll and Joel began avoiding other students by showing up late to classes and being the last to leave school. He spent much of his time isolated and alone in his bedroom. There, he began to entertain himself with violent sexual fantasies that had been brewing inside of him for years. Rejection Rifkin enjoyed photography and with the new camera given to him by his parents, he decided to join the yearbook committee. One of his jobs was to submit pictures of the graduating students and activities going on at school. However, like so many of Rifkins attempts to find acceptance among his peers, this idea also failed after his camera was stolen immediately after joining the group. Joel decided to stay on anyway and spent a lot of his spare time working on meeting the yearbook deadlines. When the yearbook was completed, the group held a wrap-up party, but Joel was not invited. He was devastated. Angered and embarrassed, Joel once again retreated to his bedroom and  submerged himself into true crime books about serial killers. He became fixated on the Alfred Hitchcock movie, Frenzy, which he found sexually stimulating, especially the scenes that showed women being strangled. By now his fantasies were always made with a repetitive theme of rape, sadism, and murder, as he incorporated the murders he saw on screen or read in books  into his own fantasy world. College Rifkin was looking forward to college. It meant a new start and new friends, but typically, his expectations turned out to be far greater than reality. He enrolled at Nassau Community College on Long Island and commuted to his classes with a car that was a gift from his parents. But not living in student housing or off-campus with other students had its drawbacks in that it made him even more of an outsider than he already felt. Again, he was facing a  friendless environment and he became miserable and lonely. Trolling for Prostitutes Rifkin began cruising the city streets around areas where prostitutes were known to hang out. Then the shy, slouched-over introvert who found it difficult to make eye contact with girls at school, somehow found the courage to pick up a prostitute and pay her for sex. From that point on, Rifkin lived in two worlds - the one that his parents knew about and the one filled with sex and prostitutes and  consumed his every thought. The prostitutes became a live extension of Rifkins fantasies that had been festering in his mind for years. They also became an inexhaustible addiction that resulted in missed classes, missed work, and cost him whatever money he had in his pocket. For the first time in his life, he had women around who seemed to like him which boosted his self-esteem. Rifkin ended up dropping out of college, then enrolling again at another college only to then drop out again. He was constantly moving out, then back again with his parents each time he flunked out of school. This frustrated his father and he and Joel would often get into big shouting matches about his lack of commitment towards getting a college education. The Death of Ben Rifkin In 1986, Ben Rifkin was diagnosed with cancer and he committed suicide the following year. Joel gave a touching  eulogy, describing the love that his father had given to him throughout his life. In truth, Joel Rifkin felt like a miserable failure who was a major disappointment and embarrassment to his father. But now with his father was gone, he was able to do what he wanted without the constant worry that his dark seedy lifestyle would be discovered. The First Kill After flunking out of his last attempt at college in the spring  of 1989, Rifkin spent all of his free time with prostitutes. His fantasies about murdering the women began to fester. In early March, his mother and sister left on vacation. Rifkin drove into New York City and picked up a prostitute and brought her back to his familys home. Throughout her stay, she slept, shot heroin, then slept more, which irritated Rifkin who had no interest in drugs. Then, without any provocation, he picked up a Howitzer artillery shell and struck her repeatedly on the head with it and then suffocated and strangled her to death. When he was certain that she was dead, he went to bed. After six hours of sleep, Rifkin awoke and went about the task of getting rid of the body. First, he removed her teeth and scraped her fingerprints off of her fingers so that she could not be identified. Then using an X-Acto knife, he managed to dismember the body into six parts which he distributed in different areas throughout Long Island, New York City, and New Jersey. Futile Promises The womans head was discovered inside a paint bucket on a New Jersey golf course, but because Rifkin had removed her teeth, her identity remained a mystery When Rifkin heard on the news about the head being found, he panicked. Terrified that he was about to get caught, he made a promise to himself that it was a one-time thing and that he would never kill again. (In 2013, the victim was identified through DNA as Heidi Balch.) Second Murder The promise not to kill again lasted about 16 months. In 1990, his mother and sister left again to go out of town. Rifkin seized the opportunity of having the house to himself and picked up a prostitute named Julia Blackbird and brought her home. After spending the night together, Rifkin drove to an ATM to get money to pay her and discovered he had a zero balance. He returned to the house and beat Blackbird with a table leg, and murdered her by strangling her to death. In the basement of his home, he dismembered the body and placed the different parts into buckets that he filled with concrete. He then drove into New York City and disposed of the buckets in the East River and the Brooklyn canal. Her remains were never found. The Body Count Climbs After killing the second woman, Rifkin did not make a vow to stop killing  but