Waiting for Superman

Brad Mitchell Ms. Campbell ENG 101 01 October 2012 Waiting for ‘Superman’ The film â€Å"Waiting for Superman† follows five children as they have to struggle through a system of conflicting education regulations and avoid the academic pitfalls that are public schools in order to receive a proper education that may guarantee them a career. The film, directed by Davis Guggenheim, asserts the claim that Teachers' Unions are a main problem to public education, and that charter schools are the safest and most definite method to ensure that a student acquires a proper education.While the film was created with good intentions to improve the education of American students, it has been dismissed by most due to the film seeming to demonize Teachers’ Unions and overly-praising charter school systems. Although public schools have indeed faltered since the 1970’s, it does not mean that private schools and charter schools are the go-to solution. The truth is, publ ic school systems have been proven to perform just as well as, if not better than, the charter schools that the film seemingly praises as a definitive solution.An article from The Washington Post by Rick Ayers talks about a survey run by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes, or CREDO, saying that it â€Å"concludes that only 17% of charter schools have better test scores than traditional public schools, 46% had gains that were no different than their public counterparts, and 37% were significantly worse. † (Ayers. ) Another popular argument that the film expresses is that the Teachers' Unions should be reformed because the regulations that the unions created make it nearly impossible to fire a bad teacher.Although Teachers' Unions do have room for improvement, throughout history and across the globe the unions have done more good than harm. The American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association were created to abolish the discriminatory pay rates between male and female teachers, and to establish a firm group to ensure that changes to school systems would not be made without representation and that teachers as a whole would not get the short end of the stick. Waiting for Superman† highlights Finland as having one of the best school systems in the world, while in fact ninety-percent of the Finnish labor force is operated by unions. Dana Goldstein wrote in an article for The Nation: You also don't learn that in the Finnish education system, much cited in the film as the best in the world, teachers are—gasp! —unionized and granted tenure, and families benefit from a cradle-to-grave social welfare system that includes universal daycare, preschool and healthcare, all of which are proven to help children achieve better results at school. Goldstein. ) The film also continuously bashes tenure as ‘good idea turned horribly wrong’, saying that it allows bad teachers to sit in class and do nothing to te ach their students without risk of being fired. Tenure was created to ensure that university professors would not be fired for political reasons or when there was a change in administration. When it branched out to public schools, tenure protected every teacher from being replaced due to absurd reasons like race, religion, or sexual preference.Several surveys have shown that most principals say they would indeed have the authority to fire a terrible teacher if the need arises. The other main point that â€Å"Waiting for Superman† argues about is the funding of public schools versus the funding of charter schools. Public schools are federally funded, meaning that decisions made concerning the school and its administration are made by the state, which fall under a set of federal regulations.Charter schools, however, are privately funded, originally by parents and teachers who were committed enough to start a school under their brand of administration and regulations, as time we nt on, though, more people created their own charter schools mainly for the purpose of gaining more money from applicants and showing little care for the education of students, if only to keep their charter school operating. â€Å"Waiting for Superman† has received both positive and negative reviews since its debut in September 2010. Many critics say that the film is little more than charter school propaganda.While it may seem that way, especially with all the accusations of statistical inaccuracy, the film should not be completely ignored. Davis Guggenheim has fulfilled the purpose of the movie by raising awareness about the quality of public education, and alerting the public to the mess that is the work of Teachers' Unions and theirs' and the governments' conflicting regulations. The United States government and the people of the public must work together and reform and improve the nation's education system for the benefit of their children in the short run, and for the be nefit of their nation in the long run.Works Cited Dana Goldstein. â€Å"Grading ‘Waiting for Superman'. † The Nation. 23 September 2010. The Nation. 20 September 2012. . Rick Ayers. â€Å"The Answer Sheet. † The Washington Post. 27 September 2010. The Washington Post. 20 September 2012. . fairtest. â€Å"The Real Facts About ‘Waiting for Superman'. † FairTest. 29 September 2010. n. p. 20 September 2012. .

