Health Information Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Health Information Systems - Essay Example Medical informatics started in the US when the computers and microchips were introduced in the 1950s. In 1949, the first professional informatics organization was founded by Gustav Wager in Germany. Programs that trained individuals on informatics systems began in France in the 1960s which became common in the United States and Europe by the 1970s. Initially, health informatics systems were used for purposes like billing and patient admissions/discharges. (Neujahr). The technological advances made in the field of computers contributed to the rapid spread of health informatics systems. The relationship between doctors and people has also drastically changed with the introduction of medical informatics, since people are not ignorant of the health issues they are likely to face. Information regarding symptoms, causes and diagnosis is made available to all individuals, enabling them to identify their problem. People are usually aware of the health issue before they approach a doctor for diagnosis. Health informatics on the internet has made professionals more equitable since they have the advantage of learning of medical and clinical procedures immediately, without having to search for books on the particular technique or to consult other professionals. The physician is expected to have wide knowledge of all disciplines of medicine as all information is made available to the client or the patient. Internet forms the site of a new struggle over expertise in health that will transform the relationship between the health professions and their clients. (Hardey, 2009). A number of health informatics organizations have been developed by the government to provide reliable information on all kinds of health issues. For instance, the United States Federal Government has developed a health informatics site, healthfinder.gov. It provides guidelines to healthy living and personalized health advice by professionals to enable the

Western progressives Essay Example for Free

Western progressives Essay Enforcing cooperation between the CIA and the FBI and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) is essential in dealing with terrorism. This is unarguably true; however, the same premise should be enforced between municipal, county, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. All levels of response, including investigation and information gathering, are crucial pieces to the puzzle when dealing with homeland security and terrorism. After all, it is not just international terrorist organizations overseas that need to be monitored. There are many domestic-based groups actively or passively operating in everyones own backyard. Whether an investigation is local, state, or federally based, money is one nexus that, if exposed, can bring all agencies together. International and domestic-based terrorist organizations generally have one feature in common: the need for financing. As documented in Steven Emersons remarkable video documentary for the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) that aired in November, 1994 titled â€Å"Jihad in America,† terrorist organizations, regardless of how much they despise and loath the U. S. , have no problem seeking support and financial backing in the U. S. Based on this critical need, perhaps the best approach for dealing with terrorism is to track money and finances. (Rick 2004 93) It can be detrimental to be one-dimensional and not to consider global approaches to homeland security and terrorist-related information. It has been demonstrated that terrorist activity cans occur anywhere and at any time, but financial support is an ongoing process with many guises. This need exists and perhaps poses the greatest opportunity for law enforcement to expose and exploit in order to gain the upper hand in tracking and monitoring potential homeland security threats. Homeland security and terrorism have received Ð ° great deal of public attention over the past couple of years. Most of the attention came from the federal government and the media. Law enforcement agencies, based on this attention, were force-fed Ð ° multitude of methods and practices for dealing with homeland security and terrorism matters. Some local and state agencies established homeland security units in an attempt to keep up with the growing concerns facing the ever-evolving world of terrorism. Traditional managers and administrators also reacted to this crisis, predictably, by having their agencies develop plans of action and contingency plans and by identifying potential targets that exist within their jurisdictions in case of an attack. However, this can be construed as nothing more than window dressing. Something near and dear to all managers is the budget, and this, perhaps, is the leading cause as to why only â€Å"window dressing† has been applied. (Rick 2004 115) â€Å"By launching so forcefully Ð ° global war on terror, President Bush has challenged head-on Ð ° long-cherished tenet of Western progressives. This has been that insurgency is the authentic voice of the oppressed; and the more adamant its leadership, the more this truth is confirmed. Shades