decided that dismembering the bodies was an unpleasant task that he needed to rethink. He was out of college again and living with his mother and working in lawn care. He tried to open a landscaping company and rented a storage unit for his equipment. He also used it to temporarily hide the bodies of his victims. In early 1991 his company failed and he was in debt. He managed to get a few part-time jobs, which he often lost because the jobs interfered with what he enjoyed most - strangling prostitutes. He also grew more confident about not getting caught. More Victims Beginning in July 1991, Rifkins murders began to come more frequently. Here is the list of his victims: Barbara Jacobs, age 31, killed July 14, 1991. Her body was found inside a plastic bag that had been placed into a cardboard box and put into the Hudson River.Mary Ellen DeLuca, age 22, killed on September 1, 1991, because she complained about having sex after Rifkin bought her crack cocaine.Yun Lee, age 31, killed on September 23, 1991. She was strangled to death and her body was put into the East River.Jane Doe #1, was killed in early December 1991. Rifkin strangled her during sex, put her body into a 55-gallon oil drum and dumped it into the East River.Lorraine Orvieto, age 28, was prostituting in Bayshore, Long Island when Rifkin picked her up and strangled her during sex. He disposed of her body by placing it into an oil drum and into Coney Island River where it was discovered months later.Mary Ann Holloman, 39, was killed on January 2, 1992. Her body was found the following July, stuffed inside an oil drum in Coney Island Creek.Iris Sanchez, age 25, killed on Mothers Day weekend , May 10, 1992. Rifkin put her body under an old mattress in an illegal dump area located near the JFK International Airport. Anna Lopez, age 33, and the mother of three children, was strangled to death on May 25, 1992. Rifkin disposed of her body along I-84 in Putnam County.Jane Doe #2 was murdered mid-winter 1991. On May 13, 1992, parts of her body were found inside an oil drum floating in Newton Creek in Brooklyn, New York.Violet ONeill, age 21, was killed in June 1992 at Rifkins mothers home. There he dismembered her in the bathtub, wrapped the body parts in plastic, and disposed of them in rivers and canals in New York City. Her torso was found floating in the Hudson River and days later other body parts were found inside of a suitcase.Mary Catherine Williams, age 31, was killed at Rifkins mothers home on October 2, 1992. Her remains were found in Yorktown, New York the following December.Jenny Soto, 23, was strangled to death on November 16, 1992. Her body was found the following day floating in Harlem River in New York City.Leah Evens, 28, and the mother of two children  was killed on February 27, 1993. Rifkin buried the corpse in the woods on Long Island. Her body was discovered three months later. Lauren Marquez, 28, was killed on April 2, 1993, and her body was left in the Pine Barrens in Suffolk County, New York, on Long Island.Tiffany Bresciani, 22, was Joel Rifkins final victim. On June 24, 1993, he strangled her and put her body in his mothers garage for three smoldering days before getting the opportunity to dispose of it. Rifkins Crime Is Discovered At around 3 a.m. Monday, June 28, 1993, Rifkin swabbed his nose with Noxzema so that he could tolerate the pungent odor coming from the corpse of Bresciani. He placed it in the bed of his pickup truck and got on Southern State highway headed south to Melvilles Republic Airport, which is where he planned to dispose of it. Also in the area were state troopers, Deborah Spaargaren and Sean Ruane, who noticed Rifkins truck did not have a license plate. They attempted to pull him over, but he ignored them and kept driving. The officers then used the siren and a loudspeaker, but still, Rifkin refused to pull over. Then, just as the officers requested backup, Rifkin tried to correct a missed turn and went straight into a utility light pole. Unhurt, Rifkin emerged from the truck and was promptly placed in handcuffs. Both officers quickly realized why the driver had not pulled over as the distinct odor of a decaying corpse permeated the air. Tiffanys body was found and while questioning Rifkin, he casually explained that she was a  prostitute that he had paid to have sex with and then things went bad and he killed her and that he was headed to the airport so that he could get rid of the body. He then asked the officers if he needed a lawyer. Rifkin was taken to police headquarters in Hempstead, New York, and after a short period of questioning by detectives, he began to reveal that the body they discovered was just the tip of the iceberg and offered up the number, 17. The Search for Rifkins Victims A search of his bedroom in his mothers home turned up a mountain of evidence against Rifkin including womens drivers licenses, womens underwear, jewelry, prescription drug bottles prescribed to women, purses and wallets, photographs of women, makeup, hair accessories, and womens clothing. Many of the items could be matched to victims of unsolved murders. There was also a large collection of books about serial killers and porn movies with themes centered on sadism. In the garage, they found three ounces of human blood in the wheelbarrow, tools coated in blood and a chainsaw that had blood and human flesh stuck in the blades. In the meantime, Joel Rifkin was writing a list for the investigators with the names and dates and locations of the bodies of 17 women he had murdered. His recollection was not perfect, but with his confession, the evidence, missing person reports and unidentified bodies that had turned up over the years, 15 of the 17 victims were identified. The Trial in Nassau County Rifkins mother hired an attorney to represent Joel, but he fired him and hired law partners Michael Soshnick