Monday, October 31, 2011

Weekly Summary essay

Weekly Summary essay

Once the first initial week that felt like pure chaos was over, I have settled my nerves and managed to prepare my mind and body to absorb and remember every piece of information that I can.

After completing this week's reading assignment in Peak Learner, I have learned a great deal about myself. Finding out that I was a Stringer rather than a Grouper came as no surprise. I always knew how I preferred to learn a subject, but I never really realized how I could get the most from it.

This week was a little stressful for me. I was not able to get together with my teammates, as I preferred. I think it would have been easier for me if we could have put a little more effort into communicating about our assignments. The Little, Brown Book search activity was not a problem, but I was pulling my hair out by the roots over the outline. For the first couple of days of this week, there was hardly any contact among the four of us. I had a brain cramp, and I did not have a clue of how to begin the outline. At this point, we have not even discussed which topic we were going to outline. Nevertheless, in the end we were able to pull all of the pieces together and accomplish our goal.

I did realize, however, that working in a team that consisted of different styles of learning, and personalities is very challenging. There are different views on how a person thinks a task should be accomplished. You may not agree with their point of view, but you have to manage to come together to discuss the possibilities, compromise, and get the job done. It takes much effort and patience to be a team player and discuss things openly.

I also realized that I could function as a Grouper and still achieve the task presented to me in a manner that suited me. Knowing that I can adapt to, and obtain different learning styles has peaked my enthusiasm even more.

I have become a Peak Learner, and I am ready for what week three has to offer.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

How to Write a Critical Essay Review

How to Write a Critical Essay Review

Sometimes your professor can assign a book or any other reading and ask you to write a critical essay review of the whole writing or it’s small part. Usually they do this to know better how good students understand author’s point or his feelings in this writing. Writing a critical essay consists of several steps that every student should follow in order to prepare a good critical essay review.

So if you were looking for how to do a critical essay review guide - this article is going to be really helpful. Since this assignment is kind of analytic writing - first of all you will have to perform analysis of your book or any other writing that you are going to write a critical essay review for.

It should not be a problem at all for those who have already some experience in writing a critical analysis essay. But you should not be scared of the word “analysis” anyway. All you have to do on this step - is to read very carefully your piece of work and understand what exactly author wanted to tell us. On how good you understand his words and thoughts will depend your success!

So please concentrate on this step really good. A lot of students ask how to write a critical essay thinking that their first step includes putting the words on the paper - and that is the biggest mistake ever. Do not skip the first step that was discussed in this article. When you are done with analysis, start to summarize author’s point on the paper. This is actually a writing form of the first step. Remember that you do not have to present your personal points or comment author’s in this section. Just provide your reader with points you got from author and explain how you understand them. When you are writing a critical essay review you would better read the whole writing but not just a part of which you were assigned to write an essay. It will help you to understand the whole meaning of the writing and present more clear thoughts about it.

Your next step is about presenting your personal points. In this section you are free to discuss author’s points of view, agree or disagree and present your personal thoughts. When this part is written you can start coming to the logical ending that usually should tell about your personal feeling on this issue. We know that all this steps look pretty simple only on the paper but when it goes to the practice part everything changes. If you feel like you have not enough time for performing all this steps - our professional writers can do this for you. We know how to write a good critical essay and we are ready to show our talent to you. Whatever way of preparing your assignment you chose, we are glad to be able to help with writing critical essays! Find more essays and term papers at yourtermpapers.com.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

How to Write a Successful Argumentative Essay

How to Write an Argumentative Essay

This is a usual question that comes to the minds of almost every student during the academic year in college, university or high-school. Our professional writers know how to do a great argumentative essay better than anybody else in the world. We do this work with pleasure every day and now we are going to share our knowledge with you. This article will provide you with some general argumentative writing tips and give an advice how to write an argumentative essay. We decided to make a list of things you should not do when writing your argumentative paper.

In the most cases students think that writing argumentative essays should start with composing an introduction part. This is actually the most widespread mistake! Introduction goes first just when you read already completed paper, but your writing process should start with brainstorming about the thesis statement. Usually this is a sentence that carries the main idea of the whole writing and what you are strongly believe in.

Remember that you should feel really strongly about your opinion in order to create a good thesis statement. The next thing that you would better avoid - is switching to another points or even topics. After you have created your thesis statement - find about four to six strong reasons that support your point. Do not write them all in one sentence or paragraph. You can start with words “in my opinion the most significant reason that makes this point meaningful is...”. The whole next paragraph should be about this reason. The next reason will be discussed in the next paragraph - follow this simple rule and you will avoid troubles with structuring of the paper. Naturally, every student will ask - “what should I write about in this paragraphs?”.

Since it is an argumentative essay - you should find reliable evidence that would support those reasons. We recommend you to use exceptionally checked sources as far as they will be included in your paper, that means your professor will definitely like if it would be a well-known book.

Just after you have finished writing this part, you can start composing an introduction. Do not write lengthy stories in your introduction part, three-four beautifully-composed sentences will just enough! Catch your reader’s mind with some intrigue or interesting questions. Using the body of the paper - compose a conclusion that should summarize the main points, presenting a logical ending. After you will write at least one argumentative essay using this guide you are safe to say that you know how to write a successful argumentative paper! Also you can easily get argumentative essay writing help online at EssayLib.com!

Friday, October 21, 2011

How to Write a Great Persuasive Essay

How to Write a Great Persuasive Essay

Very often teachers assign persuasive essay to high-school, college and university students in order to evaluate their writing skills and ability to persuade. With the same frequency students all over the U.S. search in the web how to write a persuasive essay. In the most cases this searching ends very quickly and in the middle of nowhere.

Today we are going to provide our readers with some basic tips and answer how to write a great persuasive essay paper. The first rule to follow when writing a persuasive essay is very simple.

As your goal to convince the readers in your point of view - be confident in what you are saying even if you are not. Of course it would be much better if you will learn as much as possible about your issue so you could fell yourself real professional in your topic.

When learning give preference to the checked and reliable sources of information - you can find much more useful things there than in the web. When you are done with your research - identify the general point for the essay. When you know the point you will be writing about it is much easier to find the support information, that actually makes the next step. The problem is that your every word and sentence should be supported with some valuable facts.

Everything in our world should be proved and your point in your persuasive essay is not an exception. While reading the books find some reliable evidence that would convince the reader that things you are talking about are really so. There are no questions that a lot depends on your writing skills and your talent to convince. But using this tips can really help you to improve your grade for this assignment even without some special talent.

Another important thing that you should remember is your audience specificity. If you will know your listeners or what kind of people will read an essay - it gives you unbelievable advantage as you can find correct words and ways for presenting your points now. We hope you have some general knowledge now and you know how to do good persuasive essays with our help. Also we remind you that you always can use our custom PERSUASIVE ESSAY WRITING help service!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Argumentative Essay on Deforestation

Argumentative Essay on Deforestation

Deforestation in the Amazon's rain forest is becoming a very serious issue. Each year during the 1980s, farmers and ranchers cleared an average of 25 000 square kilometers of the forest. Though the rate of deforestation has decreased steadily over the past year, tree destruction is on the rise again.

The Amazon region is the largest rain forest of the earth. It covers more than 10 million square kilometer and extends into French Guiana, Surname, Guyana, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Columbia. Since the Amazon rainforest is located within the tropics, there is little variation in temperatures and high precipitation. These conditions are ideal for plant growth; consequently, the Amazon region is the most diverse ecosystem found on earth. Exotic flora such as mahogany and rosewood, as well as spices, nuts and rare medicinal plants can be found in this region. Because the valuable woods grow densely in this area, logging companies and farmers begins to deplete the area by taking away the lumber and clearing the land. The El Nino weather phenomenon that occurred in 1997 further aggravates those fires. It has dramatically reduced humidity in the Amazon, turning foliage into kindling.

