Enthusiasm and Ability to Motivate People Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Enthusiasm and Ability to Motivate People - Essay Example Looking back on the recent past, I find that my years in the U.S. as an undergraduate have had a profound impact on my thinking and my approach to life. I have been particularly struck by the contrast between the cultures of America and the Bahamas. While my heart will always bask in the warmth of the community life and the love of close-knit families back home, I am eternally grateful for my exposure to the ‘Great American Dream.’ The gift America has given me is the belief that change is possible and the confidence that the power to bring about this change lies within the reach of every individual. My first love is people. From being a Youth Leader in the church to throwing myself into my Sorority’s community services, such as ‘Meals on Wheels’ and workshops for children, I have learnt that there is nothing that can compare to the happiness which comes from having made a positive difference, however small, in another person’s life. I have als o become increasingly aware of the chasms which separate people of different social and economic backgrounds and have witnessed the struggle of people striving to better their lives and failing only through the lack of opportunity, or the lack of education and awareness. I consider my basic strength to be my enthusiasm and ability to motivate people and push them into giving their best. I am passionate about immigration, human rights and, above all, the empowerment of women and children. I owe this legacy to my mother who, as a single parent and self-made entrepreneur in the Bahamas, pushed me and my three siblings to excel, to be independent and never ceased to emphasize the importance of education as the path to success.

Taking Middle School Kids Back to the Adventurous World of Literature Essay Example for Free

Taking Middle School Kids Back to the Adventurous World of Literature Essay The problem is that middle school students in Texas do not practice leisure reading creating a deficit in their reading skills as measured by the National Center for Education Statistics. Texas students showed an upsetting lack of improvement in reading on the Nation’s Report Card. In 2011, the average score of eighth-grade students in Texas was 261. This was lower than the average score of 264 for public school students in the nation (National Center for Education Statistics, 2011). The purpose of this review of literature was to examine reading interventions to promote positive attitudes towards leisure reading. The need is to improve reading skills as reflected reading scores on the Nation’s Report Card. Students who do not take time to read tend to have poor reading skills and sadly many students in middle school choose not to read. The transition from elementary to middle school makes an impact to the student’s interests and pastimes. Middle school students read less due to time spent with peers, participation in sports activities and other after-school activities, and to a growing lack of interest in textual materials (Johnson, Mckenzie, Miranda Williams-Rossi, 2011). Once the students stop practicing leisure reading, they start struggling with reading. Studies confirm a decline in reading scores on standardized tests, a decline in attitudes towards reading and a growing number of students who have good reading abilities, but choose not to read (Rodriguez Lira, 1998). When students stop practicing leisure reading they stop exercising their vocabulary affecting their reading comprehension. â€Å"The goal of comprehending text is not easily attainable for many adolescents, who demonstrate consistent and persistent difficulties with reading for understanding. † (Vaughn, Klingner, Swanson, Boardman, Roberts, Mohammed, Stillman Spisak, 2011). According to rate and accuracy scores, middle school students have shown a tendency in declining grades. One of the reasons might be because decoding to reading comprehension drops in adolescence and older students have more highly developed strategies that reduce their confidence on word identification skills (Reed, 2010). Middle school students in Texas struggle with their reading skills because most of them do not practice leisure reading. Both qualitative and quantitative studies demonstrate a connection between success in school and the amount of leisure reading students do (Allington McGill-Franzen, 2003; Krashen, 1993, as cited in Hughes- TAKING KIDS BACK TO THE WORLD OF LITERATURE 2 Hassell Pradnya Rodge, 2007). The purpose of this literature review is to recognize the problem of students who choose not to read and find a possible solution to motivate them in devoting leisure reading time. There are a numerous of experimental, quantitative, qualitative, descriptive, correlational, and causal-comparative research studies done in the State of Texas and outside of Texas that have identified this problem and gathered data, important information, and suggested interventions to create possible solutions. According to Knulst Kraaykamp (1998), leisure reading is the reading students choose to do for pleasure; is the reading done for a hubby or fun, it is a non-school recreational activity. Students in elementary schools do practice leisure reading, but once students get to middle school this practice declines. For some reason many students who are good readers simply choose not to read (Beers, 1998). Students Do Not Comprehend What They Read One of the reasons students choose not to read it is due to the lack of reading comprehension making them lose interest in literature. In the article â€Å"Understanding the Cause of Intermediate and Middle School Comprehension Problems†, the authors were able to conduct a qualitative study by conducting a causal-comparative research. They determined the reasons of middle school students who struggle with reading is due to the lack of comprehension in specific vocabulary knowledge, background knowledge, or an understanding of subjects’ metaphors. They stressed students do not necessarily understand the meaning of words they are able to pronounce (Palumbo Loiacono, 2009). After analyzing their findings they describe data where it shows students in kinder garden were more exposed to narrative reading than to comprehension skills. They indicate that once the students get to middle school, it is now the teacher’s task to teach reading skills, comprehension strategies, vocabulary, and the multifaceted problems of subject matter text by using a variety of activities, supports, and scaffolds (Palumbo Loiacono, 2009). As a possible solution, they suggest using a strategy that has being used in the past since 1980 called Instructional Cloze (a story summary where every fifth word is deleted to be filled in the blank so students can be engaged in subject matter knowledge) to improve subject matter comprehension (Palumbo Loiacono, 2009). TAKING KIDS BACK TO THE WORLD OF LITERATURE 3 Many students don’t understand what they read, but comprehension is not the only reason they choose not to read for pleasure. Skills Alone Do Not Produce Readers On the other hand, Beers, the author of the article â€Å"Choosing Not to Read: Understanding Why Some Middle Schoolers Just Say No†, conducted a qualitative research and found out that skills alone do not produce readers. Reading experts recognize that some students leave school with the ability to read, but without the desire (Beers, 1998). Competency tests force many teachers to think they should focus more on reading skills than on reading pleasure (Maracek ,1978, as cited in Beers, 1998). According to Beers, reading can become a desired activity or an undesirable one. One of the great disasters of present-day education is not so much that many students leave school unable to read and to write, but that others graduate disliking reading even with the abilities they might have. Some of the reasons that indicates as to why students dislike reading is too much television, too little parental modeling, and too much emphasis on a skills approach to reading (Beers, 1998). In order to identify the different kind of readers in middle school, Beers gathered data by conducting interviews to reluctant reading students with openended questions on attitudes towards reading. After this, she provided descriptive data that displays characteristics of uncommitted, unmotivated and unskilled readers. With this data, she was able to see patterns of responses and understood students choose not to read for great number of reasons. Those patterns helped her to categorize types of aliteracy (Beers, 1998). In the Merriam-Webster dictionary, aliteracy is stated as the quality or state of being able to read but uninterested in doing so (hacker, 2012). Beers was able to observed devoted and inactive readers want to choose their own books, have teachers read aloud a few pages, meet the author, buy books at a book fair, keep a reading journal, go to the library, participate in panel debates, small group discussions or share books with friends. While uncommitted and unmotivated readers do want to choose their own books from a narrowed choice, have teacher read aloud entire book, compare movie to book, read illustrated books, do art activities based on books, read nonfiction material such as comic, sports, drawing, cars, fashion, make-up magazines (Beers, 1998). Beers TAKING KIDS BACK TO THE WORLD OF LITERATURE 4 did not give treatments to students in order to determine which reasons causes the distaste in reading, instead she conducted a survey to students about their feelings towards reading to gather qualitative data. Parents Modeling Leisure Reading According to the survey Beers conducted, parental modeling takes a big role in encouraging adolescents to literature practice. Devoted and inactive readers talked about their childhood where they remember seeing their parents reading to them at all times of the days and also remember their parents reading books in front of them, everywhere they were. On the other hand, many of the unmotivated students said their parents don’t read and they explain their parents used to read to them when they were kids but only before going to bed, it was an activity meant to keep them quiet and make them go to sleep. So they would see reading as a boring activity (Beers, 1998). This statement was also observed by researchers Hamston and Love, who conducted a quantitative and qualitative study at a private school. Their article is titled: â€Å"Voicing Resistance: Adolescent Boys and the Cultural Practice of Leisure Reading†. In this research the authors decided to focus on boys, leisure reading, and family reading dispositions due to the concerns raised in the literature regarding boys and literacy (Hamston Love, 2005). The study was conducted in a three year period at a private boy’s school. There were two stages in this research. In the first stage, Hamston and Love focused on 91 boys identified as good and committed leisure time readers. In the second stage, the researchers focused on 75 boys identified as mostly able readers who choose not to read. In both stages of the research, quantitative and qualitative data was gathered from each student through questionnaires about their reading practices, their parents, and the ways their parents share reading with their sons (Hamston Love, 2005). After observing and analyzing the questionnaires, researchers gathered quantitative and qualitative data where they were able to identify a similar culture for committed readers in the study; their parents guided them and facilitated them with leisure time reading. While reluctant readers show several acts of resistance and they lack enthusiasm to engage in the reading practices due to communication and relationships between these boys and their parents (Hamston Love, 2005). The TAKING KIDS BACK TO THE WORLD OF LITERATURE 5  research shows reluctant readers resist to reading novels since they are not highly motivated, they consider these privileged text. However, they are engaging in reading and interacting with multi-media, electronic and complex visual texts that relate to their lives as adolescents, but they still lack the passion in engagement to textual practice. (Hamston Love, 2005). The Leisure Reading Habits In a quantitative and descriptive research done at an urban middle school, Hughes-Hassell and Rodge (2007) found an interesting fact about the leisure reading habits. In this particular school, a study was conducted to collect data by administering a 5-page, 20-item questionnaire. It was focused on factors related to reading by choice. For example, whether or not adolescents read in their leisure time; if so, what, when and why do they read? The questionnaire contained multiple-choice and open-ended questions (Hughes-Hassell, Rodge, 2007). Seventy-two percent of the students indicated that they engaged in reading as a leisure activity, a finding that is consistent with other studies of adolescent reading. Twenty-two percent said they read â€Å"constantly†, and 50% indicated they â€Å"read when they get a chance. † Six percent of the adolescents indicated that they do not read; the other 22% said they read only for school (Hughes-Hassell, Rodge, 2007, p. 23-24). These descriptive data exposes good percentage of students who are engaged in leisure reading. However it also raises a question: Why do these adolescents’ reading scores at this particular school remain low when they reported that they engage in leisure reading? (Hughes-Hassell, Rodge, 2007). It has been proven that â€Å"students who read in their spare time become better readers, score higher on achievement tests in all subject areas, and have more content knowledge that those who do not† (Cunningham Stanovich, 1991; Krashen, 1993, as cited in