Church Going Essays - Philip Larkin, Church Going, Persona

Church Going Essays - Philip Larkin, Church Going, Persona "Church Going" In Philip Larkin's poem, "Church Going," Mr. Larkin depicts the confusion of an individual, the persona, who is compelled to enter the churches he sees on his bicycle rides. His problem is, that every time he comes away feeling as if he has wasted his time. Larkin uses the persona to describe his feelings toward religion. The persona is split between two ideas of religion. The holy, "ceremonious," view the church takes, versus the belief in the pure spirituality. The persona although drawn to the church seems to be mocking it once inside. His descriptions of the hymnals as "little books," and the altar as "the holy end," demean the sanctity of the church. Ironically, he doesn't think twice about removing his "cycle clips" in place of his hat to show his "reverence." This acts show that for some reason the persona has some respect for at least a part of the church. Larkin uses irony in this situation possibly to depict how the persona's manner at Church has been drilled into his head, most likeliy as a child. The reason he is conflicted is because he grew- up under certain ideals, and although his views may have changed, he can't break his old habits. The act that epitomizes his confusion is when he drops the "Irish sixpence" in the collection box. He continues his old habit, while he also mocks the church by contributing what is essentially nothing but a circular piece of metal. Drawing on conclusions reached from one of Larkins other poems, "Aubade," one can see that Larkin perceives religion as a "vast moth eaten brocade," or in simplier terms, a covering with no inside, much like a twinkie with no creamy filling. He thinks of religion as a phony created to protect man from realizing their true fate. Knowing the prior knowledge one can comprehend that the persona, like Larkin believes that the "phoniness" will eventually be understood by all the people and the parishoners will slowly disapear until the idea of Sunday mass is a memory of long ago. However the persona feels that there is something special about the church something greater than the decorations,something on the spiritual level.

6 Easy Ways to Make Studying Fun

6 Easy Ways to Make Studying Fun No matter the course one thing is for certain, studying for tests will be a key part of passing the class. While there are classes that you excel at and find studying for easy and intriguing, otherswell not so much. Some find equations and math-related studying hard to retain, others find difficulty memorizing dates and facts in history or art, and there are those who hate anything that has to do with writing. And when you have one of those classes that where the subject matter is boring or dense, studying can be at the very least, unmotivating. Typically, people avoid studying by: Procrastinating Avoiding Dropping a Class Getting Abridged Notes and Guides These â€Å"solutions† dont help you get ahead in your academic career and can lead to graduating late, not having the credits you need, or even dropping out of school entirely. But studying doesnt have to lead to stress, procrastination, or anxiety. There are many ways to pump energy and fun into studying. Lucky for you we have created a handy guide to this common issue with The Best Ways To Make Studying Fun! The Fun Studying-On-Your-Own Ways When you have a lot of work that needs to be done and its just you and your books, it might seem like there is no way to make studying fun. The dullness of the material is enough to put you to sleep, but, if you want to get a good grade on the test, you have to come up with a way to get (and stay) in the mood to study. Get Cool Stationary This may sound like a strange way to start the list but trust us, we know what were doing. Most would agree that for the best results in anything, you need the right materials and tools for the job. Studying is no different. Using supplies that make studying visually attractive is a great way to make it fun! With the number of options in real world and online stationery stores these days, you will have no problem finding a fun to use and cool looking set of stuff to study with. Consider purchasing: Glitter Pens Mini Sharpies Decorative Paper Colorful Post It Notes Graphic Notepads Hi-Tech Rulers and Calculators White Out Mice Note Cards Shaped Like the Subject It doesnt matter what you are studying, having fun stationary to work with can make all the difference between a boring study session and a fun one! Break It Up With Another Task If you know that studying is going to take a while and the idea of spending the day studying instead of handling your other tasks is unappealing, then why not do both? Choose a simple manual task that allows you to break up your studying so that you can accomplish more and give yourself time to process and retain the information. Simple tasks that make studying more fun can include: Doing Your Laundry Cleaning Your House Organizing Your Collections Cooking a Complicated Meal These things are all tasks that require you to go back and forth between them and studying. The sense of accomplishment you get from getting things done and studying at the same time can be a great way to make studying fun! Surround Yourself With Everything You Need Most people try to remove all distractions when they want to study. No music, no phone, no people, no fun. Period. Though this can be an effective way to focus on the task at hand, it lends itself in no way to making studying fun. Consider for a moment that studying is a lot like binge-watching a tv show. You are absorbing information for long periods of time without being able to tear yourself away, mostly for fear of not getting all the information you need. In the same way you would prepare for hours of binge watching, we say surround yourself with all of the food, entertainment, and other necessities you need: Music Snacks Charger Pets Toys Comfy Blankets Pillows At the very least, these things will give you a nice distraction from your studying for a few moments. Allowing yourself to have what you want around you is a great way to make studying fun! Make It Funky If the traditional way of sitting down in a quiet space like a library or home office is not conducive to your desire to study, then make your own rules! Try these tips for making studying fun and funky: Change your location Coffee Shop, Bar, Pillow Fort, Somewhere in nature Turn it into a song Retain information through mnemonic devices that make it fun and easy to remember Costumes! If no one is around why not dress up as your subject of study? Or try out the accent of whoever invented the theories that you are studying The Fun Studying-With-Other-People Ways Sometimes studying with other people is the best way to verbally absorb, exchange, and clarify information. With others around you can bounce ideas around, break up the work, and, if your study group is nice, have some good people to talk to in between the cramming session. In these situations, creating ways to make studying fun is an easy task that just requires a group effort! Make It a Game You are not the only one that thinks studying can be boring. Chances are your whole study group feels the same about the material. So why not make it fun for all of you? Get together and turn the material into something that lets you move around, shout, yell, and score points! This includes: Treasure Hunts Trivia Games Drinking Games (This one might not help you remember the material the next day, but it sure does make studying fun) Word Search Games These games make it fun to study in ways that traditional methods are lacking. There are a ton of already well-established study games online that make studying easy and fun! Turn It Into an Event If you are going to get together with a group of people to study then why not make an event out of it? Instead of meeting at the library or workroom to study, try: Changing locations to different venues Take turns hosting at different houses Make every study session a potluck Plan an activity to do after studying to give you something to look forward to Start the study session with an activity While the subject matter may be boring, turning it into a creatively engaging and entertaining event is a great way to make studying fun! The Takeaway You might not have control over WHAT you study, but with the tips in this article, you can control HOW you study. Taking the advice above will allow you to improve the enjoyment and pleasure you get out of studying in ways you have never dreamed of. Dont let boring subject matter detour you on your road to educational success! Crack open those books and make studying fun again!

