Emotional Ability or Emotional Intelligence Essay Example for Free

Emotional Ability or Emotional Intelligence Essay Emotional ability or emotional intelligence is the ability to assess, identify and control the emotions of oneself. It is also the ability to recognize the impact of your own emotions upon your behavior and be aware of the emotions of others around you (Rosete, Ciracohhi, 2001). This is not always an easy task. It is a skill you have to work at constantly. Combine these sentences to make a direct comment. Since the brain tends to go into fight or flight mode quickly and easily, we have to figure out a strategy on how to think before we react. Reacting is instinctual and a way to combat an instinctual reaction is to hone your awareness of your own emotional state (Rosete, Ciracohhi, 2001). Knowing what events may trigger an emotional response will help you to be able to manage a reaction, manage your responses and move from being reactive to proactive. Several years ago I worked at a social service agency and had trouble with my supervisor. She was a chronic and consistent micromanager and always interrupted my tasks to assign another task that was menial and mundane. She would give me a project to work on and then check in on me constantly to see how it was going and how far along I had come. It drove me insane! I became so unnerved and agitated at her behavior that she provoked me to shut down and I became completely defiant. One task she gave me was so completely unnecessary that I flatly refused. I was stressed and highly emotional. I told her that task was a time waster and Im not going to do that task or anything else until she treated me with respect and stop micro managing me. I was angry, shaking and crying. She immediately went to HR and told them I was defiant, angry and verbally abusive. I knew that wasnt the case: I had just had enough. I agree to mediation with someone from the HR department whom I trusted to provide me with a fair mediation. If members of the team respect the lead negotiator, the process is manageable (lecture 8). Before the mediation, I tried to pull myself together so that I wouldnt be so emotional during the meeting. I knew I wouldnt have as much credibility if I was visibly too emotional. I tried to practice some self-management for the meeting. I wanted to focus on strategies for control of my motion and my emotional impulses (Mason, 2010). This was to no avail. I was so infuriated by the behavior of my supervisor that I completely broke down in mediation. I tried to suppress anger but it came out in my tears. I was an emotional wreck and knew that my emotions were too far gone to try and control at this point. In spite of everything, the mediation went well and we worked on some strategies that would have allowed me more freedom while giving my supervisor the assurance that the task would be done. Unbeknownst to them, I packed up and walked out at lunchtime and never returned. I knew that I would never be able to forge ahead after that day with any amount of dignity or respect after such an emotional breakdown and didnt even want to try. We all have emotions that influence our response to the world around but when employees have a high competence of emotional intelligence they have the ability to manage emotions and not let them influence their responses to their environment (Mason, 2010). People dont follow those who cant control their emotions and those kind of workers generally make for poor employees and poor leaders. References Mason, K. (2010, December 5). Why is emotional intelligence important in the business workplace? .The Thriving Small Business, 2-4. Rosete, D., Ciracohhi, J. (2001). Emotional intelligence and its relationship to workplace performance outcomes of leadership effectiveness .Leadership Organization Development Journal ,26(5), 288-296.

Black Identity In Bamboozled

Black Identity In Bamboozled African Americans have for a long time been represented in American cinema in discourses of white realism. With the emergence of black directors, there has been a struggle to detach the black community from the traditional, negative stereotypes attached to them. Bamboozled (Spike Lee, 2000) is a dark satire on race representation and assimilation and the ways in which the dominant hegemonic power structure is able to divide and rule those it subjugates. This paper will first explore the history of cinematic representation of African Americans, which will be discussed in line with the issue of misrepresentation in Bamboozled (2000). This paper will also explore African-American identity dilemma as presented in Bamboozled (2000). Introduction I want people to think about the power of images, not just in terms of race, but how imagery is used and what sort of social impact it has- how it influences how we talk, how we think, how we view one another. In particular, I want them to see how film and television have historically, from the birth of both mediums, produced and perpetuated distorted images. Film and television started out that way, and here we are, at the dawn of a new century, and a lot of that madness is still with us today. Spike Lee. The debates over race and representation of African Americans in films have been highly contentious for over a century. Blacks have generally been perceived and stigmatized, throughout history, as trouble makers, incapables, intellectually limited, inferior, lazy and irrational, amongst the many other demeaning labels attached to them. These labels are connected not only to the history of colonization but also, importantly, to the exploitation, perpetuation, and careful maintenance of stereotypes through cinematic clichà ©s which have imposed themselves easily and significantly on the popular imagination. As rightly stated by Wijdan Ali, the projection of harmful and negative stereotypes onto marginal or ineffectual groups within a society has always been an easy and useful method for making scapegoats.Effectively, films form the ideal space to circularize and preserve the labels which the mainstream audience desires to attach to the black community. Five decades of the Civil Rights Movement have gone by, and the degree of change in the black community, though undeniably real and noticeable, remains perplexingly complex and inadequate. Although the fact that we now live in a time in history where Americans have voted in a black President, where blacks now occupy positions of power and are ostensibly less subject to institutional discrimination than in the past, the black community nevertheless remains inadequately poor, unemployed, undereducated and negatively labeled. Adding to these, portrayals of African Americans in cinema are still, to a great extent, marked by buffoonery. Therefore, adopting a writing-back style in Bamboozled (2000), Spike Lee satirically attacks the way in which African Americans have historically been misused and misrepresented on screen. Through Bamboozled (2000), the director attempts both to entertain and to educate his audience about the history of African American representation within popular culture, with the word bamboozled itself indicating the state of having been cheated or conned. Bamboozled (2000) presents American mass entertainments history of racial discrimination through abasing minstrel stereotypes, which first started to be performed in musical theatres and which were later brought to cinema with films such as The Wooing and Wedding of a Coon (1905), The Sambo Series (1909- 1911) and D.W Griffiths controversial The Birth of a Nation( 1915). Consequently, the purpose of this study is to explore African American evolution in the American film industry and to analyze the effects of stereotypes and misrepresentation