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The major factor contributing to the increased deforestation was Brazil's better-than-expected-recovery from a recession following the devaluation of its currency in January of 1999. Economic improvement brings more demand for timber and land. Though Brazil is blessed with many natural resources, its foreign debts, which amount to 285 billion dollars (U.S.) make Brazil's government vulnerable to manage the rainforest effectively. Due to the enormous debts, the Brazilian government encouraged poor people to go into the rainforest, settle on new land, and paid them to farm there. Forest fire is a major catalyst of the increasing rate of deforestation. Interestingly, fires that occur in the Amazon are usually the result of farmers burning off jungle scrub for pasture. Thus, fire also acts as the primary catalyst in speeding up deforestation in the Amazon.

The Amazon produces 1/3 of the world's oxygen while taking away the carbon dioxide gas. As human race is destroying the Amazon at an alarming rate, it is predicted that the Amazon, as well as all the other rainforests will be destroyed in the next 20 years. Exploitation and clearance of natural forests are destroying the environment and way of life for tens of thousands of indigenous people. The loss of woods means depriving soil of nutrition, which leads to a receding forest. A receding forest causes more rainfall and more risks of soil erosion. When trees are lost, the green house effect will take place even quicker, emitting gases such as CO2 that causes an increase in temperature and a drier atmosphere. Disappearing forest cover also represents incalculable losses in biological diversity and ecological services, including nutrient recycling, watershed management, and climate regulation.

In my opinion, I think there isn't any short term solution to deforestation in the Amazon region. However, the long term solutions may be the following: to develop a system of forest extension and public education to ensure better awareness, appreciation and management of forests; to develop better forest education for workers of the forest industry (especially the ranchers) so that they will not devalue the worth of trees; to lower waste and over-consumption by international consumers. I believe that there isn't a "best" solution to the issue of Amazon Deforestation. All of them are effective ways to decrease the destruction of trees and can be progressed simultaneously.

The funding of this overall solution should not be a major problem. First of all, public education can be incorporated into everyday school text and in commercials. Furthermore, better training for forest workers can be paid by the lumber companies themselves with law enforcement. Since most lumber companies of the Amazon region are mostly from richer foreign countries, finding the extra fund to provide more extensive training for their employees should not cost any difficulty and is reasonably acceptable. The most difficult part of this integral solution is to lower waste and over-consumption internationally. This action must be done through the efforts of all countries and the cooperation of their people. If these solutions can be satisfied, people in the world may continue to enjoy the nature's blessings and to live safely in harmony with this world we called the Earth.

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Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Case Analysis Essay Help

Case Analysis Essay Help

Case analysis essay is usually assigned to second-year or higher students of colleges and universities. At some high-schools teachers also ask students to prepare this form of academic writing. Writing a case analysis essay one should discuss a certain situation in his paper very detailed. It means that students write about a certain event or problem talking about the reason, effects and possible ways of solution. When you write a case analysis essay paper you also should not forget to provide a reader with your own point on this problem. All this steps require pretty much time and well-understanding of complicated processes that happened in a certain case. It is really understandable why students all-over the world do not like writing case analysis essays.

Sometimes it can takes you a week to prepare such a paper. Knowing this well we offer students to simplify their academic year by hiring us as their personal case analysis assistant. Our essay writing company offers professional case analysis essay help asking in return for minimum! We work with students of any levels and always get the best grades! We want to concentrate your attention on the fact that we do not sell you already prepared papers, instead our writers create an original case analysis essay paper specially on your order. So placing an order at our online custom writing company you always get an unique paper written from scratch! No one will have a similar or even close to that awesome paper with a great content. That explains why we called our service professional case analysis essay help.

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Argumentative Essay on Ebonics

Argumentative Essay on Ebonics

It occurs to me (in my mind) at least forty percent of our population has been filled with people who use little or no judgment in their lives. In deed, some people seemed to have missed the boat somewhere, but my goodness people-get a clue (or a psychiatric evaluation). For as many years as I have been an adult, I have encountered large numbers of people (many whom are family) that are completely stupid for at least once or twice in their life. It seems that these one or two occurrences just had to happen in my presence. I must be a magnet to this sort of person because I see it every day. Some are oblivious to fact that they could easily use their brain in life circumstances. However, they manage to fail the application of the general common sense that God gave them.

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Take, for example, my cousin. She is a beautiful girl (not a blonde), but at age twenty years old she still steps in it all of the time! She seems very intelligent. Nonetheless, she absolutely refuses to take any of her parent's valuable advice. She does not learn from mistakes and acts as if she knows all, yet they are complete morons to her. She dates the wrong kind of guys, lets her friends lead her around, and is always getting money stolen because she leaves exposed to theft. She recently rented a house with one of these nice friends (against our advice and predictions of doom). They got kicked out after a month! She and the roommate would go to work while other friends who did not live there partied in the house. Previously, we asked her not to make this move, and especially not to move into this all-elderly neighborhood. As predicted, the old people complained of the noise. Soon she will call again with some ridiculous excuse of how something just happened and she has no idea how it could have and it was not her fault.

Of all my pet peeves, I feel that people who refuse to use correct pronunciation of a persons name or a particular word is just repulsive. This one person our family knows calls a mutual family businessman Mr. Arledge when the real spelling and pronunciation is Mr. Aldridge. We correct them repetitively to no avail. Mr. Aldridge has jokingly suggested changing his last name to Arledge; He said, "so that my name will finally be pronounced correctly by this person." Needless to say, the person did not take the hint.

Equally as annoying are certain drivers who commit major road infractions! Individuals that wish to make a left turn; I wish they would use their blinker and/or get into the turn lane. I hate going down a main roadway when someone comes to a stop in the passing lane to turn into their favorite fast food chain! There is a turn lane there for them to use, but no way, they have got to cause an accident to make that simple maneuver. Furthermore, I hate when people misuse the yield sign. Why do they stop when there is no oncoming traffic? Similarly, why do people not merge when someone is coming onto the road from a ramp or yield area? For the life of me I cannot figure people out sometimes. I am not saying I am perfect, but common courtesy on the road ought to be a given.

Now I am accepting to different languages and even slang terms, but Ebonics is what really makes me laugh. I do have a tolerance to this dialect, but it is only because I had a good friend in high school that is African-American who I picked on about her use of certain terms. Here are a few terms that are incorrect, but I have to laugh about: police ociffer (officer), senrority (seniority), confurrsed (confused), and frew (few). I can talk Ebonics as good as some African-Americans at times, but I choose not to use Ebonics in my every-day language. I love to hear Ebonics though; even if only for a laugh.

People must think before they react to things. It takes minimal brain usage to listen to proper pronunciations. Consequently, it takes little or no brain to think out the pronunciation and speak it. It will not harm you to take advice of elders or people who have had similar life experiences. Not using common sense or being a complete blithering idiot will cause you tremendous embarrassment, get you hurt, and quite possibly get you killed. Just a tad of reason will get you far enough in life to get you through things very easily.
In my life, I have zero tolerance for stupidity and ignorance. I just wish everyone else would consider the same in their lives.

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Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Where to Purchase Original Essays?

Where to Purchase Original Essays?

Nowadays there are numerous custom writing companies with nice offers and rates in the web. If you decided to purchase an essay online you have to know several quite important things that will definitely help you avoid scam and low-quality services.