Marriage and Love Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marriage and Love - Essay Example What is important to note, for purposes of this essay, is that fact that romantic love was associated with marriage and marital fulfillment as a growing trend in an increasingly individualistic world rather than love itself. Love, in short, is more than a romantic or idealistic state of mind; indeed, as pointed out by Duby and Dunnet, love has, throughout history, been associated with such notions as respect, admiration, and a sense of security (1994: 37). The preliminary step, therefore, is to define love as it has been understood historically rather than to rely on unnecessarily inaccurate and narrow definitions as commonly portrayed in the mass media. This essay will argue that love is more comprehensive than lesser notions such as romantic love and that it can therefore function as the basis of a successful and enduring marriage; more specifically, this essay will argue that the media has idealized the notion of love more than is true of the concept itself and that the marital institution, as it has evolved over time, is more than capable of being founded and sustained about this broader concept of love. As an initial matter, there is no question that marriage has been sustained by a variety of different factors and motivations throughout history; these motivations have varied and differed according to cultural contexts, local conditions, and sociological stages of development. Although often portrayed negatively y the western media, arranged marriages have been the historical and cultural norm historically; this is true not only in cultures and countries traditionally associated with arranged marriages, such as in India, but in embryonic western nations and cultures as well. These arranged marriages were frequently motivated by such notions as pooling family wealth, maintaining social status or cementing political alliances, nurturing the continuation of certain religious or ideological communities, or simply continuing well-established cultural or local traditions (Shumway, 2003: 118). The arranged marriage was characterized by an oversight function performed by the older generati on and the opinions or the preferences of the younger generation were subservient. This is not to say that the opinions of the people to be married were wholly irrelevant, though is many cases they were definitely of lesser value, but that the older generation relied upon considerations that were not consistent with modern notions of romantic or erotic love. It cannot be argued, however, that love as it was more generally known was irrelevant to marriage; more particularly, as noted by De Munck, men and women have fallen in love for reasons more compelling than an erotic attraction or a sudden physical or emotional impulse (1998: 78). Those whom would reduce love to the romantic concept exploited by capitalist media companies would do a great disservice to love and marriage, to people's individual judgment and reason, and to the sociological sciences. The marital institution did not become a prisoner of sudden irrational impulses; quite the contrary, as outlined by Wexman By the early twentieth century the emergence of a public sphere fostered the development of a youth culture centered on courtship rituals largely cut off from supervision by the older