o n African American identity using Cornel Wests theory of Alienation (1993) and Du Boiss theory of double consciousness (1903). These will hopefully in turn help to understand why the integration of African Americans is considered as a problematic issue even in a sophisticated era where racism seems to be a thing of the past, and where people are supposedly no longer judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. But before getting to what Bamboozled (2000) actually brings to the table of African-American films, it is important to look at the history and evolution of black representation in Hollywood cinema, which the following paragraphs are going to deal with. II. African Americans in American Films: A Brief Retrospective African Americans first started to be represented in minstrel shows in the late 1820s and later on television in the early 20th century. Through blackface minstrelsy, a performance style where white males parodied the songs, dances, clothing and speech patterns of Southern blacks using blackface makeup and exaggerated lips, Americas conceptions of blackness and whiteness were shaped by these mocking caricatures, for, as pointed out by bell hooks, there is power in looking. While whiteness was posited as the norm, every black face was a statement of social imperfection, inferiority, and mimicry that [was] placed in isolation with an absent whiteness as its ideal opposite. Consequently, for over a century, the notion that colored people were racially and socially inferior to whites was ingrained, internalized and accepted both by white and black minstrel performers and audiences. The caricatures took such a strong hold on the American imagination that audiences naturally came to expect any person with dark skin, irrespective of his/ her background, to fit in one or more of the following stereotypes; Jim Crow, a dull-witted and subservient plantation slave; Zip Coon, a lazy, gaudily-dressed man from the city representing the proud newly- freed slave; Mammy, the contended, happy, loyal and ever-smiling female slave (as evidence of the supposed humanity of the institution of slavery,); Uncle Tom, the good Negro; submissive, hearty, faithful no matter what, stoic, selfless, and oh-so-very-kind, Buck, the proud and menacing Black man always fascinated by white women; Jezebel the temptress; the mixed race Mulatto, and Pickaninnies, who have bulging eyes, unkempt hair, red lips and wide mouths into which they stuff huge slices of watermelon. As time moved on, black appearance in mainstream films became more and more frequent, as well as the increase in the number of independent black directors, from Oscar Micheaux to Daniels Lee and Spike Lee. Since The Birth of a Nation, which marked a change in emphasis from the pretentious but harmless Jim Crow to the threatening savage Nigger, black filmmakers have responded by creating race movies and blaxploitation films which were tailored to black audiences . The 1970s witnessed a resurgence of the blaxploitation genre with films such as Sweet Sweetbacks Baadassss Song (1971), Shaft (1971), Black Caesar (1973) and Foxy Brown (1974). Since such films were themselves in turn accused of using the negative to hyperbolize issues pertaining to blacks, this genre saw its end in the late 1970s to give way to a new wave of black directors, such as S. Lee and John Singleton, who focused on black urban life. However, we cannot afford to simply celebrate the achievements of black filmmakers for the so-called ethnic arts. And as Stuart Hall remarks, we have come out of the age of innocence, which says that its good if its there. The mere fact that such films have had a considerable increase does not mean that the status of and opportunities for black people have dramatically improved although it may be true that the level of clear-cut racism has known an important decrease, or even a disappearance. This can be backed up by Appiahs statement that changes in the representation of blacks do not ipso facto lead to changes in their treatment. III. The Issue of Misrepresentation in Bamboozled (2000) In Bamboozled (2000), Spike Lee directly addresses this issue of African American representability as being a discourse of white essentialism. Through Bamboozled (2000) the director invites his audience to realize that although nobody goes around in blackface anymore,it does not entail that Hollywood has altogether abandoned/given up essentialist discourse. The director satirically uses very symbolic icons and elements throughout the film in order to highlight racism and misrepresentation. The beginning of Bamboozled (2000) itself generates the intended theme; Stevie Wonders Misrepresented People, a song which encapsulates the historical, political and social adversities faced by blacks, is carefully and cleverly set as the background music, which powerfully and heavily impacts upon the content of the film as well as upon the audience. Spike Lee makes it blatantly clear that Bamboozled (2000) sets out to illustrate White American ideology and discourse within contemporary public sphere. Pierre Delacroix (Damon Wayans), the protagonist of the film, is a network executive working in a company which is specialized in black matters. Ironically though, during the meeting in which Delacroix is reproached for his lateness and reminded of CP time, it can be noticed that the only Black person present is Pierre himself. His boss, Dunwitty, clearly does not want to see Negroes on television unless they are buffoons. He even cancelled one of Pierres brilliant shows because it starred blacks as dignified people and goes on to complain that the latters written materials are too clean, too white, too antiseptic, which according to him merely portray white people with blackfaces. He urges Delacroix to keep it real, that is, he reminds him of the humiliating position of blacks in cinema; blacks are only entertainers. The depiction of the struggle endemic to the African American experience of representation, which Lee throws to the audience in a very obvious yet complex way, can be seen in Extract 1. It can be observed in this scene that Delacroix has no other option than to portray blacks as entertainers if he is to respect his contract. This scene is also important because it does two things; first, it shows Delacroixs struggle to promote the black community by attempting to fight misrepresentation, and second, it shows a well-educated Delacroixs willingness to dissociate himself from other African Americans. The name of the blackface show in Bamboozled (2000) is in itself very symbolic; Mantan: The New Millennium Minstrel Show. Here, Lee suggests that minstrelsy has not disappeared in the new millennium. In his-own words therefore, it has only gotten more sophisticated. Gangsta rap videos, a lot of the TV shows on UPN and WB- a lot of us are still acting as buffoons and coons. The issue of black-white relations resurfaces in Bamboozled (2000) and the role of the Other is made explicit through Lees intended message. Black stereotyping and Otherisation becomes the necessary evil in the construction of white identity and is needed to reassure white audiences of the stability of their identity. With this comes the implication that black films are successfully marketed only if they appeal to mainstream audiences. Clearly, Spike Lees aim in this provocative film is to show that even today, the American film industry is still concealing essentialist discourses within contemporary films. Consequ ently, as essentialism involves ongoing human and social interaction as well as limitation, identity regulation and enforcement takes place within this kind of racist discourse, whereby blacks have to undergo identity dilemma while trying to seek