here of the dozens of medieval ballads that created the Robin Hood legend. Shades, too, of Ð ° modern disposition to write indulgently of outlaws, gangland bosses and their ilk-Jesse James, Ned Kelly, Reggie Kray, Rob Roy†¦ On the more overtly political plane, the literati tend to give ultra-Left revolutionaries (Mazzini, Lenin, Mao Tse-tung, Gerry Adams†¦) extensive and often empathetic press coverage compared with more moderate reformers or, of course, the anciens regimes. Moreover, the more dismal the status quo antes, the more these tendencies prevail, the underlying assumption being that anything must be an improvement. Alas, the materials of history suggest that unyielding repression is very liable to be replaced, through revolutionary upheaval, by brutality more uncompromising, albeit in Ð ° new guise. Robespierre was far more vicious than Louis XVI. Stalin was much worse than the Tsars. Nor does the current dearth of political thought, especially in the developing countries, inspire confidence that future revolutionists would be any better. (Neville 2004 45). References Alexander Moens, Lenard J. Cohen, Allen G. Sens; Praeger, 2003 NATO and European Security: Alliance Politics from the End of the Cold War to the Age of Terrorism Amy Goodman, David Goodman; Allen Unwin, 2004 The Exception to the Rulers: Exposing Americas War Profiteers, the Media That Love Them and the Crackdown on Our Rights. Anthony H. Cordesman; Praeger, 2002 Terrorism, Asymmetric Warfare, and Weapons of Mass Destruction: Defending the U. S. Homeland. Barry Cooper;, 2004 New Political Religions, Or, an Analysis of Modern Terrorism. University of Missouri Press. Bruce Nardulli; Rand, 2003 The Global War on Terrorism: An Early Look at Implications for the Army. Bulent Gokay, R. B. J. Walker; Frank Cass, 2003 11 September 2001: war, terror, and judgment. Chris E. Stout; Praeger, 2002 The Psychology of Terrorism: Programs and Practices in Response and Prevention Vol. 4. Christopher Preble 2004 Exiting Iraq: Why the U. S. Must End the Military Occupation and Renew the War against Al Qaeda : Report of Ð ° Special Task Force, Cato Institute. David J. Whittaker; Routledge, 2004 Terrorists and Terrorism in the Contemporary World. Dr. Amit Gupta 2003 Strategic Effects of the Conflict with Iraq: South Asia; Strategic Studies Institute. Dr. Anthony L. 2003 Strategic Effects of the Conflict with Iraq: East Asia: Smith; Strategic Studies Institute. Elizabeth Wishnick. 2004 Strategic Consequences of the Iraq War: U. S. Security Interests in Central Asia Reassessed; Strategic Studies Institute. Frederick H. Gareau;, 2004 State Terrorism and the United States: From Counterinsurgency to the War on Terrorism Clarity Press. Gabriel Kolko 2006 The Age of War: The United States Confronts the World. Hooman Peimani; Praeger, 2003 Falling Terrorism and Rising Conflicts: The Afghan Contribution to Polarization and Confrontation in West and South Asia. James M. Lutz, Brenda J. Lutz; Routledge, 2004 Global Terrorism. R. Martin; 2002 Defeating Terrorism: Strategic Issue Analyses. Strategic Studies Institute. John Richard Thackrah; Routledge, 2004 Dictionary of Terrorism. Lynn E. Davis, Gregory F. Treverton, Daniel Byman, Sara Daly, William Rosenau; Rand, (2004) Coordinating the War on Terrorism. Mary Buckley, Rick Fawn; Routledge, 2003 Global Responses to Terrorism: 9/11, Afghanistan and beyond. Max G. Manwaring 2003 Strategic Effects of the Conflict with Iraq: Latin America; Strategic Studies Institute. Michael R. Ronczkowski; CRC Press, 2004 Terrorism and Organized Hate Crime: Intelligence Gathering, Analysis, and Investigations. Mohan Malik. 2002 Dragon on Terrorism: Assessing Chinas Tactical Gains and Strategic Losses Post-September 11 Strategic Studies Institute. Neville Brown; Routledge, 2004: Global Instability and Strategic Crisis. Paul De B. J Taillon; Praeger, 2002 Hijacking and Hostages: Government Responses to Terrorism. Paul De B. J Taillon; Praeger, 2001 The Evolution of Special Forces in Counter-Terrorism: The British and American Experiences. Paul K. Davis, Brian Michael Jenkins; Rand, 2002 Deterrence and Influence in Counterterrorism: Ð  Component in the War on Al Qaeda. Paul Mcgeough; Allen Unwin, 2003 Manhattan to Baghdad. Peter Van Der Veer, Shoma Munshi; 2004 Routledge Media, War, and Terrorism: Responses from the Middle East and Asia. Rahul Mahajan 2002 The New Crusade: Americas War on Terrorism. Richard Ð . Clarke 2004 Against All Enemies: Inside Americas War on Terror. Richard Crockatt; Routledge, 2003 America Embattled: September 11, Anti-Americanism, and the Global Order. Rick Anderson; Clarity Press, 2004 Home Front: The Governments War on Soldiers. Robert S. Tripp, Kristin F. Lynch, G. Drew, Edward W. Chan; Rand, 2004 Sandra Silberstein; Routledge, 2002 War of Words: Language, Politics and 9/11. Sherifa Zuhur;, 2005 Saudi Arabia: Islamic Threat, Political Reform, and the Global War on Terror: Strategic Studies Institute. Shireen Hunter; Frank Cass, 2004 Strategic Developments in Eurasia after 11 September. Stephen Biddle; Strategic Studies Institute, 2002 Afghanistan and the Future of Warfare: Implications for Army and Defense Policy. Supporting Air and Space Expeditionary Forces: Lessons from Operation Enduring Freedom. Thomas G. Weiss, Margaret E. Crahan, Goering; Routledge. (2004) Wars on Terrorism and Iraq: Human Rights, Unilateralism, and U. S. Foreign Policy. Thomas R. Mockaitis, Paul B. Rich; Frank Cass, 2003 Grand Strategy in the War against Terrorism. Yassin El-Ayouty, Gerald J. Galgan, Francis J. Greene, Edward Wesley; Praeger, 2004 Perspectives on 9/11.

