It’s Also For Me Essay Example for Free

It’s Also For Me Essay Since I was in prep school, there is always a significant number of people who talk to me in English. And even if it’s not my prime vernacular, I try really hard to converse back. I have to admit that, most of the time, I have difficulties in understanding native English speakers as the use of slang is very popular here in the United States. I got the hang of it, though, by trying to learn the language on my own – whenever my schedule permits. I scan the dictionary every once in a while, read English short stories often, and ask my friends to talk to me in English whenever possible. These are the few ways I dig to acquire competence in writing and speaking in English, not to mention the fact that I never have had an English subject back in elementary and high school. Now that I plan to enter college, I need to pass the University Writing Skills Requirement (UWSR) as a requisite for a baccalaureate degree in my prospect university. This requirement is to measure a student’s competency in English writing. It’s a tough thing for me – that’s a given. But with my determination and persistence to hone my English skills (writing in particular), I am certain that I will be able to go through it and be admitted. Why not? This could also be for me! I want to prove to myself that even if I’m not a native English woman, I can put myself in a position where the natives are in – level myself to them, so to speak. I started writing in English in grade school. Even if my phrasing is bad, and most of my sentences consist of grammatical errors, I never forwent my desire to write. To strike a balance, though, I also write in my native language which is place native language here. I kept a diary and wrote a number of poems both in English and in place native language here. Back then, I remember I had troubles with my subject-verb agreement. I weren’t able to differentiate phrases from sentences, nouns and verbs, the past and present tenses and all that jazz. And as to speaking, I seemed to suck at pronunciation; I used to pronounce mad, mud and mod in the same way! But as I said, that was before. I am now pretty complacent of my English skills, more importantly in writing. I considered challenge every single encounter I had with a native English speaker. I tried to talk back with all confidence; and true indeed, each experience 0effected to an improvement in my skills. I am positive about satisfying the UWSR by taking the Writing Skills Test (WST) which will demonstrate my critical thinking and good analysis. I answered a few English-written essays before, analyzed a few texts and answered tough personal questions from previous mentors. These have greatly helped me in enhancing whatever level of English I possess. With these all together, I am confident to take the WST. Young optimist I am, I believe that language should never ever curtail a child’s longing to be educated in a good school. Education for me is something to be literally fought for – something a child, no matter how financially constrained, should not fail to have. Everyone is entitled to it. I AM ENTITLED TO IT. Source: Writing Skills Test. California State University-East Bay. Retrieved 06 March 2008 at http://www. testing. csueastbay. edu/uwsr/wst/wsthome. php

