Brooks, Gwendolyn Essay -- Essays Papers

Brooks, Gwendolyn Poet, writer. Born June 7, 1917, in Topeka, Kansas. Throughout most of the twentieth century, Gwendolyn Brooks was a lyrical chronicler of the black urban experience in America. In 1950, she became the first African-American poet to win the Pulitzer Prize. Brooks grew up on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. She began writing poetry as a young girl, and by the age of 16 had begun publishing her poems regularly in The Chicago Defender. She attended the Woodrow Wilson Junior College in Chicago before marrying a fellow writer, Henry L. Blakely, in 1939. The couple lived together in Chicago, divorcing in 1969 but reuniting in 1973. They had two children, Nora Brooks Blakely and Henry Blakely Jr. Brooks earned a good deal of critical attention in 1945 with the publication of her first anthology of poetry, A Street in Bronzeville. (â€Å"Bronzeville† was Brooks’ name for the predominately African-American South Side of Chicago.) Over the next several years, Brooks won a grant from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and several fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation. She published her second volume of verse, Annie Allen, in 1949. The book, which followed a Bronzeville girl throughout the stages of her life, was written in a loose, experimental form that Brooks called the â€Å"sonnet-ballad.† Annie Allen won the Pulitzer Prize the following year, catapulting Brooks to a whole new level of literary and popular acclaim. A novel, Maud Martha (1953),...

Enriching Learning Experience

ENRICHING LEARNING EXPERIENCES Karen Michelle E. Caparos Teaching strategies, learner’s activities and instructional materials really helped in an effective learning process. There are a lot of teaching strategies that caters different kinds of learners and the strategies that will be used vary upon the teacher. Also, there are a lot of activities that a teacher can motivate his/her class to engage into. The instructional materials must be also suited to the activity that will be given.According to Vygotsky (1981), mental functions are acquired through social relationship; learning takes place when the child interacts with peers and adults in a social setting as they act upon the environment. The facilitator of learning must provide meaningful and interactive activities that allow a child to internalize, exposing them to new situation to actively interact with others, engaging in functional and interesting learning experiences. He should give thinking activities, social functi ons of reading and writing activities, and communicative functions of language.Through Vygotsky’s theory, the learning takes place in participating in oral discussion and involving oneself in activities that students will not only learn from the teacher but also learn from the students around them. Knowledge on the stages of development facilitated learning through giving the appropriate activities to the child/ class. Once the teacher knows how to make the learning process enjoyable and interesting it will never make the learner feel afraid, uneasy, and uncomfortable in the class. Thus, it will be a way in order to produce a healthy and conducive atmosphere for learning.

DBQ Middle Ages Essay

The Middle ages began after the fall of the Roman Empire. It can be defined as a time of minimal cultural and scientific achievements, suffering, feudalism, and power of the church. The labels for the Middle Ages that best describe the era between 500 and 1400 in Europe are the Dark Ages, the Age of Feudalism, and the Age of Faith. The Middle Ages should be labeled the Dark Ages because of the years of suffering that was inflicted from invasions. Invaders, usually from the North, would come into towns and completely lay waste to everything. These invasions made people live in fear and abandon their homes in refuge of safer places. In document one, â€Å"They sacked town and village and laid waste the fields†¦there is no longer any trade, only unceasing terror†¦the people have gone to cower in the depths of the forest or inaccessible regions.† Besides people’s homes being destroyed from invasions, many people were killed and their belongings and even loved ones taken. In document 3, â€Å"842, in this year there was a great slaughter in London and Quentavic and Rochester†¦843 the Northmen, with their boats filled with booty, including both men and goods, return to their own country.† The Dark Ages has a negative connotation to it, so this label rightly matches the terrible inv asions that occurred leaving families devastated. The Middle Ages should also be labeled the Age of Feudalism because of the absence of imperial authority that was replaced by local political organization known as the feudal system. The feudal system was based on loyalty and obligations between landlords in their vassals. In exchange for protection and land (fiefs) from the Lord, the vassle gave the Lord his loyalty, military service, and ransom if needed, as shown in the feudal obligations of document 4. After the fall of the Roman Empire, its territories in Europe had to protect themselves from outside invaders. To do this, these local kingdoms gave land to those willing to send knights in order to protect the kingdom. In Document two John of Toul is a vassle to the count and countess of Champagne and takes the Homage Oath, â€Å"I, john of Toul†¦will send to the Count and Countess of Champagne the knights who is service I owed to them for this fief which I hold.† Without the loyalty and service from the vassals to the landlord, the feudal system would crumble  leaving that territory defenseless against invaders and rival kingdoms. Finally, the Middle Ages should be labeled the age of faith because of the solid organization and power the Catholic Church demonstrated. The power of the church can merely be seen through its cathedrals as shown in document 10. A lot of money, materials, and labor were required to build the cathedral and only a wealthy and powerful organization could build them. The church even tried to limit warfare between landlords by decreeing days of peace when no battles or attacks could occur. In document 5, the Church believes in the word of God and called for the observance of the Truce of God, â€Å"on every Sunday, Friday, and Saturday, and on feast days no one may commit murder, arson, robbery, or assault.† Besides power, the Catholic Church had a lot of influence over people. Some people gave up the life they knew to follow God and join a monastic order. This is evident in document 8, an excerpt adapted from monastic vows taken by a brother that had an ordinary life but gave it up for a life with God. â€Å"I renounce my own will for the will of God†¦I accept all hardships of the monastic life†¦I promise to remain a monk in this monastery.† The calling of Crusades by the church shows its influence it had over people even in times of war. Pope Urban II was the head of the Catholic Church and he believed it was God’s will to call for a crusade to recapture the holy lands. In document 9, â€Å"your brethren of the Middle East are in urgent need of your help†¦the Turks and Arabs have attacked†¦they have occupied more and more of the lands of the Christians.† Document 8 shows the church’s religious influence while document 9 shows its political influence. In conclusion the Dark Ages, the Age of Feudalism, and the Age of Faith are labels that best describes the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages were low on cultural and scientific achievements and lived off of the knowledge from civilizations before them. Document 6, â€Å"it performs the function of the knowledge and treasures of what had come before.† Its output of creativity and originality did not in any way surpass the turmoil from invasions, political organization from feudalism, or the power of the church, to be known as a golden age. Document 7, â€Å"medieval culture was in perfect, was restricted to a narrow circle of superior minds.† To better understand that  the Middle Ages produced a low amount of cultural and scientific achievements I would need an additional document of a list of achievements produced during this era. I would be able to compare this to other achievements produced in civilizations during their Golden Age.