Hughes-Hassell, Rodge, 2007). But why is the survey showing otherwise? Hughes-Hassell and Rodge suggest a possible explanation that it involves the type of reading they are doing. In their survey it displays that â€Å"books† are not the preferred leisure reading material for both male and female students. In the data gathered it shows 72% read magazines about sports, video games, and music. Forty four TAKING KIDS BACK TO THE WORLD OF LITERATURE 6 percent of the students liked reading comic books, 37% choose internet reading material and only 30% of the students read books for pleasure (Hughes-Hassell, Rodge, 2007). Reading magazines, comic books and internet material is considered light reading and according to Hafner, Palmer and Tullos (1986), light reading does not automatically result in an ability to read advanced material, it only provides motivation for more reading (Hughes-Hassell, Rodge, 2007). After the research was conducted and observations were made, the authors provided these are following suggestions for teachers and librarians. 1. Teachers and librarian should provide the types of materials students prefer, including magazines, comic books, and the Internet. 2. Students’ culture and heritage need to be respected by providing multicultural resources that are relevant to students’ lives, as well as resources in their first language. 3. It is important to talk to students to find out what they are passionate about. of them don’t have time to read after school. 5. Adequate fund must be provided for school and classroom libraries in low-income urban communities. 6. Summer reading must be encouraged because it is critical to summer learning. for â€Å"parents play a significant role in developing and sustaining the leisure reading habits of children and adolescents† (Kim, 2004; Strommen Mates, 2004, as cited in Hughes-Hassell, Rodge, 2007). 8. Teachers and librarians have to be passionate about the love of reading and display the books currently reading by the teacher or librarian. (Hughes-Hassell, Rodge, 2007). 4. Students must be provided with time during the school day to read, because some 7. It is imperative to partner with parents to promote and encourage leisure reading Struggling Readers and Silent Reading In the experimental research: â€Å"Silent Reading Manifestations of Adolescent Struggling Readers† conducted by the researchers Gilliam, Dykis, Gerla, and Wright, vital facts were found about the importance of adolescents practicing silent reading. TAKING KIDS BACK TO THE WORLD OF LITERATURE 7. Many struggling adolescents’ readers have not fully developed the skill to read silently, discouraging them from finding a passion for reading (Gilliam, Dykis, Gerla Wright, 2011). According to Miller (1972), efficient silent reading implies a strong correlation between a rapid reading rate and a high level of comprehension (Gilliam, Dykis, Gerla Wright, 2011). Reading silently is developmental; students start first grade by reading out loud, but at the end of the school year 50% of these students read silently with correct understanding. Students who could not read silently either vocalized or moved their lips as they read to themselves, slowing down their reading rate (Gilliam, Dykis, Gerla Wright, 2011). The purpose of this case study was to discover the connection between speech and reading to oneself among struggling readers in secondary schools. Ninety-five struggling readers in the middle and high school students were chosen as the target population in which they received a treatment for an individual administration of a norm-referenced measure of reading along with direct observations (Gilliam, Dykis, Gerla Wright, 2011). During the test administrations, examiners observed the students in order to determine whether they read silently or whether they moved their lips, mumbled, or whispered as they read, or whether they read aloud. The exam had reading comprehension passages to observe the recorded student’s reading comprehension (Gilliam, Dykis, Gerla Wright, 2011). After making observations, the researchers found that less than half of the secondary struggling readers read silently when reading to themselves. In other words, the majority of struggling readers do not practice silent reading which is a fundamental aspect of comprehension and rate of comprehension. The authors propose silent reading to be taught to struggling readers, the study demonstrated that it will improve their reading rate and comprehension; this might also encourage them to practice leisure reading. (Gilliam, Dykis, Gerla Wright, 2011). Reading Interventions in the Middle Grades In the qualitative article titled: â€Å"Reading Intervention in the Middle Grades†, Allington offers five principles to help middle school struggling readers to succeed. After comparing and contrasting different interventions used in the past without success, TAKING KIDS BACK TO THE WORLD OF LITERATURE 8 his first principle suggests all students need high-quality instruction all day long. He proposes teachers to find appropriate lesson materials, because students need books they can actually read (Allington, 2011). It has been confirmed students cannot learn much from books they cannot read accurately, fluently, and with understanding (Allington, 2007). The second principle is to expand the volume of reading that struggling readers do every day, but do it with a book that they can both read and enjoy. With reading practice matters, struggling readers need to dramatically expand their reading activity (Allington, 2011). It may take years of remediation in which the struggling reader will get better than the achieving peers (Torgeson, 2005). If expanding reading activity among struggling readers is the goal, then the third principle is to provide students with books they can read and books they are interested in reading (Allington, 2011). In the fourth principle, Allington advices not to use decoding instruction for middle school struggling readers because this instruction is rarely useful for older struggling readers. Even when decoding lessons bring struggling older readers’ word recognition up to grade level, there is usually no improvement in their reading comprehension (Torgeson Hudson, 2006). In the fifth and last principle, Allington points out that it is teachers who present the problem that needs to be solved, more than the students do. In other words, it becomes clearer that many of the struggling readers’ problems are caused by teachers, especially when they don’t take action in providing appropriate instruction. In order to help struggling readers, teacher must provide reading material that is to the student’s interest, books they can read and understand to expand their reading time along with reading comprehension (Allington, 2011). Substantial supportive facts with Allington’s fourth principle are found in the article, â€Å"Efficacy of a Reading Intervention for Middle School Students with Learning Disabilities†. Wanzek, Vaughn, Roberts and Fletcher (2011) conducted a one year experimental study which included sixth to eighth grade students with learning disabilities from seven middle schools. In this study, researchers conducted a reading intervention by providing 50 minutes of phonemic decoding instruction to middle school students compared with similar students who did not receive the intervention. No significant differences were found for phonemic decoding fluency and passage comprehension (Wanzek, Vaughn, Roberts, Fletcher, 2011). Since no major effect TAKING KIDS BACK TO THE WORLD OF LITERATURE. 