The positives and negatives of Formal and Informal Assessments

The positives and negatives of Formal and Informal Assessments Formal and informal assessments are two specific procedures that teachers use to evaluate and grade their students. Both formal and informal formative assessments involve gathering, interpreting, and acting on information (Ruiz-Primo Furtak,2004, p. 4). Formal assessments are standardized exams used by a state to reflect on particular grade level to measure a students academic abilities. These exams are administered in the same way every time with a time restriction and instructions to how the exam should be graded. In contrast, informal assessments are exams or activities designed to specially review or test students knowledge on a certain academic subject taught by their teacher. I will be discussing the advantage and disadvantage for two different forms of formal assessment and four types of informal assessments methods. The two formal assessments are norm-referenced and criterion-referenced. Norm-referenced are standardized tests and are linked to inter individual differences (Gargiulo, 2008, p.65). This test compares the students skill to other students in the similar age group. Statistical method is used to determine how the student did. For example first grade students were tested and the outcome is used in a statistical method. You would be able to see how each student ranked. For example, Jon scored at the 50th percentile among his class. There are advantages and disadvantages in using norm referenced testing. One advantage to this method is it can determine whether a student may need special services. For example, if the student scores less than standard norm for reading, they will receive special services to aid them in this subject. Another advantage to this method is it allows parents to see how their childs academic results are compared to their peers. For example, Julie performs at 86 percentile in her class. This means that Julie performed better than 86% from her classmates. As there are advantages, there are disadvantages. One disadvantage to this method is it consists of broad academic information and may not consist of current classroom content. Another disadvantage is it does not fully capture a students academic abilities on problem solving, decision making, social skills, nor their ability elaborate on certain topic. In contrast, Criterion-referenced tests are associated with intra individual differences and can provide data that is useful for instructional planning (Gargiulo, 2008, p.66). For example, a math problem is given to a student to see if the student is able to add two digit numbers. The outcome is strictly based on whether the student did or did not answer the problem correctly. The first advantage to this test is it can compare a students individual performance from their previous one. For example, Aprils current test indicated her reading skills have improved from last quarter. Aprils results are not compared to how well she did among her classmates instead it compares to her individual progress. Another advantage to this test it can assist a teacher to figure out each students academic strengths and weakness. A teacher can guide and assign additional help in the areas where students need improvement. The downfall to this method is it cannot compare student academic performance to ot her schools or districts. For example, a teacher will not be able to compare her students success to other classes nor to other schools. Another disadvantage is creating a valid exam for students. Designing an exam needs to meet specific standards plus its time consuming for teachers to work around their daily responsibilities. The following are the four types of informal assessments that can be used in a classroom which are an essay exam, a classroom game, walk around method, and a multiple choice exam. The first informal assessment is an essay exam. Essay exams are questions based on a certain lesson or topic where a student needs to provide a written answer. Depending on the exam instructions students may only need to write a couple of paragraphs or several pages in length. The following are two advantages in using an essay exam to test students. First, students have the opportunity to express their thoughts and demonstrate their level of comprehension on a certain question. The second advantage, students begin to construct and analyze how to answer each question. For example, the instruction on the essay says to please explain the difference between a mammal and an amphibian. The student first needs to analyze the differences between the two species and then construct examples to elaborate on the question. An issue does represent itself; this type of method is time consuming for both the student and teacher. The students need plenty of time to answer and write an essay and the te acher needs time to evaluate and grade each paper. The second disadvantage, teachers must be aware of their biases when writing a question where students need to agree or disagree on a certain topic. This disadvantage may get in the way of grading papers accurately. A teacher needs to be aware of their bias and base their grading on the students response not if they agree or disagree with their student. Another informal way to evaluate a students progress is a classroom game. A Classroom game creates an opportunity for students to apply their knowledge and encourages them to learn. For example, the class is divided into four groups to play a game of Jeopardy. The game of Jeopardy consists of questions on a certain academic subject. An advantage to this method is