Education and Society Essay Example for Free

Education and Society Essay Education in the United States has become a crucial part of every Americans life. Completing high school opens doors for individual achievement and is directly linked to economic success. But equally important to the completion of high school is a rich and positive experience in the learning process. Educators are skilled in creating great learning experiences and to enhancing the curriculum, while parents are even more influential. Parents are the positive influence for many children who would otherwise be drastically falling behind, failing, or even dropping out of school. The child’s family background, combined with passed down values and experiences will determine the students high school education. The role of technology in early childhood education is an effective tool for students, so the lack of technology in a child’s upbringing can affect their educational career. For example, students who do not begin using various types of technology from kindergarten can fall behind. Studies found that students who are less likely to access technology at home can be at an academic disadvantage. This shows how vital technology is in a childs education, however there is a challenge in making it available to everyone. Particularly low-income or minority college students could have trouble in succeeding in a technology-saturated environment. Some parents dont parents dont understand the importance of Internet access, since in their generation, the Internet was a luxury, not a necessity. However, the bigger issue seems to be the gap between Whites who have access to the Internet and minorities. Studies found that â€Å"56% of Latino adults and 60% of African American can use the Internet,compared to 71% of White adults. The same organization finds that while 42% of white families and 41% of Latino 2 families 666subscribe to broadband access,only 31% of African American households have such access. Even if lower income schools computer labs students need to build their skills at home as well. Early childhood reading for children can bring a positive outcome to a child’s life. What a child learns in their early years are things that will continue to helps them along in their future in school and in the real world. When a child is introduced to early childhood education, they can get many benefits from it. Benefits include learning to interact in new situations, use critical thinking and basic speech skills before kindergarten. According to Maryanne Wolf, â€Å"In most underprivileged communities, no children’s books were found in homes; in the low come to middle income community there were, on average three books; and in the affluent community there were around 200. † Parents need to create an atmosphere where reading takes place in order to show the importance of reading, but low-income families are falling behind. Parents from affluent communities are able to gain access to understanding the importance of reading while parents from lower income don’t have the resources. Its unclear why low income families dont have as many books in the home, but the issue might be attributed to a poor school library, lack of understanding for the importance of books, or the obvious issue with low financial resources to buy books. Parents from different language background and parents who arent literate in English, will likely raise children who have to play catch-up once they enter kindergarten. Reading can’t just happen over night it needs to be developed over time. If books are limited, discussions and thoughts arent spoken out loud, and this can result in problems. Catherine snow of Harvard and her colleagues found that in addition to literacy materials,one of the major contributors to later reading was simply the amount of time for â€Å"talk around dinner† The 3 importance of simply being talked to, read to, and listened to is what much of early development is about†. In a low-income, busy and hard-working parents may not have time to have these simple talks, or even the financial resources to purchase books for there children. These are two important ingredients for a strong educational upbringing that many low-income family parents can not afford. Even though socioeconomic status and the access to technology are key a family’s behavioral and cultural backgrounds have an equal influence on a student. A child is instinctively drawn toward the background of their parents and social settings to learn what is deemed from right to wrong. According to David Brooks â€Å"Educated parents not only pass down resources to their children, they pass down expectations, habits, knowledge and cognitive abilities. Pretty soon you end up with a hereditary meritocratic class that reinforces itself generation after generation†. What David Brooks is saying is that even though the United States has universal access to higher education such as community college but some students may not be â€Å"physiologically prepared and culturally prepared for college†. Children are reaching their parents expectations and are just continuing a cycle. If parents arent showing their support in a educational and motivational sense, kids won’t feel the need to fulfill higher education. The time to instill values of education is not when a child becomes a senior in high school; rather the time to start discussing educational values to a child, is the onset of school, preschool. Education provides an individual their path to a successful future, but only through hard work, dedication and determination is this achievable. Education requires a parent to mold a child into an individual that is capable of contributing effectively to society. The drive to learn must be aroused in children and started at an early age.