Analysis of NCLB and IDEA 2004 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analysis of NCLB and IDEA 2004 - Research Paper Example Schools that fail to meet the AYP objectives for two or more years are categorized as the institutions â€Å"in need of improvement†. Schools under this category may face various consequences (Thomas, Brian, J., Caroline, & Helen, 2010). The NCLB plan demands states to base tests on academic standards and start examining students in Math and reading in grades 3 through 8, on an annually basis. Furthermore, students should receive such tests at least once in grades 10 through 12. The most recent guideline recommends 100% proficiency in Mathematics and reading. NCLB argues that each child must test on grade level in Math and reading. Furthermore, NCLB authorizes school districts to hire educators designated as â€Å"highly qualified† to teach major academic subjects in Title 1 plan. Lastly, the accountability section demands states to describe their strategies for closing the achievement gap and ensuring that all students including the disadvantaged ones attain academic p roficiency (Beekman, 2009). IDEA 2004 targets building equity, responsibility and excellence in education for individuals with disabilities. The plan demands special education teachers to be highly qualified. Furthermore, the plan guides that all students with disabilities should participate in state or district testing in alternate examination (Beekman, 2009). IDEA also states that short-term goals and standards with the exception of the category under alternate assessment should be placed in a temporary alternative setting for involvement in violence, weapons and drugs. In summary, IDEA guides that administrators and policy makers should run customized systems that accord special attention to students with disabilities. The NCLB and IDEA provisions generate a serious controversy because they involve various sensitive aspects. Some scholars believe that the provisions provided by these plans are important for developing better education systems. However, critical observations argue that some provisions are vague and unattainable. For example, critics emphasize that the idea of 100% participation is unachievable because of the challenges associated with the disabled students. Furthermore, the idea of hiring â€Å"highly qualified† teachers may be unrealistic because students’ performance is not entirely dependent on teacher’s competence (McCaffrey, 2004). NCLB and IDEA provisions are likely to affect my activities in the classroom. This is because; my actions must fall within the provisions’ guidelines. It is apparent that as a special education teacher, I have a major duty of ensuring successful implementation of NCLB and IDEA proposals. Often, attaining the plans’ objectives may be challenging because of the great gap between regular students and students with disabilities. However, being a special education teacher, I must devise strategies for handling all controversial concerns within my classroom (Thomas, Brian, J., Car oline, & Helen, 2010). Initially, NCLB and IDEA provisions oblige me into presenting high degrees of professionalism and competence when handling my students. This highlights that with the presence of the plans’ guidelines, the special education teacher career is likely to be a sensitive duty. For example, a provision of the NCBL plan emphasizes the need of hiring â€Å"highly qualified† teachers. This means that I should present commitment towards conforming to the standards of the