Poverty Effects On Student Performance

Poverty Effects On Student Performance America is a country founded on the idea of acceptance; a relatively new country, only 230 years old, but in a short time has risen to become the most powerful empire that the world has ever known. Labeled as a melting pot, America was created by the blending together of many cultures. From the beginning of immigration in New Orleans to the famous port of Ellis Island, America has been an ever expanding pot of culture brewing to the top. Inscribed on the Statue of Liberty are the words Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door. This message of acceptance is the backbone of American ideals. Its ever growing population expands each day with different peoples from different backgrounds. Immigrant culture is adopted and implemented at all levels. Why the need to understand culture and does it really make a difference in the classroom? In order to be an effective educator, you must understand where your students are coming from. If your students do not feel that they can relate to you, they will not trust you. If they do not trust you they will not learn from you. It is essential to gain an understanding of their beliefs, traditions, heritage, and overall way of life before you can really start to make a difference. I have chosen to look at how poverty affects education. I will look at how generational poverty affects the importance of education. The family values that are instilled regarding education, and the behaviors that accompany poverty. I have undergone a change in my own beliefs after having my eyes opened to the devastating affects that poverty has on the importance of education. I hope to paint a better picture to the culturally unaware. Why do high poverty urban areas have such problems with schooling outcomes? This was a question that I went into my current job wondering. Again, how can poverty affect the outcomes of student performance? I used to think that the only thing that someone needed to do would be to try hard and pay attention and their academic performance would fall into place. Blind assumptions from an inexperienced educator. My ideas were so far from the truth that I was almost walking into this situation blind. Urban Poverty and Educational Outcome is research focused on the relocation of families from high poverty neighborhoods to low poverty areas and the outcomes of their childrens academics. The achievement gap is commonly defined as the difference between the academic performance of poor students and wealthier students and between minority students and their non-minority peers. The achievement gap is a perennial topic in U. S. educational policy and research. The gap has persisted through a variety of policies intended to close it, but Americans show no signs of abandoning the effort to do so. A substantial majority of Americans believe that closing the gap is both important and possible. Results of the Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Publics Attitudes Toward the Public Schools (Rose Gallup, 2006) show that fully 88% of the public view the African-American/European-American and Hispanic/European-American gap as either very important (67%) or somewhat important (21%). Eighty-one percent replied yes to the question, Do you believe that the achievement gap can be narrowed substantially while maintaining high standards for all children? (McCall 2006) Why do students quit school? There are a number of factors involved. Poor academic performance, lack of interest, economic reasons, health, and lack of family support are just to name a few. All of these can be tied back to one common factor, poverty. Poverty is responsible for the majority of high school dropouts in the United States. Povertys grip can influence the very factors that can over come it. The main factor being education itself. Only through a quality education can one overcome the bounds of poverty. (Patterson) High school dropouts are more likely to be unemployed. They will earn less money when and if employed. Their rate of incarceration is higher than those with diplomas. They have a greater chance of being on public assistance than a graduate. On the other hand a high school graduate is more likely to have job security, earn more money than those with no diploma or even a GED. (Patterson) Underprivileged children living in poverty are unaware of this fact. Even if they have heard this before, it is up to them to believe it and overcome, or disregard and succomb. (Patterson) High dropout and low graduation rates have unfortunately become standard in many urban high schools. Programs have been put into place to prevent this, but poor and minority students continue to leave schools in relatively high numbers. For many youth, dropping out represents the final chapter of dis involvement that has