it promotes cooperative learning. Students are learning how to interact, collaborate, and work together with their peers to answer questions. Working together provides positive reinforcements for students to develop social skills and trust among their team members. Another advantage it motivates students to apply their own knowledge and retain new information as they play the game. A game will keep students alert and encourages participation which will lead to learning. Since students are divided into groups not every student is participating or collaborating on every question and this is downfall to this method. Even though each student has an opportunity to answer a question, the group is judged as a whole not the individual knowledge to every question but the ones they answer. Another disadvantage to this method does not provide enough feedback to a teacher to determine which students needs additional assistance in comprehending the current subject. The third informal assessment is the walk-around. This assessment requires the teacher to interact with each student as they work together as a group or individually. The teacher is actively observing and assisting students to stay on task. The advantage to this method it allows the teacher to interact with students individually or as a group to answer any concerns or assist them in understanding their assignment. The second advantage is the one on one conference. The teacher uses the one on one conference to talk to the students for five or ten minutes. This conference offers attention, and additional help in instructions for students(Cole,1999,p.4). This type of interaction builds trust and improves the communication between teacher and student. A downside to walk around assessment is giving each student or groups the same amount of time to answer questions or concerns. Since every student or groups have different questions, some may need additional assistance than others. This may cause some behavior issues or delay some students in completing their assignment. Another issue is making sure every student understands the material or contributing their work to their group. The teacher needs to give every student an opportunity to talk and demonstrate they understand the assignment. Lastly, the multiple-choice test is another assessment used in a classroom. Multiple choice tests consist of questions and a list of possible answers for each question. An upside to this method students begin to access their knowledge and apply it to every question by eliminating misleading choices. This method is also an advantage for teachers as well. The grading is less time consuming than other methods and easier to narrow down where the students are having difficulties. A disadvantage for students is it may cause them some confusion or frustration when the exams are poorly written. Poor written exams consist of tricky options to choose from, for instance having two possible answers. The second disadvantage for students is not being able to understand a question. This may lead the students to guess on answers they are not able to comprehend due to reading difficulties or a poor written exam. This may lead to inappropriate score on the students progress or knowledge. In conclusion, both formal and informal assessments consist of advantages and disadvantages that a teacher should consider and understand before administrating these assessments. Assessments are necessary to pinpoint students academic strengths and weaknesses. This allows a teacher to provide additional assistance to students that are struggling. Without assessments teachers will not be able to properly evaluate and assist students.

Images of Africa in Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart Essay

Images of Africa in Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness portrays an image of Africa that is dark and inhuman.   Not only does he describe the actual, physical continent of Africa as "so hopeless and so dark, so impenetrable to human thought, so pitiless to human weakness" (Conrad 94), as though the continent could neither breed nor support any true human life, but he also manages to depict Africans as though they are not worthy of the respect commonly due to the white man.   At one point the main character, Marlow, describes one of the paths he follows: "Can't say I saw any road or any upkeep, unless the body of a middle-aged negro, with a bullet-hole in the forehead, upon which I absolutely stumbled three miles farther on, may be considered as a permanent improvement" (48).   Conrad's description of Africa and Africans served to misinform the Western world, and went uncontested for many years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In 1958 Chinua Achebe published his first and most widely acclaimed novel, Things Fall Apart.   This work-commonly acknowledged as the single most well known African novel in the world-depicts an image of Africa that humanizes both the continent and the people.   Achebe once said, "Reading Heart of Darkness . . . I realized that I was one of those savages jumping up and down on the beach.   Once that kind of enlightenment comes to you, you realize that someone has to write a different story" (Gikandi 8-9); Achebe openly admits that he wrote Things Fall Apart because of the horrible characterization of Africans in many European works, especially Heart of Darkness.   In many ways, Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart can be seen as an Afrocentric rebuttal to the Eurocentric depi... ...t of Darkness.    Works Cited Achebe, Chinua.   "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness." Heart of Darkness: An Authoritative Text, Backgrounds and Sources, Essays in Criticism.   3rd  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ed.   Ed. Robert Kimbrough.   New York: W.W. Norton, 1988.   251-262. ---.   Things Fall Apart.   Greenwich: Fawcett Publications, Inc., 1959. Boahen, A. Adu.   African Perspectives on Colonialism.   Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987. Conrad, Joseph.   Heart of Darkness.   London: Penguin Books, 1989. "Doctrines on Colonialism."   The Government of Tibet in Exile.   3 May 2000. http://www.tibet.com/Humanrights/Unpo/chap2.html>. Gikandi, Simon.   "Chinua Achebe and the Invention of African Literature."   Classics in Context: Things Fall Apart.   Chinua Achebe.   Portsmouth: Heinemann Educational Publishers, 1996      