Causes of the American Revolution Essay

The American Revolution began in 1755 as an open conflict between the thirteen colonies and Great Britain. The Treaty of Paris had ended that war in 1783, giving the colonies their own independence. There are many factors contributing to the start of the Revolution, but the war began as the way The Great Britain treated the colonies versus the way the colonies felt they should be treated. For example, the French and Indian War, Salutary Neglect, the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, smuggling, etc. are some of the starters to the American Revolution. This problem is provided in one of the most rallying cries of the Revolution: No Taxation Without Representation. I believe that the American Revolution was a radical revolutionary war because similarities between American government and British Parliament and the fact that those in positions of power and leadership in the colonies were the same men who led the revolution. Events like the Boston Tea Party were acts of civil disobedience. They intentionally broke a law to showcase the unjustness of said law. Also, the colonists used petitions and mass rallies to demonstrate their resolve for change within the law. The colonists wanted westward expansion, which Parliament was limiting. The only way to continue expanding at the current rate would mean taking the land. Whether or not this was right, it demonstrates the Colonists willingness to abandon their parent country in favor of their own desires. If the revolution was a ‘conservative protest’, then the colonists would have dispersed after events like the closing of Boston Harbor and Lexington and Concord. Instead the colonists rallied, supply Boston through massive wagon trains after Boston harbor was closed, and created an army after Lexington and Concord. The final colonial war was the French and Indian war (1689-1763). During this war, England lost a lot of money and felt that the Americans should pay for the â€Å"protection† they gave us. T his was also solidified America as America. Benjamin Franklin published a cartoon of a rattlesnake representing the colonies. The phrase â€Å"join or die† was added, sending a clear signal that this was a new nation in the â€Å"New World.† The cost of the French and Indian War caused the Britain the need for getting more money, and to do this, they made the Americans pay more taxes. This lead to the rebellion and revolution of America. From 1603 to 1763, the British policy for governing the American colonies was called Salutary Neglect. Under Salutary Neglect, enforcement of parliament law was not strict enough for the colonists. According to the law of the days, trade between American colonists and other nations were very restricted. Colonists were only allowed to trade with England, Scotland, and Ireland. Salutary Neglect allowed Great Britain to turn a blind eye to illegal trade activities with other countries, which were difficult and expensive to enforce. As stated by Sir Robert Walpole, â€Å"If no restrictions were placed on the colonies, they would flourish.† In 1764, Parliame nt passed an the Sugar and Molasses act. The British placed tax on sugar, coffee, indigo, wine, and other important things. They did this because they wanted more money to help provide security for the colonies. The Sugar Act made colonists very upset because if they only traded with Britain, they would not be able to sell their goods for much. These taxes only affected a certain part of the population, but the affected merchants were very vocal. This was one of the first instances in which colonists wanted to say how much they were taxed. This act, and the Currency Act, set the stage for the revolt of the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act was passed by the British Parliament on 1765. The new tax required all American colonists to pay a tax on every piece of paper they used. For example, birth and death certificates, marriage licenses, ship’s papers, newspapers, and even playing cards. The money collected from the Stamp Act would be used to help pay for the cost of defending and protecting the American frontiersmen. With this act, the colonists’ anger reached the boiling point. The frustration was now to take the form of rebellion. The previous Molasses Act, Navigation Acts, and Sugar Act suddenly were seen as a prelude to this final blow. During the revolution, the Declaration of Independence served as a motivational document for the revolutionaries. King George III dismissed it, and it carried no political patch. The signitaries did risk their lives by signing it, and therefore the Declaration lifted moral, or at least the decision to overthrow British rule. The document gave a clarity to the American cause that it had previously lacked, and that the British were never to gain. The Declaration of Independence also made any hopes of a peaceful settlement much less likely – Independence once declared could not easily be surrendered. Each colony declared itself an independent state and replaced the king’s governor. Citizens, including women and slaves, plunged into the War under the command of General Washington. In the end, the American Revolution grew out of their restrictions placed upon their colonies by the British. The treaty signed in Paris on September 3rd, 1783 brings the American Revolution to its successful conclusion. The causes of the American Revolution were both economical and political. Each action by the colonists or Parliament seemed to bring about an effect by the other side. It was a progress changing the colonies from dependent to independent states, from monarchy to republic, but in the end, we succeeded. Individuals and groups drastically changed the course of history.