and John Lawrence. Soshnick was a former Nassau County district attorney and had a reputation for being a top-notch criminal lawyer. His partner Lawrence had no experience in criminal law. Rifkin was arraigned in Nassau County for the murder of Tiffany Bresciani, to which he pleaded not guilty. During the suppression hearing which began November 1993, Soshnick tried unsuccessfully to get Rifkins confession and his admission to killing Tiffany Bresciani suppressed, based on the grounds that the state troopers lacked probable cause to search the truck. Two months into the hearing, Rifkin was offered a plea deal of 46 years to life in exchange for a guilty plea of 17 murders, but he turned it down, convinced that his lawyers could get him off by pleading insanity. Throughout the four-month hearing, Soshnick offended the judge by showing up to court late or not at all and often arriving unprepared. This irritated Judge Wexner and by March he pulled the plug on the hearing, announcing that he had seen enough evidence to reject the defense motions and he ordered the trial to begin in April. Infuriated by the news, Rifkin fired Soshnick, but kept Lawrence on, even though it would be his first criminal case. The trial began on April 11, 1994, and Rifkin pleaded not guilty by reason of temporary insanity. The jury disagreed and found him guilty of murder and reckless endangerment. He was sentenced to 25 years to life. The Sentence Rifkin was transferred to Suffolk County to stand trial for the murders of Evans and Marquez. The attempt to have his confession suppressed was again rejected. This time Rifkin pleaded guilty and received an additional two consecutive terms of 25 years to life. Similar scenarios were played out in Queens and in Brooklyn. By the time it was all over, Joel Rifkin, the most prolific serial killer in the history of New York, was found guilty of murdering nine women  and had received a total of 203 years in prison. He is currently housed at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Clinton County, New York.

Creating Healing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Creating Healing - Assignment Example With this kind of trend, it is not easy to remain healthy (Malliori, 2010) One Saturday afternoon, I decided to visit a conservation park and take some time alone to mediate over things that had been happening and how I could deal with them. As I walked through, I reached a certain section which was basically inhabited by the monkeys. I stood from a distance and watched them go about their activities. There were four monkeys which had young ones. One of them sat peacefully on one branch feeding the sibling. On the other hand, the others jumped from one branch to the other. Occasionally, those with young ones would stop to feed them but only for a few minutes before they joined the rest in jumping from branch to branch. In all this, one was able to keep its position for a long time and feed and care for the young one. The observation made me wonder if this was what was happening to me. I found it very similar to my situation. Every time when I seemed to be having a lot of responsibilities at work and at home, my mind always wanders as I keep thinking about how I will do all of them. I keep on being distracted with my concentration jumping from one subject to the other just like the monkeys were jumping form one branch to the next. With such shifting concentration, it is usually hard to accomplish responsibilities and these impacts directly on one’s overall wellbeing (Ellen, 2010). According to Dossey and Keegan (2013), for one to say that he has optimal health, he must be able to balance all the aspects of his life as a person. This is something I was not able to do since while at work, I kept thinking about the responsibilities I had to fulfil at home. While at home I also thought about the unfinished work that I had. I believe I can do this by taming my mind from wandering so as to calm down and concentrate on a single task. The situation raised is very much applicable to case three that has

Italy Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces Term Paper

Italy Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces - Term Paper Example New Europe shares 3 common divisors: Hellenism, Germanic migration and Christianity. The Germanic who ran into the Roman Empire about the 1st century A.D. was changed to Christianity [Catholicism] in final years of Western Roman Empire. In 800 A.D. the pope laurelled Karl [Karl der Grosse], the king of Germanic Frank, as the Emperor of Western Roman Empire. Karl’s enthronement was a historical milepost intending that the Rome society which transmitted Hellenism Culture was mixed with the Teutonic by Christianity. Thenceforth Western Roman Empire was separated into 3 different territories, inherited by Karl’s 3 grandkids severally, and they turned the source of present Germany, France, and Italy. 2 sources of the European centripetal force are in general recognized to have motivated the European conjugation following the World War II: 3 common divisors [Hellenism, Christianity and Germanic attitude which Europe has been dealing after the fourth century, and balancing of Germany and France which had been in opposition for numerous years. However 3 European common divisors never exist in parallel mode; they made multilayer structures, lapping in numerous layers in strain relations. Likewise, Germany-France association had formerly been under the significance of such multilevel constructions even earlier than the enthronement of Karl, whom both France and Germany admire as the founder of a nation. Then how and when such multilevel constructions were made and what do they do to the conjugation of Europe today? Let’s take a nearer look. Chapter II refines on how centripetal forces were integrated into multilevel shapes.