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Argumentative Essay on Democracy

Argumentative Essay on Democracy

Teacher's usually teach a typical classroom, but just how much does the teacher teach? Most high school classrooms today have preset lesson plans, fixed agendas, and assigned texts that the teacher decides to use; but instead assigned to the teacher by the board of education of what the students need to know. This necessary material that teachers teach gives the students knowledge. Most high schools have this system of teaching, regardless of how well it worked in the past, it does not work well know. Democracy in the classroom presents itself like this: teachers would vote for representatives who hold similar ideas to them, for example, ideas of how to teach and what to teach; these representatives would then get together, and vote on the ideas they have conflicts with. In the end, the teachers need to teach whatever they consider as the appropriate content and approach. Democracy in the classroom may work well for the majority, but what about the minority? Democracy in high school classrooms does not work because of the overgeneralization it places on the classrooms, restrictions on the teacher's abilities, and incorporations of outdated techniques of teaching. I would rather have the teacher teach the way she feels would be the most effective for the student in his/her classroom.

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First off, what defines democracy in the classroom? The dictionary best defines democracy as majority rule. Democracy forms a control that incorporates learned-lessons and proven facts of the past. It takes away the idea that most people get a say in what goes on. They have representatives, elected by the board of education, that collectively get together to decide issues on, what they should teach in the classroom, and how well they would teach it.. When ideas conflict in democracy, the majority wins and the minority has to succumb to the democratic decision.

With democracy in the classroom comes an extreme overgeneralization of how children learn and what they need to learn. Every class has a different dynamic, making the best possible approach different for each class. Some classes would do best with group work, while other classes produce the best results through note-taking, and lectures. Throughout most of my high school career I did not learn anything. I would just pay enough attention in class to pass my tests. But there was one class where I did learn because of the way the teacher taught. It was my 10th grade history class it was a lot of group work, and a lot of projects. Those were thing that I like so I payed attention and got an A, but more important I still remember everything that I learned. I feel that teachers should have control of how they teach their class because they could adjust to the ways of the student so more students will learn. Just because the majority of teachers think one way of teaching works well does not mean that it will be successful in all cases. Some students learn better by doing group work because they like to interact with other students, but other students do not like to interact with other students. This affects the students because they will not always get in the class that provides the best learning technique for them. In that case the student might struggle, and not obtain as good a grade.

These ideas could compare with that of apple tree farmers; say that the majority of apple trees need watering 2 times a day, but if the minority apple trees get watered 3 times a day, would it be right to water those trees twice a day because that it works best with the majority? No. Everything, especially in the classroom, needs to have time to adapt to a specific environment. Most students need an environment that they could learn in, and would want to learn in. If students do not like the way a teacher teaches then they will not pay attention, and then they will not learn anything. But if the students do like it then they will pay attention, and they will learn. I do not feel that the burden should be placed on the teachers, but I do feel that they should make it more interesting, because they know that more students would listen if the class interested them.. This idea does not work in all cases because certain subjects can only be taught one way, but it will work in most cases.

With democracy in the classroom, the teacher's abilities have great constraints. People have a reasonable assumption about teachers, and the idea that they know what they teach. If they do not understand what they teach, then how should we expect student to learn? Teachers themselves, properly taught, have the ability to run a classroom for the following reasons: First, if the teacher knows all the fundamentals of the subject that he/she teaches, it's a reasonable conjecture that the teacher has the ability to teach on that subject. Second, classroom dynamics change all the time, requiring the teacher to change approaches all the time; which would give the teacher a supreme advantage of deciding which style of teaching is most productive. I remember my eighth grade teacher, one of my best teachers and how he did not do anything ordinary. The class would walk in to Bob Marley playing, we would write about it later or we would write about another topic. Computers had not really begun getting incorporated into classrooms, but we used them, and he gave us our grades after a 5 minute conference with him, so he could better understand his student's individual perspectives. This example of teaching would definitely fall in the minority class, but I could certainly say that it was some of the best education I have received. I feel that if more teachers taught like this, more students will receive a better education.

The outdated techniques, and content that democracy would incorporate into the classroom would negatively affect the outcome in the classroom of today. Teachers, depending on what subject they teach, have certain ideas and concepts that need to be taught. For example, English teachers start off the year with certain goals of what they want their students to learn; sometimes on how to write an essay, certain punctuation, or certain literature. All of these goals need to have the students input. If the teachers want to teach Shakespeare, the class has to show some sort of interest or intrigue towards it, otherwise students will only obtain brief memorizations just long enough to pass the test. I do not feel that teachers should not teach certain things, I just feel that they should just make it more interesting. Beth Kneller states that "Most of the criteria on teachers base students grades on needs to deal with more of what the teaching practices the teacher incorporates or does not incorporate rather than with the mastery of particular skills" (C5). Most students learn better when they learn about stuff that interest them. Even though certain pieces of historic literature that must be taught. Does that mean that only those pieces of literature that they should teach, or can they replace it with a more up-to-date piece of literature that the class can relate to better? Not only can they replace it, but they can be replace it, and have more success at the same time.

I believe that we need to change the way that schools teach children today. If we put the power of teaching back into the teachers hands, then children will get a better education. From the examples above I have shown that democracy in the classroom does not work for all students. In helping the youth of today's society, we must focus on helping each and every individual student. Democracy has the capability of running the government, but not the schools. The consequences that we will face in the long run would be more serious because students will not get a proper education, and they will not retain the information that the teachers taught them. As a whole we need to better fund our educational systems so the youth of today can get education that would help them later on in life. I feel that if we could put so much money into our jails, how come we cant put it into our schools? The children of today will run this country in the future , and if they do not have a good education where will our country stand in the future? Democracy over generalizes the classrooms, restricts the teachers abilities, and incorporates outdated techniques of teaching. I feel that we need to change in now, and not wait till it becomes to late.

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Argumentative Essay on Edgar Allan Poe

Argumentative Essay on Edgar Allan Poe

Being stuck in a nightmare is like being stuck in the darkest corners of one's own mind. Trapped with strange images, and shadowy creatures, this horrific scene is so realistic, that one believes it is actually happening. This is when people are faced with what they fear most. When people dream, their unconscious mind pulls out all the thoughts and images that were being suppressed, and turns them into a whirlwind of terrifying events. Edgar Allan Poe's apparent focus on the "gruesome and grotesque, the melodramatic and the bizarre," (Carlson 1), derives from the dream world. His stories seem so dreadfully realistic because he would have horrible nightmares of his own, and get up and write down everything he could remember. By turning his dreams into stories they are able to delve into the human psyche revealing information about the structure of the human mind. For example in The Fall of the House of Usher, Poe journeys into the depth of the mind, examining it's construction and the struggle between life and reason, and death and madness; using symbols to illustrate different characteristics of the human mind.

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Poe uses ideas from his own nightmares and distorted mind to create his horror stories.

Often, due to this, the narrator greatly reflects Poe himself. What we see through these narrators is that Poe is greatly interested in the inter-workings of the mind. "He is absolutely concerned with the disintegration-process of his own psyche" (Carlson 24). This supplies readers with information on his ideas about the brain and human behavior, thus these stories become more than horror stories. They expand to a morbid dissection of the psychology of people. Poe uses examinations of the mind, and the strange things that can occur to it to create fear. This fear is achieved by introducing minds with psychological problems, mental disturbances, or uncontrollable desires. "Poe's tales are always concrete representations of states of mind" (Carlson 85), yet usually they represent bizarre states of mind, that most people do not even acknowledge that they exist. Readers are forced to help examine these indifferent minds because they have an internal yearning for reasons as to why the characters are compelled to act as they do. "The center of interest in these stories is not simply the emotion of horror but the irrational state of mind, terrified at itself, yet oddly prolific,"(Carlson 64). Poe presents irrational minds to show that the mind is very complex and constantly struggling between at least two counterparts at any given time. If a middle ground cannot be found, the human mind is sure to suffer psychological problems.