The Rule of Law Essay examples -- fair legal system

The rule of law is a difficult concept to grasp and proves elusive to substantive definition. However, the following work considers the attempts of various social and legal theorists to define the concept and pertinent authorities are considered. Attitudes and emphasis as to the exact shape, form and content of the rule of law differ quite widely depending on the socio-political perspective and views of respective commentators (Slapper and Kelly, 2009, p16), although there are common themes that are almost universally adopted. The conclusions to this work endeavour to consolidate thinking on the rule of law in order to address the question posed in the title, which is at first sight a deceptively simple one. The rule of law Modern legislation places the ‘rule of law’ firmly at the heart of the English legal system. The Constitutional Reform Act 2005, for example, states in section 1 that the Act does not adversely affect ‘the existing constitutional principle of the rule of law’. Moreover, the oath required to be taken by the Lord Chancellor, as specified in section 17(1) of the 2005 Act, pledges that the rule of law will be respected alongside defence of the independence of the judiciary. Unhelpfully perhaps, at least in the context of the question posed in the title to this work, the 2005 Act does not provide a definition of the concept of the rule of law. As Lord Bingham observed in a 2006 lecture, the draughtsmen of the 2005 Act seemingly acknowledged the difficulty of establishing an accurate, comprehensive and succinct definition appropriate for incorporation in the statute, and so left the job of definition to the judiciary in their subsequent interpretation and application of the Act (Bingham, 2006, Sixth Sir Dav... ...yranny begins.† (Locke, 1690). This Lockean stance emphasises the importance of the rule of law as a golden precept and inviolable principle that controls the way in which a State’s power is exercised over its citizens or subjects. BIBLIOGRAPHY Constitutional Reform Act 2005 Dicey A.V., An Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution, (1885) Locke, J., The Second Treatise of Civil Government, (1690) Hayek F.A., The Road to Serfdom, (1994) University of Chicago Press Lord Bingham of Cornhill, ‘The Rule of Law’, November 2006, Sixth Sir David Williams Lecture, Centre for Public Law, University of Cambridge Raz J., ‘The Rule of Law and its virtue’, (1977) 93 LQR 195 Slapper G. & Kelly D., The English Legal System (2009) Routledge Cavendish Thompson E.P. (Thompson D. (ed)), The Essential EP Thompson, (2001) The New Press

The Secret of Ella and Micha Chapter 5

Micha There she is, the girl I used to know. It's visible in her green eyes that she's getting turned on. She was always weird like that, the speed, the danger always got her own engine burning. Then I have to slow down and all the fire dissolves. She puts on her seatbelt and mutters something about the Ella I know being gone forever, but I'm calling her out. I have big plans to bring my best friend back, whether she likes it or not. She's wearing a short skirt and tank top that's tight enough to show off her curves. It's driving me crazy that I can't touch her. â€Å"What happened to the turnout?† she asks as we drive by the spot we use to park at during small town cruising. â€Å"It looks like you can't even take the road up to the cove anymore.† â€Å"You can if you walk or have four-wheel drive and ramp the hill.† The turnout is blocked off by a large fence so that no cars can reach the dirt road that leads to a secluded area near the lake. â€Å"They blocked it off after they busted a bunch of people for drug and alcohol possession.† â€Å"Anyone I know?† she inquires, feigning indifference. I thrum my fingers on top of the steering wheel. â€Å"Yeah, you're sitting next to one of them. But mine was only for alcohol.† Her friend gasps in the backseat and I catch Ella secretly rolling her eyes. â€Å"What'd you get?† she asks nonchalantly. â€Å"Probation and anger management classes.† I return her indifference. Her head turns toward me. â€Å"Anger management classes?† â€Å"I also punched Grantford Davis in the face,† I explain. â€Å"Pretty hard. Broke his nose and everything.† Her friend gasps again and I wonder how Ella could be friends with her. She seems like a naive princess. Ella studies me acutely with her beautiful eyes that always give away what she's really thinking. â€Å"Why did you punch him?† â€Å"I think you know why.† I carry her gaze forcefully. â€Å"I asked him to drive me to the bridge, Micha,† she says it like it strangles her. â€Å"It wasn't his fault. He was just doing it as a favor.† â€Å"He should have never left you there alone.† I flip the blinker on, making a turn down a dirt road that leads into a field of tall, dry grass. â€Å"Not in that condition. You could barely think straight. In fact, do you even remember anything about that night?