Kenya education Essay Example for Free

Kenya education Essay An Overview of the Kenyan Education System: Issues and Obstacles to Learning Posted by Lee-Anne Benoit on April 27th 2013 I’m back again with an outline of what I’ve learned about the Kenyan Education system from the diverse experiences that I’ve had. You’ll notice this blog is slightly more academic in nature, but I felt that it was important to find research to back up my own observations. Education is perceived as one of the principal motivating factors behind national economic development and it is one of the most effective ways in which individuals can ever hope to achieve better opportunities and a higher standard of living in Kenya. For these reasons Kenya has invested heavily into its education system over the past twenty years. It is my primary objective in this blog to express all that I have learned about the primary and secondary education systems in Kenya in the short 12 weeks that I have been here. I discuss the structure of primary and secondary schools, the implementation of universal free primary education (FPE), limited and equitable access to education, obstacles to learning within the classroom, special needs education and inclusion. My understanding is derived from my experiences visiting and working at eleven different public and private schools in Kenya, two Masters courses in Special Needs Education that I audited, academic journal articles as well as several discussions and conversations that I have had with various individuals related to the field of education. Structure of Primary and Secondary Education To begin, I’d like to outline what I have learned about the structure of primary and secondary schooling in Kenya. I have gained most of my insight from visiting nine different public and private schools in Nairobi and Mombasa. During these visits I was able to tour each school, observe classes, and interact with administrators, teachers, and students. What follows is an account of some of the pertinent information that I have gathered. Children begin primary classes around the age of three years old. They enter a nursery program for roughly two years before commencing Standard 1. Depending on their final KCPE (Kenyan Certificate of Primary Education) examination marks at the end of Standard 8, students may or may not qualify to attend a secondary high school. Secondary school in Kenya has four levels, forms 1 – 4 and is completed only when students finish their KCSE (Kenyan Certificate of Secondary Education) examinations. Again, student grades play a key role in determining whether or not students are able to attend university. Due to the ethnic diversity in Kenya (42 different tribes), children begin school speaking a variety of languages. Because of this, all students study their subject material predominantly in Kiswahili up until Standard 3 in a homeroom classroom. It is not until Standard 4 students are immersed in English and must follow a strict timetable of up to 10 lessons a day. The subjects taught in the primary grades include Math, English, Kiswahili, Science, Social Studies and Christian Religious Studies. Depending on the location of the school, students may study Islam. Looking through the Kenyan Primary Education curriculum documents, I noticed that art and music were indeed included in the syllabus. However, after inquiring after this, I discovered that art and music have been cut from the timetable due of the cost and perceived unimportance of the subject material. From the little experience I have, it seems as though the degree to which children are allowed to express themselves creatively through art and music depends largely on the school and classroom teachers. From personal observation I can say with confidence that the approach to education in Kenya is largely teacher centered and by the book. Teachers strictly adhere to the Kenyan syllabus for both primary and secondary students and textbooks are a teacher’s primary resource during lessons. Standardized examinations are the sole assessment techniques that I have noted being used in regular classrooms thus far to report student progress. Students in every grade level must complete these standardized examinations at the end of each term, including students in preprimary programs. Grades are critical indicators of success and failure in the lives of students for they ultimately determine whether or not one is able to advance to secondary school. As I mentioned earlier, students must complete their KCP examinations at the end of standard 8. These are national, standardized exams in all subject areas and are worth a total of 400 marks. Students must achieve a minimum of 250 marks if they wish to enter secondary school. In order to graduate High School students must complete their KCSE examinations, and achieve high grades if they wish to enter university. I would like to point out that Kenyan teachers have excellent classroom management. Most of the students that I have observed are incredibly well behaved and show a level of focus and respect that I have not seen on such a large scale before. I am impressed by teacher’s classroom control especially considering the large class sizes that they handle on a daily basis. I attribute this classroom control to the use of corporal punishment, which is considered to be the norm in Kenya. It has also been argued that students’ passivity in the classroom dates back to British colonial days and has been an aid and a challenge in encouraging students to take responsibility for their learning (Ackers and Hardman, 2001). Universal Free Primary Education Another key point that warrants discussion is the implementation of FPE, Universal Free Primary Education, in Kenya. Many of the challenges that the Education system currently faces are directly linked to the implementation of FPE. G. J. Cheserek and V. K.  