Homeless teens in Dallas Texas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Homeless teens in Dallas Texas - Essay Example For this program to start I would need to ask the teenagers themselves what they want the next step to be. Do they want to continue living alone? Do they need help talking to their parents? I would also need to speak to the parents and explain the situation to them. This way, once reunited the teenager would not have the impulse to run away again. Moreover, I would need to look for backers who would be willing to take in the independent homeless teens as apprentices or part-time workers. This way, this group of homeless teenagers would be able to make an honest living and live independently. I believe the cost for the program is very minimal and feasible. Expenses would primarily be transportation and initial housing or rental fee for those who want to continue living alone. I could send letters to philanthropists asking for funds. Also, I could approach large business to make donations for the program. This would be good for them because it could be a tax

Analysis and Critique of Francoise Roy's Diversity Management Plan For Essay

Analysis and Critique of Francoise Roy's Diversity Management Plan For PBQ - Essay Example Although Francoise has outlined and detailed various aspects of the plan, she is still unsure as to how to implement it within the organization as she foresees that it will be opposed by many managers and workgroups. The present organizational makeup is highly ethnocentric, with the Quebecois population proud of their heritage and achievements. Since the People’s Bank of Quebec has been lagging behind in its diversity plan for the last ten years or so, there has been no serious or determined effort to comply with the requirements and the results are that the diversity element is visible in only about 6 percent of the bank’s workforce of over 7000 employees compared to the national average of 18 percent. 12 percent is the legal requirement for meeting the diversity goals. It is clear that Francoise and others in senior management echelons will have to take drastic steps to hurriedly push forward the program so as to meet the legal requirements. Meanwhile there are also a number of elements missing in the plan developed by Francoise which will be explained below. Strengths and Weaknesses of Francoise's Plan According to Das (1998) creating and implementing a good, effective and efficient diversity plan consists of the following steps: (1) identify current and future ideal state; (2) analyze present systems and procedures; (3) change policies, procedures and practices as needed, and (4) follow up and evaluate results (Panacchio & Waxin, 55-56). Step 3 itself is also comprised of a number of sub-steps, such as getting senior management commitment, establishment of a diversity committee, education and training of key personnel and an institution-wide communication of changes. Let us now evaluate the steps in Francoise’s plan from this point of view. The CEO, Pierre Belanger, has assured her his support of the diversity initiative, and had even written senior management a letter to this effect, but much more needs to be done. Francois has not arr anged for the necessity of the implementation to be officially communicated through the Board of Directors or the Diversity Committee. It would have been good for the CEO to communicate the necessity of implementing such a plan and the need to do so quickly to meet legal requirements. Francoise has also not identified the current and future state of the enterprise regarding diversity goals and implementation. She has yet to redesign and convert HR policies to incorporate the diversity elements. While she has identified the training needs for key personnel, she has not included the employee training requirements and programs. She has also identified the need for a Diversity Committee but has not appointed a head. Normally this function resides with the Head of Human Resources so Francoise must be ready to undertake this responsibility. After implementing the diversity plans, there must be some method of feedback and correctional control for which open and transparent communication mu st be fostered at both ends but this element is also missing so Francoise will never know how well or badly the plan is working or what needs to be improved and what doesn’t. Although Francoise’s diversity plan includes most of the necessary attributes, there are certain missing elements or misplaced priorities and moreover she does not have the courage to

The Scapegoat MAM Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Scapegoat MAM - Assignment Example Edward soon becomes a local celeb as a result of his ability to cut hair and trim hedges. This capability to do extra things makes people take advantage of Edward. For instance, Jim uses Edward to break into his parents house but unfortunately Edward is trapped in the automatic locks. He is then accused of crime and people including Jim who was using him takes Edward as a scapegoat. Similarly, in our community scapegoating occurs to individuals who are famous and can do extra things (Stereotypes of Persecution, 19). Out of envy and jealous of the community members especially those with same abilities, such an individual is considered as a threat. False accusations are alleged against such person with an aim of disgracing him or her (Stereotypes of Persecution, 14). For instance, Joyce claims that Edward tried to rape her. However, these allegation are not real. The community members looks everywhere for possible indications to confirm their suspicion against the individual. In most cases, individuals taken as scapegoats are innocent and defenseless. They usually undergo through judgment and unfair punishment for crimes they did not