† She fiddles with a band of bracelets on her wrists. â€Å"I'm not sure.† â€Å"Are you not sure?† I accuse. â€Å"Or do you not want to admit it?† She starts to open her mouth, but then clamps her lips shut, and turns toward the window, dismissing me and the conversation. Ella The night I went to the bridge, I had been in a weird funk the entire day. My mom died a few weeks earlier and I couldn't seem to get rid of this vile feeling in my chest and I wanted it to go away. Badly. So I took drastic measures and decided to walk in my mother's footsteps for a night. My mom wasn't awful. She had her good moments, but had a lot of bad ones too. When she was up, she was great – a lot of fun. At least that's what I thought when I was young. However, when I got older, there was a painful realization that it wasn't normal to go on huge shopping sprees, take off in the middle of the night for a road trip, pretend she could fly†¦ But the night on the bridge wasn't the worst night I'd ever experienced. It was just the last push to my rapid decline toward the loss of control over my life. â€Å"Ella, where are you?† Micha's voice snaps me out of my own head. â€Å"You were dazing off on me there.† We're parked in front of Grady's single-wide trailer located in a field, near a junkyard and an abandoned apartment complex. I unbuckle my seatbelt, climb out of the car, and flip the seat forward to let Lila out. â€Å"No thanks.† She shakes her head, cowering back in the seat. â€Å"I think I'll wait in here.† â€Å"You're much safer inside.† Micha points to a crumbling shack in the middle of the field. â€Å"That's a crack house over there and trust me, if they see you sitting in here, by yourself, they're going to come over and harass you.† Micha's messing with her, but I let him be because this place isn't that safe of a spot. Her face pinches and she scrambles out of the car. â€Å"Who is this person's house we're at? It's not a drug dealer, is it?† â€Å"No, it's just an old friend.† I trade a secret glance with Micha and feelings rush through me like the sun and the wind. Grady was once Micha's stepfather. His mother and Grady were married for a few years and most of our happy childhood memories consist of him, camping, fishing, working on cars. Between the ages of eight and nine life was solid, not broken to pieces. I meet Micha around the front of the car and when he takes my hand, I don't object. Being here is like traveling through time and it hurts to know that the man who showed me that life can be good is dying. Lila tugs the bottom of her dress down self-consciously. â€Å"Are you sure I'm okay going in here?† â€Å"Relax,† I tell her as we reach the rickety front porch. â€Å"Grady is a good guy, he just likes living an unmaterialistic lifestyle. He chooses to live in a place like this.† She forces a tense smile. â€Å"Alright, I'm relaxing.† Micha squeezes my hand and then knocks on the door. A few knocks later and we let ourselves in. It's like I remember, and it makes me smile because it's comforting. Grady was a big traveler when he was younger and his walls map his destinations; petite nesting dolls from his trip to Russia on a small bookshelf, a painted Bokota mask from Africa hooked to the wall, a large hookah from Nepal sitting on a small fold up table. It overwhelms me and tugs at my memories. The trailer is small with a narrow kitchen connected to a boxed in living room and the three of us nearly fill up the space. Micha slides his hand up my arm and draws me to him. â€Å"Are you going to be okay?† I nod, forcing the tears away. Micha kisses my temple and I don't retreat this time, allowing myself one small moment. â€Å"It'll be okay,† Micha says. â€Å"And I'm here for you.† Time's up. â€Å"Where is he?† I take a deep breath, move away from Micha, and smother the old Ella away. He points over my shoulder. I turn around and my heart drops to my stomach. The medium build, tall man, with bright blue eyes and a head full of hair, has shifted into a frail, skeletal figure, with sunken eyes and his head shaved. His plaid jacket drowns his body and the belt around his jeans has holes added to it. I hesitate to hug him. â€Å"How are you? Are you okay?† â€Å"I'm always okay. You know that. Not even a little cancer can bring me down.† He smiles and it's just as bright as it was. Using his cane, he hobbles toward me. I meet him halfway, in front of the tattered leather recliner and give him a gentle hug, afraid I might break him. â€Å"How have you been, my little Ella May?† He steps back to take a look at me. â€Å"You look different.† I self-consciously touch my hair. â€Å"I changed my looks a little. Thought I could use a change or two.† He shakes his head contemplatively. â€Å"No, it's not that. There's something else. You seem sad.† â€Å"I'm fine,† I deny and not very well. â€Å"I feel great.† He offers me a tolerant smile. â€Å"You've never been a good liar, you know that. I always knew it was you who broke the vase.† From behind me, Micha nods concurring. â€Å"It's her eyes. They show way too much. Although she thinks differently.† â€Å"If you knew I broke the vase,† I say, â€Å"then why didn't you call me out on it?† Grady laughs and exchanges a look with Micha. â€Å"Because the elaborate story you made up won my heart over, I guess. Besides, it was just a vase.† The tension resolves, except with Lila who looks like she doesn't know what to do with herself. She dawdles near the door, fidgeting with her watch and her hair as she glances around the snug trailer. â€Å"Grady, this is Lila,† I introduce, motioning her to come closer. â€Å"She was my college roommate.