Make a Glow in the Dark Pumpkin

Make a Glow in the Dark Pumpkin You can make a glow in the dark pumpkin with a jack-o-lantern face using a common non-toxic chemical. The jack-o-lantern doesnt require carving or fire, shines in rain or wind, and lasts as long as your pumpkin. Plus, the glowing pumpkin looks really spooky! Glow in the Dark Pumpkin Materials Its very easy to make a glow in the dark pumpkin and it doesnt require many materials: Pumpkin (real, carved, or artificial)Glow in the dark paintPaintbrush (optional)Masking tape to form a jack-o-lantern face (optional) Make the Pumpkin Glow Basically, ​all you need to do is coat a pumpkin with glow in the dark paint. The glow in the dark paint can be obtained from any arts and crafts store. You can use glow in the dark acrylic paint for making models, glowing tempera paint, or glow in the dark fabric paint. I used glowing fabric paint, which dries clear and is waterproof. Paint your pumpkin.Shine a bright light on the pumpkin, then turn out the lights. If the pumpkin does not glow as brightly as you would like, apply one or more coats of glow in the dark paint. Creating a Jack-o-Lantern Face For this project, the jack-o-lantern face is the part that does not glow. If you are using a carved jack-o-lantern, youve already got a face. If you just want a glowing pumpkin, you simply coat the pumpkin with glow in the dark paint, and youre finished. If you want a face on an intact pumpkin you have a few different options for creating it: Trace a face on the pumpkin and paint around the face.Tape a face on the pumpkin, paint the entire pumpkin  and remove the tape when the paint is dry. How Long Will the Glowing Pumpkin Glow? How long your pumpkin glows depends on the chemical used to make it glow and the light you used to charge your pumpkin. Zinc sulfide is a phosphorescent non-toxic chemical used in most glow in the dark paints. If you shine a bright light on it, you can expect it to glow for several minutes up to an hour. If you shine an ultraviolet lamp or black light onto the pumpkin, it will glow more brightly, but probably not any longer. Newer phosphorescent paints are based on rare earth elements. These pigments glow very brightly, usually in green or blue, and can last a full day. If you use tritium-based paint, you will not need to apply light in order to make your pumpkin glow, plus the pumpkin will glow pretty much until the end of time (at least 20 years). How Long Will the Glowing Pumpkin Last? The type of pumpkin you use will determine how long your glowing pumpkin will last. If you paint a carved jack-o-lantern, expect the pumpkin to last a few days to a week. An uncarved pumpkin may last a few months. An artificial pumpkin can be used year after year.

Beowulf Good VS Eviel essays

Beowulf Good VS Eviel essays The Story of Beowulf is a classic epic poem that contains the forces of good and evil against each other. In this story evil is in the form of a horrible monster known as Grendel. Grendel is a very powerful monster who is attacking the people of Denmark. The mighty warrior known as Beowulf represents the forces of Good. He hears of what Grendel is doing to the Danes and quickly comes to the rescue. In the opening part of the story we learn what a horrible monster Grendel is. His thoughts were as quick as his greed or his claws: He slipped through the door and there in silence snatched up thirty men and smashed them (35-39). These lines show Grandes heart of stone and thats he is evil by killing whatever he wants. Grendel slips through the shadows of night and continues killing the Danes every night, represent the sneakiness of his evil. Beowulf, the brave soldier lives far away from Denmark. The poem displays him to be good when he learns of the monster Grendel and comes to the rescue. In his far-off home Beowulf, Higlacs follower and the strongest of the geats heard how Grendel filled the nights with horror and quickly commanded a boat to be outfitted (90-94). Thus showing how good at heart Beowulf is by protecting others from evil. When Beowulf arrives at Denmark his reputation proves he has come to help and he and his men are quickly taken into Denmark and Cared for. The Danes explain to Beowulf of the monster and pray he can help them. They agree to watch over his boat for him. Grendel comes one night to find Beowulf and kill him. He kills the first geat he comes to and then awakens Beowulf. Beowulfs strength overpowers that of Grendel and Beowulf mortally wounds the Monster. Grendel then flies to Die in his Den, and Beowulf has defeated the evil monster. In this poem good triumphs over evil. Beowulf being brave and good at heart comes to destroy the evil...

