Comparing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Comparing - Essay Example In the meantime, because His passing is a certainty of history, its otherworldly importance is not profound and secretive. For instance, by portraying Christ as "the Lamb of God, that takes away the transgression of the world," it tells us that His passing was a wrongdoing offering, and reparation for our wrongdoing. In the meantime, by letting us know "there is none other name under paradise given around men, whereby we must be spared," it makes it clear that there is no pardoning separated from confidence in Him. Even more along these lines, according to the Copelands Enfleshing Freedom, the demise of Christs obliges creature relinquish, those reparations were organized for our profit, as a method for helping us to comprehend the hugeness of Christs passing. Overall, in light of the fact that those offerings indicated forward Christs give up, all who offered them accepted Gods guarantee of pardoning in Christ. Moreover, as Paul demonstrated in the third section of Galatians, it was confidence in that guarantee (not the blood of bulls and goats) that brought absolution and salvation. Pope Benedict explained that how we comprehend the Eucharist relies on upon the spot of the sum of our formal festivals, in the real lives of the Christian group. What are the lines of association between our minutes assembled in corporate, formal petition to God and the nature of our living? We need to pose these questions in light of the fact that we have made such critical claims about the vitality of love in Christian life (Demarest, 9-11). He revealed that we as Christians claim that assembling approximately God, in recognition of God, to be a gift of God, to accept the endowment of Eucharist weaves the get together with the precise life of God. We guarantee that interest in ritualistic remembrance, in the consecrated life, completes in us what the ceremonies connote cooperation in the exact

JFK assassination Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

JFK assassination - Research Paper Example The sheer emotion and rawness of the coverage appealed to people’s senses that brought the people closer to the news. It was also by no means dismissible that at the heart of the breaking news were America’s affable and media-savvy president and the grief-stricken first family devastated by a tragedy. Overnight, the mostly newspaper-reading and radio-listening nation has turned their attention to their television sets to get a blow-by-blow update of the latest news. Merriman Smith, a United Press International (UPI) newsman, was riding in the presidential press pool car just behind JFK’s limousine on that fateful day in Dallas when they heard three loud shots. The second and third sound made it unmistakable that they came from gunshots. Smith immediately grabbed hold of the car’s radio phone and contacted the UPI headquarters to deliver the news update. Cronkite, inside the CBS studio in New York, was just informed of the president’s assassination coming across through the UPI teletype machine. As Cronkite’s news team breaks the station’s regular programming to deliver the assassination news unsure of the president’s condition, Smith was in Parkland Hospital with more breaking story. Smith informs UPI that President Kennedy has died at 1:00pm. Breaking the soap opera slot, Cronkite emotionally delivers the news.2 Smith rushed to the office and fed the whole world with the news through the five bells that rang on the recipient UPI machine to indicate the urgency and weight of the message. Walter Cronkite was a close confidant of Smith’s. He knew exactly what Smith meant by the message fed to the world in such a short span of time. Cronkite took to the television immediately, putting a break to the ongoing programs. He had to go on audio, as the available camera was slow at loading images. Cronkite became the most trusted person in America at that time.3 From the time of

Learning is a major part of life. Essay Example for Free

Learning is a major part of life. Essay People tend to learn in every steps of their life. Learning does not necessarily involve complex terms, it can also be primitive things that keeps happening in day to day life of an individual. Everybody has different interest, likewise they have a different pattern of learning things. Some people learn faster through visual medium, some through audio, and some just writing down the things depending upon what the subject matter is. I believe that learning process does not start when one settles in a formal environment but it start right from the birth of an individual. Walking, talking, decision making etc. are some examples including every other primary things are the result of learning. Every time anyone has to acquire a new skills, they need to be focused and scrutinize the subject matter thoroughly, that is how learning happens. Learning affects the confidence of a person as well. If someone learn things quickly than they have higher confidence in doing things and learning new things as well. After going through the video couple of times I realized that one who puts hard work and devotion in learning new things can automatically adapt into the ways the things are done and will become successful. I myself am very much interested in music and vaguely inspired by the beauty of it. I think music can be the most influential thing in an individual life. Music can make a person relax after a hard day at work, cure the illness, provides maximum level of comfort to an individual. Being so much influenced on music I have managed to learn a very few instruments and it always gives me pleasure and comfort when I am playing them. But I do not want to stop here. I want to learn more about music. I want to be able to read the music and understand every keys and notation in it. I want to be a musician like David Gilmour from the greatest band ever, â€Å"Pink Floyd,† who is able to play any string musical instrument that exists in planet today. I am currently doing my major in Business with Information Technology however in order to fulfill my ambition in music I have also planned to take music as my minor subject and later on carry it as my profession along with my  Business major degree. It is very much important to me because of my vague interest in it, but mostly it makes me very happy. Finally, I am profoundly inspired from the video that I just watched and it helped me to boost up my morale. I do have much respect for the people attempting to make things happen and these people are just one of those few who dare to take the challenges and do something that makes difference to others.