approval. As we have seen, cinema has an important role to play in the construction of identity. History, cinema and black identity are intricately intertwined. The association of these three in Bamboozled (2000) communicates to the audience how blacks are identified and how they in turn identify themselves. As a marginalized group, most of the black characters in Spike Lees film forsake their identity so as to gain approval, to be successful, or to get out of black poverty and the result is shown to be a disastrous one for the black soul and community. The next section is therefore going to be an exploration of identity dilemma in Bamboozled (2000). IV. Identity Dilemma in Bamboozled (2000) I have heard all my life that White people dont have to change who they are, how they talk, or how they behave. Therefore, I was left with the impression that it was everyone elses responsibility to attempt to adopt the cultural and social personalities of White people. Ronald, L Jackson. In order to tackle this issue of identity in Bamboozled (2000) Cornel Wests theory of alienation(1993) will be used in parallel to DuBois theory of double-consciousness (1903) .Wests theory of alienation (1993) explores the identity crisis faced by the black diasporan community in modern day America. Natal alienation, which has been created by the history of colonization, is an irretrievable damage to black identity. Since the Black is rendered into an inferior being through history and representation, and this inferiority further reinforced by both descriptive and prescriptive stereotypes in cinema, blacks as a result experience a severe identity dilemma, a double consciousness. Alienation in Wests theory exists on two intricately related levels: firstly as an ideological system of oppression and discrimination and secondly as a black existentialist struggle. In Bamboozled (2000), this powerful system of oppression forces the black characters to forsake their black soul and identities. Unlike Delacroix, Womack (Tommy Davidson) and Manray (Savion Glover), two homeless street performers, are forced by their unfavorable economic conditions to become de-rooted and senseless performing dolls. Both are stripped of their names and imposed with the abasing and stereotypically racist names of SleepnEat and Mantan respectively. Alienation here produces the modern black diasporan problematic of invisibility and namelessness, whereby Womack and Manray are forced to look at themselves through the eyes of others, of measuring [their] soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. Impelled by societal and survival pressures, both of them are forced to assimilate in order to be accepted by the white community as well as by the assimilated black people. It becomes clear that David Llorenss (1968) two types of blacks are present in Bamboozled (2000). Delacroix and Sloan represent the chosen ones while Manray and Womack represent the fellah. The former is familiar with the streets and the black vernacular, while the latter is culturally refined has assimilated into the white community. Alienation and white essentialist discourse creates such a situation where the chosen one feels embarrassed by the fellah and seeks at all times to show that they are two different kinds, and to please the Guardian, that is, the white man. Manray and Womack are, through the eyes of Sloan ( Jada Pinkett Smith) and Pierre, African Americans who share similar traits to the primitive African. Delacroix points this out by looking down on them and recommending that they be given deodorant s, toothbrushes, toothpastes and underwear. He also attempts without success to dissociate himself from the fellah black category by desperately explaining to Dunwitty that blacks are not a monolithic group, and that middle class black does exist. These words are representative of the African American communitys desire not to be identified only through blackness. For Dunwitty, Delacroix is only trying to wear a whiteface, which is not a mere fabrication or a mere racist comment. Dunwittys words carry an important truth. We see from the beginning of the film, that Delacroix eagerly and desperately seeks recognition and visibility from his white co-workers when he walks his way to his office. He also rejects the black vernacular for Standard English so as to make a clear cut difference between the educated and the uneducated black. This, to an important extent, reifies the superiority of whites and serves to alienate blacks in American society, as, according to West (1993), alienation is part of a whole system of language. Once a cultures language is alienated from the mainstream populations language, the cultures identity is similarly taken away and starts to dissipate. Delacroix himself unconsciously embodies several of the blackface stereotypes, although he tries to portray blacks in a positive light. He can be viewed as a Zip Coon, with his pretentiousness and his implicit disregard for the fellah blacks during the auditioning for the Alabama Porch Monkeys, and his dissociation from the black vernacular. Furthermore, he embodies the Uncle Tom stereotype several times in the film, especially in the scene where he acts as the loyal, faithful and subservient black while insisting on handing off an award to Mathhew Modine (playing himself.) Delacroix is therefore himself caught in this whirlwind of Europeanization. In his relentless effort to assimilate into white culture, he gets himself a Harvard education and a penthouse, dresses professionally, and speaks the right language. Even when he sets out on his mission to deconstruct stereotypes and raise public awareness on modern day racism, he is himself unable to resist the misrepresentation and cari cature of the terms set by uncontested nonblack norms and models. Delacroix therefore also contributes both consciously and unconsciously to the dominant discourse of alienation of blacks from the white community by setting up a Coon show which idealizes a simpler time, a time when men were men, women were women, and Negroes knew their place. Some black folks are consequently outraged by his racist show and accuse him of selling out his own community. But what has actually happened to Pierre Delacroix is that he has been experiencing the split-self- disease, what Du Bois calls a twoness an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body. Aware of the fact that the popular American view has consistently dehumanized African Americans through negative representation, Delacroix does not want to be among those blacks who are despised by the European American population. He does not want to be invisible and formless. Therefore h e aspires to be both Negro and American, two identities, which, according to Du Bois (1903) are often in conflict. Delacroixs wearing of the blackface by the end of the film iterates the inescapability of the imposed mask of blackness. Realizing that he is unable to appear as anything but black in the eyes of others, he compromises with his black self and resigns himself to the mask. What Lee is actually showing is that in modern day America, and even for sophisticated and well- off black Americans, the merging of the American and the African is one very difficult (if not impossible) thing to happen. The impact of stereotypes and alienation on black identity causes one to have a keen sense of awareness about his or her various selves and how they are perceived. Often, blacks in Bamboozled (2000) have to negotiate their identity. Through this act, they inevitably reach a self-realization of twoness. Womack for instance realizes that he will always be looked down upon as a second-class American citizen, no matter how famous and successful he has become. He becomes conscious