Mugalavai argue that the main problems facing the education system are, â€Å"issues of access, equity, quality, relevance and efficiency in the management of educational resources,† (2012, 473). The following discussion will elaborate on such issues. As of January 2003, the NARC government established the FPE program to satisfy the pledge it made during the 2002 general elections in order to provide opportunities to disadvantaged children (Makori). This project was a great success in terms of the increased enrollment of disadvantaged children. More than 1.5 million children enrolled in public schools across the country, (Makori). However, the country was not yet prepared to accommodate such a large increase as can be seen by such drastic consequences. Few primary schools were built to accommodate the influx of students, which led to over crowding and congested classrooms. There was a shortage of teachers at the time, which led to the employment of unqualified teachers (Makori). Schools lost revenue from the lack of tuition fees, which led to a strain on teaching materials and resources as well as limited physical facilities (Makori). Lastly, teachers’ challenges increased as their class sizes grew. Although Primary School tuition fees have been abolished, several factors continue to impede access to education in Kenya. Many parents still cannot afford to pay for school uniforms, textbooks, transport, meals and supplies, without which students cannot attend school (Glennerster and Kremer, 2011). These fees are especially difficult for marginalized children such as females, orphans, and the financially underprivileged. Poor health and the inability to seek medical attention also impede many children’s access to education and negatively affect their academic performance, (Glennerster and Kremer, 2011). Many children cannot attend school due to intestinal worms, malaria, and other health concerns such as malnutrition, which can seriously affect their cognitive development. A teacher at the Kiambui Primary School informed me that many of the students arrived at school without having eaten breakfast and who did not bring lunches. Many teachers, despite their low salaries, felt obligated to bring food for the most needy. Lastly, there is an issue of distance and transportation. For some, transportation is unaffordable and the distance to school is too great to walk, which renders the possibility of attending school impossible (Glennerster and Kremer, 2011). Despite advancements in accessing primary education, access to secondary education has remained quite low in comparison. There are a number of reasons that account for this. For instance, secondary schools still require tuition payments. Although these fees have been reduced, it is still quite expensive for many. Distance also plays a major role for some in accessing education. As of 2011 there were approximately 26, 000 primary schools and 6, 500 secondary schools spread across the country, which meant that many communities did not have a nearby high school (Glennerster and Kremer, 2011). Poor KCPE examinations scores at the end of Standard 8 also create a barrier in accessing Secondary School. 2004 KCPE results show that a much higher percentage of students from private schools qualify for secondary school than public school, which has led to an overrepresentation of private school graduates attending top Kenyan Secondary Schools (Glennerster and Kremer, 2011). The quality of primary education, so it seems, acts as a serious barrier to obtaining secondary education. Finally, there is limited space in secondary school so parents and students alike must compete for placement in one if not one of the elite National schools. Yet another interesting point to note is that FPE does not enable all children equitable access to quality education; the key word here being ‘quality. ’ There is an alarming difference between the quality of education that public schools offer vs. that of private schools as noted earlier. After visiting both private and public schools I can attest to the difference. The five private schools that I visited had a low teacher to student ratio, more resources and materials for students, an adequate amount of desks for their student body, as well as electricity and running water. On the contrary, some of the public schools that I visited had class sizes of 60 to 80 students, limited electricity, insufficient textbooks and desks for students. There is much speculation that the poor performance of public school graduates on the KCPE examinations is due to a number of specific factors. For example, because of the increased enrollment in primary schools in 2003, teachers had to contend with extraordinarily large class sizes made up of a diverse range of students whose preparedness varied. Circumstances such as these diminish a teacher’s ability to differentiate their instruction and give individualized attention. Resources and materials are spread thin and mobility within classrooms becomes limited. It is thought that this large influx of â€Å"first generation learners† has contributed to declining test scores in the public school system (Glennerster and Kremer, 2011). It is also thought that poor performance in primary schools is perpetuated by an increasing stratification between public and private schools. This disparity becomes all the more clear when considering the disparity between the KCPE scores of public and private school graduates (Glennerster and Kremer, 2011). Under qualified teachers has also been stated as a factor as well as corruption. Obstacles to Learning Within the Classroom â€Å"For Kenya to be internationally competitive and economically viable, the Republic of Kenya requires an education system that will produce citizens who are able to engage in lifelong learning, learn new skills quickly, perform more non – routine tasks, capable of more complex problem-solving, take more decisions, understand more about what they are working on, require less supervision, assume more responsibility, have more vital tools, have better reading culture, quantitative analysis, reasoning and expository  skills† (Cheserek and Mugalavai, 2012, 472). As this statement explains, Kenya needs a strong education system that will train individuals to meet the growing economic needs of society. However, as discussed previously, evidence shows that students in public primary schools are achieving significantly lower their private school counterparts. There are a number of factors that can account for this disparity, which directly relate to the quality of primary education and the interactions between teacher and pupil. In 2001, Jim Ackers and Frank Hardman conducted a study on classroom interactions in primary schools in Kenya and found that the predominant teaching style was characterized by the ‘transmission of knowledge’ and was teacher focused in nature. Students were motivated to participate but answered preplanned, ‘closed’ questions and lessons often involved a high degree of choral response and repetition of memorized information (Ackers and Hardman, 2001). They go on to write that, â€Å"there were few