Two situations in which we can see the characters in The Fall of The House of Usher dealing with a psychological conflict, are the struggles between death and madness and life and reason. Usher is in shambles in this story. He says he is incurably sickened with a family disease where his senses are painfully over-sensitive. His brain is no longer functioning logically. He also knows that his twin sister will die before him, but does not know how he will be able to go on after that. Usher also knows that when that happens he will be closer to the escape and release of this half-reality that he is stuck living in. If he does not seek death, he will continue to grow mad. The only reason he can see is that death is a way out, yet he is still greatly scared of what that means. "Usher simultaneously exploits and loathes his disease, he longs for death and fears it- longs for the state of "real dream" to which he tends and fears the annihilation which that entails," (Carlson 71). Usher longs for his death just as he secretly longs for the death of his sister, yet he is unsure of what will happen to them when that does occur. One thing that we are sure of is that death cannot be avoided. ". . . death is implicit, in the crumbling house and deranged mind of the Ushers. Poe associates death, the opposite of life, with the inverted world, the opposite of reason,"(Carlson 71), which is an exact representation of what Usher is struggling with internally. Poe uses this story and his characters to show the struggles that the mind faces. He also uses distinct symbols to portray different parts of the mind.

"The Fall of the House of Usher results not only from the conventional Gothic horrors of the actions, but also from the reiteration of symbols which suggest the struggle between life and reason, and death and madness"(Carlson 51). One of these symbols that Poe uses in his stories that is especially prevalent in The Fall of the House of Usher is the underlying brother-sister love. Usher doesn't know what he will do when his sister dies, but underneath it seems that he wants her to. He is crazy because of her, only because he is crazy for her. "In psychoanalysis almost every trouble in the psyche is traced to an incest-desire," (Carlson 27). This desire inside of him drives him absolutely crazy, and says they are both doomed because of their destined family "illness". He goes so absolutely insane, and wants to end the insanity so bad, he ends up trying to kill his sister. He has become so crazy he actually believes that she died naturally. "This is the same old theme of "each man kills the thing he loves." He knew his love had killed her," (Carlson 29). Usher attempts to kill his love because he knows that it is wrong, but ironically it never dies because she does not really die, until they go down together.

Another example that critics claim Poe uses to explain the mind, is the twin factor in this story. Usher and his sister are in fact twins and Poe uses each to portray a certain half of the mind, supporting this by the idea that twins minds are seemly strongly connected. "Usher represents the mind or intellectual aspect of the total being. Madeline is the sensual or physical side of this psyche," (Carlson 85). Usher's mind has been completely flooded by the thought of his "disease" and the love he has for his sister, that he is almost gone completely mad. Thus he lives in an unrealistic world, with an unnatural state of mind. Meaning, his part of the mind no longer properly functions, and his only connection with the physical world and state of mind, is through his sister. He does not in any want to be reunited with this world. Usher wants to continue to function in his own world and state of mind. " . . . the physical world, and even the physical side of himself, fills him with such repugnance that he can maintain his unique world or self of the mind only by destroying his twin sister or the physical side of himself," ( Carlson 86). Yet he fails in destroying this side because they are a part of each other. If one dies so does the other. That is why Usher cannot kill Madeline, and they end up dying together.

Out of all the allegories used by Poe, the most predominant must be the relationship of the decaying House of Usher, and Usher's mind itself. Just as Poe uses Madeline and Usher to show how Usher is dying to escape the physical world, "decay in Poe is a symbol of visionary remoteness from the physical," (Carlson 94). The decaying of everything physical around Usher shows how the physical part of his mind and everything that was once "real" to him is no longer important in his world. "Throughout the story, Usher, like the house, is "falling"; he exists in a kind of suspended motion between the perception of "simple natural object's and the neurotic perception of an aberrant world,"(Carlson 70). Thus it is as though he is stuck in a dream world. Usher and his family have known nothing but that house, and as it continues to digress and decay so does Usher's life. Usher's mind wants to only sink deeper into his dream world, and divide itself further from anything physical. The house is never repaired or discussed with concern, it is just accepted like it is going through a natural unavoidable process just lie Usher accepts his disease.

Through all of these examples in this outstanding story, Poe reveals to his readers his insights about the psychology of the mind. The Fall of the House of Usher becomes so much more than a creepy story because of this. It is so scary to most, because it shows how some states of mind become uncontrollable and may completely take over oneself. "In The Fall of the House of Usher we have an early exposition, and one of the best, of this psychic drama, a summary of Poe's ideas and method of investigating the self in disintegration. The story was a study of the tripartite division and identity of the self," (Carlson, 84). Poe is so extraordinary in his use of symbols to portray the mind, that he shows how characters become so much more than just that. Poe's characters become intriguing individuals that he uses to dissect the human psyche and reveal to his readers anything that he may discover.

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Monday, October 17, 2011

Argumentative Essay on Depression

Argumentative Essay on Depression

Depression. What exactly does this term mean? The World Book Encyclopedia defines depression as, "A serious mental disorder in which a person suffers long periods of sadness and other negative feelings." These feelings could be directed towards things or people they once enjoyed or being around. Now the real question arises; how can depression be treated? To this day, many experts question how exactly depression can be treated, and they have many different thoughts and theories.

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One way to treat depression is psychotherapy. Many people would argue that psychotherapy is the most successful means of treatment. Psychotherapy is often the first form of treatment recommended. During psychotherapy, a person diagnosed with depressive disorder talks to a licensed and trained mental health professional who helps him or her identify and work through the different aspects that may be triggering their depression. However, in his article "Fall into Helplessness," Martin E. P. Seligman said that the only cure for depression is "recovery of belief that responding produces enforcement" not psychotherapy. If the doctors know what the cause is, they have a better understanding on how to help the person. According to the Cleveland Clinic Health System, some examples of things that can cause depression are "grief from the loss of a loved one, disputes with family, friends, or co-workers, possibly moving to a new city, graduating from high school or college, changing jobs, and substance abuse." People who actively participate in therapy recover more quickly and have fewer relapses than those who choose not to seek help. People tend to think that therapy is a "quick fix" to a problem that was created over a long period of time. They become frustrated and sometimes more depressed when therapy does not "cure" them immediately. Psychotherapy is a great tool to treat depressive disorders, but the person must understand that it is not a quick fix and sometimes can be a very long commitment.

The second kind of treatment for depression is for patients to be put on an antidepressant drug. Antidepressants are medicines used to help people who have depression. People who take antidepressants usually get better after only taking them for a short period of time. The American Academy of Family Physicians states, "Most antidepressants are believed to work by slowing the removal of certain chemicals from the brain. These chemicals are called neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are needed for normal brain function. Antidepressants help people with depression by making these natural chemicals more available to the brain." Antidepressant drugs can often cause side effects. In his article "What Good is Feeling Bad?" Randolph M. Nesse says that Prozac, a type of antidepressant, has become the "most prescribed antidepressant, because it does not cause dependency and its side effects are, for most patients, few and mild." As seen, not all people get side effects. Some examples of common side effects someone may encounter may be weight loss or gain, nausea, trouble sleeping, and temporary irritability.

Another type of treatment is hospitalization. A person is hospitalized and kept under close supervision due to suicidal thoughts or the possible danger towards other people. According to The World Book Encyclopedia, hospitalization is "an essential treatment for depressed patients who are suicidal." Although the very idea of going to a psychiatric hospital is an outrage to most people, there are times when people who are severely depressed or anxious should consider committing themselves to a psychiatric ward for a period of time. Many people tend to feel shame or feel as if they have been a failure in life. If there is a need to go to the hospital, keep in mind it is only a temporary situation that is designed for safety precautions.