been going on since elementary school. (Patterson) Between 1970 and 1990, the number of people in the United States living in high-poverty census tracts (with poverty rates of 40 percent or more) nearly doubled, from 4.1 to 8.0 million. Children who live in poor urban neighborhoods are disproportionately likely to be members of racial and ethnic minority groups and are also at greater risk for school failure. For example, only 11 percent of fourth graders attending high-poverty schools in Washington, D.C., scored at or above basic level on the governments National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) math test, far lower than the national average of 62 percent. Dropout rates in Washington remain on the order of 30 to 40 percent, many times higher than the national average. (Ludwig) Sociologists believe that the prevalence within neighborhoods of social problems such as a high percent of joblessness and and poverty affect the chances of educational success of its residents. The theory was that policies that reduce the degree of economic residential segregation would improve the educational outcomes of the youth. (Ludwig) The study was composed of low income families living in public or section-8 project housing in Maryland. Families volunteered for this survey and were split up into three groups. The first was an experimental group which was relocated to a low poverty area with assistance and counseling programs. The second was offered relocation, but it was not mandatory. They were not offered any other benefits. This group was called the section-8 group. The third was a control group which did not relocate and was offered no assistance. (Ludwig) Their study measures childrens educational outcomes using data from administrative school records in Maryland. Outcomes measured include student performance on standardized academic tests, school absences, disciplinary actions, special education placements, grade retentions, and dropout rates. They were hoping to prove that when placed into a different environment that economically deprived children would excel in school. The idea behind the study was to prove that it is not the students, but rather the environment of poverty that causes educational failure. The study was composed over six years. The students were both elementary and middle school students. (Ludwig) The control group children on average score near the fortieth percentile in the national distribution on the reading and math tests at age six, but by age 13 the average score is only at about the twentieth percentile. We also see that the proportion of students who receive special education services increases steadily over time. Grade retentions, school absences, and disciplinary problems all peak in the early or mid-teen years. The subsequent decline is presumably due to the increase in dropout rates at older ages. This is in correlation with low income students. The same cycle that has repeated itself time and again is shown in the control group that was offered no assistance. (Ludwig) The experimental and Section 8 groups show a significant rate of improvement. These groups seem to slow the rate of relative decline in student test scores as they age, at least for younger children, but it also appears to increase the rate of grade retention among adolescents. Compared with young children in the control group, those assigned to the experimental group experience substantial gains in academic achievement as measured by standardized test scores. Experimental group children are nearly 18 percentage points more likely than controls to pass the state reading test, which means that the experimental pass rate on this test is nearly double that of the control group. The reading and math scores of experimental children are about 7 percent points higher than those of the control group. This is equal to around 29 and 26 percent of the control group means on these tests. (Ludwig) Assignment to the Section 8 group appears to improve young students reading scores by about 6 percentage points relative to controls. Although the difference across groups in math scores is relatively small but it is a positive improvement. The Section 8 group also appears to pass the state reading test at a rate that is around 6 percentage points higher than that of controls. (Ludwig) The data for younger children in elementary schools has a higher percentage increase than middle school or high school children. This could be because the longer that a child lives in high poverty neighborhood, the more the lifestyle consumes them. This will cause education to be pushed further back on their priority list thus increasing the chance of failure in school. One conclusion that can be made is that the younger a child living in an risk section, the more likely it is that educational importance is instilled into their values. The more that they are exposed to the elements of poverty, the more likely it is that they will lose their value of education. (Ludwig) The findings presented in this study seem to suggest that the offer to relocate families in public housing from high to low poverty neighborhoods improves standardized achievement test scores among young children. While they have