Exploring the importance of communication in nursing

Exploring the importance of communication in nursing This essay will explore the importance of communication in nursing; define communication and look at the different modes of communication and barriers to communication. A reflective model will be used to describe how communication impacted on care delivery in practice. Although each person will bring their own experience of ways to communicate, it will discuss how student nurses can develop their skills that will assist them to ensure excellent communication and also how qualified nurses continue to learn communication throughout their profession. Baillie, (2009) indicate that It is predominantly imperative for a nurse to have and develop effective communication skills. A nurse will have contact with a wide range of individuals during nursing; this includes the patient and their relatives and also members of the healthcare team. (Thompson 2003, cited in Baillie 2009) suggests that communication is not only needed whilst transferring information from one person to another, it plays a significant role in relationships. Kenworthy et al. (2002) indicates that Communication comprises of three fundamental factors; the sender, the receiver and the message. Successful communication can be defined when the receiver is able to interpret the senders message whilst reflecting on their thoughts and feelings and the message received is almost accurate to that of the sender. There are various modes of communication that a nurse may use. For example, face to face contact, telephone calls, emails and letters. (Kenworthy et al. 2002) Daniels et al. (2010) explain that communication has two parts; a verbal and a non verbal message. Verbal communication is associated with speech and usually heard through the persons ears, however paraverbal cues for example, pitch, speech, inflection and volume can be associated with verbal messages changing the word meaning. Different cultures may find spoken language to be problematic to understand because paraverbal cues may differ from one culture to another. However, paraverbal cues such as a happy friendly smile or crying with grief are associated with different cultures and may help with a cultural barrier. (Daniels et al. 2010) The way in which a nurse speaks and the tone of voice can be very reassuring to a patient, however a patient can also misinterpret the tone as being demeaning or they may even become frightened. Another very important factor suggested by Corner and Bailey (2008) is the way in which a nurse may choose words ensuring that a patient will understand and not be confused with any medical jargon. A nurse requires excellent awareness of communication theories whilst giving verbal handovers in both hospital and community settings. A report will only become effective during handover if the nurse has a confident attitude, along with good verbal and non verbal skills creating an ideal environment for communication between the healthcare team to ensure continuity of care.(Thurgood [no date] ) Nurses are responsible for maintaining confidentiality. (NMC, 2008) Confidentiality is imperative in a therapeutic relationship with information only being shared between appropriate people. (Sundeen et al. 1998) Nonverbal communication is made up of all types of communication, with the exception of total verbal communication. Nonverbal communication is usually observed through the eyes however, other senses in the body can compliment this. (Kenworthy, 2002) Nonverbal aspects of a message can include kinesis, facial expression, gesture, touch, movement, body language and eye contact. (Baillie, 2009) Nonverbal communication can be divided in three ways; sign, action and object. Sign nonverbal communication can include hand gestures and sign language, action nonverbal communication can include how you move around, involving body movements that do not offer precise signals. Object nonverbal communication can include furnishings, hairstyles and clothing. (Sundeen et al. 1998) Written communication is certainly a significant method of communication and is crucial in a healthcare setting. The (NMC, 2008) states that it is imperative that all records are kept clear and accurate. This must include all information on assessments, discussions, treatment and the effect of them. Unfortunately, (Bailie, 2009) points out that written communication is an area that is often ignored, stating that good written communication is vital to protect the patients welfare, encouraging high standards of continuity and clinical care, ensuring healthcare team members receive accurate information. Bailie, (2009) suggests that there are different barriers