examples of interaction between teacher and pupils that extended or even encouraged higher order thinking because of the domination of the recitation mode, where typically the teacher asks a series of pre-planned questions, initiates all the topics, and rarely interacts with the substance of the pupils’ answers except to evaluate them†(Ackers and Hardman, 2001, 12). Interestingly enough, this literature mirrors my own observations. I also noted the predominance of a rote learning style of teaching while visiting a number of primary schools. The teachers that I observed lectured on a topic for a large portion of a lesson and then questioned students to see what they were able to absorb. I did not observe any inter pupil interactions or discussions during class time. Rather, students spent the remainder of the class silently copying notes and answering questions from the board. I observed this pattern across multiple subjects and classrooms. Acker and Hardman point out that impediments to learning also include a lack of teaching resources and poor physical conditions of classroom spaces (2001). From what I have noted, the blackboard and student textbooks are the primary teaching aids in a lot of schools. Another obstacle to learning within primary grades is the size of the class. In many cases, teachers can have upwards to 80 students at a time in a regular sized classroom, which creates a congested environment. In such cases it is virtually impossible for a single teacher to meet the needs of every individual learner. Differentiation becomes ineffectual, as does mobility within the classroom. Resources are spread thin and many struggling learners are overlooked. In addition to overcrowded classrooms, teachers face many challenges, which in turn affect student performance. Firstly, they are under a great deal of pressure to teach all of the curriculum outcomes in order to prepare students for their examinations. Combined with a lack of funding and classroom space, teachers are at a loss when it comes to planning creative lessons. Secondly, teachers face a strong tradition of teaching practice that is both historically and culturally embedded. Attitudes towards change can be stubborn, making transformation a slow process. Thirdly, teachers lack an appropriate amount of support and assistance within the classroom as well as opportunities for professional development. As it stands, resource and literacy programs are virtually non-existent in schools, and the government cannot afford to pay for assistants within the classroom. Few primary schools can even afford a library. Fourthly, and in part due to distance, there are barriers to communication between home and school, which negatively impacts student progress. Lastly, primary school teachers work for very low wages, which can be demotivating for some, ultimately affecting their professional pedagogical practice. For many teachers and students alike, school can be a truly sink or swim endeavor. Special Needs Education and Inclusion My insight into special needs education derives from two sources. Firstly, I have audited two Masters level courses on special needs education in Kenya entitled Guidance and Counseling of Special Needs students and Issues and Problems in Special Needs Education. Secondly, I have worked for a short time at a private special needs school entitled Bright Hills. In addition to Bright Hills, I have also visited three different ‘Special Units’ in public schools: Kaimbui Primary School, Kilimani Primary School, and Muchatha Primary School. I would like to share some of the pertinent information that I have learned. According to my own personal experience and research, special needs education is predominantly segregated from general education classes. Many primary and secondary schools have classes termed ‘Special Units. ’ These classes are home to students who have a wide range of learning needs, which â€Å"cannot† be met by regular classroom teachers. I have been told that Special Units are inclusive in the sense that all students who have a disability or a special need share a common learning space. It is the role of the special education teacher to tackle the challenging task of differentiating lessons for many students who have varying degrees of learning dependency. Many of the students of Bright Hills Special Needs School are taught the regular primary school curriculum. However, other special needs students are given vocational training, which I observed at the Kiambui Special Unit and the Deaf and Blind Unit at the Kilimani Primary School. Learning skills such as beading and weaving give students the potential to earn a livelihood outside of school and become productive members of society. Although the Kenyan Minister of Education approved a policy in 2009 that supports the equitable access to quality education and training of learners with special needs, special needs education still faces many challenges. The factors that hinder the provision of education for special needs learners include vague guidelines that describe the implementation of an inclusive policy, insufficient data on children with special needs, ineffective assessment tools, curriculum, and a lack of qualified professionals, (Lynch, McCall, Douglas, McLinden, Mogesa, Mwaura, Njoroge, 2011). Many of the discussions in which I participated in my class: Issues and Problems in Special Needs Education mirrored this argument. Major issues that were discussed include the stigmatization of persons with disabilities, a lack of funding to equip teachers with the resources, materials and support required to meet learners needs, a lack of curriculum adaptations, differentiation, appropriate methodology and qualified personnel, inappropriate and biased assessment measures and the misdiagnosis of learning disabilities, which leads to the misplacement of Students in Special Units. I have also had several discussions concerning the implementation of inclusive educational practices within Kenyan Schools. Many of my classmates believe that inclusion is indeed the way forward in reforming the issues inherent in special needs education. Others however, believe that inclusive education is too ambitious a reform to make. Dr. Mary Runo stated in a lecture that she is not certain that inclusive education is what Kenya presently needs. Rather, the focus of reform should be on government policy and persistent negative attitudes towards disabilities. Although inclusive practices are in a fledgling state in Kenya, there are