subjected their findings to a variety of sensitivity tests, there remains the possibility that the program effects may be due in part to problems of the missing data that they have not thought of. The effects of the program on teens are more difficult to determine because their measures of in school problem behavior confound changes in the behaviors of teens with differences across schools in standards and because the measures of academic achievement available for teens are quite limited in the Maryland education data. (Ludwig) Article two, Fixing Urban Schools takes a look into the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) that was passed to help ramp up education in America. This article investigates if NCLB has helped minority students. Most middle class families with children have moved out of the urban environments and into the suburbs. This leaves todays urban schools overwhelmingly populated by low income African American and Hispanic students. These schools are not making the grade, even with falling standards of the rest of the country. According to Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education, 71 percent of eighth graders are not reading at grade level. This number shoots up to between 80 and 90 percent for students of color. He goes on to tell us that of the approximately 15,000 high schools in the United States there are 2,000 of them, mostly in cities, account for half of the nations school dropouts. To me this was a shocking statistic that I could not believe. (Clemmitt) This was the reason for the creation of NCLB under the Bush administration. The focus was to have states report achievement scores for all student groups. This ensured that lagging scores of low income and minority students wont be masked by having only state or district overall average scores reported. NCLB is requiring states to take accountability for academic performance from all student groups, not just the affluent students. (Clemmitt) Has forcing schools to take responsibility by unmasking their data improved the achievement of low income and minority students? There are two sides to this argument. Former President Bush said in 2007 that NCLB has done more than just improve data gathering, even arguing that the law itself has pushed achievement upward. Fourth graders are reading better. Theyve made more progress in five years than in the previous 28 years combined, he said on March 2. The other side to this argument is that NCLB hasnt had the desired effect once hoped. Of the non-achieving schools in New York state, for example, 90 percent are in cities and 80 percent in the states five biggest cities, says David Hursh, an associate professor of teaching and curriculum at the University of Rochesters Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education. (Clemmitt) The gap between average reading scores of African American and white fourth graders narrowed by only one point on the 500-point National Assessment of Educational Progress test (NAEP) between 2002 and 2005. Also this narrowing appears to be part of a normal long term trend and can not be attributed to NCLB. Between 1998 and 2005 the reading score gap narrowed by three points. However the reading score gap between African American and white students actually widened from 25 to 28 points between 2002 and 2005. This side of the coin suggests the impact of NCLB is not as successful as it was hoped. (Clemmitt) Has NCLB helped students in urban schools? NCLB was intended to improve overall academic achievement and raise achievement for minority and low income students mainly by requiring more student testing, forcing schools to report data separately for student groups including economically disadvantaged and minority students, and by employing better quality teachers to help bridge the gap. NCLB has seen improvement in student performance. Student scores, while still far from on grade level have showed improvement. The law has benefited urban schools by raising reading scores for African American and Hispanic fourth and eighth graders and math scores for African American and Hispanic fourth graders. Achievement gaps in reading and math between white fourth-graders and African-American and Hispanic fourth-graders also have diminished slightly since NCLB. The Bush administration may have been over ambitious with their original expectations, but gains are measured on all levels and any positi ve improvement is a good thing. Fig. 2 (Clemmitt) The laws pronouncement that 100 percent of U.S. students will test at the proficient level is simply unrealistic. That is an opinion, but I will call it a fact. The funding and resources are just not there to achieve that result. When it comes to underprivileged student resources, the biggest one is sometimes the most overlooked, the teacher. The cornerstone of any gain in student achievement comes from an effective teacher. Teachers are the most under appreciated, yet most element to student performance. (Clemmitt) The theory seems simple enough. Get effective teachers into economically disadvantaged urban schools and the scores will take care of themselves right? Wrong, and nothing could be further from the truth. When NCLB first came about city school