Dr. Noddings Philosophy of Education Essay -- Education Teaching Nodd

Dr. Noddings' Philosophy of Education Nel Noddings is a name unfamiliar to most people outside the educational community; but within it, even at 78, she remains one of the most influential voices. Her central passion which has carried her through 23 years of public school teaching, 10 children, a masters and Ph. D. degree, and over 20 years as a member of the faculty at Stanford can be summed up in one word: care. She writes of it, speaks about it, and practices it. What does Noddings mean when she writes of guiding teachers, â€Å"toward greater sensitivity and competence across all the domains of care.† Does it have a practical methodology behind it? Is it an appeal to pathos? It is difficult to thoroughly unpack all the Noddings has said about caring, but we can initiate our exploration of her concept by reading Maxine Greene's summary of the idea: â€Å"...the caring teacher tries to look through students' eyes, to struggle with them as subjects in search of their own projects, their own ways of making sense of the world.† (129, Philosophical Documents†¦) The idea appears exciting and innovative at first glance, but upon further analysis (as well as comparison with competing educational philosophies) we see that it is a modern form of one of two predominant, competing paradigms within Western tradition. The first paradigm tells us that a welleducated person is, as Locke puts it, â€Å"produced† (55) by the educator. The second paradigm is apparent in Reed and Johnson's summary of Aristotle, â€Å"...to assist human beings in developing their unique capacity to contemplate the world and their role in it.† (18) Noddings compels her reader to the furthest corners of the â€Å"assist† paradigm. For a teacher to â€Å"care† as Noddings prescrib... ...ed about just as much as theirs. Bibliography Noddings, Nel. â€Å"Renewing Democracy in Schools.† Phi Delta Kappan. Bloomington: April 1999. Vol. 80, Iss. 8; pg. 579, 5 pgs. Noddings, Nel. â€Å"Educating Whole People: A Response to Jonathan Cohen.† Harvard Educational Review: Summer 1999. Vol. 76, Iss. 2; pg. 338. Noddings, Nel. â€Å"Teaching Themes of Care.† Phi Delta Kappan. Bloomington: May 1995. Vol. 76, Iss. 9; pg. 675, 5pgs. Noddings, Nel. â€Å"Thinking About Standards.† Phi Delta Kappan. Bloomington: Nov 1997. Vol. 79, Iss. 3; pg. 184, 6 pgs. Noddings, Nel. " Two Concepts of Caring." Philosophy of Education Yearbook. May 29, 2007 http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/eps/PES-Yearbook/1999/noddings.asp>. Reed, Ronald; Johnson, Tony W., ed. "Aristotle,† and â€Å"Maxine Greene." Philosophical Documents in Education. 2nd ed. Vol. 77. Addison-Wesley Longman, Inc., 2000.

Informative Speech on Taekwondo

Informative Speech Taekwondo Introduction Have you ever seen a martial arts demonstration, or hear of a demonstration team? Well, let me start off by telling you what a demonstration, or demo, team is and what they do. A demo team is a group of elite martial artists chosen to represent the school of martial arts to which they attend to the public during martial arts demonstrations. During these demonstrations they perform impressive feats that wow the audience such as, difficult board breaking techniques and impressive techniques learned through the study of the martial art they are representing.During my high school years I had the pleasure of being one of these elite martial artists. In the demonstrations I participated in I did things from, breaking boards in impressive ways, such as jumping over three people and doing a flying side kick through a board held by someone on the other side of them, to choreographed fighting and even actual sparing. All of these experiences of my were a part of my experience with a martial art known worldwide as taekwondo. Related article: Informative Speech About African CultureAccording to an academic journal titled: 2004 Olympic Tae Kwon Do Athlete Profile written in 2009, â€Å"Tae kwon do, a form of Korean martial art originally designed for warfare and self-defense, has in recent times become a well-recognized sport and has become more popular since its official introduction into the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. † First I'm going to give you a brief history on what Taekwondo is, then I'll talk to you about what taekwondo is, and finally, I will be sharing what practitioners of taekwondo normally do. Body I.Tae kwon do was originally designed for use in Korea's armed forces, but is now practiced worldwide and has become extremely popular as a sport and a way of self defense. A. Shortly after the Japanese occupation of Korea ended in 1945 the South Korean government ordered all of the major martial arts schools in the country to get together and make one universal martial art that they would t hen begin teaching to their military. B. This style that was made from all the different styles in the country at the time soon became known as taekwondo and quickly gained popularity. II.So I bet your all wondering what the heck taekwondo means. Well, according to martialartsresource. com, â€Å"‘Tae' means â€Å"foot† or â€Å"to strike with the feet†. â€Å"Kwon† means â€Å"hand†, or â€Å"to strike with the hand†. â€Å"Do† means discipline, art, or way. Hence TaeKwonDo (foot-hand-way) means literally â€Å"the art of the feet and the hands† or â€Å"the art of kicking and punching†. † A. Tae kwon do is a marital art that deals primarily with kicking. B. The focus on kicking is designed with the thought in mind that the leg is the longest most powerful weapon a martial artist has at his/her disposal. . This fact means that a martial artist that is very good with his legs can strike an opponent while he is stil l outside of his opponents range. 2. While remaining outside of your opponent's rang you can deal highly damaging blows without having to take any powerful blows from your opponent. III. Tae kwon do customs differ slightly depending on where it is taught. A. Tae kwon do practitioners generally practice bare foot and in places like gymnasiums. B.The uniforms worn by practitioners used to be the kind that you fold over and tie together, but because of the sport-like nature of it these days they uniform style of the V-neck is becoming increasingly popular. C. Practitioners of taekwondo generally take part in sparring matches. 1. There's a lot of gear you have to wear when sparring, these include: helmet, mouthpiece, chest guard, gloves, cup and shin guards. 2. There are also plenty of rules involved in sparing to make sure it is as safe as it can be. These include: no punching the face, no groin shots, no locks, no clinching, etc.Conclusion Today we learned that taekwondo is a martial arts style that involves mostly kicks, where it originated, and what some of the customary practices are. One last bit of information I want to leave you with is that, according to the American Taekwondo Association's Website that was last updated sometime this year, â€Å"Taekwondo is currently the most popular martial art in Korea, and ranks among America's and the world's most popular martial arts. † Thank you for listening to my presentation and I hope you all know a little bit more now than you did before.