In conclusion, as you see, there are several treatments for depression. You can speak to several highly trained psychotherapists, psychologists, medical doctors and ask them their opinion on the best way to treat depression and you will probably receive many different answers. What may work for one person does not always work for someone else. The best way seems to be a combination of approaches. For example, start out with one and see if the person improves, as in psychotherapy. If the patient improves slightly, then that could be the treatment that works; if there is minimal improvement, maybe medication along with psychotherapy is the way to go. Of course, if the person is a danger to him or herself or others, hospitalization is the only choice to make. As you see, treating depression is not a simple task; it's not just popping a pill and everything is good. It takes a lot of hard work and commitment from the person with depression and the mental health provider who is treating him or her.

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Sunday, October 16, 2011

Persuasive Essay on Babe Ruth

Persuasive Essay on Babe Ruth

George Herman Ruth Junior, also known as Babe Ruth and arguably the greatest baseball player who ever lived, was born on February 6, 1894. Babe had a childhood that was very difficult. Pitching was his natural talent, but hitting is what he is remembered for today. Babe Ruth is a legend that will live forever.

"In 1902, George was sent to live at Saint Mary's Industrial School, which was a school for boys who, for different reasons, had problems living at home". The Story of BABE RUTH Baseball's Greatest Legend, Eisenberg (Pg. 16). His mother would miss and cry for him and Babe would sometimes come home. In 1904, Babes mother became very ill and could not handle Babe mischievous habits anymore. Although it was not a very easy decision, his mother thought it would be better if he were to stay at Saint Mary's permanently. He continued attending St. Mary's until his twentieth birthday.

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Every Sunday, the boys of the school would play sports such as: Volleyball, Basketball, Ice Skating and Baseball. Babe Ruth was noticed by Brother Matthias, on of the priests, for his exceptional ability of catching and throwing a baseball. Soon thereafter, Babe started learning different strategies from Brother Matthias. While he was at St. Mary's he played with a team called the Red Sox. He was the catcher on the team. One day, Babes team was playing against the Orioles, a very tough team. Babe's team was loosing and he was making fun of the team pitcher, which happened to be Brother Matthias. Brother Matthias was upset and demanded Babe to take over the pitching duties. Brother Matthias wanted to teach Babe a lesson but it did not work as he planned. Babe was throwing strikes like as if he were a natural pitcher. Babe improved his pitching and hitting and even changed his position from catcher to pitcher. Babe was doing so well that local newspapers were writing stories of him.

In 1913, jack Dunn, owner and manager of the Baltimore Orioles, started hearing their biggest rival, Mount St. Joseph's College. Their pitcher was also being considered for a professional baseball team. That night, Babe struck out twenty-two of twenty-seven batters and led his team to a 6-0 victory. Right after the game, Jack Dunn offered to sign Babe to the Baltimore Orioles. Babe was under the age of twenty-one and too young to sign the contract. Babe's mother, passed away when he was thirteen and his father was no longer responsible for his son. Legal guardianship was given to Brother Paul. He gave Jack Dunn permission to be in charge of Babe until his twenty-first birthday. On February 27, 1914, Babe said his good-bye to St. Mary's to go on to play pro ball. In Baltimore though, fans were not coming to the games. Jack Dunn hoped that if people were to hear how great Babe Ruth was, they would come out to see the games. His pitching was getting better throughout the years. Jack Dunn's Baltimore Orioles were going bankrupt. On July 10, 1914, Dunn sold Babe to the Boston Red Sox to keep his team going. As Babe continued to pitch, other players started noticing Babe's tongue curling whenever he would throw a curve ball. This habit tipped of opposing batters which gave them advantage of hitting the baseball. Babe was demoted to the Minor Leagues because of his high earn run average. He played for the Red Sox minor league team in Providence, Rhode Island. Babe pitched his best there winning nine games.

In 1915, Babe Ruth cam back to play for the Boston Red Sox, his first permanent year with a major league team. In 1916, Babe's pitching and hitting began to pick up. That year, the World Series was between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Red Sox. Babe was a starting pitcher for the second game of the Series. That night, Babe went up to bat in the first inning and batted in a run to tie the score 1-1. The game went to extra innings. In the bottom of the fourteenth inning, the Red Sox scored winning the game 2-1. Babe Ruth won the CY Young award that year and another one in 1918.

In 1918, Babe wanted to change from being a pitcher to being a hitter. Manager Barrow placed Babe at first base in an exhibition game. Coach Barrow was surprised at how well Babe was able to play that he kept him at first. In May, Babe was in the line-up almost everyday. Unfortunately, near the end of the month, Babe developed a terrible cold and rumors were spreading that Babe Ruth was dying. When he appeared at Fenway Park the following week, the fans were at their feet clapping and shouting his name.

"In 1920, the Red Sox sold Babe to the New York Yankees. He attracted so many fans that Yankee Stadium, which opened in 1923, was nicknamed "The House That Ruth Built"". World Book, 1998. "By July 15, Babe Ruth had tied his 1919 record of twenty-nine homeruns and finished with fifty-four". The Story of BABE RUTH Baseball's Greatest Legend, Eisenberg (pgs. 66-67). Babe Ruth was becoming such a great hitter that the pitchers and managers of opposing teams were walking him purposely just so that he would not hit a homerun. Fans, and opposing team's fans, would "boo" when the pitchers would walk Babe intentionally. No matter what kind of ball they threw, Babe would manage to hit the ball. "Today, Babe Ruth still holds the record for the most bases on balls, or walks, ever received". The Story of BABE RUTH Baseball's Greatest Legend, Eisenberg (pg. 67). Babe Ruth's first year as a Yankee finished with a batting average of .376 with thirty-six doubles and nine triples in addition to his fifty-four homeruns. On September 15th, Babe hit his fifty-fifth homerun. In following games he hit four more homeruns to establish his record of fifty-nine. Because of his powerful hitting, he helped the Yankees win their first pennant that year.

In 1921, the New York Yankees and the New York Giants played against each other in then World Series. Unfortunately, Babe Ruth hurt his arm in the first game and the Giants won the World Series.

In 1926, Babe hit forty-seven homeruns and drove in 155 runs. The Yankees won the pennant that year again and played against the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.

"Throughout his life, Babe always referred to the 1927 team as the greatest in history, and today sportscasters still compare modern teams to the #27 Yankees." The Story of BABE RUTH Baseball's Greatest Legend, Eisenberg (pg. 80). That year himself and the whole Yankee team smacked an incredible number of hits. On September 30th Babe belted out with his sixtieth homerun.

Babe Ruth hit a total of 714 homeruns and held his record for thirty-nine years. It was finally broken by Hank Aaron in 1974. Babe Ruth's last game in Major League Baseball was on May 30, 1935, two days after he was having trouble playing against the Cincinnati Reds. "Baseball was, is and always will be to me the greatest game in the world. I worked hard to learn it, and even harder to keep playing it". The Babe Ruth Story, Ruth,G.H. (pg. 11).

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Persuasive Essay on Cartoons

Persuasive Essay on Cartoons

Cartoons had a humble enough beginning. Mickey Mouse was a cartoon with basically no purpose but entertainment. However, it was well made, and did not contain anything even close to being controversial. This was followed by an entire barrage of cartoons, taking a stab at becoming popular. However, in none of these cartoons was anything that would be deemed as inappropriate for children to watch. This, however, changed when the Cartoon "The Simpsons" came out. This cartoon, aimed at the Adult audience, was a huge success, and is still one of the most popular cartoons. This was followed by a couple of other Adult cartoons, most of which are still played today.