districts, including Pittsburgh Public, revamped their lowest achieving schools. They brought in effective teachers and increased the resources available to them and most importantly, a larger paycheck for working in these schools. Well, in the beginning, this seemed like a win win. Schools got to have the best teachers, and the teachers were getting better resources and better pay. There was one thing that wasnt taken into consideration on a great of scale as it should have been, culture. (Clemmitt) Teachers left their jobs in schools that they knew inside and out to come into this new environment and shake the dust off of the failing scores. The problem is that by the end of the first year almost half will leave. By the second almost 70 percent and after four or five years, you would be lucky to find two or three teachers still around. The turnover of teachers is so high that any sense of normal routine is hard to get established. When students finally open up and form a relationship with a teacher, the next year that person has gone on and the children are left scratching their heads. Was it me? Did I cause them to leave or did they abandon me? The work in these schools is trying to say the least, and it is very difficult, even with an extra 7 or 10 thousand dollars a year to keep effective teachers in these situations. It is a difficult scenario and most do not want to put up with the culture that comes along with it. Teachers simply get burnt out. The attached graph shows th at as minority students increase, the number of effective teachers decreases to the point where when either one is near 100 percent the other is near zero. Fig 2 (Clemmitt) Differences in the academic performance of children appear early. The National Assessment of Educational Progress reported that students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and many children of color consistently achieve below the national average in mathematics and language skills. This number increases as students become older in the upper grades. The longer these at risk children stay in school, the greater the gap between their educational performance and that of white and middle class students. Gradually the chances for academic success diminish for poor and minority students as they continue on their academic careers. Early childhood is a critical time for intervention in the education of at risk children if different outcomes are to occur. (Bowman) What is is that causes at risk children to do poorly in school? The answer is not that there is something wrong with their genes or families, but rather the deprivations they inherit from living in poverty. The explanation for the gap in academic performance can also be attributed to the life experiences between middle class students and low income students. The culture in which a risk children live does not promote the attention to education that is seen in the middle class. The beliefs and attitudes seen in poverty are also not in parallel with the middle class. The problem is that we are trying to teach all children in the same way. This simply will not work. In order to educate at risk minority students, we must first understand their culture and interests before education can take shape. If their traditional practices are not taken into account schools will limit their ability to educate these children. (Bowman) One model of development of this article talks about is to incorporate a full understanding of the role that culture plays in a students ability including a capacity to learn, categorize objects, develop interpersonal relationships and to learn a language. These characteristics of culture will be used to help maximize learning in the classroom. It is almost impossible to teach a child without a full understanding of the culture that they come from. Learning styles, interest, social behavior are all things vital to the educational process without which we could not fully be effective educators. (Bowman) One final piece of the puzzle is not only learning about the culture of those you are teaching, but unlearning some of what you have already learned. We have all had bad experiences in the classroom that cause us to categorize certain students. Teachers must unlearn what they have experienced in the past so that they can fully take in what is in front of them. How teachers have been taught to view the cultures of students is similar to how students have been taught to view the culture of their teachers. Both student and teacher must remain on the same page and keep their minds open to change to be considered truly effective. The academic achievement of a culturally diverse student depends on an understanding and acceptance of their beliefs and traditions. Without this the learning gap in the classroom will not be bridged. (Bowman) I work in one of the worst schools in Pittsburgh. I classify it as being one of the worst by our notably low PSSA scores and constant behavior problems. We are located in the largest project section on the north side of the city. The school is directly in the middle of the community and most of our students are not bussed in from the surrounding area. My first day on the job, I was in shock at what I saw. Fights were as