Mademoiselle Magazine: a Christmas Memory Essay

â€Å"A Christmas Memory†, which was written by Truman Capote and originally published in Mademoiselle Magazine in December 1956, is a meaningful and emotional story about family. In which, the characters of a family are defined especially:† Family is not only a shelter but also a safe place to care, share memories, sacrifice, and love. † There are many definitions about family. One of them is â€Å"A family consists of two or more people (one of whom is the householder) related by birth, marriage, or adoption residing in the same housing unit â€Å"(US Census Bureau. Its main functions are to produce and reproduce persons, biologically and/or socially; share material substances (such as food, shelter. ) However, two family members (Buddy and his cousin) in â€Å"A Christmas Memory† are connected with each other not only by consanguinity but also by love and friendship. The story employs a first-person narrator who is called Buddy –a seven-year-old boy, but it is not his real name. It was given by his distant cousin who is â€Å"sixty-something† and is described as â€Å"still a child. Though it is so sad that the more Buddy grows up, the older his friend is. His friend used to realize: â€Å"†¦ I guess I hate to see you grow up. When you’re grown up, will we still be friends? † But, their innocence keeps them be best friends despite age. Besides, both of them are poor and lonely. They are considered outsiders by their family. â€Å"Other people inhabit the house, relatives; and though they have power over us, and frequently make us cry, we are not, on the whole, too much aware of them. † (â€Å"A Christmas Memory†, p. ) Throughout the story, other family members did not appear too much except for two occasions: One is when the Buddy’s friend let Buddy drink the leftover whiskey, the relatives yelled at her and brought up cousins and uncles who were involved in scandals and humiliated the family. This hurts Buddy’s friend and makes she cried all night. Another is on the Christmas morning when they gave Buddy gifts which made him angry: hand-me-downs, a church shirt, and a subscription to a religious magazine. Both of these appearances only bring sadness, tears and disappointment instead of charm or love. Moreover, they do not know about Buddy’s needs and desire: a bicycle. An interesting detail is: Buddy and his friend are very poor but why do they save every penny to make fruitcakes every year? Instead of selling fruitcakes to have some money or keeping them for themselves, Buddy and his cousin give these fruitcakes away to strangers: President Roosevelt, a knife grinder who comes through town twice a year, a driver of the six o’clock bus from Mobile who exchanges waves with them every day, a California couple whose car one afternoon broke down outside the house and chatted with them on the porch. Especially, although Mr. Haha Johnes is described as a â€Å"giant with razor scars across his cheeks† and never smiles, when Buddy and his cousin purchase whiskey for their fruitcakes from him, he gives it for free with a smile that means there is good in all people. People cannot be judged on their appearance. Sadly, these warm gestures are given to Buddy and his cousin by outsiders instead of their family. They are lonely and need love; especially at Christmas – a season for giving and reunite. It is a wonderful time of greetings, gifts, joy, care and sharing that their relatives never give them. Family is also where members sacrifice for each other. The story is a bittersweet reminiscence beginning with† Imagine a morning in later November. A coming of winter morning more than twenty years ago. Consider the kitchen of a spreading old house in a country town. † (â€Å"A Christmas Memory†, p. 1) This places the story during the Great Depression- a time of great poverty which then results in many emotional details. The