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As I said, these cartoons were aimed at an adult audience, including minor foul language and crude humor. However, as America's morals and expectations from the Hollywood idiots became less and less, the cartoons started to divide into two other genres: The good, well made cartoons, and the cheap, disgusting, weird cartoons. Cartoons like Road Runner, Scooby Doo, the Flinstones, and the Jetsons were well made, and even threw in a moral once in a while. Then recently, cartoons like courage the cowardly dog, Bevis and Butthead, and Rocco's Modern Life (as much as I liked that cartoon, I have to include it) have hit rock bottom when it comes to showing any type of morals or taste. For instance, you could not pick any ten second clip of Bevis and Butthead where they were not making some kind of crude and tasteless joke.

I feel, personally, that cartoons just follow what the consumer wants. If kids want adult jokes and cheap animation, they get it, because it sells. And in the increasingly single parent households, the parents are too busy to monitor everything their children are watching. They expect that Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network are clean networks, designed around kids, so they won't have questionable material. They couldn't be wrong. I'm sure there are a lot of parents that allow their children to watch cartoons that, if they knew what they were about, would be on the "do not watch" list.

Cartoons mirror reality in that more and more cartoons are disgusting wastes of time. Americans in general have more time on their hands, and are therefore able to spend more time on things that are not worth it. I am not trying to say that all cartoons are bad. As a matter of fact, there are still some cartoons that present underlying values and principles for kids to learn, and are actually quite entertaining. But it only takes a couple to ruin the whole bunch. I feel that if the kids weren't so attracted to the fact that they were getting away with something, they probably wouldn't watch it anyways. It is the producer's fault for wanting more money so bad they are willing to gamble with children's minds.

The cartoons have slowly but surely followed reality, with a sick twist. They have blown certain things out of proportion, and left the kids like me who grew up with Doug and Rugrats with nothing but trash. For the future, I see more meaningless cartoons (more Japanese animation possibly?) and a further degrade in quality and liability. Take cover! There going to hit hard on our kids!

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Saturday, October 15, 2011

Persuasive Essay on Carpe Diem

Persuasive Essay on Carpe Diem

My day started off at 6:00 am on the beach of San Onofre. My friends and I all got woken up by the sun. We got out of our tents and ran down to the water to mess around and surf a little before the beach got crowded. I caught a few good waves and ate it twice before we decided to go make some breakfast. We cooked up some poptarts and washed them down with fresh squeezed orange juice.

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We all talked and laughed over the less than nutritious meal. After we ate, some of the guys went into the water while the girls and I stayed in the sand to catch some sun. I laid on my towel for a few hours, flipping over every 30 minutes or so to not get burnt. Around 1 pm we all went into the water to surf some more before the waves died. I got on my board and loved the smell of the salt water and the sounds of the waves crashing. I loved just being with my friends without any worries of school or work or any forgotten responsibilities.

We surfed for a while and then when we were too tired to surf anymore we got out and started tossing some balls around on the beach. We laughed, played tag football, Frisbee, and tossed around a water polo ball for a long time before we were all hungry for an early dinner. One of the guys started a fire and we cooked up huge ball park hot dogs. We sat around the fire and talked about random things until it got dark. Then after we ate we decided to play some games, we played tag and went in the water some more. The water was warm because it was summer and it felt really refreshing. Then later that night when we were all too tired to move we went up to the beach where we layed out our tents, and went to sleep. This day was the best day of my life, and it was the beginning of a lot of days spent very well.

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Persuasive Essay on Battered Women

Persuasive Essay on Battered Women

Terrifying Love: Why Battered Women Kill and How Society Responds is a disturbing book based on true stories and trials of women who have been brutally beaten and abused, verbally, sexually, physically, and emotionally. This book is written by Lenore E. Walker. She is a psychologist who has testified as an expert witness in the trials in the book where women have murdered their abusive husbands or boyfriends. The book exposes the extent of domestic abuse, and how society and the system respond to the actions caused by this abuse.

The book is divided into three sections which all combined contain fifteen chapters. The first section of the book is called "Cheating Their Destinies". This section explains how the battering cycle can begin and explains that many of these terrified women kill their abusers to avoid being killed themselves. It explains how helpless these abused women can become to avoid being beaten or killed. They give into these men until they cannot take the abuse anymore, and out of fear or self-defense kill their men. This is all illustrated in the second chapter, which is titled "Joyce Hawthorne's Story". This was a story about a woman named Joyce and her husband, Aubrey, who abused her as well as her five children. Joyce often felt she had to "walk on eggshells" and never knew what Aubrey was going to do next. Nothing she ever did seemed to please him. Sometimes Aubrey beat Joyce so bad she needed medical attention. Joyce was too ashamed to go to the doctor and show people what he had done to her. She felt incapable of leaving him. One night she sensed a feeling that this was going to be the night he was going to kill her. She loaded a handgun and put it on her nightstand out of fear. Later on Aubrey woke up and demanded sex from her. She refused, and Aubrey reached for a gun, and then Joyce's mind went blank. The next time her mind was clear, there was Aubrey dead, stretched out across the bed with nine bullets in his body.

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Joyce's incident becomes a bit clearer to how and why it all happened when reading the second section, which is titled "Why Battered women Kill". This part of the book explains more about these women, who they are, and why they kill. Lenore Walker's personal experience helps identify these women and try to explain society how they fit a certain profile and what usually happens to them. First, she profiles all her clients to see what state they were in when they committed these acts of violence. Lenore states, "Battered women come from all types of economic, cultural, religious, and racial backgrounds. They are millionaires, and they are women on welfare; they are uneducated women, and they are practicing professionals with J.D.s and Ph.D.s; they are mothers, and they are childless; they are religious, they are atheists; they live in rural areas, and in cities, and in small towns all over the country and all over the world. They are women like you. Like me. Like those whom you know and love."(Pg 101) However, Lenore explains that battered women have certain characteristics that separate them from others. They have poor self-esteem; they behave in stereotyped traditional ways in order to please their batterer. They may also feel that they are at fault for not stopping the batterer's violent behavior. They deal with a great amount of violence and guilt. As a result of all these factors, they are very susceptible to depression, isolation, and many even believe maybe they can change the batterer's behavior if they love him enough. One of the most interesting chapters in this section is titled "Crazy Ladies". This chapter attempts to describe more why a woman kills. Many times when these women go on trial they will be judged as insane. However, Lenore tries to explain that most battered women who kill do so in defense, not because they are mentally disordered. Lenore believes that "the expert witness who can provide judges and juries with a genuine understanding of this fact can have a critical role in changing our criminal justice system's inadequate response to the entire problem." (Pg 169) Many actions that a woman makes actually have a purpose and logic when viewed within the context of the violence and terror in which she lives. The problem is many diagnosis of mental illness delivered by uninformed medical personnel and mental health professionals are often wrong.

The third and final section of this book is titled "The Law". This section describes why women have such a hard time being heard and understood in the system. One of the reasons women do not have such a strong voice that many people will listen to is because how power is divided among people in America. Power in America is directly related to gender, class, race, age, education, and socioeconomic status. In most of these respects, men have a distinct advantage over women. Many few judges in our male identified, male dominated courts are sensitized to women issues. Women are viewed in our society as people who are not supposed to kill, use violence, or even defend themselves against a potentially fatal attack. This is one reason why Lenore provides a strong defense for these women as an expert witness. It is an important thing for society to understand why these women do this and how to fix the system to try these women different than any other murder trial. The book ends almost as a closing to one of the first chapters and is titled "Joyce Hawthorne Today". After three murder trails, each where Joyce was allowed out on bail with appeals, went on for a long nine years. Finally, on the fourth appeal her lawyer was able to get a new trial based on the fact that in the previous trials there was judicial misconduct and that an expert witness, who was Lenore, was not allowed to go on trial. Her case was dismissed and after nine years, she was finally free.