† Lila steps forward and gives him a small wave. â€Å"It's nice to meet you.† â€Å"Same here.† Grady nods his head welcomingly and then arches his eyebrows at me. â€Å"So college? That's where you ran off to.† â€Å"I'm sorry I didn't tell you when I called,† I apologize. â€Å"I just needed a break. From everything.† â€Å"I'm not going to lie and say it didn't hurt a little.† He rests his weight on the cane, and his arms and legs look too thin to be moving. â€Å"You're like a daughter to me and I thought you trusted me enough to come to me if you were going through something.† His eyes dart to Micha and I wonder if he's told Grady about that night eight months ago on the bridge. â€Å"I need to make a phone call.† Micha holds up his phone as he backs for the door. â€Å"Lila, why don't you come outside with me?† Lila gladly obliges and the door swings shut behind them, rocking the house. Grady collapses into the recliner, sighing with relief. â€Å"We need to talk.† Preparing myself for a lecture, I drop into the concaved sofa across from him. â€Å"I'm in trouble, aren't I?† â€Å"Do you think you need to be in trouble?† He props his cane against the coffee table. I pull a throw pillow on my lap and slump back into the couch. â€Å"I don't know. It's hard to tell what's right and what's wrong anymore or what's up and what's down even.† He rocks in the recliner. â€Å"You've always had a good grasp on what's right and wrong. You just have a hard time admitting that sometimes you choose the wrong.† â€Å"I know that.† I gesture at myself. â€Å"That's why I changed into an Ella who doesn't do any wrong and who can keep control of her life.† â€Å"That's not what this is. This is you running from life and you can't control everything. Even if you want to.† His words send a chill through my spine. I pluck at a loose thread on the pillow. â€Å"Did Micha tell you about the night before I left†¦ did he tell you what happened – what I did?† He presses his cracked lips together. â€Å"He did.† â€Å"So then you understand why I ran away. If I don't change, then I'll turn out like her – I'll turn out just like my mother,† I admit aloud for the first time and a weight lifts from my chest, but falls right back on it, seeming ten times heavier. â€Å"I'll lose control.† He hunches forward with a sad expression on his exhausted face. â€Å"You know I knew your mother really well.† â€Å"But only because you always had to come fix everything after she had one of her episodes.† â€Å"Sweetie, you're not her. Your mother was sick – she had a mental illness.† â€Å"Bipolar Disorder is hereditary,† I say quietly. There is a higher chance that I have it just because she had it.† â€Å"But it doesn't mean you will.† With unsteady legs, he pushes up from the chair and sits down next to me on the sofa. â€Å"I think you're so afraid that you'll end up like your mom that you're hiding who you really are, but you can't control everything – no one can.† â€Å"But I can try,† I mutter and sit up, tossing the pillow off my lap. â€Å"You remember what I was like. All the crap I did. The stupid, irresponsible crap. I was a wreck waiting to happen and that night proved it. I almost†¦ I†¦ I almost killed myself.† â€Å"No, you didn't. I heard the story and you would have never gone through with it,† he says confidently. â€Å"You were just trying to sort through some stuff. You still are.† â€Å"No, I was going to do it,† I tell him, but it's a lie. â€Å"My mind may have been hindered, but I remember enough to know that when I climbed on top of that bridge, I was going to jump.† He shakes his head. â€Å"Then you don't remember what happened afterward with Micha.† â€Å"Yeah, I do.† I take a faltering breath. â€Å"I kissed him and then left him on the bridge. Then I went home, packed up my stuff, and ran away.† â€Å"No, something else happened that night.† His forehead scrunches. â€Å"Micha took you somewhere else. At least that's what he told me.† I scratch at my wrist, trying to recollect, but the events of that day are hazy. â€Å"I don't remember this at all.† â€Å"From what I understand you were out of it and pretty upset. Those two are not a good combination. Trust me, I've been there.† His fingers seek his cane. â€Å"Micha saved you from jumping, but there's more to it than that.† â€Å"When you say you've been there, what do you mean exactly?† â€Å"I mean, I've been at the place where it seems like the only way left is down.† I sift through his words. â€Å"You know, I came here to see if you're okay, and somehow all we've talked about is me.† â€Å"And that's exactly what I need,† he says. â€Å"I'm sick and tired of everyone wanting to talk about my death.† I open my mouth, but the front door squeaks open. I expect Micha, but a middle-aged woman in black sweat pants and a white t-shirt walks in. Her bleached hair is woven into a braid and she's carrying a large black bag. She grins at Grady as she shuts the door. â€Å"You're being bad again. You know you're not supposed to get out of bed.† Grady rolls his eyes, but his face lights up. â€Å"Yep, I've been bad. I guess you'll have to punish me.† I try to ignore their disturbing comments the best that I can, but it's ridiculously awkward. â€Å"Ella, this is Amy.† His serious demeanor alleviates as he says her name. I stand up from the couch to shake hands with Amy, noticing there's no ring on her finger. â€Å"Are you his nurse?† Grady starts to balance to his feet and she moves to help him, but he waves her off. â€Å"I got this. I'm not crippled yet. â€Å" She sighs and moves back. â€Å"Yes, I'm his nurse and I'm supposed to be taking care of him, but he's a stubborn man and refuses to let me do my job properly.