way Buddy and his cousin hide their money is so impressive:† These money we keep hidden in an ancient bead purse under a loose board under the floor under a chamber pot under my friend’s bed. (â€Å"A Christmas Memory,† p. 6) This purse seems very important and valuable with them and the women saves money and keep it carefully. She has never traveled more than five miles from homes and eaten in a restaurant. She still gives Buddy a dime to watch the movie show every Saturday. Even when Buddy is in military school, in every letter she also encloses a dime wadded in toilet paper. She wants to enhance Buddy’s skills. Buddy likes her eyes to describe the world outside for her. She is strong with morals and purity- innocent and trusts in the Lord. Moreover, she is charming like a mother or grandmother. Family is where people share happiness and sadness which become the most beautiful memories in their lives. Buddy and his friends have many unforgettable Christmas holidays together. They save money by selling fruits and flowers, killing flies, holding their own shows with pictures and a three-legged biddy chicken. And when the â€Å"fruitcake weather† comes, they buy ingredients to make fruitcakes and present it to their neighbors, friends or also strangers. Next, they venture into the woods and cut down a majestic tree. When a â€Å"rich mill owner’s lazy wife† offers to buy it, Buddy’s friend insists on refusing. They respect the Christmas spirit. It is much more valuable than money. Then, they decorate the tree with homemade ornaments and odds and ends found in the attic. Finally, they create gifts for their relatives. Buddy wishes he could give his friend a knife, a radio, and the chocolate-covered cherries she craves. His cousin wants to give Buddy a new bicycle. However, they embarrass to confess that they only have kites for each other like the previous Christmas. Despite that, Buddy and his friend are happy with their kites rather than what their relatives gave them. They spend Christmas day happily watching their homemade kites soar in the breeze. Buddy soon forgets disappointed gifts from his relatives and is excited â€Å"†¦as if we’d already won the fifty-thousand-dollar Grand Prize in that coffee-naming contest† while his friend happy as if she could see the Lord. (â€Å"A Christmas Memory, p. 20†). It is their last perfect Christmas together. â€Å"Those who Know Best† – the adults who do not care much about Buddy’s life as well as his dream- send Buddy to a military school where he is separated from his friend forever. Although Buddy has a new home, in his mind:† Home is where my friend is, and there I never go. † (â€Å"A Christmas Memory,† p. 21) Home is not defined as a shelter. It is where he can find love and safety. Another meaningful in this story is the kite which is a symbol of freedom, heart, friendship, and dream to fly up high to touch the sky. Kites are also memories of their beautiful days together. Memories are something passing by our life that we cannot touch them again except for remembering them sometimes. However, they are important parts in our heart eternally. Thus, even when Buddy is far from his house, his childhood’s memories about his lovely friend, his dog- Queenie, Christmas holidays, and the kites always alive in his soul that make him strong and keep forward. That is why when his friend dies, Buddy feels as if he lost an irreplaceable part and while walking across the campus on December morning- Christmas time, Buddy still searches the sky with hope to see a pair of kites- his unforgettable memories about his lovely friend. â€Å"A Christmas Memory† is a vivid picture of family and lovely friendship of Buddy and his cousin that leaves a message for the reader: Family likes a house which has the base built by love  , four walls connected by care, the roof made by share  and the furniture inside are sacrifice.