I learned a great deal from this book. I learned about women who live in this type of world where they have no freedom from their abusive lovers. They can go to court and claim they shot their loved one in self defense, but can still face up to the death penalty even though they have survived a horrible life with the person they have killed. I was disturbed reading about some of these women's stories. Perhaps one of the saddest things that I read was one women who explained that being in prison was much better than living at home with the man who abused her so terribly. I could not even imagine how living in a jail would be better than in the comfort of your own home. I could not even understand any part of what these women seriously live through everyday. One other part of the book that really disturbed me was towards the end where they describe how women are not really listened to or believed in the court. The made women out to seem like they exaggerate everything that happens to them and they are all crazy. I know that this book was published in 1989, and I hope I can accurately say that some things that are written in this book are a bit outdated, that women are now treated equal to men, and that these stereotypes are not true anymore when a woman goes on trial. I think that people should read this book to understand what these women go through everyday. Maybe if more people understood this horrible life that these women live there could be more homes for battered women and harsher punishments for men who batter them.

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Friday, October 14, 2011

Persuasive Essay on Baseball

Persuasive Essay on Baseball

Hall of Famer, Lou Gherig, once said, "There is no room in baseball for discrimination. It is our national pastime and a game for all"(ZNET).

Baseball: America's favorite pastime. Hot dogs. Draft beer. Tamales? Baseball is commonly considered to be an American pastime, a source of entertainment for the Anglo, blue-collar workingman. What is not known is the role baseball played in the lives of Mexican Americans, and the struggles to earn acceptance among the Caucasian inhabitants of the United States, especially in California. Such a function would only be a fragment of the imagination if it weren't for Vincent Nava, a Mexican American and native of San Francisco. He was believed to be the founding figure in establishing acceptance for Mexicans in an American baseball league. Another noteworthy factor was America's need for Mexican labor, which eventually led to immigrants taking up the pastime. With the development of leagues involving Mexicans in California, the sport became more widely accepted in other states. More specifically, Los Tecolotes, a Mexican baseball team situated in both Texas and Mexico, set the standard for other Hispanic teams and leagues. With an essential figure such as Vincent Nava and Mexicans responding to the need for labor, baseball was able to flourish amongst the Hispanic culture in both the United States and in Mexico.

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Vincent Nava, often praised as the greatest catcher of his time to be developed locally, was considered to be the pioneer of a wave of Mexicans playing baseball in California. This point is made in Joel S. Frank's book, Whose Baseball? when he states, "[Nava] was a pioneering Latino professional baseball player at a time in his home state when Californians of Mesoamerican, South American, and Native American backgrounds experienced powerful forces of marginalization and dispossession"(Franks, 47). A mestizo in appearance, Nava was of Mexican decent, but often confused to be of a Cuban or African American background. As a result of such resemblance, he had to go to great lengths to avoid Jim Crow. The Jim Crow laws barred African Americans from access to employment and to public places such as restaurants, hotels, and other facilities. To avoid this, Vincent Nava, once known as Sandy Irwin, acquired his mother's maiden name and moved east to play baseball. Originally a backup catcher, his position became known as merely a fill-in player to pitchers and infielders that needed it. With his patience and work ethic, he emerged as on of the better catchers in a league filled with Anglo-Americans. In 1878, "The Chronicle" declared "that as a catcher he was one of the best belonging to any of the clubs composing the league and that his equal would be hard to find"(Franks, 47). This was the inspiration that many other Mexican Americans of his time needed to prove they could make it in a time run by whites, let alone a predominantly Caucasian baseball league. Franks beautifully states how Nava made a difference in the California baseball system when he says, "The emergence of "Nava" among the ranks of California's top ball players suggests the growing plebian, culturally diverse nature of the game in the Golden State"(Franks, 48). Such emergence created the sense of motivation for future Mexican Americans to no longer look at baseball as an Anglo-exclusive pastime.

Another key factor in the establishment of Mexicans in baseball was the growing need for labor in America and the groups that consequently formed. As a result of the Anti-Asian movement, which barred certain Asians from immigrating to the United States, the need for "cheap" labor drove employers to look to Mexico. The new availability of work led to mass migrations into California and other parts of the country. A perfect example of this is shown in the rising population of Mexicans in Los Angeles. "In 1900, for example, there were 1,613 people in Los Angeles born in Mexico. Ten years later, there were 11,793 Mexican-born Angelenos and, in 1920, around 30,000"(Franks, 184). While perceived as inferior to the native-born, white population, Hispanics were praised as a solution to California's labor problem. Baseball comes into play with such labor communities as a solution to cultural and societal issues. Important purposes the sport served were to deflect younger members of their communities from widely frowned upon and illegal pastimes and to show the ancestries had a sense of morality. Also, a significant factor was that Mexican Americans felt as a part of their reform that they had to adjust to the new world they lived in. Baseball "discouraged the growth of cultural practices and institutions which [immigrants] had to surrender if they were to adapt to the modern world"(Franks, 226). This societal need for baseball led to the surfacing of an informal Mexican league that consisted of labor groups and village teams. In 1912, the Los Angeles Times covered an indoor baseball game at a local recreation between a Mexican team and a team of Anglo Americans, which was the first of its kind. Although the "white" team won 6-3, it paved the way for an expansion of Mexican baseball leagues all over California, including clubs situated in the Bay Area and Sacramento. Eventually, Hispanic leagues and teams became more accepted throughout other states.

A considerable example of how acceptance of the involvement of Mexicans in baseball changed can be seen through the Tecolotes baseball team. In 1939, the only foreign baseball league to hold official status in the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues was a AAA minor league known as the Mexican League. The Tecolotes, or Owls, more commonly known by the abbreviated nickname, "Tecos," were one of the league's charter franchises. The team was originally named "La Junta Federales de Mejoras Materiales" because the it was headed by a group of Army generals, but by 1943, they were known to institute the first night games, which is when they appropriately acquired the name, the Owls. Although the team was affiliated with the Mexican border city of Nuevo Laredo, what signifies this as a historical achievement were the players, fans, and contests that came from Laredo, Texas. By crossing over the Mexican border to Texas for the sole purpose of baseball stressed the importance of such a sport to a Mexican public that once was unable to take part in the event. Jim McKay, author of the book, Masculinities, Gender Relations, and Sport, stressed this importance by saying, "No matter which side of the Rio Grande fielded teams, the players and fans were just as like to come from the other side"(McKay, 73). The progress did not stop there. The sport reached another level when a single team compromised of the best athletes was chosen to represent that region. This binationalism was finally formalized in 1985 when the Tecos finally became known as the Owls of the Two Laredos, becoming the only binational sports franchise in the world. More success in establishing the league followed when Caucasians began participating in the sport, more stadiums were built, and the relationship between the cities of Laredo and Nuevo Laredo remained strong. Such accounts can be seen in the following passage:

The Tecos came to have two home fields in two countries, played two national anthems before each game, had the owner living in Nuevo Laredo and the general manager and vice president living in Laredo, had a constituency in both countries, and had a team made up of Anglos and Mexicans (McKay, 73).

This official AAA minor league came a long way in advancing the status of Mexican Americans in the baseball system in America and also pushed on the boundaries that subtly remained between Anglo Americans and Hispanics in the sport.

Many factors led to the rise of Mexicans in baseball. The talent of Vincent Nava led the way and gave courage to others of the same nationality to play the sport. In response to the need for labor, Mexicans migrated to California and, as a part of their reform, began taking up American traditions, such as this favorite pastime. And, in culmination of the steps taken to achieve the equality that can exist behind home plate, Los Tecos showed that not only can Caucasians and Mexicans coexist in the same sport, but also set a worldwide standard in binationalism by expanding the horizons of the sport into Mexico. Baseball may be America's favorite pastime, but the next time you are at a baseball game appreciating your hot dog and beer, take the time to appreciate the diversity of the sport, and the many steps taken to achieve it.