The Fountainhead Essay -- Biography, Wynand

In spite of Gail Wynand’s individualism and creative spirit in The Fountainhead, he compromises these values in his work and succumbs to the power of the people, believing this double identity to be his only option in achieving the power he seeks. A simple credo governs Gail Wynand’s life: I Do run things around here. Originally a statement affirming his drive to rise above, this assertion quickly becomes a measure of Wynand’s self-worth—a self-worth based entirely upon his power over others. His deep respect for the greatness of mankind and the integral dignity of the independent man is made irrelevant in his life by a single, core fallacy: the futility and inevitable demise of integrity. On a tenement rooftop at age sixteen, Gail Wynand decides to conquer â€Å"the city where he [does] not run things† through the power of the written word (Rand 405). Working diligently and for his own purposes, young Wynand shows promise toward becoming a selfish creator and a moral man. [Perhaps you could add a bit here to describe what a selfish creator is†¦ how that makes a moral man?]But with Wynand’s first self-righteous stand against corruption comes the devastating blow to his belief in honest men. [To what does this refer?] The true Gail Wynand dies, and the man who takes his place holds an unshakable contempt for integrity and the victimhood it presupposes. In Wynand’s mind, integrity will only make him a victim to the very forces he swore to conquer. [Why?] He sees a dichotomy between success and self-respect, and when he forces himself to choose between the man he wants to be and the things he feels he needs to prove [These things he â€Å"need s† to prove†¦is this referring to â€Å"conquering† the city? Proving his success to others through powe... ... creates victims [yeah, this will be stronger once you go into more detail above about why he came to believe that integrity is impossible/dangerous] , Gail Wynand chooses to abandon his, and makes himself a victim anyway. By pandering to the lurid whims of the people, Gail Wynand makes himself a slave, dependent upon public approval and compliance. He never gets what he desires out of the bargain because he is no longer capable of desiring anything. Roark and Wynand are very alike—neither one was â€Å"born to be a second-hander†Ã¢â‚¬â€but one fundamental inverse separates them (663). Wynand lives only for the control that others will grant him; he lives for everything except his own integrity and chooses not to commit suicide because he can find nothing worth dying for. Roark, on the other hand, claims, â€Å"I could die for you. But I couldn’t and wouldn’t live for you† (608).

Machiavellian Monkeys, James Shreeve, Discover, June 1991 Essay

â€Å"The sneaky skills of our primate cousins suggest that we may owe  our great intelligence to an inherited need to deceive.†Ã‚  Machiavellian Monkeys, James Shreeve, Discover, June 1991. Fraud. Deception. Infidelity. Theft. When these words are spoken, or read, the first thought is of human traits. Not once would someone think of animals as being capable of such actions, but people forget that humans are animals, and that the human animal evolved from a creature that had common ancestry with the great apes. Is it surprising then that these seemingly humanistic traits are found in primates? James Shreeve discusses the findings of hundreds of primatologists, which support the notion of Machiavellian intelligence in primates. He studied Machiavellian Intelligence in baboons, chimps, lemurs and lorises, and concluded that social primates exhibit this intelligence and those that live in small groups or in solitude do not. First, let’s examine the term Machiavellian. The dictionary definition is: characterized by subtle or unscrupulous cunning, deception, expediency, or dishonesty. By suggesting Machiavellian intelligence, Shreeve implies that these types of behaviour are not simply conditioned responses to stimuli, but conscious thought. This might not be blatantly obvious as important to physical anthropology, but it does suggest a number of important ideas as to the development of man. Lesser primates, such as lemurs and lorises, do not exhibit any type of deceptive traits, but when more advanced primates are examined, it can be seen that as the size of the brain increases, there are increasingly more complicated tactics used to deceive others of their own species. It is interesting to note that humans have brains roughly three times larger than  would be expected, and also exhibit the most complex Machiavellian behaviours. An important observation that Shreeve points out is that primates such as the orang-utan, who lead solitary lives and have no need for social skills, do not exhibit any signs of Machiavellian traits. This observation, together with the observation of brain size and primate order, suggests that Machiavellian behaviour may not be a result of intelligence, but was, actually, an important factor in the development of it. For example, a creature that is able to consciously deceive others in order to get food or breed has a distinct advantage over those who do not. When considered with the need for large social groups, this ability of deception and trickery becomes even more important which can help explain why humans have evolved with their huge brains. Humans could not have become as successful as they have without incredible social skills, including those skills considered Machiavellian. Shreeve notes that this is also consistent with chimpanzees, who have a great advantage with these abilities. The advantage is a result of their social structure (large groups that constantly vary) meaning that there would be no advantage if chimpanzees lived solitary lives. If there is any doubt that Machiavellian intelligence gives an individual a greater chance of surviving and reproducing, the case of concealment, as observed with stump-tailed macaques and hamadryas baboons leaves no doubt. By concealing their relationship with, arousal by, or physical nearness to the potential mate from the dominant male(s), an individual finds breeding is possible; without this intelligence, it would be far less likely, if not impossible. Although Machiavellian behaviour is somewhat controversial in terms of it being human nature, it does seem to indicate intelligence not so different than that found in the great apes. Perhaps this is why people tend to resist the idea that humans are fundamentally Machiavellian in nature; it is behaviour that seems too animalistic. It does seem, though, that the exact  opposite could be true: Machiavellian behaviour is humanistic behaviour evident in the animals we call primates. No matter how we look at it, the fact remains that the observation of this type of behaviour in primates is significant to physical anthropology.