9 was encountered in this experimental study, Allington’s suggestion is correct, teachers should focus more on training struggling readers with reading comprehension by providing time and students’ centered interest reading materials which at the same time it promotes leisure reading (Allington, 2011). Efficacy of Collaborative Strategic Reading Collaborative strategic reading (CSR) is one of the effective solutions found in reading comprehension for struggling readers. Collaborative strategic reading is defined as follows: Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) is a set of four strategies. CSR integrates word identification, reciprocal reading, and cooperative learning. CSR teaches students how to monitor their comprehension and also how to use procedures for clarifying understanding when difficulties arise. Students also learn main idea and questioning practices that assist them on text while reading and guiding group responses to text after reading (Vaughn, Klingner, Swanson, Boardman, Roberts, Mohammed Stillman-Spisak, 2011, p. 940). The authors Mohammed, Swanson, Roberts, Vaughn, Klingner, Boardman, SREEA (2010) conducted experimental studies to test the CSR effectiveness for struggling readers. In their article, â€Å"The Effects of Collaborative Strategic Reading Instruction on the Reading Comprehension of Middle School Students: Year 1†, they explained the experimental study conducted to diverse students who were identified as struggling readers. After their study analysis and the positive impact made on the intervened students, they concluded CSR is an effective practice that should be used as a reading intervention (Mohammed, Swanson, Roberts, Vaughn, Klingner, Boardman, SREEA, 2010). A year later, another experimental study was conducted by the authors: Vaughn, Klingner, Swanson, Boardman, Roberts, Mohammed and Stillman-Spisak (2011), to examine the effects of collaborative strategic reading and metacognitive strategic learning on the reading comprehension of students. The title of the article is â€Å"Efficacy of Collaborative Strategic Reading with Middle School Students†. In this study, students were selected from three school districts from seventh and eighth grade. After they were TAKING KIDS BACK TO THE WORLD OF LITERATURE 10 randomly assigned to class, there were 27 comparison classes and 34 treatment classes. Students in the treatment classes received the intervention and students in the comparison classes received typical instruction (Vaughn, Klingner, Swanson, Boardman, Roberts, Mohammed Stillman-Spisak, 2011). Students in the treatment classes outperformed students in the comparison classes on a standardized reading comprehension exam. After the study findings, authors reassure CSR is an achievable and effective practice that can be integrated into reading and language arts instruction to make a positive impact (Vaughn, Klingner, Swanson, Boardman, Roberts, Mohammed Stillman-Spisak, 2011). Even though these two experimental studies about CSR effectiveness were completed in the same states, Texas and Colorado, the researchers had different designs and questions with diversity students. In the first study: â€Å"The Effects of Collaborative Strategic Reading Instruction on the Reading Comprehension of Middle School Students: Year 1†, the authors targeted identified struggling students and used CSR as a reading intervention to experiment reading comprehension (Mohammed, Swanson, Roberts, Vaughn, Klingner, Boardman, SREEA, 2010). In the second study: â€Å"Efficacy of Collaborative Strategic Reading With Middle School Students†, the researchers focused on the effectiveness of CSR with adolescent readers when applied by well trained and supported CSR teachers (Vaughn, Klingner, Swanson, Boardman, Roberts, Mohammed Stillman-Spisak, 2011). Reading Time Provided for self-selected books In order to promote leisure reading, one of the many suggestions made by researchers is to provide reading material that will target the adolescents’ interest and give them time during school to read. To test these recommendations and see students’ attitudes towards reading, Rodriguez and Lira (1998) conducted an experimental study at a middle school in South Texas. The study consisted of providing 30-minute periods five times a week for eight months to 41 eighth grade students. The students’ assignment was to read from self-selected books (books which did not have more than five unknown words on any given page), keep a reading log, take home their books and participate in the reading club (Rodriguez Lira, 1998). This experimental design was combined with TAKING KIDS BACK TO THE WORLD OF LITERATURE 11 a descriptive and a group pretest-posttest to determine if there was a significant difference with students’ scores before and after the experiment. Rodriguez and Lira (1998) also made observations on students who participated in this study observing for positive attitudes towards reading. The results point out that most of the students enjoyed the required reading and felt they had improved with their reading skills, specifically their vocabulary and fluency. Even though the study did not reveal significant improvements in reading achievement for the 41 students, however, the study showed greater gains in reading achievement for students with low to average reading abilities than it did with students with better reading abilities (Rodriguez Lira, 1998). In other words, struggling readers improved their reading abilities, and this fact proves a statement mentioned earlier; it may take years of remediation in which the struggling reader will get better than the achieving peers (Torgeson, 2005). Successful Engagement with Text Using the E-reader Making technology part of a motivational reading tool can encourage reluctant students to engage in literature. Johnson, Mckenzie, Miranda Williams-Rossi (2011) conducted an experimental study in a middle school where 199 students were given 1525 minutes to read high interest chapter books and stories on the Amazon Kindle ® reader. This was done to study the attitudes and response to reading using e-books by reluctant students. After making qualitative observations, the authors found reluctant readers demonstrated motivation in reading, engagement and expressed high levels of satisfaction