† He growls and then chuckles. Using his cane, he heads toward the hall, his feet dragging along the orange shaggy carpet. â€Å"Ella, can you stop by tomorrow? I want to talk to you some more.† â€Å"Okay, I'll come back,† I promise as he vanishes down the hall. I turn to the nurse. â€Å"How bad is he?† She drops the bag on the counter and unzips it. â€Å"What did he tell you?† â€Å"That he has cancer,† I tell her as she takes out some baggies from the bag. â€Å"But that's all. He doesn't like to open up about himself.† Reaching into her bag, she extracts a handful of prescription bottles. â€Å"No, he doesn't, does he?† She shakes a bottle filled with clear liquid. â€Å"He has stage four bone cancer.† I nearly fall to the floor. â€Å"Stage four, but then that means that†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"It means that he has a hard, short road ahead of him,† she says frankly. â€Å"You're Ella Daniels, right? And your father is Raymond Daniels?† My fingers grasp the fabric of the recliner like it's a lifeline. â€Å"Yeah, why?† â€Å"No reason,† she says with a shrug. â€Å"Grady just talks about you sometimes.† â€Å"But you know my father,† I state warily. She zips up her bag and shuffles to the kitchen sink with the medication. â€Å"I was the nurse on call the night he was run over.† Because he was drunk out of his mind and decided to ride his bike in the middle of the highway. â€Å"So you take care of Grady, here at his home?† She turns on the faucet and fills up a glass of water. â€Å"I'm the home nurse he hired after he decided he didn't want to spend his last months in a hospital bed.† He only has months left? I need to regain control of the spiraling situation. I stumble for the door. â€Å"Tell Grady I'll see him tomorrow.† I trip down the steps and nearly eat dirt. Luckily Micha is at the bottom and he drops his phone to catch me. He steadies me to my feet, his fingers digging into my hips as he looks me over with concern. â€Å"Okay, what happened?† â€Å"He's dying,† I whisper, staring out at the dry field. â€Å"He's really dying.† â€Å"I know.† Micha holds onto me forcefully, the tips of his fingers touching my bare skin. â€Å"I told you this before we came over here.† My lungs restrict oxygen. â€Å"I thought when you said it†¦ well, I don't know what I thought, but not this.† I wave my hand at the door without looking at it. â€Å"Not a nurse. Not a few months left.† His hands move around to my back and he enfolds me against his chest. I rest my head against him, breathing in his comforting scent. I start to ask him what happened that night, but my fear of the truth shushes me. What if it's bad? What if it pushes me over the edge? â€Å"What do you want to do today?† he whispers. â€Å"You name it and it's done.† I pull away, blinking back the tears. My gaze travels to Lila sitting in the car, reapplying her lip gloss in the rearview mirror. â€Å"I have to take her to the shop and get her on the road.† Against my protest, Micha cups the back of my head, and lures me against him. â€Å"You could just ditch her.† I slap his arm. â€Å"Since when are you mean to girls?† â€Å"Since they keep complaining about the sheer drabness of the town,† he says in a mocking cheerleader voice. â€Å"And the bugs. It's ridiculous. Ten minutes out here with her and I want to lead her into the crack house over there and run.† â€Å"That's not a crack house and you know it.† I shake my head, forcing back a grin. â€Å"And I know you better than that. I'm sure you want to get in her pants.† He pauses, and then slowly his hand explores my back and sneaks to my ass. He grabs it, and bows my body into his, firing a heat deep inside my core and fumbling a moan from my lips. For a second, I forget where I am. â€Å"The only thing I want to get in is you,† he murmurs in my hair. I regain control and shove back. â€Å"Seriously? You're going to start this? Here of all places.† He swings a hand at the trailer. â€Å"Why not? Because of Grady? He'd be happy to finally see us together. He's been saying for years that you and I will end up together.† I cover my ears. â€Å"I can't listen to this.† In three long strides, he's in my face, nearly stepping on my toes. â€Å"You think that just because you left, it would change how I feel? Well, guess what? You're wrong. I can't help how I feel. I'm still in – â€Å" â€Å"Don't say it.† I point a finger at him. â€Å"Don't you dare, Micha Scott.† He holds up his hands, wide-eyed and derisive. â€Å"Oh, now I'm in trouble. You used my last name and everything.† I glance at the car, checking if Lila's eavesdropping, then whirl back and hiss, â€Å"You are in trouble. I've been back for less than a day and everything I've worked on concealing is falling apart because of you.† His aqua eyes are a fierce blue. â€Å"Good. You're fucking crazy if you think that you can run off and change your identity. This unfeeling, preppy girl thing you got going on,† he motions his hand at my tank top, white frilly skirt, and curly hair, â€Å"is nothing but bull shit. You can't just change who you are on the outside and expect it to change who you are on the inside.† Anger bubbles through me and I shove him. â€Å"You're wrong.† His boots scuff the dirt as he catches his balance and smiles haughtily. â€Å"Am I? Because right now that fire I love so much is burning pretty bright.† He reaches for my cheek, to touch me – entice me. â€Å"Micha, this is who I have to be otherwise I can't breathe. Please just leave it alone. That damn fire might exist, but I want it gone.† I spin my back to him, praying he'll listen to me for once, because if he keeps it up, sooner or later I won't be able to resist. But Micha has never backed down on a challenge in his life.