common as high fives, the language was worse than I have heard living in my fraternity house in college, and the lack of interest from the staff was unbelievable. After a fight which resulted in a broken nose, I witnessed a second grade student screaming at two city police officers that he was going to bring in a gun and shoot his classmates the following day. I was in utter disbelief hearing that someone so young and small could even think, let alone say this to police officials. During transition is when 80% of the problems occur. The problem is that when the children are walking in a line, the teacher can only be half the distance of the line away from any one student at a time. So when left with a few feet of space to act up, our kids do. In my room during a prep I would hear a fight happening in the hallway and rush out to offer assistance to the teacher to gain control, but I was always the only one who would come out to help. My chivalry seems to be the result of the teachers mentality is much like that of this mismannered students. This was hard for me to take in at first, but after working there for a year I can now see how tiring of a job teaching in an underprivileged environment really is. In order to make it back year after year you have to have a love of teaching and a true passion to inspire where others would pack up and quit. This is what separates those who have been there for long periods of time from those who are just bumps in the road. It is a tiring job to be an educator in a low socioeconomic school. We make the assumptions as teachers that our jobs are so difficult and the kids themselves are so hard to deal with. What we do not understand is that our jobs may be hard, but they are nothing compared to the lives our students live each and every day. Poverty is a vicious cycle that repeats itself because of the culture involved. You only know what you see every day from your parents and schools. Dropping out is not only normal, in many cases it is expected of disadvantaged students. This is hard for many middle class citizens to grasp but it is because of their lack of culture of their lives. Poverty is a cycle that will only be overcome through education. The problem is keeping underprivileged and minority students in urban schools enrolled long enough to see the fruits of what education has to offer. This is the challenge that NCLB was hoping to bring to the surface. Success is measured in small gains. Many smal l gains can be perceived as accomplishments, and many accomplishments can then be viewed as success. A journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step. Making that first step is always the hardest. We have made it, now it is time to start making a difference. Figure 1 Figure 2

The Beginning of Autumn :: essays research papers

The beginning of autumn It had been raining all day, and Irma had started to feel the symptoms of the flu. She always suffered during the season of allergies, and autumn always brought dust with it. At the end of the day, Enrique, her husband, came home and asked her to accompany him to Monterrey the next day. He was in the middle of a big deal of his professional career, and someone wanted him over there taking charge of his business, it was imperative he attend that appointment! It was the only opportunity he had or they would hire someone else for the new position. In her rushed packing she included some newborn’s clothes into their baggage by mistake. She had planned to stop by the hospital to pay the balance for her new daughter’s delivery scheduled the following month, but she wouldn't have time. They woke up early in the next morning and she felt worse with her flu and allergies, so she decided to take some medicine, â€Å"once we got there, I will be ok, and then we'll come back, and I will be able to rest† she thought. They arrived at the bus station and on the way Enrique bought a newspaper. The top heading read move to â€Å"NY Mets go into 1st place after trailing for 12 games†(citation. He got excited because his father had always followed the Mets very closely (Escobar). They arrived around 5:00 in the morning, and stopped for something to eat. Enrique’s appointment was schedule for 9:00 a.m., so they had enough time to get breakfast. She got out of the car, and she felt a little dizzy, but she didn't give it any importance. They entered the restaurant, and she asked for her favorite meal, â€Å"Machacado con huevo†. As she was about to take the first bite, she felt water between her legs. â€Å"Oh my God!!! Its time†, she screamed. Enrique paid the check without eating anything and asked for the closest hospital. As soon as Irma got into the car, she fainted. Enrique was so nervous that he overlooked the first hospital in sight and kept driving. Finally they reached a hospital and the helped him to get Irma inside. They didn’t even register but went directly into the delivery room. It took more that three hours to pull her child out; Irma was unconscious. Finally, the clock announced nine o’clock and he then realized that he has missed the appointment, yet the sound of the new baby’s screaming got him from his thoughts, it was their baby! It was a chubby baby girl that weighted 9 pounds!