a few successful cases. Take for example the Kilimani Primary School, which is the only school in Nairobi that incorporates the hearing and visually impaired into general classrooms. Numerous supports are provided to students such as braillers, translators, adaptations, and individual assistance. The Kilimani School also has a segregated Special Unit for those who are deaf or blind as well as a Special Unit specifically for those who are deaf and blind, both of which are well equipped with qualified and dedicated teachers as well as a diverse range of teaching aids and resources. It is common practice for a Primary school to pull struggling students out of the regular classroom and place them in a Special Unit for a short time until they can successfully transition back into a regular classroom. The Kyangoma Primary School has 68 special needs learners, the majority of which study in a Special Unit. However, students who have physical disabilities or are highly functioning cognitively are integrated into general classrooms in order to follow the regular school curriculum. Although integration does not equate inclusion, it is evidence that there is a growing acceptance of inclusive practices. Overall, I would argue that special needs learners are segregated from regular classrooms for the most part and that levels of inclusive practice vary from school to school, depending on financial resources, teachers’ attitudes, and community support. Conclusion It is difficult to articulate all that I have learned about the Kenyan education system in the past twelve weeks, as my experiences have been diverse and I have come to understand the cultural context within which this system works. The education system in Kenya has been undergoing considerable change since the induction of Universal Free Primary Education in 2003. Despite the many deep rooted and interconnected problems that impede equitable access to quality education, reformation is high on the government’s list of priorities. One thing that I can confidently attest to is the unquestionable confidence and positivity that I have encountered in many Kenyans who strongly believe in the advancement of the education system. Kenya’s future is bright as long as these discussions continue and individuals strive to make change. References Ackers, J. , Hardman, F. (2001). Classroom Interaction in Kenyan Primary Schools. Compare, 31(2), 245-61. Cheserek, G. , Mugalavai, V. (2012). Challenges and Reforms Facing Kenyan Education System in the 21st Century: Integrating the Principles of Vision 2030 and Constitution 2010. Journal Of Emerging Trends In Educational Research Policy Studies, 3(4), 471-478. Glennerster, R. , Kremer, M. , Mbiti, I. , Takavarasha, K. (2011). Access and Quality in the Kenyan Education System: A Review of the Progress, Challenges and Potential. Retrieved from: http://www. povertyactionlab. org/sites/default/files/publications/Access%20and%20Quality%20in%20the%20Kenyan%20Education%20System%202011. 06. 22. pdf KENPRO (2010). Challenges Facing Inclusive Education in Regular Primary Schools in Kenya. KENPRO Online Papers Portal. Retrieved from: www. kenpro. org/papers. Lynch, P. , McCall, S. , Douglas, G. , McLinden, M. , Mogesa, B. , Mwaura, M. , †¦ Njoroge, M. (2011). Inclusive Educational Practices in Kenya: Evidencing Practice of Itinerant Teachers Who Work with Children with Visual Impairment in Local Mainstream Schools. International Journal Of Educational Development, 31(5), 478-488. Makori, A. Implementation of universal primary education in Kenya: An analysis of its impact and progress towards achieving the EFA goal in Kisii District. Retrieved from: http://www. kaeam. or. ke/articles/vol1/makorifulltext. pdf Category: Uncategorized // 16 Comments  » 16 Responses to â€Å"An Overview of the Kenyan Education System: Issues and Obstacles to Learning† 1. women fashion show 2013 // June 25th 2013 Someone essentially help to make critically posts I would state. That is the very first time I frequented your website page and so far? I surprised with the analysis you made to create this particular publish incredible. Fantastic task! 2. Graham Mulligan // July 3rd 2013 Lee-Anne, thank you for this post. I concur with everything you describe regarding the current state of Primary Education in Kenya. Although there is much hope for change, there are enormous challenges ahead. I wonder what specific improvements can be made, especially in the many isolated and impoverished public primary schools. I am currently planning a short visit to do teacher training in some of these schools. Do you have any suggestions for me? cheers Graham 3. Rahab // July 4th 2013 Your observations are very insightful and on point. It is rather disturbing that all education activities in the Kenyan system end up creating bottle necks at some point or other. What are your suggestions on making the system create paths for learners graduating from the various levels of the system? How can the system encourage student creativity and participation both in school and out of school? Is there hope that the Kenya education system will ever become learner centered rather than content and teacher centered? 4. desigual sale // July 17th 2013 Someone essentially help to make critically articles I might state. That is the first time I frequented your web page and to this point? I amazed with the analysis you made to make this actual put up extraordinary. Wonderful job! 5. Evelyn Corrado // July 17th 2013 Very insightful paper for my study; I am researching on how we can move from teacher centered approach in Kenyan education into student focused, where students can creatively use their reasoning minds, work together to problems solve and bring in their daily experiences into learning.. i agree learning molds the Kenyan society and if problem solving conflict resolution is not enhanced in schools, no wonder the ethnic conflicts in Kenya society God-father system where minority rule and the rest can’t challenge it, for lack of confidence . 