that may prevent a nurse from communicating that may influence the development of a therapeutic relationship, arguing that Physical barriers may possibly include the surrounding environment, a patient who is in need of pain management or any speech, hearing or visual problems. Bailie, (2009) indicates that psychological barriers may include the emotional needs such as anxiety or personality issues such as a person being introvert or having different beliefs and social barriers can be caused if a person feels that their own social status is categorised by hierarchy, religious or culture beliefs. Students are encouraged to keep reflective journals of experiences whilst on clinical placements. Reflective journals enable students to learn from their experiences, enhancing their communication development. However, education should be a lifelong experience in that qualified nurses are also encouraged to keep journals. Journals are known as reflective practice and studies have shown that using these can lead to better practice. (Sully Dallas, 2005) I now plan to use Gibbs model of reflection (1988). This model of reflection is simple to follow for a first piece of reflective writing (please see appendix 1). The patient who has been used in this scenario will be referred to as Mr Jones. The reason for not using the patients real name is to respect the patients confidentiality. (NMC, 2008) On my second day of placement Mr Jones was transferred to the ward from the Accident and Emergency Department. During handover the nurse explained that Mr Jones had been referred from his general practitioner since he was complaining of pain in the throat area. As previously mentioned, Thurgood, [no date] states that a handover will only be successful if the nurse has good verbal and non verbal skills. Mr Jones general practitioner was also concerned as he had not eaten anything and drank very little over the previous two days. Past medical history revealed that Mr Jones had been diagnosed with mouth and throat cancer three months ago and was currently receiving chemotherapy treatment at another hospital. However, the nurse described that Mr Jones had become quite angry at times and that he removed his venflon out of his arm and refused fluids. My mentor asked if I would assist her whilst taking Mr Jones observations. The observations involved taking the patients temperature, pulse, respiration and blood pressure. Comparisons were then compared to the patient baseline and plotted on a chart. Baillie, (2009) suggests that all nurses who observe patients should have the necessary skills and knowledge to understand the measurements and take appropriate action. The medical team decided that the way forward with medical treatment was by firstly ensuring that sufficient fluids were given to Mr Jones. The doctor asked Mr Jones for consent to insert a venflon in his hand whilst explaining the importance of fluids in the body, yet he kept shaking his head. The (NMC, 2008) states that we must gain consent before any treatment and respect the patients choice. The doctors decided that they would prescribe Mr Jones a supplement drink. (Cancerhelp) suggests that Supplement drinks can be used if a patient has a poor appetite and not able to take in enough nourishment into the body. The medical team decided that the nurses on the ward should encourage Mr Jones with oral fluids over the following twenty four hours and assess from there. Mr Jones became quite angry with the doctors and started pushing his arms away, prompting them to leave. Once the medical team had left I volunteered to sit down with Mr Jones as he appeared to be quite upset. I introduced myself as a student nurse. Mr Jones seemed a very pleasant man however, I soon realised that Mr Jones found it very difficult responding to my questions due to his speech. Mr Jones became more upset and at this point he started to cry, I reached out for a tissue and passed it to Mr Jones, I also held his hand to comfort him. As mentioned previously, Bailie, (2009) suggests that non verbal communication such as touch can be reassuring to the patient. I felt quite nervous at this point, being a student and not experienced, I was not sure what to talk about next, so I stood up and told Mr Jones that I would be back in a minute. I walked to the toilet and became upset, I felt absolutely useless not knowing what to do and more so, to see a grown man similar to my own dads age crying. I put a small amount of cold water over my face and wiped my eyes before I went back on th e ward to prevent people from seeing that I had been upset. I spoke to my mentor and discussed with her that I thought Mr Jones was struggling to communicate with me as