Impact of Technology on Mankind and the Natural World Essay

Humans have impacted this world greatly with the increase of technological advances. For the most part, though these things have been helpful in creating a Global Community, the impact of this rush of technology has been negative. The fast-paced industry of technology is of the mindset of â€Å"faster, better, more efficient.† This betterment of the current technology has left a lot of waste in its path. Old computers and cell phones have little use anymore and are hard to recycle. Although there has been a huge negative impact there also have been some great positives that have helped in bring the world closer together. In respect to Transportation, we have made more progress in the last ten years than we have in the last century. We have quickly set up huge diversity in the market of transportation; now it is possible to travel father than ever before. With this ease of travel, trade and tourism booms and has to created links around the world leading to co-operative programs like the United Nations, the Red Cross and co-operative space programs. These kinds of connections would not be possible without the growing communications trade that has risen up in the last thirty years. With television many are able to access news broadcasts from around the world, getting exposure to the variety of cultures around the world. Unfortunately less than 30% of the world’s population has this advantage. Although, it can also be argued that it’s not much of an advantage the way the Western World uses it, most teens by the time they graduate will have watched over 15,000 hours of television; a waste of valuable time most would say. However, with the array of communications technology we have, knowledge is becoming more accessible. Information is available at the click of a button; facts on a new topic take only a search on Google. With the invention of internet, a new variety of voices are being heard. Sharing opinions and ideas with someone on the other side of the world costs little to nothing and has served to spread different cultures. On the other hand, because of this western has begun to dominate the world. Through movies and Hollywood, the population is mimicking the North American way of life. Even with all these advantages, the gap between the rich and the poor  countries is increasing due to their lack of access to these advances in technology. North American consumerism is responsible for keeping them that way. Our desire for cheaper clothing of good quality has caused the best land of Indonesia and China to be planted with the crops needed to make these products; instead of planting food to feed their starving population. With scientific advances we are able to prevent their crops from insects, disease and drought. We can now create genetically modified corn that will provide the necessary nutrients that will allow children to fight off disease that normally would kill them because they just don’t have the immune system to fight it. But instead we sell it to the highest bidder, make a profit and never think twice about how much our new Nike shirt really cost. Overall, man’s technological inventiveness has brought about half the world closer together. Physically, the distances are no longer unimaginable and communication is easier and cheaper but this technology has not been used to bring all the countries equality, or at least helped the poorest countries to have reasonable living conditions. Instead our small percentage of the world’s populations consumes the majority of the world’s resources. If this is advancement, then my definition must be horribly wrong. Somewhere along the line we lost all idea of equality within countries. If we’re not inventing new ways to make the world better, aren’t we just making it worse? We are destroying our ozone with pollution, leaving marks on the moon, causing cancer and turning our planet into one big oven. It doesn’t sound much like improvement; these inventions can be used to better the world, but collectively we [being the next generation] have got to take the first step.

Neolithic Revolution Paper Essay Example

Neolithic Revolution Paper Essay Example Neolithic Revolution Paper Essay Neolithic Revolution Paper Essay The Neolithic revolution paved the way for modern humans to advance in all aspects of daily life. During the Paleolithic era early humans lived nomadic life styles and traveled with their extended family. If early humans hadnt stumbled upon far mining we wouldnt have the social, economic, or religious foundations needed to form a civilization. But the discovery of a greater food source doesnt necessarily mea n better lives for everyone. Agriculture has its downsides and lead to slavery, patriarch y, and the modification of nature. The discovery of agriculture culminated the path to m Idem humans to become an advanced civilization. When early humans began to farm it created a social structure for present civilizations (Crash Course). Social structures are social organizations based o n similar characteristics between different relationships. These social structures began Neolithic towns such as Mesopotamia in which when people began to farm it I dead to a food surplus. Mesopotamia was located between the Euphrates and Tigris rive errs and is an excellent example of an early Neolithic town(Crash Course). People often g ether around reliable resources which is why you see so many civilizations around r Fivers (Acknowledge). But farming is a really complicated activity. So hard that pee people began to enslave other human beings and use them to create a free human la four force (Crash Course). This created a social hierarchy in Mesopotamia in which the SSL eaves are at the bottom of the chain and kings were at the top (Hierarchy Structure). Buy tin foraging societies they lived in isolated regions and had nomadic lifestyles. The eye lived wherever it was rich in game and had affordable foods (Acknowledge). The discovery of farming eventually lead to job specialization.