with the e-readers. Researchers were very satisfied with the reluctant attitudes towards reading after this study, that they recommend e-readers to be used in reading improvement classes as another choice for reading material (Johnson, Mckenzie, Miranda Williams-Rossi, 2011). Conclusion The problem is that middle school students in Texas do not practice leisure reading creating a deficit in their reading skills as measured by the National Center for TAKING KIDS BACK TO THE WORLD OF LITERATURE 12 Education Statistics. Texas students showed an upsetting lack of improvement in reading on the Nation’s Report Card. In 2011, the average score of eighth-grade students in Texas was 261. This was lower than the average score of 264 for public school students in the nation (National Center for Education Statistics, 2011). The purpose of this review of literature was to examine reading interventions to promote positive attitudes towards leisure reading. The need is to improve reading skills as reflected reading scores on the Nation’s Report Card. It has been demonstrated that students who practice leisure reading perform better in many subject areas (Hughes-Hassell Pradnya Rodge, 2007). Leisure reading is the key to help students improve the standardized test scores. After examining experimental and nonexperimental studies conducted in and out of the state of Texas, it is alarming to know students in the middle schools choose not to read for numerous reasons. In schools, students are not being motivated to read for pleasure, instead teachers focus more on reading skills to pass standardized tests so teenagers are being forced to read lacking the passion to literature (Beers, 1998). Many reading materials offered to students are out of their interest and most of the time these books are filled with unknown vocabulary words causing the student to struggle by not comprehending the reading (Palumbo Loiacono, 2009). There have been several reading interventions done to help students with vocabulary decoding and reading skills, but researches show the most important of all is reading comprehension; and this can only be obtained when teenagers self-select the reading material (Rodriguez and Lira, 1998). Researches show silent reading is a great way for students to better comprehend text and it helps read at a faster rate, but most of them have not developed this skill (Gilliam, Dykis, Gerla Wright, 2011). When students enter middle school, their reading habits start declining because they start getting involved in after school activities or just hang out with friends. Time must be provided during school hours for them to dedicate leisure time (Allington, 2011). Parents take a big role in influencing their kids in leisure reading by practicing reading themselves and motivating their kids to practice reading at home (Hamston Love, 2005). A research study shows teenagers are fascinated with technology and using electronic devices such as e-readers has made a positive impact on reluctant readers with their attitudes towards reading (Miranda Williams-Rossi, 2011). Both qualitative and TAKING KIDS BACK TO THE WORLD OF LITERATURE 13 quantitative studies demonstrate a connection between success in school and the amount of leisure reading students do (Allington McGill-Franzen, 2003; Krashen, 1993, as cited in Hughes-Hassell Pradnya Rodge, 2007). TAKING KIDS BACK TO THE WORLD OF LITERATURE 14 References Cited Allington, R. L. (2007). Effective teachers, effective instruction. In K. Beers, R, E. Probst, Reif (Eds. ), Adolescent literacy: Turning promise into practice (pp. 273288). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Allington, R. L. (2011). Reading intervention in the middle grades. Voices From The Middle, 19(2), 10-16. Beers, K. (1998) Choosing not to read: Understanding why some middle schoolers just say no. Into Focus: Understanding and Creating Middle School Readers, 1-27. Gilliam, B. K. , Dykes, F. , Gerla, J. K. , Wright, G. L. (2011). Silent reading manifestations of adolescent struggling Readers. Reading Improvement, 48(3), 118-127. Hacker. (2012). In Merriam-Webster. com. Retrieved April 30, 2012, from http://www. merriam-webster. com/dictionary/hacker Hafner, L. , Palmer, B. , Tullos, S. (1986). The differential reading interests of good and poor readers in the ninth grade. Reading Improvement, 23, 39-42. Hughes-Hassell, S. Rodge, P. (2007). The leisure reading habits of urban adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Adult Literacy, 51(1), 22-33. TAKING KIDS BACK TO THE WORLD OF LITERATURE 15 Hamston, J. Love, K. (2005). Voicing resistance: Adolescent boys and the cultural practice of leisure reading. Discourses: studies in the cultural politics of education, 26(2), 183-202. Johnson, K. A., Mckenzie, N. , Miranda, T. , Williams-Rossi, D. (2011). Reluctant readers in middle school: successful engagement with text using the e-reader. International Journal of Applied Science and Technology, 1(6), 81-91. Knulst, W. Kraaykamp, G. (1998) â€Å"Trends in leisure reading: forty years of research on reading in the Netherlands. † Poetics, 26:1 (September), 21-41. Mohammed, S. S. , Swanson, E. , Roberts, G. , Vaughn, S. , Klingner, J. K. , Boardman, A. , Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness. (2010). The effects of collaborative strategic reading instruction on the reading comprehension of middle school students: Year 1. Society For Research On Educational Effectiveness. National Center for Education Statistics. (2011). The nations report card reading 2011 state snapshot report. Texas. Grade 8, Public Schools. National Center For Education Statistics, ERIC. Web. 24 Mar. 2012. TAKING KIDS BACK TO THE WORLD OF LITERATURE 16 Palumbo, A. Loiacono, V. (2009). Understanding the causes of intermediate and middle school comprehension problems. International Journal of Special Education, 24(1), 75-81. Reed, D. (2010). The contribution of retell to the identification of struggling adolescent readers. Request LLC, 1-226. Rodriguez, C., Lira, J. R. (1998). A study of eighth grade students from a south Texas middle school who participated in 30-minute required reading periods of selfselected books. Torgeson, J. K. , Hudson, R. F (2006). Reading fluency: Critical issues for struggling readers. In S. J. Samuels A. E. Farstrup (Eds. ), What research has to say about fluency instruction (pp. 130-158). Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Torgeson, J. K. (2005). Recent discoveries on remedial interventions for children with dyslexia. In M. Snowling C. Hulme (Eds. ), The Science of reading: A handbook (pp. 521-537). Malden, MA: Blackwe

Video games