My Life

Machiel de Groot Mrs. Carne AVID 9 March 28 2013 My Mandala DRAFT 2222222 Everybody has things that are important to them and their lives. In this essay, I will be explaining what is important to me and why they are big aspects of my life.. The things that are most important in my life are as follows: Sports, Music, Family, Education, and most of all: my best friend. In my Avid class, we were asked to make a â€Å"Mandala†, a circular piece of paper split into four slices with one space left in the middle; leaving a circle in the middle surrounded by 4 other slices.In the center of the Mandala, you were supposed to write what was most important to you; and on the outside you were to write four other, less important aspects of my life. After a prolonged period of introspection, I was surprised by what I discovered about myself and what was most important to me. Creating that Mandala and thinking about my life and who I am changed the way I thought about myself; and maybe it wil l change how you think too. The first thing I drew on the outside of my mandala was a picture of my 2 brothers and parents: my family.Family is a huge part of my life because they represent safety, security, and support in a young person’s life. Because I am close to my family at home, it means that I’ll always have a place to go to in times of need. My family is always there to support me and for that, I am extremely thankful. I always feel like I have a place to go and a home to live in and that is all because I have a loving family there for me. All of these reasons led me to draw that sketch of my family on my Mandala. The next important part of my life is my education.To represent this, I drew a pencil and books. School and academics are hugely important and they will help me later on in life. Although school is absolutely not something that I enjoy, this assignment is about importance, not feelings. Having a good education, especially in a competitive world like today’s, is key to success later in life. Going to GECA is a great example of this. An early college academy like ours can give you a competitive edge against other applicants for colleges and jobs. Having a good education means having a successful life.I am also blessed to have such a wonderful life where I can get an education and it makes sense to get the best out of what you are offered rather than leave it when so many others don’t even get the chance at it. Education, a blessing that we are very fortunate to have, is the second thing that I drew on my mandala The third thing that I drew on my Mandala was sports. Mainly soccer, for which I drew a soccer ball. I play a lot of them and I enjoy them immensely; especially soccer. I’ve played soccer for almost 11 years and it’s what I look forward to doing throughout the week.I feel a sense of achievement when I learn something new and playing the sport gives me an incentive to improve in it and excel. Th is determination can translate over into other aspects of my life as well. That motivation spills over into school and I feel more motivated to try my best. Also, because I play the sport well, it benefits my self-esteem and I feel more confident. For me, sports are a vent for emotions, a place to excel in, and a point of my life that I’m good at that helps me to feel more confident.This is where things got interesting for me: when I first received this assignment, I immediately jumped to the conclusion that music would be the most important thing to me. Music has helped me through a lot of personal issues in my life and I’ve always felt it to be my rock or something to distract me from the world around me. I am not a religious person, although I was for a very long time; therefore I don’t believe that any supernatural being is rooting for me up in the sky.That makes me feel like my issues are my own and they feel much more personal and real than if I’d t hought that there was a god helping me through it. To me, music is that place that I can go to close my eyes and drown in the music and the chords and sounds and be distracted from my problems. There were times when I felt worthless and times when life was meaningless to me (another side effect of being Atheist- you tend to think about life in a much deeper way). Music always helped me through those things and kept me going until better times came along.Because of this, I assumed that music would be the most important to me for always being my escape. However, when I completed my mandala, it didn’t sit with me. I didn’t feel like it represented me well enough. That’s when I realized what was really the most valued thing in my life. Friends. I realized how important they really are to me. I only have one very good friend and she doesn’t even go to my school or live in my city! She lives in Hollister. We met almost a year ago and we’ve gotten to know each other extremely well.It sounds cliche to say that friends are always there for you and that they love you but it really is true. A friend is somebody who you can trust with anything and they will help you out with it. My friend really knows me and we get along perfectly. We have our bad moments just like all friends do, but in the end, things smooth out again. The reason that my friend is the most important thing in the whole world to me is because she really makes me feel loved. Of course your family loves you but that’s always a given.Knowing that someone else out there loves you like a brother and having that companion through life is touching and I’m thankful beyond words for such a strong friendship at such a young stage in my life. And whenever I’m stressed or worried or upset, her voice and smiling face help me through it. That’s not something that should be put on the outside of my Mandala. These are thoughts that, until writing this essay, I hadn’t realized before. This essay made me realize how much she means to me and how much I value true friendship.The reason that my best friend is in the middle of my circle is because I love her like I would a sister and I don’t know where I would be without her in my life. These are the things that I put on my Mandala: Family, because they’re there to support me; Education, because it’s a necessary thing to have in order to lead a successful life; sports, because they give me self-esteem and help me to be more motivated; music, because it’s an escape from worry and trouble; and most of all, my best friend, for listening and talking and making me laugh and feel loved.Life is a complicated thing but sometimes, all you need is family, some sports, and one, single, wonderful friend to make you happy. I sat back and took a look at my life; and now I realize how much I treasure my friend and family; and I’ll keep that in mind now. Now why donà ¢â‚¬â„¢t you sit back and look at your life and decide what is most important to you. Maybe it will open your eyes to what is really important.