of the fact the he had been bamboozled insofar as believing that he could be an equal citizen. His success lies only in the fact that he is able to entertain white America, to always keep em laughing, a quality which Delacroixs father Junebug (Paul Mooney) believes is essential for the black American to achieve success. As shown in Extract 2 therefore, when Womack experiences double consciousness, he decides to stop acting in the minstrel show. This scene is significant in that it highlights the self-realization which is made possible only through a double-consciousness. Womack at this particular moment realizes that outside of the character of Sleepn Eat, he is simply invisible, a nobody. Through the eyes of others there is no other possible identity for him. Mantans own identity grows in conflict with that of Womack following this conversation; clearly he is still unaware of the complexities of the disjointed nature of identity in this scene. A few scenes later however, he also becomes afflicted by the same double consciousness experienced by his friend. In Extract 3, after discovering that he has been hoodwinked and led astray, Manray refuses to be further associated to Mantan. He realizes that it is fundamentally wrong to negotiate his identity through the medium of blackface. Although Lee might be suggesting that Manrays realization occurs at too late a time, his message clearly goes in line with Du Boiss (1903) argument that double consciousness is the realization that identity is mu ltifaceted. According to him, at one point or the other, black Americans develop a conflict with the different identities that they need to embody in order to be accepted by the mainstream, a conflict which is inexistent among white Americans. On the other hand, Sloans brother, Julius, who forms part of the Mau Mau revolutionary underground gang and who does not go through double consciousness because of his refusal to be seen through white Americas eyes, is juxtaposed to the blacks who try to assimilate white culture, thereby denying their own roots, language, people, and culture. Julius constantly affirms his black identity, unlike the other blacks we encounter in the film. Extract 4 shows how he refuses to be a representative of de-rooted, disenfranchised blacks. In the perspective of revolutionary blacks such as the Mau Maus therefore, Manray needs to be executed because he is a nuisance to the black community; he is a Judas, an Uncle Tom, one who contributes to the demise of his own race. The murders of Manray and Delacroix show to what extent alienation and double-consciousness can be detrimental to African Americans. They create inter-ethnic conflict and a heavy malaise in the black community. Alienation as an ideol ogical racist discourse therefore divides and rules those who are marginalized in a society that looks on in amused contempt and pity. Through the Mau Mau gang, it can be seen that those who accept and affirm their black identities are ineffective in society. They are in no way in a better state of being than those who experience double-consciousness. Since they do not master the mainstream language and do not believe in the ideological discourses of the inferiority of their race, they are forced to retire to the underground world. The fact that the imposition of history and alienation results in double consciousness in many cases in Bamboozled (2000) is destructive to all. Accepting white essentialism as culturally representable not only creates a fatal division between assimilated and un- assimilated blacks; it also kills the spirit of the black man. V. Conclusion Although the situations and the characters in Lees Bamboozled (2000) are all fictitious, and although the director does not choose the medium of docudrama to convey his important messages, he manages to successfully reconstruct blackface minstrelsy. African Americans have been freed, but only physically. There has been neither a consistent attempt to make up for the mistakes of humanity of the past nor to reshape identities. His argument in Bamboozled (2000) is that the identity dilemmas faced by the characters in the film are no different from the identity issues faced by African Americans in post-racial America. Although blacks do not find themselves as being represented in blackface or as victims of blatant segregation anymore, they are nevertheless always reminded of their blackness, and of what it implies to be a black in America. Whether Lee is genuinely successful in renegotiating a stigmatized identity or in deconstructing stereotypes by dismantling the false normativity of w hite authority remains highly debatable. On the one side, his use of satire and his engagement with the history of racism and representation impact heavily on the audience. However, the frustrating ending of Bamboozled (2000), as well as the inter- ethnic conflict between the revolutionary and the assimilated blacks, display a contaminating and intense sense of helplessness and hopelessness in regards to humanitys chances to ever get rid of the veil which separates whites and blacks in America, as well as in any other parts of the world. Lees message, considering his role as an auteur, seems to reflect Du Boiss words that the black man must not bleach his soul in a flood of white Americanism, for he knows that [his] blood has a message for the world.

My Papas Waltz :: essays research papers

A Drunken Dance   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Theodore Roethke’s â€Å"My Papa’s Waltz† tells the reader of a small boy’s memory of his father. It explains how his father is intoxicated and the scene that goes along with it, using the word waltz to describe it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the first two lines, it recounts the smell of his father’s breath and the extent to which it reeked: â€Å"The whiskey on your breath / Could make a small boy dizzy† (1-2). As the third and fourth lines are read, a picture of a small boy hanging onto his father is instilled in the reader’s mind: â€Å"But I hung on like death / Such waltzing was not easy† (3-4). We would not normally associate this particular image with a waltz, a word Webster’s Dictionary defines as a ballroom dance in 3/4 time with strong accent on the first beat and a basic pattern of step-step-close. How can such an elegant dance be used to describe such a scene?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The fifth and sixth lines describe, sarcastically, a playful incident where pans fall off the kitchen shelf: â€Å"We romped until the pans / Slid from the kitchen shelf† (5-6). Finally the boy’s mother comes into play during the seventh and eight lines. Her facial expression â€Å"Could not unfrown itself† (8). This tells us that the mother was displeased but its rather discerning that she made no attempt at intervening. We would normally think of a mother’s love as unconditional and willing to do anything for her son. It really shows the degree of fear the father must have embedded into the mother with his actions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The eleventh through fourteenth lines describe actual, bodily harm done to the young boy by way of his father’s acts: â€Å"At every step you missed / My right ear scraped a buckle / You beat time on my head / With a palm caked hard by dirt† (11-14). We can actually picture the boy clinging to his father as his ear scrapes the father’s belt buckle and his watch bumps hard onto the boy’s head.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I believe this poem tells a rather disturbing story of a boy’s time with his father in a very sarcastic way. I believe the theme to it is the sarcasm itself. It shows how some things that are bad can be described as good.