Video games As the end of the 19th decade approached, video games were introduced. They were an expected hit. The video games industry is now a multi-billion dollar industry. They established and maintained a high rank in childhood leisure activities due to their abilityto attract children infront of a screen for very high number of hours. The idea of video games was flabbergasting since it developed certain positive characteristics which enhanced youngsters and developed them. However, Children addiction to video games increased overtime which concerned adults. They were worried that violent video games develop the sense of violence in their children. Doctors began their research which linked video games to increase in childrens violence. At first, the research was open to doubt but further research linked violence video games with development of violent characters. Recent research suggests that playing video games may affect some childrens physical functioning. Effects range from causing heart rate to blood pressure changes. However, serious physical effects are limited to a small number of players. Indeed, video games are a double edged sword which has its advantages and disadvantages. Recent studies showed that games are valuable considering health care. They were proven to be mentally and physically helpful to children as well as adults. Mental health professionals stress on the idea that some children may develop certain positive characteristics when playing video games. These characteristics are said to be very hard and long lasting to attain elsewhere. Some adults prefer their children to play video games since they feature some benefits instead of sitting without any form of interaction in front of the television. These benefits include the development of creativity. Better vision is some of the reported benefits to doctors who perform vision tests. Logical thinking and skills concerning problem solving will increase since children are always engaged with such issues in video games. Phsygological researchers report that youngsters playing video games show higher self confidence than children who dont/ this self confidence is achieved from they get when they succeed in the game. Furthermore, video games are linked with treating specific diseases. Research studies show that video games are somehow enhanced to treat people suffering from certain phobias. Treatment of fear of the dark and fear of heights has been reported to be the most effective. Doctors expose their patients to their fears through a controlled computerized game to treat them. Moreover, some video games help children develop their learning skills. These games are rather attractive due to their setting. They feature reading and writing tasks to help improve the Childs academic level. The biggest advantage of video games is its ability to entertain a child. When a child is not feeling good or is stressed video games will undoubtedly improve his phsycological state and drive him out of boredom. Children can socialize due to the fact that video games can be played in pairs. It is a great opportunity for kids to make friend by actually playing the game together of discussing t he game plot. Although video games show positive effects on children, video games have various disadvantages. Recent studies link children playing violent video games and behaving rather aggressively. According to NCTV research, 9 of every 12 studies considering violent games feature the idea that children are getting harmed by them. The scene of getting attached to violent video games stresses children and affects their brains. DR. Mathews a doctor in the Indiana University of School and Medicine reports that video games show an increase in emotional arousal and a decrease in the activities of areas which involve self controls, inhibition and attention. Dr. Mathews and his colleagues prove this fact through a simple test. They got 44 players and randomly assigned them to play a game. There were two games. The first one is the adrenaline pumping Need For Speed, the second is the violence included point of view shooter game Medal Of Honor. The players played the game for the 30 minutes. They were then immediately assigned to take MRIs of their brains. Negative effects were seen in youngsters playing the violent Medal Of Honor. The same effects were not seen in players who played Need For Speed. Video games have not been directly linked with mental illness. However, excess violent acts might cause this mental illness. Video games disadvantages are very similar to that of television since children are exposed to the same type of violence. However, researchers say that video games are supposedly more crucial since children are actually involved in violence performed in video games rather than just sitting inactively watching it on television. As technology develops, violence will develop as well since violence is much better portrayed now than 20 years ago through video games due to technology .In some games when a player is bombed, blood and bones are scattered illustrating his death and the effect of being bombed in real life. Children spending many numbers of hours playing v ideo games without getting in contact with no one else suffer from being shy and rather introvert as they see no one but the screen theyre playing on. Certified studies prove that as children encounter these violent acts on television or on video games, they are more likely to perform these acts. In conclusion, recommendations concerning video games must be conservative. According to researcher Jeanne Funk, a ban on video games is probably not in the childs best interests. Limiting playing time of video games and monitoring game selection according to developmental level and game content may be as vital as similar parental management of television privileges. Doctors and parents should also seek out inventive ways to increase the acceptance, popularity, and availability of games that are relatively sociable, educational, and fun. Every aspect has its pros and cons so is the law of nature. What we can do is try to uphold a balance and get the finest of what it has to offer, be it nature or technology

Human Nature: Exposed :: essays research papers