Fight Club Essay

The 1999 film, Fight Club, is controversial in the sense that it can be interpreted at a superfluity of angles. However, the effectiveness of the final scene to reflect the narrator’s catharsis is indisputable as it is accompanied by the song â€Å"Where is My Mind† by The Pixies. The song itself is vital to the ending scene and ultimately the entire film. The lyrics are significant to the narrator’s inner turmoil, not only throughout the film, but also at the concluding moment and the auditory elements parallel the events and emotions of the concluding scene. Fight Club centers around an unnamed narrator who projects his unconscious identity as a separate character, Tyler Durdin. Tyler frees the narrator from his former pretenses of life regarding society through self destruction. The narrator burns his house, quits his job, and beings to live recklessly, seemingly by coincidence. He subconsciously rids himself of all worldly possessions. Together, Tyler and the narrator form Fight Club – an underground group that thrives on destruction of themselves and government establishments. As the narrator gets weaker and less powerful, Tyler gets stronger and better looking, symbolizing his strengthening id. Towards the end of the film, the narrator comes to the realization that he is Tyler. The ending scene puts the narrator and Marla, a woman with whom he has an on again-off again relationship, at the highest story of a city building, holding hands and watching the city collapse around them. The music as it appears in the final scene is essential to the conclusion of the film The lyrics, â€Å"where is my mind,† plays at the very closing moment. The words reflect the state of the character’s mind during the entire film and especially at the final scene. As he rids himself of all superficiality and society’s values, he is freed from his dangerous alter ego and his apparent schizophrenia and left with an open mind. â€Å"Where is my mind,† speaks to the separation between his conscious and subconscious into two people as well as his newfound freedom from materiality. The narrator experiences a â€Å"rebirth† from his prior lifestyle into pure existentialism, a state of being where he is now able to award meaning to his life, rather than society assigning meaning. The auditory elements of the song run parallel to the occurrences of the concluding scene. The song features loud, aggressive, and disharmonic music which is comparable to the city’s crashing buildings and demolition. There is a melodic undertone of chorus voices singing which is reflective of the narrator and Marla’s calmness and almost happiness, it seems, during the outside devastation.

Federal Express Canada Case Analysis Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Federal Express Canada Analysis - Case Study Example Hence, the company must immediately respond to these issues in order to ensure long terms sustainability. Logistics computerization is one of the most recommendable policies for the FedEx to improve its logistics and customer service operations. The company has to raise additional finance. It also has to recruit more skilled employees to implement the planned changes. Finally, the FedEx should develop potentials systems to monitor the performance efficacy of the implemented changes. Background Federal Express or FedEx is a North American shipping company notable for its ‘fast response to customer requests and constant tracking of every shipment’ (McDougall & Dorken, 1998). The company (as cited in McDougall & Dorken, 1998), employs nearly 137,000 people worldwide (including 3,500 in Canada) and offers shipping services to 212 countries; and every night, FedEx planes carry approximately 2.9 million packages weighing a total of nearly 2 million pounds. The FedEx maintains 60 shipping facilities in Canada to meet Canadian shipping needs from coast to coast. The organization gives primary focus on Quality Management and Assurance and attained ISO 9000 for its operations worldwide. FedEx is the first service based company that has won the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in the US. The company has a good reputation in the shipping sector and maintains a huge potential customer base. Statement of Issues While analyzing the case scenario, it is clear that the FedEx has some potential issues with its logistics management and customer service practices. McDougall & Dorken (1998) clearly indicate that the company failed to meet shipping requirements of Desktop Innovators and the situation caused the DI to suffer from huge business loss. The DI placed a shipping order on FedEx to send two boxes from Kitchener, Ontario to Simpsonville, South Carolina. The DI wanted to get those two boxes at the destination by 12th October so that the firm’s deale r would get plenty of time to transfer them on to Charlotte, where the trade show had been arranged. However, only one of those boxes was delivered at Simpsonville on time and therefore the DI could not display its software packages at the trade show stalls. Similarly, the FedEx did not timely and properly respond to queries raised by the DI’s Office Manager Anita Kilgour. Hence, Kilgour could not get actual status of the DI’s goods in transit and this situation caused great confusion to both Kilgour and the dealer. While scrutinizing the FedEx’s service delivery policies, it is obvious that the company violated its delivery terms and conditions, which the client had been had been promised at the time of order placement. Situation Analysis The identified issues relating to the two management areas (logistics management and customer service management) raise many potential threats to the FedEx’s long term sustainability. Effective logistics management is c rucial to customer satisfaction since customers are the end users of a firm’s all logistics activities. It is obvious that every shipment is intended for a particular purpose and therefore it will be of no use if the shipped goods are delivered late. In other words, the FedEx’s weakness in logistics management would lead to huge troubles in future since the company handles millions of packages every day. If once a customer