Free Essays on Symbols In Young Goodman Brown

There is a fundamental internal struggle that every man and woman must endure. As though it were created in a timeless fashion, man has had to combat, what we have come to term, the forces of good and evil. In a much simpler time, these forces were apparent and obtrusive. They would force themselves upon us - upon the people of the times. In today’s world, evil (and thus good, as well) are less obvious; far more subtle. We must try to pinpoint them and draw them out, ever so carefully, that we not make a mistake and â€Å"witch hunt.† We can look back, though, at stories such as â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† and pick out, quite easily, the struggle that unfolds within the pages. What we have here is the classic tale of good and evil, fighting to tempt man, trying to break his faith. This entire story is a symbol, an allegory, for something more set in a mythical mood. Rather than pick apart each and every piece of symbolism in the story, I think it is far more effective to let the pieces fill the whole, and decipher that. â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† is an allegory for faith. Moving one step further, this is a story about every person’s faith as it is directly connected to love and, thus, God. This story begins with Brown parting from his wife. Right form the start you can get a sense of what the theme will be. â€Å"...but put his head back, after crossing the threshold, to exchange a parting kiss with his young wife. And Faith, as the wife was aptly named, thrust her own pretty head into the street†¦ (Hawthorne).† Enter the element of love, and how appropriately should love be named Faith, for what is love, but faith? It is no secret that at the time of creation, the newly found United States was filled with Protestants, Puritans, and others who had escaped religious persecution. The idea regarding God, as it still is now, is that God is love. Goodman Brown literally spells this out for us: â€Å"My love and my Faith,ï ¿ ½... Free Essays on Symbols In Young Goodman Brown Free Essays on Symbols In Young Goodman Brown There is a fundamental internal struggle that every man and woman must endure. As though it were created in a timeless fashion, man has had to combat, what we have come to term, the forces of good and evil. In a much simpler time, these forces were apparent and obtrusive. They would force themselves upon us - upon the people of the times. In today’s world, evil (and thus good, as well) are less obvious; far more subtle. We must try to pinpoint them and draw them out, ever so carefully, that we not make a mistake and â€Å"witch hunt.† We can look back, though, at stories such as â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† and pick out, quite easily, the struggle that unfolds within the pages. What we have here is the classic tale of good and evil, fighting to tempt man, trying to break his faith. This entire story is a symbol, an allegory, for something more set in a mythical mood. Rather than pick apart each and every piece of symbolism in the story, I think it is far more effective to let the pieces fill the whole, and decipher that. â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† is an allegory for faith. Moving one step further, this is a story about every person’s faith as it is directly connected to love and, thus, God. This story begins with Brown parting from his wife. Right form the start you can get a sense of what the theme will be. â€Å"...but put his head back, after crossing the threshold, to exchange a parting kiss with his young wife. And Faith, as the wife was aptly named, thrust her own pretty head into the street†¦ (Hawthorne).† Enter the element of love, and how appropriately should love be named Faith, for what is love, but faith? It is no secret that at the time of creation, the newly found United States was filled with Protestants, Puritans, and others who had escaped religious persecution. The idea regarding God, as it still is now, is that God is love. Goodman Brown literally spells this out for us: â€Å"My love and my Faith,ï ¿ ½...