Maintaining Cultural Identity in the Face of Adversity Essay -- Cultura

Maintaining Cultural Identity in the Face of Adversity "At the turn of the century, Sea Island Gullahs, descendants of African Captives, remained isolated from the mainland of South Carolina and Georgia. As a result of their isolation, the Gullah created and maintained a distinct, imaginative, and original African American Culture. Gullah communities recalled, remembered, and recollected much of what their ancestors brought with them from Africa†¦" - Prologue to Julie Dash’s "Daughters of the Dust" The people who settled in the United States from all over the world built the rich history of the country. Indeed, the U.S. is a country that has been built on immigration. The first non-indigenous arrivers were European and with them they brought to the United States all of the western ideologies of their homeland. This is true of all of the groups that immigrated here over the course of the next several hundred years. However, the initial settling of the Europeans in America created a standard by which other immigrants would have to compete against. Once a particular group saturates an area, it is difficult for diversified outgroups to bring their own culture and belief systems into a society that has already established itself. This rift in cultures is evident at the turn of the 20th century. There are communities of like-minded people carefully segregated in New York City, for example. The Italians, the Irish, and the Jews and the Blacks all had their own niche carved for themsel ves in the big city. These pockets of ethnic groups are created for several reasons. First, people are most comfortable with what they already know. Imagine coming to a new country for the first time. If you can go to an area where you know they will... ...o that fact. The only way balance can be achieved, though, is if the past is not forgotten. African Americans must "recall, remember, and recollect much of what their ancestors brought with them from Africa†¦ ." Bibliography Online; Internet. available at http://www.lik.berkeley.edu/MRC/africanambib2.html. Pabis, Dr. George S. "Sub-Saharan Africa Under Foreign Rule." Online; Internet. available at http://www.gpc.peachnet.edu/~gpabis/lecdoc1503/lec23-Africa_Foreign.htm. University of Georgia Press. "The Gullah People and Their African Heritage." Online; Internet. available at http://www.uga.edu/ugapress/newsite/books/shelf/0820320544.html. Members of Honors Religious Traditions of the African Diaspora 1997. "The Gullah People and Their Link to West Africa." Online; Internet. available at http://dickinsg.intrasun.tcnj.edu/diaspora/gullah.html.

Internal And External Economies Of Scale :: Economics

Internal And External Economies Of Scale When a company reduces costs and increases production, internal economies of scale have been achieved. External economies of scale occur outside of a firm, within an industry. Thus, when an industry's scope of operations expand due to for example the creation of a better transportation network, resulting in a subsequent decrease in cost for a company working within that industry, external economies of scale are said to have been achieved. With external ES, all firms within the industry will benefit. Economies Of Scale In addition to specialization and the division of labor, within any company there are various inputs that may result in the production of a good and/or service: * Lower input costs: when a company buys inputs in bulk, say for example potatoes used to make French fries at a fast food chain; it can take advantage of volume discounts. (In turn, the farmer from which sold the potatoes could also be achieving ES if the farm has lowered its average input costs through, for example, buying fertilizer in bulk at a volume discount). * Costly inputs: some inputs, such as research and development, advertising, managerial expertise and skilled labor are expensive, but because of the possibility of increased efficiency with such inputs, can lead to a decrease in the average cost of production and selling. If a company is able to spread the cost of such inputs over an increase in its production units, ES can be realized. Thus, if the fast food chain chooses to spend more money on technology to eventually increase efficiency by lowering the average cost of hamburger assembly, it would also have to increase the number of hamburgers it produces a year in order to cover the increased technology expenditure. * Specialized inputs: as the scale of production of a company increases, a company can employ the use of specialized labor and machinery resulting in greater efficiency. This is because workers would be better qualified for a specific job, for example someone who only makes French fries, and would no longer be spending extra time learning to do work not within their specialization (making hamburgers or taking a customer's order). Machinery, such as a dedicated French fry maker, would also have a longer life as it would not have to be over and/or improperly used. * Techniques and Organizational inputs: with a larger scale of production, a company may also apply better organizational skills to its resources, such as a clear-cut chain of command, while improving its techniques for production and distribution. Thus, behind the counter employees at the fast food chain may be organized according to those taking in-house orders and those Internal And External Economies Of Scale :: Economics Internal And External Economies Of Scale When a company reduces costs and increases production, internal economies of scale have been achieved. External economies of scale occur outside of a firm, within an industry. Thus, when an industry's scope of operations expand due to for example the creation of a better transportation network, resulting in a subsequent decrease in cost for a company working within that industry, external economies of scale are said to have been achieved. With external ES, all firms within the industry will benefit. Economies Of Scale In addition to specialization and the division of labor, within any company there are various inputs that may result in the production of a good and/or service: * Lower input costs: when a company buys inputs in bulk, say for example potatoes used to make French fries at a fast food chain; it can take advantage of volume discounts. (In turn, the farmer from which sold the potatoes could also be achieving ES if the farm has lowered its average input costs through, for example, buying fertilizer in bulk at a volume discount). * Costly inputs: some inputs, such as research and development, advertising, managerial expertise and skilled labor are expensive, but because of the possibility of increased efficiency with such inputs, can lead to a decrease in the average cost of production and selling. If a company is able to spread the cost of such inputs over an increase in its production units, ES can be realized. Thus, if the fast food chain chooses to spend more money on technology to eventually increase efficiency by lowering the average cost of hamburger assembly, it would also have to increase the number of hamburgers it produces a year in order to cover the increased technology expenditure. * Specialized inputs: as the scale of production of a company increases, a company can employ the use of specialized labor and machinery resulting in greater efficiency. This is because workers would be better qualified for a specific job, for example someone who only makes French fries, and would no longer be spending extra time learning to do work not within their specialization (making hamburgers or taking a customer's order). Machinery, such as a dedicated French fry maker, would also have a longer life as it would not have to be over and/or improperly used. * Techniques and Organizational inputs: with a larger scale of production, a company may also apply better organizational skills to its resources, such as a clear-cut chain of command, while improving its techniques for production and distribution. Thus, behind the counter employees at the fast food chain may be organized according to those taking in-house orders and those