Development Phase Essay Example for Free

Development Phase Essay In our group we started to develop the life of Billy Johnson and his triumph to becoming a war hero. Billy is an over confidante young man whom decides to join the war due to all the advertisement and belief form his father. Billy is convinced by propaganda that war will bring him loads of girls, fame and fortune and is gullible enough to take the risk and put his life on the line for un-thought of consequences. Unfortunately for Billy, little does he know that this decision will lead him to his cowardly death in the depth of the war. In my group we focused on showing how serious war can be and how you can be extremely hyped up and all of a sudden, that hype is shattered at the sounds of bullets blazing overhead. We used many elements of drama to express and enhance our piece. We started off our piece by having the whole family at the dinner table and the father (Umar) hands out the notice to Billy (me). This automatically kick starts Billys thoughts of becoming a hero and makes himself believe that he is unstoppable. Billys mum (Zeynap) and his younger sister (Marion) are shocked at the thought of Billy going into war especially at a young age of 16. This scene develops many emotions because the family are shocked but also disappointed at the father for filling Billys head with false hope. This starts off the reality of war because people dont think about the casualties war can bring upon us. In Billys eyes it is a chance to become a real man and prove his mother and sister wrong that he can succeed and become a war hero. To show the different emotions flowing through each characters mind, we used thought tracking. We used this technique because we felt it is the best way for a character to express their feelings. Each member of the family expressed how they felt about Billy going to war so it was a good idea because the audience could get some information about the current mood of each character. In the second scene Billy went over to his mate Jamess (Umar) house to try and convince him to join the army as well. This scene shows how Billy is too over confidante at the thought of war and it makes James see that Billy has his head in the clouds. James tries to remind Billy how dangerous war can be but Billy is too consistent on becoming a war hero. After a matter of convincing, Billy eventually manages to get James to agree a chance to become famous and join Billys side on the battlefield. This scene shows how people can be peer-pressured into activities and how your friends word isnt always correct than your gut feeling. In the third scene we have Billy and James signing up for war. This scene was rather interesting because you can clearly see that Billy is really excited but James is rather doubtful at the thought of survival. Billy has to lie about his age to get signed up but it doesnt really matter to Billy because his cockiness seems to get the better of him as he lies through his teeth. When he sees how nervous James is he decides to wait and encourage James to sign up. Then as Billy urges James forward, James has a monologue, which explains to the audience that James only wants to help people, not kill them. I think that Umar played this part of the scene very well because he reaches out and really touch the audience with his emotions towards war. In the monologue James shows how he is scared and nervous about going to war and is really re-thinking signing up. Unfortunately for him Billy is too focused on getting them both to war so poor James doesnt really have a chance to tell Billy his feelings. The forth scene was a very intense scene. This scene takes place on the boat, which our brave soldiers are heading off to war. We introduce a new character in this scene. Matthew (Zeynap) is a rather brave and confidante character, mostly a resemblance to Billy. Matthew approaches the free seat next to James but is rudely told to go away by a very frustrated James. Billy lets him sit down and Matthew and Billy begin to talk about how Great War will be. Then suddenly James snaps back to reality and starts to state the obvious about how dangerous war can and will be. Billy tries to calm James down but to no avail. This scene was very affective because the scene was quite to start of with then James starts to shout and it livens up the tempo. As James exits the scene, both Matthew and Billy are left awkwardly deep in their thoughts. In our fifth scene we were situated in a crosscutting dill-lemma. In one scene we had James and Billy back to back in the trenches showing how scared they were and how terrified they both looked. On the other hand we had the mother and little sister back at home thinking about the two boys and how reminding themselves how safe they will be. This scene helped to emprise our true emotions towards war and how war can literally make or break you. The family scene was focused on how positive the war will be and how both family members had full faith In Billy and his courage to succeed. The mother was reassuring the little daughter that Billy will be safe and he will come back a real man. Then we go and look at the two boys in the trenches. You can see that both of them are terrified at the thought of war and will become emotionally depressed. We tried to use the technique of limiting words to try and make the scene more affective because the audience would see my the facial gestures that these two boys are really terrified and may regret the thought of joining the war. Throughout this scene it is clear the audience that everybody is human and even the strongest soldier can even get scared at the sight of men screaming and dieing before their very own eyes. Our sixth scene was the most emotional and exciting scene. In the scene Billy falls to his cowardly death. We tried to make this scene as emotional and touching to the audience because they see the fear in Billy. This scene starts off by Billy asking his fellow soldiers, was it the right decision going to war. James shoots back at him by reminding Billy that this was all his idea and he should face the music. As the cornel (Marion) notifies that its time to shape up and head into the battlefield, every soldier holds their breath, and charges for what could be their last few minutes on this Earth. But then all the focus turns to a whining, shameless Billy Johnson. After all his courage able talk, Billy whimpers in the corner of the trench, unwilling to charge. His cornel shouts at Billy and tells him to get up immediately. Billy refuses and back talks. This shocking coward ness form a soldier leads to Billys cowardly death. This scene proves to the audience that even the most cockily people can be overpowered by fear. It made me really feel for Billy as I played this scene because his father encouraged him that war will make him a hero. It made me realise that Billy was just a young boy trying to impress his family and make a small difference in this world. As Billys life ends, the next scene shows the after shock of this disgusting news. Our final scene shows how the thought of never hearing a family members voice, touching their skin or even smelly their scent can make you wish death upon you. This scene was very emotional because you can see how upset and distraught the familys reactions were towards Billys death. These sorts of moments will always be remembered as emotional crashes in out lives. It makes us realise that you got to hold onto and be grateful for what you have because you dont know what you have until its gone. In this project I have learnt a lot about the affects of war, the ups and downs and most importantly the way the human mind functions. This play made me realise that not everything is as exciting or rewarding as its said to be and we should think fully through our decisions before we make them.