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Persuasive Essay on Abstinence

Persuasive Essay on Abstinence

There are many factors that may influence a teen's decision to become sexually active or to remain abstinent. These factors can include age, physical maturity, parental and personal values as well as education. The best way to promote abstinence is through knowledge and educating teens on the risks associated with sexual activity. Teens need to know the risks and understand that there are other ways to show their feelings, as well as ways to deal with the intensity of their sexual feelings. One third of fifteen year old girls surveyed in the United States say that neither of their parents have talked to them about how pregnancy occurs, and fifty percent say that neither parent has discussed contraception of sexually transmitted diseases (Guttmacher, 1994). This proves a definite need for abstinence education programs within the school setting. Through education teens can learn that abstinence is the only safe sex.

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According to Child Trends Data Bank (2001) the percentage of high school students who have ever had sexual intercourse dropped between 1990 and 2001 from fifty-four percent to forty-six percent. Forty-six percent of U.S. high school students are or have been sexually active. The data bank also reported that male high school students were slightly more likely than female students to have ever had sexual intercourse. Forty-nine percent of male high school students in comparison to forty-three of females are sexually active. The data bank suggests that age also appears to be a determining factor thirty-four percent ninth graders reported being sexually active, while sixty-one percent of twelfth graders had been sexually involved in 2001. These percentages prove abstinence education is needed before students enter high school.

There are numerous risks factors associated with sexual activity among teens. These risks may include but are not limited to unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, as well as regret and guilt. These are just a few risks factors and consequences associated with sexually activity among teens.

One of the largest risks associated with teens and sexual activity is the fear and possibility of having an unwanted pregnancy. According to Child trends Data Bank (Teen Pregnancy, 2001) seventy-eight percent of all teen pregnancies are unintended. Within the seventy-eight percent of unintended pregnancies, thirty five percent are aborted. There are also many complications and risks for teen females that are commonly associated with teen pregnancy.

According to Advocates for Youth the maternal death rate among teens ages fifteen and younger is two times higher than maternal death rates in females aged twenty to twenty four. Teen mothers fifteen and younger are also twice as likely as older mothers to loose their baby within the first twenty-eight days of the baby's life. These death rates among teen's young can be related to age, and inadequate prenatal care. The younger a mother is the less likely she is to receive prenatal care within the first few months of pregnancy (Levenberg, 1998).

Aside from all the health factors associated with teen pregnancy there are also emotional and mental risks that can are related to teen pregnancy. Unplanned teen pregnancy means less support from father, financial instability, new demands and responsibilities that require many personal sacrifices. Teen mothers are required to place their life on hold to care for a baby. Parent-hood is a long-term responsibility. Teens must replace things such as school dances, movie dates, proms and social outing with night feedings, diaper changes, doctor appointments, and other parental responsibilities. According to child trends data bank in 2001 sexually active teens accounted for over one million pregnancies. Nineteen percent of sexually active teens aged fifteen to nineteen became pregnant. A sexually active teen that does not use contraceptives has a ninety percent chance of becoming pregnant within one year (Harlap, 1998). Teen pregnancy is a very real risks sexually active teens are faced with.

Aside from fear of pregnancy teens are faced with the possibility of contracting a sexually transmitted disease. According to The Alan Guttmacher Institute (1994) ever year three million teens, about one in four sexually active teens, acquire a Sexually transmitted disease. What makes STDs so dangerous is that they are easily spread, together with the fact that it's often impossible to tell if someone has an STD just by looking at him or her. All STDs have one thing in common: they are spread via sexual contact, which includes sexual intercourse and anal or oral contact. Many teens think they can't get an STD through anal or oral contact, but they can. Common STD's found in teens include, chlamydia, genital herpes, gonorrhea, and even HIV.

A common STD teens contract is herpes. Approximately one in four Americans are infected with genital herpes; there is no known cure for this STD. The herpes virus can be transmitted during vaginal, anal and oral intercourse and can also be transmitted to other parts of the body through touch. Therefore, condoms do not always offer protection against this STD (Autumn, 1998.). Similar to other STDs, many individuals who are infected with herpes suffer no symptoms. Eighty percent of people with genital herpes do not develop any symptoms, but can transmit the virus to other people. (Autumn, 1998.)

Herpes is just one of the numerous STDs a sexually active teens is at risk for coming in contact with. Teens need to be aware that even condoms are not one hundred percent effective in permitting the transmission of a sexually transmitted disease. The only way teens can be completely protected against an STD is to remain sexually abstinent and avoid contact with bodily fluids. It is important that teens be educated in detail about the seriousness of contacting STD's and the long-term risks that maybe associated with the contracting of an STD including pelvic inflammatory disease and cervical cancer in women.

Other consequences teen may face as a result of sexual activity are emotional factors. Teens often feel pressure in relationships and sex may often been an end result of relationship pressures. Teen girls are more likely than males to engage in sexual activity as a display of love for their partner. Teens often report feelings of regret as well as loss of self-esteem and self-respect. Often after relationships fail teens may feel regret and be ashamed for engaging in sexual activity with their former partner. Teens may experience rage over feelings of betrayal and lack of trust in future relationships. Teens do not have to deal with all these added pressures, these are just added reasons for teens to remain sexually abstinent.

The main thing teens need to know about sex is that not everyone is doing it. Over half of their peers remain sexually abstinent. Teenage years can be a very confusing time for teenagers both males and females may feel pressure to become sexually active. The media gives many misconceptions that all relationships involve sexual intercourse and that couples only communicate their feelings through sexual activity. Teens need to know how to analyze their relationships and determine their own values and limitations. Teens can also look at Bob Bartlett's signs of healthy relationships to determine if their partner is acceptant of the limitations they have set for themselves.

Bob Bartlett is a youth counselor and Minneapolis where he also teaches classes to teens all around the country on sexuality and intimacy. Bob Bartlett has also written a hot to book for teens about healthy relationships. Within his book he lists four signs of healthy relationships that teens can use to analyze the relationships they are in. 1.Dating is supposed to be fun. It should to be pressure. Relationships have no set patterns and timetables. In a healthy relationship, there is no point A, B, C, or K to get to. If one person in the relationship is not comfortable doing something the other should respect that. 2. Relationships should not be exclusive. Relationships that are healthy tend to include others and ten to be open to life. Often teens cut off good friends while they are dating. A person that really loves you will not ask you to give up friends you really care about. 3. The couple is comfortable with silence. Couples who are intimate in healthy ways can sometimes study silently or sit closely together for fifteen minutes or more and feel very comfortable. 4. In a healthy relationship, both partners are equals. Some teens get caught in relationships in which they feel controlled by the other (1997). These four signs of healthy relationships may help teens determine if they are currently in a healthy relationship, if not they may be feeling unnecessary sexual pressures.

Bartlett also believes that teens are very intense and need ways to channel their intensity. It is advised that teens find things to do with their spare time and make dating a social event rather than private thing. Double dates are easier ways for teens to avoid placing themselves in situations that may lead to unfavorable outcomes. Teens can engage in extracurricular activities that help them discover who they are and what they stand for. Teens need to have a good understanding of their morals and values and surround themselves with others who share the same values. Teens who stand firmly by their limitations will have a greater self-esteem and confidence as well as a sense of pride for standing up for what they believe in. By doing a self-evaluation teens can determine what is important to them and if sexual activity is worth all the risks and consequences that follow. By analyzing the risks associated with sexual activity it is clear to see that abstinence is the only way to be free from worry of pregnancy, STD's, and the emotional stressors linked to sexual activity. There is no such thing as safe sex; teens need to trust that abstinence is the only safe way.

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