Diverse Communication and Classroom Management Essay

For teaching to be successful at any given stage, there should be an effective management of the classroom. This can be done through showing respect for the diversity that exists in the classroom situation. Diversity entails physical attributes, beliefs, gender, ethnic and cultural background, styles of learning and age among others (Dowdy & Delpit, 2008). The communication in the classroom setting is also of immense importance because through it, the students are able to reach out to the teacher and their peers while the teacher can be able to deliver the content in a manner that the learners will find easy to follow. This calls for the incorporation of effective management skills and promotion of good communication in class (Kassem, 2004). Respect can only be achieved if the teacher and the students communicate well and avoid dispensation of prejudicial materials (Snow & Fillmore, 1999). In addition to this, there should be some connections between the teacher and the students individually so as to enhance understanding of the feelings and personality of the students (Dowdy & Delpit, 2008). The relationship between what is learnt and their application to the daily lives is paramount in eliciting excitement and the enthusiasm to learn among the students. This paper looks in depth at these important parts that go into making the process of teaching and learning a success. The evaluation of these factors have been based of the fieldwork activities done by Ulrich, which are a one-on-one encounter with the learners and outside the classroom and the building of connections by the new teacher Introduction There are a myriad of challenges in the classroom that a teacher faces due to the diverse nature of many schools today (Snow & Fillmore, 1999). The number of students has increased and issues pertaining to gender and disability are rife in many schools. Communication therefore becomes a vital component of the teacher’s day to day teaching activities as well as the learning that takes place in the classroom (Kassem, 2004). The teacher has to recognize and analyze the cultures that the learners come from so as not to appear or be prejudicial and thus affect the smooth learning process, an issue that makes communication in such diverse classrooms to be challenging (Snow & Fillmore, 1999). The different cultures of the teachers may also prove to be an influence on the communication in the classroom thus affecting the manner in which the teacher has to deliver his/ her content. Promotion of positive behavior in students and achievement of good results are only possible if there is efficacy on the part of the teacher which is a constituent of good management in the classroom (Cummings, 2004). Generally, the realms of classroom management include the management of content, the conduct, and management of the covenant between the teacher and the students. Management of the content entails the skills that spans all activities and subjects taught in the class while conduct management entails the beliefs appertaining to people’s nature. The knowledge of people’s diversity should be integrated with some philosophies of instruction so that teachers can have a more effective and better way of handling their classrooms (Cummings, 2004). Management of the covenant between the teacher and the students regards classroom as a system that is social in nature and that the roles of the teacher and the students do shape the teaching- learning environment but is informed by the culture within which the school is found (Dowdy & Delpit, 2008). This calls for close relationship between the community and the school so that the school can be dynamic enough to cope with the dynamic needs of the society. For a school to be qualitative, the effectiveness of the teacher and the achievement of the student must be enhanced through the creation and strengthening of interpersonal skills for instance as seen in Ulrich’s journal entries. The learner has to feel wanted and treated as an important person. Central to this is communication between the teacher and the students such that in case of errant behavior, there should be an agreement on how the punishment can be meted, both the student and the teacher can solve it or the whole class can participate in deciding what punishment befits a given misbehavior (Kassem, 2004). This helps in the building of trust between the teacher and the students since the teacher cannot now assume a supervisory role but the learners become individually responsible for their own actions. Importance of language and identity in the classroom Perceptions of a given language or given languages and how such perceptions affect the classroom situation is of essence to the teacher as expounded by Dowdy & Delpit (2008) who say that the visibility of a language is just like the visibility of someone’s skin color. Dowdy & Delpit say that the judgment of a person’s intelligence, class and status can be based on their language. Those who speak Englishes other than the standard or other languages other than English are treated as being inferior. In the classroom, language and what it contributes towards identity is very important and the way to address the problem of inadequacy in one’s beliefs and attitudes is by letting them know that they are not inadequate but just different from the rest (Dowdy & Delpit, 2008). Students need this bit of encouragement since without confidence in themselves and their apparent lack of acceptance derail their performance in studies. The best way to go about this is by incorporating language studies in the curricula which will thus make the students appreciate the diverse languages that might be found in the classroom situation. The students’ home languages should also not be negatively referred to because it will tend to make them reject all that the school offers (Dowdy & Delpit 2008). The assertions made by Dowdy & Delpit imply that language marks the culture from which a student comes from. It further highlights the cognitive and socio-economic position that the student hails from and that the acquisition of the language considered to be of power may help the learner acquires a better social and economic standing. However, the urge to learn a new language is all within the feeling of the student. Whether he/ she learns a new language depends on him / her and not the teacher. This calls for student-centered approach to appeal to the needs of the learner as opposed to the teacher centered approach which the student may find very unpopular and fail to co-operate. The teacher must be ready to induct the learners in understanding the culture that accompany a target language that he/she wants them to understand because language is a microcosm people’s culture. If it is English language that they are being introduced to, then the home-used, formal and the professional forms must be made known to them (Kassem, 2004). Dowdy & Delpit further indicate that there is a clear connection that between identity, race, school success and the language a student speaks. Students of Englishes other than the standard English for example most African Americans have a different view of themselves. Their dilects may one time or another make their teachers, peers or other people in th community to make judgements on their academic capabilities. These writers found out that Afro-American kids do not switch their codes as easily as the others when they enter different environments that require the use of formal or professional language and the teachers have to learn to accept their culture and, through acceptance, these kids will learn to code-switch as easily as other students not from different cultural background. Importance of making connections Research has established that those teachers who show acceptance, support and care to the students are essential in the students’ learning for they create an enabling learning environment. The basic aim of the school as argued by Noddings (1994) is to grow and nurture people who are caring, loving, competent and lovable. Students will only be able to care for