6. Alice Wawira // July 29th 2013 This is quite helpful and you have done great job. Just check: KCPE mark is 500 not 400. The public schools suffer a lot of deficiency ranging from teachers to resources. If only teachers were enough something like 1:25-35 which is the current proposal to the education ministry; enough classrooms and resources, I don’t think the syllabus would be a problem however wide. I’m inclined to believe so because the private schools and the well-established national schools manage to cover the syllabus long before the end of fourth year in secondary and end of eigth year in primary. The discipline exhibited by the students in the classroom as you explained is one major strength in these schools and as such, it would be quite helpful even in content coverage. Kenya is becoming gradually aware of SEN and some progress has been made. I would however wish that we borrowed a leaf from the international system where children with SEN are allowed to sit special exams and even have assistants in classroom and during exams. In Kenya, almost all the times they sit the same exam only that special consideration and provisions(like brille and additional time) are given during and after the national exams. The worst is when a child in hospital or one who has just given birth is allowed to sit the same exam as any other in good health. News has it that computers will come in handy for the hearing-impaired and this will be great. Fantastic job you have done. Having worked in the Kenyan system and in the international as well, I can’t fail to see the flaws in the former and I hope to do something about it only that for now, I have no idea where to start. 7. Leonard Kiarago // August 2nd 2013 Indeed, Kenya has a long way to go before the government is able to provide ‘quality education’; however, we must agree that there is some progress despite the obstacles. Kenya has the resources, the manpower and the capacity to provide the young generation with quality education. Kenya has highly qualified professionals produced by top universities all over the world, unfortunately when it comes to policy development and decision making, that is left to politicians leading to wrong policies being implemented without consideration for need assessment or putting priorities right. Take, for example, the issue of laptops for every kid joining primary school; is that really a priority for the Kenyan kids? Even in developed countries like the UK the government doesn’t provide laptops/computers to every single kid, instead schools have a computer lab used during IT lessons or for lessons requiring some research. Instead of considering building and equipping more classrooms as well as recruiting more teachers, the government is thinking about laptops for schools some of which kids learn under trees and with no electricity or teachers who have basic IT knowledge. The subject of how inclusive education should be implemented is a controversial one because even in developed countries like UK, they still  maintain special schools because inclusive practice is not just a matter of closing special schools and taking children with SEN to mainstream schools. How do you put a child with special needs in a class of 80 kids and call that inclusive education? For inclusive education to be successful there must be availability of resources and manpower as well as change of attitude by those who consider themselves ‘normal’. How that can be possible in a country divided through tribal and ethnic affiliations remains a big issue. If Kenyans cannot accommodate fellow Kenyans from a different tribe, how can they accommodate those perceived to be ‘abnormal’? What is most worrying is that any time you listen to news or read newspapers, the most likely headline to find is about a certain politician from a given community attacking another one from a different community instead of engaging in constructive politics. The article posted a few days ago in daily nation in which a governor was threatening to shut down schools just because they were built on the boundary by a neighbouring county leader is a good example of what I mean: http://www. nation. co. ke/News/Leader-orders-schools-shut-in-boundary-row/-/1056/1930912/-/view/printVersion/-/khd48cz/-/index. html ‘A society’s treatment of those who are weak and dependent is one critical indicator of its social progress’. This was an observation by Kirk, Gallagher and Anastasiow (1997) who in their study of children with special needs noted that social attitudes towards the education and care of children with special needs reflect the general cultural attitudes concerning the obligations of a society to its citizens. The problem with the provision of education in Kenya can only be solved if the government allowed professionals to contribute to policies related to their field of expertise and to set aside funds for research so that policies can be validated through research to avoid implementing policies, which are politically driven. (Kiarago is a doctoral researcher at the University of Birmingham) 8. Pierre Varly // August 19th 2013 thanks a lot for your excellent article full of infos and very well structured. i have a blog on education in the developping countries where i could publish the article also if you agree. 9. Isaac Maluki // August 22nd 2013 Thank you for your good report. Kindly tell me, how many students qualify for university education in Kenya but do not make it for lack of school fees? 10. Amen K. Rahh // October 3rd 2013 Thank you for this insightful blog. I would however like to point out the roll of ICT and the growing impact online learning is having on learning in schools. With the introduction of laptops for primary school students, the Government seems to understand the survival of the failing education system is depended on IT solutions. http://www. cc-gate. com as well as the CCK are working on online content and tutoring coming in the future. 11. Edy // November 5th 2013 Hi, I found this blog a few days ago as I was looking for some research into the Kenyan education system. You have done wonderful analysis. However, one correction to your information is that Swahili is not the predominant teaching tool for Nursery-Std 4 pupils. In fact, and to the contrary, English is widely used to instruct children because apart from Swahili, all other disciplines, Math and Science included cannot be feasibly administered in Swahili. 12. John muema // November 7th 2013 these is true and i urge the government to employ more teachers 13. Agesa Akufa // November 9th 2013 This is a good, well researched and articulated work. just a point of correction, the kcpe marks total to 500 not 400. otherwise it is an impresive that will many researchers especially university students. if the government can take into account this piece of work then we should expect to see enormous steps taking root in the educational system. of course, steps to spin the country foward. i salute you! 14. THOMAS ODENY //.