Whats a Good 7th Grade ACT

What's a Good 7th Grade ACT / SAT Score SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The SAT / ACT is incredibly important for many students. It's used to determine admissions into talent programs like Duke's TIP or Johns Hopkins CTY. It's also a good predictor of future college potential. But how do you know what a good SAT / ACT score is for someone in middle school? Here, Dr. Fred Zhang does a novel analysis on two data setsto find what is considered a good score for middle school students. The ACT andSAT Are Made for High School Students. What Does This Mean for You? First, a bit of background is needed. The ACT / SAT is primarily used as ahigh schooltest forcollegeadmissions. This means a few things. The SAT is normed at 500 points per section, while the ACT is normed around a 20. Norms are enforced average scores for high school students. Check out these links if you want to know more about what's a good ACT score for a high school student, or what's a good SAT score for a high school student. If you use atable for high school students to examine a middle school student's score, your results will be completely wrong. You need to use a guide, like this one, that is specifically crafted for middle school students. Also, remember that the content on the ACT / SAT is high-school level, including geometry and topics usually tested in US high schools. Therefore, performing badly on these tests in middle school should not be taken as a lack of ability - sometimes it's just the result of never having learned the content. How We Found the Data Few 7th graders take the SAT / ACT, so finding out what's a good or bad score is not as easy as looking at a table of percentiles from the test makers. Instead, we use two unique data sets: the Duke TIP program data set and the John Hopkins CTY data set. (In regards to the new SAT, we came up with these estimates based on data from the old version of the SAT, but we expect them to stay pretty accurate for the new version of the testthat will have its first administrationin March 2016.) These are groups of very talented 7th graders who take the SAT / ACT, so we can't just take the average and distribution of these data sets to look for an average for all 7th graders. Instead, we used a statistical technique called quantile matching / maximum likelihood to infer the distribution of all 7th graders. The two data sets agree, and here arethe results. Results: Distribution of 7th Grade ACT / SAT Scores The average scores of a 7th grade student are lower than those of a high school student. In fact, we find that the scores on the SAT are a full 400points lower, while the scores on the ACT are about 10 points lower. Therefore, the SAT score of the median7th grader is about a 300 per section on the SAT, while the ACT score of the median7th grader is about a 10. A standard deviation in the SAT is around 100 points per section, and is around a 6 on the ACT. This means that the scores translate as follows: Interpretation Percentile ACT Score SAT Score Below Average 25% 4 200 Average 50% 10 300 Above Average 75% 16 400 Excellent 95% 23 500 What this data shows us is that, if you score about an 10 on the ACT or a 300on each section of the SAT (or a 600 with both sections combined), you're getting about the average score for a 7th grader. If you score around a 4on the ACT or a 200for each SAT section, then about three-quarters of other 7th graders would have a higher score than you. What's a Good SAT / ACT Score for a 7th Grader? From the table above, we can conclude that a good SAT / ACT score for 7th graders, a score that beats three-quarters of similar students in the USA, is a 16 on the ACT and an 800on the SAT. However, as I warned above, the SAT / ACT is not intended to evaluate 7th graders, so don't despair if your score is lower than this. You can always boost it later by learning the content and studying more. How Can 7th Graders Prepare for the SAT / ACT? Now that you know what a good standardized test score for a 7th grader is, how can you keep improving your score until it's where you want it to be? We have a lots of guides to help you understand the SAT and ACT. First, you will want to decide if you should start preparing for the SAT or ACT in 7th grade.If you decide to take one of these tests in 7th grade, check outthis guide that explains how 7th graders can begin their test preparation for the SAT or ACT. Practice tests are very important for standardized test prep as well, and we have manyfree and official SAT practice tests and ACT practice tests. You mightalso be interested in preparing forstandardizedtests that students typically take before the SAT and ACT. We have complete guides to both the new PSAT and the ACT Aspire tests. Use these resources and you'll be well on your way to getting a strong score the next time you take the SAT or ACT! What's Next? The college admissions process has become so competitive that it's helpful to plan well in advance for SAT/ACT prep during high school. Here are a few guides to help your thinking: How long before the SAT should you study? Can you start test prep even in middle school? Is it appropriate? Want to score a perfect SAT or ACT score? Read our guide to scoring the maximum SAT score possible, written by our resident perfect scorer. (ACT edition here). Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online SAT and ACT prep classes. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your SAT score by 160+ points or your ACT score by 4+ points. Our classes are entirely online, and they're taught by experts. If you liked this article, you'll love our classes. Along with expert-led classes, you'll get personalized homework with thousands of practice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step, custom program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Try it risk-free today:

Comparesion pepsi and coca cola Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Comparesion pepsi and coca cola - Assignment Example Often the treatment received by these multinational corporations in the foreign land is similar to that of the host country. In order to find new markets and resources, companies expand their business operations in the potential markets of the third world countries. However, for sustaining in the new markets, they are often compelled to formulate a new set of strategies that is completely different from that of their home countries. In the course of their operations in foreign market, multinational companies face various impediments in the form of alien culture, varied buyers’ taste & preferences, different political, legal and economic conditions. To sail through these menaces, the foreign companies often undergo mergers with their national counterparts as the latter is more equipped in dealing with local issues. This paper will attempt to analyse the behaviour patterns of multinational companies in the light of different strategies implemented by them in different countries. For this purpose, Pepsi and Coca-Cola have been selected as they are respected names in the world of MNCs. A brief introduction will be given in the beginning of the project which will attempt to analyse its objectives and organisational structures. It will be followed by a discussion on their global business and internal analysis which will not only help to identify their basic nature but will also provide an overall idea of their situation in the world market. The rapid change in lifestyle has suddenly made the beverage industry one of the most profitable in the global market. The two undisputable rulers are PepsiCo and Coca-Cola especially in the ‘cola soft drinks’ section. PepsiCo is a celebrated brand in the international beverage industry. Formed in 1890s by Celeb Bradham, its main objective was to develop digestive syrup that would be delicious as well. Though it has