Human Nature: Exposed More than a century ago, Mark Twain probably composed the single-most important piece of American Literature to ever be composed. This work, widely known as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, essentially follows young Huck on a series of adventures and experiences with his close friend (and runaway slave), Jim, as they both escape society's burdens. The novel, in a sense, encompasses everything good, bad and in between about and concerning the society of that time. A majority of the novel takes place along the Mississippi river, with Young Huck, and Jim each striving to attain a common goal, freedom from the woes of society. In their journey, they come across many different people, and encounter many strange and new experiences that all relate to a common theme that is evident throughout the novel. As their journey progresses, the reader witnesses many horrific and surprising acts, all performed by none other than man himself. Looking deeper into the symbolistic meaning of many of these passages reveals that man, in essence , is cruel, silly, and hypocritical in nature. Through his writing, it becomes apparent that Twain supports the thematic idea of the human race being hypocritical. For instance, take the scene in Chapter 20 where a group of people in Arkansas are listening to the sermon of a preacher. In this descriptive passage, it can be inferred through Twain's writing that the average person of this time was in fact "blinded" by religious influences. The significance of this event can be observed later on in Chapter 21 where Twain describes the horrific abuse of animals. "There couldn't anything wake them up all over, and make them happy all over, like a dog-fight--unless it might be putting turpentine on a stray dog and setting fire to him..." (Twain 140). In putting the two preceding passages in perspective a distinctive irony becomes visible. The same type of individuals whom practice religion in good faith turn around and perform cruel acts to animals, for sport of all things. This is hypocritical because the basis of religion is definitely not to support or defend such acts, but that doesn't seem to have any adverse affect upon the average person who is merely "blinded" by glamour of religion and what it stands for, not having any intention of carrying out it's plight. So all said and done, Twain wanted to make it clear to the reader in a subtle way that these two scenes, in conjunction support the statement that Twain's writing makes the human race out as hypocritical in nature. In addition of Twain using the experiences that Huck and Jim undergo to

21st Century Management Skills Essay

Being a successful manager in the 21st century takes many skills that can be placed into three categories: Management Style, Communication, and Employee Relations. Historically, managers have mostly fallen into the Theory X type manager, meaning they pushed for production at any cost to the employee. The manager would assume that most people dislike work and avoid it whenever possible. People responded to punishment and negative reinforcement, and also that employees wanted to be directed and did not want the responsibility of making their own decisions. The 21st century manager will be much the opposite, seeing the employee as the number one asset. They see the employee as being driven and embracing responsibility, while being loyal to the company due to a positive reward system. Managers will stand back allowing for self-direction, and employee creativity and imagination to be tapped into. Next, communication is key to the success of any organization. One important skill for a manager is being multicultural, and/or multilingual – being able to speak another language, and to understand and adapt to differing cultural cues. This allows for a diverse work environment with less culture shock and improved human relations. Information will flow equally up and down the organization; employees will be kept informed about the Key Operating Indicators of the company, such as Internal PPM Scrap, Efficiency, On Time Delivery, etc. Allowing for a visual representation of how the organization is doing, and making the employees feel more connected; in turn increasing productivity, decreasing scrap, pushing for quality and on time delivery – while being able to track improvements. Finally, organizations have changed their outlook on customer relations, by making their employees their internal customers. Employees will be used as guides for continuous improvement of processes and policies throughout the organization. This will allow the employee to form loyalty and commitment, knowing they have a say in how things work. Managers will be team leaders and coaches to new employees, meaning everyone is helping everyone else; allowing employees to embrace change. Employees with this new commitment will be more likely to be promoted from within with a wealth of company information and knowledge, helping them to renew the cycle and become better managers themselves.

Dover Bitch vs Dover Beach Essay

What is love? This is a question that is often discussed and argued about. Everyone seems to have a different perception on what love truly is. These perceptions help categorize what type of person you are when it comes towards love. This can range from being a hopeless romantic to a person who doesn’t even believe that love exists. A perfect example of how the views of love can be drastically different can be illustrated by these two poems; â€Å"Dover Beach† and â€Å"Dover Bitch†. â€Å"Dover Beach†, was written by Matthew Arnold in the 19th century. The love Arnold speaks of in his poem is a deep love that is indestructible. â€Å"Dover Bitch† was written by Anthony Hecht, in response to â€Å"Dover Beach† and refers to love as being a joke and nonexistent. Arnold can be portrayed as being a hopeless romantic while Hecht is skeptical and a cynic when it comes to love. There are many factors which influence the authors’ literary works including: the time period, the object of love in their poem and their overall view of the world. These components as well as the tones of the of the poems help convey the author’s view point on love and its place in society. Matthew Arnold’s legendary poem â€Å"Dover Beach† encapsulated the era that the poem was written in. He wrote this poem during the 19th century while he was honeymooning with his wife. Rumor has it that the newlyweds were honeymooning at Dover Beach but no one can be certain. In order to get a better grasp on what the text of the poem is referring to we must know what’s going on during the time period. When â€Å"Dover Beach† was written there was large transformation in how people thought and what knowledge was deemed acceptable. English society was changing from a primarily religious based society with high religious morals and standings into one that praised and honored the work of science. It was the dawn of the scientific and industrial revolution. With any major change there seems to always be benefits and side effects. Arnold’s poem addresses many of the side effects during this wave of change. Matthew Arnold’s primary point of concern has to do with the fact that people have lost their faith and are sacrificing their true feelings for knowledge. The Sea of Faith/was once, too, at the full, and round earth’s shore/ But now I only hear/its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar (lines 21-25)†. These are a couple of lines from â€Å"Dover Beach†; they help illustrate how people on Earth have lost their faith and how the world is being affected by it. The Sea of Faith refers to how everything used to be. People were full of faith and were attached to their emotions, but now that faith no longer remains all Arnold can here is a roar of sadness which is sweeping across the land. Anthony Hecht wrote â€Å"Dover Bitch† in response to the