Practice in Eliminating Gender-Biased Language

Practice in Eliminating Gender-Biased Language This exercise will give you practice in recognizing sexually biased language and avoiding it in your writing. Before attempting the exercise, you may find it helpful to review  sexist language,  biased language,  gender,  and generic pronouns. Instructions Consider how the following sentences reinforce sexual stereotypes by their reliance on gender-biased language. Then revise the sentences to eliminate the bias. To a woman who possesses the necessary qualifications, nursing offers a life of unusual interest and usefulness. She will have limitless opportunities to improve herself and to help others.Each laboratory assistant must perform the experiment at least once before he teaches it to the class.The priest asked, Are you ready to love and honor each other as man and wife for the rest of your lives?No matter how busy he is, a pilot should take the time to thank the stewardesses at the end of every flight.My grandparents days consist of waiting by the window for someone to come up the walkwhether friend, mailman or salesman.The female lawyer conceded that her client was no Mother Teresa.In some cases, if your insurance has been slow in paying and your doctor has his lab work done away from his office, you may receive a bill from a laboratory you have never heard of. If this happens, call your doctors billing secretary and ask her to tell you exactly what the bill is for.Though occasionally s he may be called on to help others in the office, a secretary should take orders only from the manager she supports. The beginning student should spend his time becoming familiar with primary rather than secondary texts, with classics rather than with books about classics.The shift from animal and muscle power to machine power was a major achievement for man. When you have completed the exercise, continue reading to compare your revised sentences with the sample answers. Sample Answers To those people who possess the necessary qualifications, nursing offers a life of unusual interest and usefulness. They will have limitless opportunities to improve themselves and to help others.Each laboratory assistant must perform the experiment at least once before teaching it to the class.The priest asked, Are you ready to love and honor each other as husband and wife for the rest of your lives?No matter how busy the pilots are, they should take the time  to thank the flight attendants at the end of every flight.My grandparents days consist of waiting by the window for someone to come up the walkwhether friend, mail  carrier or salesperson.The lawyer conceded that her client was no Mother Teresa.In some cases, if your insurance has been slow in paying and your doctors lab work is done away from the office, you may receive a bill from a laboratory you have never heard of. If this happens, call your doctors billing office and ask exactly what the bill is for.Though occasional ly they may be called on to help others in the office, secretaries [or  assistants] should take orders only from the managers they support. Beginning students should spend their time becoming familiar with primary rather than secondary texts, with classics rather than with books about classics.The shift from animal and muscle power to machine power was a major achievement for humanity.

Chinese Men's Gymnastics Team Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Chinese Men's Gymnastics Team - Essay Example In this category, Chinese Men’s gymnastics team was the main highlight of the event with large cloud cheering for their favorites. Over the past world competitions especially in Olympic Games, the Chinese Men’s gymnastics team has always been a moving force in gymnastics category due to their stunning performances. The team great performance has been greatly influenced by its credible leaders and talented teamwork. From first team heads LI Ning and Li Xiaoshuang to team leader Xiaopeng and his counterpart Yang Wei, Chinese Men’s gymnastics team has produced commendable results scoping top positions and several medals in the events. For instance, in the Los Angles Olympics held in year 1984 the team was the second run-up by taking the silver medal. The team leaders were not happy with the silver medal owing to their dedication to teamwork as well as resources invented for their preparation. However, in the following Olympic Games that were held in Beijing, the Chi nese male Gymnastic team was regarded as the winning team due to their excellence show in the group stages. The team comprised of experienced team leaders as well as new freshmen who offered stunning performance and cooperation. ... This has been evidenced by stunning performance where the team won all the Gold medals in 2003, 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2012 respectively. As Anderson (58), suggest the Chinese Men gymnastics team is recognized as major highlight of any world championship events and hot gold medal favorite due to their strength. Team leadership In the Rotterdam, the Netherlands world championships, the Chinese men gymnastic team comprised of the following gold medal winners: Chen Yibing (ring champion), Teng Haibin (parallel bars vice champion), Yan Mingyong (Rings vice champion), Feng Zhe (parallel bars vice champion) and Zhang Chenglong (horizontal horse champion). Over the past world championships in Gymnastics, the experienced team members mentioned above have remained at the pinnacle of the gold medal team performances, though there are upcoming new members considering the 2012 London Olympics games. In this regard, the gold medal winning team in 2012 event in London team comprises of Feng Zhe, Guo Weiyang, Zou Kai pose, Chen Yibing and Zhang Chenglong respectively. In this list of gold medal winner’s championships, it is evidence that experienced team names remain in the team due to their leadership and team strengths. With the team having a poor position for 2012 London Olympic event, most people did not expect to see the team stunning performance. Many spectators would have wondered how the Chinese men gymnastic team, which was defending Olympic champion and world titleholder for decade, would lose its strengths. The team fans had booked their tickets in advance for the opening game schedule to cheer the squad. According to media release, the fans would be had shouting the name of the new team