The Dangers of Water Pollution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Dangers of Water Pollution - Essay Example Heavy metals can leach into the water supply when it comes into contact with the drinking water as it is transported from the source to the faucet. The effects can range from a mild inconvenience to serious health problems in humans. It can cause a mildly upset stomach or may result in a terminal illness. Animals and fish, even more sensitive to many pollutants and these toxins, can be placed at risk when the ecological system of our rivers and lakes is disrupted. Whatever form the water pollution takes, it is certain to threaten the food supply, damage recreation areas, and be a major threat to human health. When toxic chemicals leach or are spilled into the water system the wildlife that depends on that supply suffers. In the case of an oil spill from a tanker, the results are fast and obvious. Wildlife, fish, and birds are immediately threatened with the crude oil sludge. The oily sludge permeates their fur and feathers handicapping any hope of the animal's survival. This form of pollution is highly visible and causes damage that can be easily measured and evaluated. We can readily see the animals die as they encounter this water pollution. However, other types of pollution that threaten our wildlife are not so readily apparent. Industrial chemicals that leach into our water supply, streams, and lakes may not be visible to the human eye. They may not kill fish instantly as the fish survive the moderate levels of the toxins that are present. Many industrial pollutants, however, build up in the fish and wildlife over time. PCBs, a known carcinogen that has been banned, continues to pers ist in our environment and water supply (Environmental Defense Fund, 2006). Dioxin and heavy metals also have a long term poisoning effect on the fish. When a human eats the contaminated fish, they ingest the pollutants that have been stored in the fish. Consuming this source of food on a regular basis can cause severe health problems and lead to death. Water pollution will eventually poison not only the fish, but also the birds that feed on the fish and the prey that feeds on the birds. This will cause a widespread contamination of our environment and result in many of our food sources being unavailable or unhealthy to eat. Often times when wastewater from a sewage system is improperly discharged into the environment it contaminates a public area that is used for swimming or recreation. This contaminated wastewater carries potentially dangerous viruses, parasites, and bacteria with it. The U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) lists over 20 different types of biological agents known to pollute recreational areas (Nester, Anderson, Roberts, Pearsall, & Nester, 2001). The effects of these waterborne pathogens can be as mild as a case of diarrhea or as serious as meningitis. High fever, liver infection, and birth defects have been traced to water pollution caused by contaminated wastewater discharged into a public lake or beach (Nester et al, 2001). Though these contaminates do occasionally foul our drinking water supply, the most likely contact the public has is at a common recreational area. The CDC documents all reported cases of illness caused by polluted water and found during the period of 1995-1996 of the 12000 cases of disease caused by contaminated water, a full 75 percent were contracted in a public beach or swimming facility (Nester et al, 2001). These statistics show not only the seriousness of the

Case 6-1 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Case 6-1 - Coursework Example ce of bank loans by the branch manager, the internal auditor, and perhaps the state regulatory authorities, should make sure that authorization does not extend to recording and documentation or custody of funds. These should be performed by different employees or officers. The auditors will make sure that the branch manager, being the head of the office, does not override the internal control system in order to commit fraud. It will also ensure that the branch manager does not exceed his authorized limit of loans he can extend without head office or committee approval. The branch manager had physical custody of the checks, or had complete, unchallenged access to them, relating to the transactions he had authorized (the release of the loans). He signed the checks (custodial function) in addition to authorizing the loans. The discharge of these two duties by the same person made it possible for the fraud to happen: This was obviously a violation of the principle of segregation of duties within the internal control system. Moreover, the power of the branch manager over hiring and firing, as well as evaluating performance and promoting the employees, also served as a deterrent to the employees to question anything that the branch manager would want to do. In other words, the branch manager, being the top supervisor who was ipso facto not directly accountable to anyone at the bank branch, had absolute control over what took place in his branch relative to any loan or financial transactions. The trust reposed by subordinates on their superior officer is an obstacle to the disciplined application of any management control system, hence there is a need for an independent audit at certain intervals. The internal auditor should make not only regular audits but also surprise audits on the branch and examine all transactions, check and reconcile all records, and interview the employees on the processes and procedures they actually followed in carrying out their