themselves and others only if they are cared for. Those teachers who know how to care are good in establishing good relations with the students although caring and making good relations are two different things for caring relations involve an element of mutual understanding and exchange of feelings that result to making of connections thus bringing some bonding between the student and the teacher. To make connections can be very hard since both parties must learn how to accept each others weaknesses and at the same time learning must take place. Most curricula in teacher training do not provide for how to facilitate good relationships between the teacher and the student. There is no provision for interpersonal relationship skills in the curricula making it hard for teachers to foster good relations with the students. Teachers who learn how to replenish their emotions have been found to be enduring even as many leave the teaching profession because of the inability to create enabling environment for student-teacher relationship (Noddings 1994). Generally, caring works in an intrinsic manner so as to establish the right emotions which in turn make the children to appreciate the content in the best way possible. How do we create the intelligence arising from correct student emotions and how can teachers be more caring so as to develop the right emotions hence intelligence in their pupils? Drawing from Gruwell’s example, classroom management, which involves building the right emotions, is not all about seniority in class level and neither is it about handling the best or gifted learners. Gruwell was given the less gifted ninth graders making the school that she taught to have some racial boundaries whereby the group that was favored was recognized and the other students left out. The â€Å"dumber† kids were looked down upon by both the teachers and the parents of the students who were gifted. The less gifted learners tended to be left out even in matters of great importance like access to some resource materials as seen in Gruwell’s case whereby she had to buy some copies of books herself (Gruwell, 2007). Students also need to have a connection between what they learn and their daily lives that is what they learn should have a connection with their real lives. They have to get what they are learning means to them, how it relates to them directly or indirectly (Gruwell, 2007). Information has to be given to them as carefully as possible so as to arouse some interest in them. In the journal entries in the fieldwork by Ulrich, the filing in of the students on the robot activity by the students (Engineering) made the students get excited about the idea. Their going to the geology department made them see things in a different light via practical melting of rocks and so forth. This reinforces the point that information which comes about due to communication is vital in changing the attitudes of the learners and thus making the teaching-learning experience enjoyable to both the teachers and the students. It is important to know the cultural background of the students because it might explain their personalities and thus make the teacher attend to them in a better manner (Lomawaima & McCarthy, 2006). If for instance the learners are asked to write about their families, they are likely to write that which makes them dull or insecure and so on, based on their expectations, feelings and memories. From such, writings, the teacher is able to draw an informed idea on why the students act the way they do which in the long run helps the teacher to assist the learner in the best way possible and help them improve their performance. Building respect in the classroom Respect means a lot to learners at all stages for they all want to be treated by others including teachers just as they would want the students to treat them. Teachers need to know that how they treat their students is exactly how the students will portray their attitudes towards them. This includes being nice to them, treating them equally, avoiding degrading remarks, being gentle and polite, courteous and minding one’s own business. The behavior exuded by the teacher is directly proportional to the respect they are accorded as can be seen in Shobe’s journal (Lomawaima & McCarthy, 2006) on correctional education. Musicians were not identified as being respected by any students from any culture perhaps because of their dressing and other mannerisms while such people as the teachers, parents and nannies were cited as the most respected by varied student. This is the direct result of love and respect that the identified persons showered on the students in addition to the encouragement they gave them in their academics. Encouraging respect can thus be said to be a very important endeavor so as to have an orderly classroom environment. It is the main ingredient in creating an environment in which the learner does not feel threatened but motivated to explore their academics to the highest levels. The learners must respect other learners and the teacher so as to enable progressive learning to take place. This is part of the realm of teaching as opposed to academic work alone because some learners may have the problem of not showing respect to others but do want to be respected by others. This demands teaching of the right way to expect respect from other learners as well as the school community (Gonzalez, 2001). Respect of individual students also entails making them feel accepted despite their differences from the rest. They should be taught that their unique attributes give them an opportunity to contribute what is of value in a special way, a way only capable of being exploited by their kind alone. Many students go to school knowing too well what they want to achieve in their academics meaning that teachers are just but helpers in making them realize their dreams (Gonzalez, 2001). This means that they already have some attitudes as they enter the school either from other schools or from home. Some do not like the school because of waking up early, others do not like academics and some do not like teachers who are not helpful in their teaching especially where they have not understood. This calls for the teacher’s intervention in matters pertaining respect to the students who will find it easier to listen to what they are being taught. They should feel respected which will make them want to learn that which their respectful teacher requires of them. In a diverse classroom situation, building respect can be achieved through literary studies that purpose to bridge the cultural gap among the students and between them and the teacher (Dowdy & Delpit, 2008). English teachers get most challenging moments in choosing the literary materials that are incorporative for a trusting, and respectful classroom environment is possible if only the teacher regards the different cultures in the classroom setting. There should be literary materials that offer different kinds of protagonists who reflect the society and appreciate other cultures while preserving some of the ideals from their cultures. Students’ self-esteem is increased if the literature selected represents varied cultures and that this literature must be taught with acceptance and respect without any form of prejudice. Realistic goals must be set and discussed in the class based on thorough and informed research on the students’ cultural beliefs which might be of influence to their behavior for instance where some cultures require learners to listen to teachings and not air their views (Cummings, 2000). In this way, the teacher will be able to establish the reason for the students’ laid –back attitude and not treat it as impudence which might jeopardize their mutual respect. The teacher, in an environment like this, cannot achieve the objective with ease because he/she has to bring the student to accept that their opinions are valued and anticipated whether correct or wrong. Literature with implicit cultural material for instance pronunciation of the students’ names in correct way and leading the whole class to accept such pronunciations is the inception of respect in that