â€Å"Dover Beach† poem by Matthew Arnold. Although the poems were written only a century apart, views on love and life were immensely different. During the 20th century when Hecht wrote the â€Å"Dover Bitch† poem the world as Arnold once knew it no longer existed. Religion played a very minuscule role in society and it was the start of a sexual revolution. Sleeping with multiple people was not frowned upon anymore and the quest to be with one person for the rest of your life was thought to be ridiculous and was extremely uncommon. There was a mindset that there is no such thing as a â€Å"one true love†. Relationships were really just affairs and flings since there was a lack of emotional attachment. Hecht even pushes it as far to imply that what we believe to be love is actually lust and personal quest for pleasure. In a way Matthew Arnold foresaw what the world and what love would become if people were detached from their emotions. The world that he foresaw is the world in which Hecht inhabits; this world has caused Hecht to believe that love does not even exist. Both of the time periods in which â€Å"Dover Beach† and â€Å"Dover Bitch† were written help play a significant role in how the author views love. It is within this environment that they are able to perceive and formulate their opinions on love and whether or not it is present in their society. â€Å"Dover Beach† and â€Å"Dover Bitch† are both poems that describe â€Å"love†. However the objects to which the poem is directed are extremely different. The chosen object of the poem also corresponds to the time period in which these poems were written. Arnold’s poem as stated before speaks of a deep love, one that is forever constant. His poem is said to have been written for his wife, which would make sense since they were honeymooning together when it was written. Ah, love, let us be true/to one another (lines 30-31)†. In the poem Arnold is demanding that the love they have together should be pure and well intentioned. He believes that love exists and what he is experiencing is love and that this love can overpower any obstacle. By reading this poem it can be inferred that Arnold is in love with just one person and that he wants to spend eternity with them. In a way Arnold’s poetry is describing a â€Å"one true love†. The idea of a one true love is distinct to the time period in which Arnold lived. The tone used in â€Å"Dover Beach† is very melancholy and lamented. These two descriptive words of the tone are generally perceived as being negative, but in this instance Arnold is melancholic and lamented because he wants his love to last. So although after reading the poem the reader might perhaps almost feel dreary they are given a contrasting feeling of hope. In â€Å"Dover Bitch† however the object that Hecht speaks of is a casual fling. This makes the whole poem impersonal and is a blasphemy in the face of love. Hecht’s poem makes a complete mockery of Arnold’s poem. His word choice, tone and his nonchalant attitude devoted to the object support the fact that he does not believe love exists. There is an underlying theme built into his poem that love is not real and what the â€Å"lover† is pursuing is in fact lust and personal pleasure. This pleasure is purely physical and has nothing to do with the individuals emotions. An example of this is when the thoughts of the object used in â€Å"Dover Bitch† are revealed. â€Å"But all the time he was talking she had in mind/The notion of what the whiskers would feel like/on the back of her neck (lines 9-11)†. The object is thinking purely of partaking in pleasurable activities such as sex while the man in the poem is â€Å"declaring† his love for her. Obviously this is not an example of true love; this certainly doesn’t seem like love at all. In â€Å"Dover Beach† Arnold dedicates and pours his heart to a single person which makes the poem more intimate. Hecht however leads you to believe that there is more than one woman in his life and yet he is still unsatisfied. â€Å"She’s really alright. I still see her once in awhile/and she always treats me right. We have a drink/ and I give her a good time, and perhaps it’s a year/before I see her again (lines 25-26). The casual tone the author uses allows the reader to infer that the object of the poem is truly insignificant and holds no value to her so called â€Å"lover†. If you have ever witnessed someone who is in love going a few days without their significant other is hard but a year would be a living hell for them. This does not seem to bother the â€Å"lover† in Hecht’s poem at all. Basically by reading this poem you are allowed to make the assumption that people confuse lust for love. Hecht’s skepticism towards love is very apparent upon reading â€Å"Dover Bitch†. This skepticism of love is most likely due to the time period in which the poem was written. If most of society is partaking in affairs and are having multiple partners the idea of love might sound a little ridiculous. The words â€Å"I love you† wouldn’t take on any meaning after awhile and all hope for love might be lost. This is the attitude that I think the Anthony Hecht obtained and it was with this mindset he responded to Matthew Arnold’s â€Å"Dover Beach†. The last major difference between these two authors and their poems is their outlook on life and where they feel love’s place is in society. Matthew Arnold has a very optimistic outlook on life and feels that love always and needs to have a place in society. Arnold states in his poem that the world around him has been corrupted and is filled with illusions; love can exist in this environment and be a glimmer of hope to all. This corruption is probably referencing the loss of faith in religion and even though that has been disturbed the love that people have does not have to be extinguished. Being a hopeless romantic Arnold makes it seem that a world without love would be terrible and catastrophic. Hecht however has a cynical outlook on life and feels that love does not even exist in our society. To him love can’t exist in a world like the one we inhabit. In a world full of corruption how can something as pure as love exist? It is safe to say that Hecht never believed in the â€Å"one true love† theory and instead this theory was replaced with one night stands and sexual affairs. This is why I feel that Hecht as a negative connotation of love and is skeptical of its existence. The overall attitudes towards life reflect how they embrace and except love. Leaving us with a hopeless romantic and a cynic. Although there are a lot of differences between â€Å"Dover Beach† and â€Å"Dover Bitch† they do in fact have some similarities. Both of these poems reflect the viewpoints their author has on life and love. They both encapsulate the time periods in which they were written and show how love was represented in society. The tone of the two poems also plays a key role in deciphering the author’s true feelings towards love.