Willamette University - Scores, Costs, and Admissions

If you are interested in attending Willamette University, the good news is that their acceptance rate is 78 percent of applicants. Willamette is a small private university located in Salem, Oregon, directly across the street from the states capitol building. The undergraduate College of Liberal Arts is well-regarded nationally, a fact that earned the school a chapter of the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. The university prides itself on the number students who study abroad and the number of hours its students devote to service (more than 60,000 hours a year of volunteerism). Academics at Willamette are supported by a healthy 10 to 1 student / faculty ratio. Willamette students come from 43 states and 27 countries. In athletics, the Willamette Bears compete in the NCAA Division III Northwest Conference. Popular sports include swimming, rowing, basketball, tennis, cross country, and track and field. Admissions Data (2016) Percent of Applicants Admitted: 78 percentGPA, SAT and ACT graph for WillametteTest Scores: 25th / 75th PercentileSAT Critical Reading: - / -SAT Math: - / -SAT Writing: - / -What these SAT numbers meanCompare SAT scores for Oregon collegesACT Composite: - / -ACT English: - / -ACT Math: - / -What these ACT numbers meanCompare ACT scores for Oregon colleges Enrollment (2016) Total Enrollment: 2,556 (1,997 undergraduates)Gender Breakdown: 44Â  percent Male / 56 percent Female93Â  percent Full-time Costs (2016-17) Tuition and Fees: $47,217Books: $950 (why so much?)Room and Board: $11,600Other Expenses: $1,232Total Cost: $60,999 Willamette University Financial Aid (2015-16) Percentage of New Students Receiving Aid: 99Â  percentPercentage of New Students Receiving Types of AidGrants: 99 percentLoans: 56 percentAverage Amount of AidGrants: $26,239Loans: $7,836 Academic Programs Most Popular Majors: Anthropology, Biology, Chemistry, Economics, English, Global Studies, History, Political Science, Psychology Graduation and Retention Rates First Year Student Retention (full-time students): 86Â  percent4-Year Graduation Rate: 70 percent6-Year Graduation Rate: 78Â  percent Intercollegiate Athletic Programs Mens Sports: Swimming, Tennis, Track and Field, Football, Golf, Cross Country, Basketball, Baseball, SoccerWomens Sports: Cross Country, Rowing, Soccer, Softball, Track and Field, Basketball, Volleyball, Tennis, Swimming If You Like Willamette University, You May Also Like These Schools Whitman College: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphUniversity of Oregon: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphWestern Washington University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphUniversity of Washington: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphSeattle University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphGonzaga University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphWhitworth University: ProfileSanta Clara University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphUniversity of the Pacific: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphUniversity of California - Davis: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphPortland State University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphUniversity of California - Santa Cruz: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphWestern Oregon University: Profile Willamette University Mission Statement mission statement from http://www.willamette.edu/about/mission_motto/index.html Willamette University provides rigorous education in the liberal arts and selected professional fields. Teaching and learning, strengthened by scholarship and service, flourish in a vibrant campus community. A Willamette education prepares graduates to transform knowledge into action and lead lives of achievement, contribution and meaning. Data Source: National Center for Educational Statistics