class. In addition to this, the learners should not be asked to voice the opinions or beliefs of their race, culture or gender because there might be some stereotypes that will be raised thus affecting the classroom balance (Noddings, 2004). Should there be a need to speak of other cultures; the students need to be taught how to respond to such culture-sensitive topics so as to be devoid of stereotypes. Different modes of teaching should be adopted for literature with diverse cultural content because the students who are diverse understand the subject of discussion using different modes. They can be seated as individuals or in groups so as to create an interactive environment, told to write on diverse cultural matters and so forth. The use of non-standard English texts which are full of idioms, slang, and so on present challenges to students from diverse background and the teacher therefore needs to avoid them at all costs since the students may feel that their needs have not been respected hence may show unruly behavior towards the teacher (Kassem, 2004). In addition to this, more than one mode of teaching especially literary materials should be adopted since students from diverse cultures may not full read then respond to some literally materials selected. Other ways to improve respect in class include not over-using example from one culture or gender as well as making the assumption that those quiet students do not learn for among the Asians, for instance, keeping silent is a shows respect. Humor that can be subject to a variety of interpretations should be avoided by the teacher and/ or the students because it might not be taken lightly by others thus putting the classroom manager’s respect in a questionable stand (Cummings, 2000). The study of literary materials is vital for showing the richness of the cultures from which the learners hail. Such materials should be carefully chosen so as not to embarrass or isolate some learners from others and worse still put them in doubt of the respect that the teacher and the other learners accord them and their culture. This will in turn define the respect they wish to give back to their fellow students and the teacher. Conclusion From the evaluation of the requisites for an effective teaching –learning process shown in this paper, it is worth concluding that the relationship between the teacher and the learners need to be as warm as possible. The caring and loving attitude, which brings terrific results, should be adopted by teachers. They should also enhance acceptance of the diversity in the classroom by other students so as to build lasting friendships and avoid disrespect which has far-reaching consequences of both teaching and learning. Stereotypical materials and too much focus on one culture, gender, race or individual is detrimental to effective classroom management. References Cummings, C. (2000): Classroom Management Strategies: Baltimore; Alexandria press Dowdy & Delpit (2008): The Skin that We Speak: New York; New Press Gonzalez, N. (2001): I am my Language: Tucson: Arizona University Press Gruwell, E (2007): Teaching with your Heart: New York; Harvard Kassem, C. L (2004): How to Develop a Caring Teacher: New Jersey, Mahwah Publishers Lomawaima, T & McCarthy, L. T (2006): To Remain an Indian: New York: Teachers College Press,

Persuasive Essay: Should public schools implement a school uniforms Essay

The issue of implementing a school uniforms is a controversial and lingering subject facing many of the school systems in the United States. Many people see that numerous problems exists within the public school system and they think that school uniform would be a good solution these problems. School uniform is a positive concept in public school because of many advantages such as, a cost savings by eliminating name brand clothing, student security, school spirit and simpler daily school preparation. First of all, uniforms can remove the distraction of symbols that reflect students social status, provide relief from competition for fashion and peer pressure and create equality between more and less wealthy students. In schools without uniforms students always worry about their appearance; those without expensive designer clothes may become outcasts. Many students feel that they are judges by other students, teachers and administrators according to what they wear. Additionally, parents usually support uniform because of its cost. The use of school uniforms is more affordable to families because there is not as much pressure to buy expensive, trendy clothing. Some people say a school uniform is expensive, especially the one in a good quality. But buying different clothes for everyday and season in a long run will be more expensive that buying a uniform which can last longer and, in some cases, can be worn throughout the year. For these reasons, school administrators and parents support this type of dressing code in schools. Moreover, studies have shown that in certain public schools 80% of girls and 62% of boys actually liked the uniforms. Furthermore, school uniforms can significantly reduce violence and discipline problems while motivating students to learn. In many cases, students clothes have been linked to the causes of violence. For example, in Detroit, an 18 year old was shot and killed for his parka and Nike sneakers worth $70 and in a six month period, four Chicago youths were killed for warm-up jackets valued between $900 and $200. In 1995, the school in Long Beach, CA made it mandatory for students to wear uniforms. In 1999, the statistics from these schools have shown that the crime rate dropped by 91%, school suspensions dropped by 90%, sex offenses were reduced by 96% and incidents of vandalism went down by 69%. Also, nine years after implementing school uniforms in one  of the schools in Maryland, the schools principal said that attendance and test scores have increased, suspensions and fights have decreased and students were more focused. Students who wear school uniforms behave more appropriately in the school environment more likely to follow school rules. As the research in school has shown, the mandatory use of standardized dress reduces violence within the school. Every morning, the teenager wakes up and starts thinking about which clothes to wear. School uniforms would save students as well as parents time. Kids in the morning would not have to make up their minds on what to wear. There is less distraction due to uniforms. They set a more serious tone in the classroom that is favorable for learning and can improve student performance. Also, by getting rid of the extra time choosing clothes, students are able to sleep and study more. As a result, students grades will rise. Some say that a child in a school uniform is more likely to take school seriously. Putting on the school uniform signals he or she is going to school just like dad dresses up to go to work. Schools report that when students dress in â€Å"work clothes† rather than â€Å"play clothes† they take a more serious approach to their studies. Even though some people might say that school uniforms interfere with the students right for self-expression, dont prevent violence and place additional economical burden on parents, the pros still outweigh cons. The studies and reports from various schools in the country proved that uniforms can improve discipline and promote the students interest in learning. Uniforms provide students with school uniqueness. Students will stand out in field trips and other school activities feeling a sense of belonging and team unity. The agreement between students will elevate their morale and self-esteem. Students that are together lead to a school that is united. â€Æ'Works Cited Manual on School Uniforms. US Department of Education 29 Feb. 1996. 16 Nov. 2008 . Pro School Uniforms Speech. Onpapers.com 04 Nov. 2008. 16 Nov. 2008 . Public School Uniform Debate. Education Bug 16 Nov. 2008 . Public School Uniform Statistics. Education Bug 16 Nov. 2008 . Reasons to Support School Uniforms. Onpapers.com 25 Jul. 2008. 16 Nov. 2008 . School Uniform. International Debate Education Association 01 Nov. 2000. 12 Nov. 2008 .