Comparing Cyrano de Bergerac and the Movie, Roxanne Essay -- Compare C

Comparing Cyrano de Bergerac and the Movie, Roxanne   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Isn't it easier to accept the idea that a main character would be engaged in a fist fight, rather than a sword fight? Aren't fire fighters, as characters, more believable than a bunch of olden day French cadets? I certainly think so. To me it is just more real to have the setting of a story in modern times and in the United States. Rostand's Cyrano De Bergerac is written about a time that no one alive now has experienced. There is the same plot idea that an ugly man wants the pretty girl, but she is too busy being infatuated with the pretty boy to notice the intellect of the man she truly comes to love. Steve Martin's Roxanne and Rostand's Cyrano De Bergerac are similar in the sense that they both appeal to the people of the same time period in which each one was written and performed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ever been to Paris, France in the year 1640? No? Well neither have I, but I have been residing in the United States in modern times. I related more to this version of Cyrano de Bergerac because the settings are familiar. In the original version there is a sword fight at a theater. Well for one, most people nowadays have the mind set that sword fights are for the aristocrats and Romeo and Juliet. Roxanne has fist fights and many events happen in a bar. I?ve seen fist fights and I have been in a bar and grill which is why I can relate to Roxanne. Another modern twist to Roxanne is the occupations of the characters. The fire figh...

A Task at Hand Essay

Learning is an experience that requires some mode of transfer of knowledge from the source of the learning experience to the learner. More often learning is not automatic, that is, it is not a guarantee that learning experiences will be acquired automatically once they are presented to the learner. Sometimes learning experiences are gained thorough some repetitive actions. Assigning a task to a learner requires an understanding of the learner’s needs and then an appropriate articulation of these needs with the learning experiences and resources. Learning can be academic or physical (Peter, 1994). Learning activities for the chosen tasks. In trying to assess the learner, some two tasks were performed where one is a physical activity and the other is an academic activity. And therefore two different lesson plans were prepared for the tasks. The lesson plans are prepared in an essay format. Jumping rope. The specific objective of this learning activity is that by the end of the lesson the learner should be able to perform the activity of jumping perfectly using a rope, that is, given a rope, the student should be able to use the rope and perform the task of jumping. This is how the lesson will be developed. During the first five minutes, the teacher provides definitions of the available resources and the lesson in general. Then the next ten minutes, the teacher shows by teacher shows the student by using teacher demonstration method on how to hold the rope and go on jumping using the rope. Then the next ten minutes the teacher should ask the student to perform the task of jumping using the given rope. If the student fails to perform the task as expected, then the teacher should use the next five minutes repeating the instructions. Then the last part of the instructional objective should be that the teacher should ask the learner which areas the learner felt were so tough on grasping the ideas. During this instructional session the following resources can be used. A rope, nice fitting and flat sole shoes preferably sports shoes, and relevant pictures of people jumping using the rope depending on the level of the learner (Abbey, 1996). Solving a two digit math problem. By the end of the lesson the learner should be able to solve a given two digit math problem. The teacher should start the lesson by introducing numbers and digits and use the concept of addition of math problems using single digits, and then defining these terms to the student. During the five minutes the teacher should start by asking the giving the learner a simple single digit additional math problem to solve. Then using the next fifteen minutes using chalk and board method, the teacher should vividly show the learner how to go about in the process of solving a two digit math problem. Then using g the next fifteen minutes, the teacher should give an assignment to the student involving the solving this kind of problem. Then lastly the teacher should ask the learner to identify the areas the learner felt were quite hard to understand. This instruction uses the following resources. A textbook recommended in the syllabus on solving simple math problems, pen and paper for the student, a chart showing the demonstrated problems and chalk and board for the teacher.