his speech was very poor and how upset he had become. (Maguire 1978, cited in Hanson 1994) states that a patient with cancer may find it difficult to communicate to show any worries that they might have. My mentor explained to me that speech more often does become deteriorated when people have mouth or throat types of cancer. I asked my mentor how she felt if I offered Mr Jones a pen and notepad to enable him to write things down or if that at any time he felt he could not communicate by speech comfortably. Baillie, (2009) indicates that speech problems can cause a physical barrier to a patient. My mentor said that she thought it was a good idea and that I could try if I wanted to. I returned to the bay and found that Mr Jones had pulled the curtains around his bed. I can understand that Mr Jones wanted privacy from the other patients and maybe staff as he was clearly upset. I popped my head around the curtain, smiled at Mr Jones and asked if he was happy for me to come and sit down with him. Mr Jones smiled and started tapping on the chair, gesturing for me to sit down. I sat down and asked Mr Jones if he found it difficult to communicate with his speech and he nodded. Speech disorder, (2009) suggests that Cancer of the throat can cause loss of the individuals voice and speaking ability. This can be problematic for a patient who would normally use verbal communication. I then continued to show Mr Jones that I had brought a note pad and pen, offering for him to use if he wanted. Mr Jones smiled at me and wrote down thank you. Mr Jones then started to open up, writing down that he felt secluded and on times felt patronised by the doctors because he used to live in Pakistan. I reassured Mr Jones and asked why he did he feel this way, he replied by saying that he was confused, there with things he did not understand, the doctors do not listen, he was very scared of dying and asked me if he going to die. Corner Bailey (2008) indicate that doctors prefer to use closed questions as opposed to open questions, concentrating on the biomedical model and not the emotional needs of the patient. I explained to Mr Jones that I would ask a member of the team to come along and have a chat with him and try to answer the questions that I felt I could not answer being a student nurse. At this point I asked Mr Jones if he would like to have a sip of water and he gave me the thumbs up. I felt really good with myself at this point, I was not experienced however, I had encouraged the patient to drink a small amount of water. I then discussed this with my mentor who agreed that this patient absolutely needed to be able to understand what the medical team were explaining to him and equally important that the medical team must listen to the needs of the patient. Corner and Bailey (2008) argue that it is important for a patient to have a balanced relationship, along with good doctor-patient communication to enable a patient to have faith in their professional opinion. My mentor asked me to be present with her, whilst she had a chat with Mr Jones and I agreed. My mentor came down to the patients level to ensure good eye contact and allowing the patient to answer many open questions, to enable us to get a good understanding of how he was feeling. Wiggens (2006) suggests that open questions will gain an enhanced assessment of the patient, allowing them to speak freely. Mr Jones felt much more at ease once my mentor had finished explaining the importance of fluid and nutritional intake that the body needs. Mr Jo nes was able to write down on the notepad any questions that he felt had been unanswered and anything that he wished to have a better understanding of. Gurrero, (1998) suggest that nurses must be willing to use other means of communication aids, for example white boards, writing pads and pens. The hospital had kept a food chart for Mr Jones since he had been admitted into hospital, clearly showing a very minimal amount of fluid intake and no nutritional intake. My mentor decided to show this to Mr Jones, fortunately he understood and consented to have a new venflon put back in his arm. Mr Jones continued to write down that he felt he was unable to swallow properly and that he would prefer to have fluids this way. My mentor phoned the doctor to come to the ward and Mr Jones happily consented. I felt totally powerless when seeing the frustration that Mr Jones showed towards the medical team during his first assessment on the ward. I could see that there was nothing that the medical team could do to encourage Mr Jones to have the venflon put back in. I believe that because of the breakdown in communication from the doctor, Mr Jones became very distressed. As previously mentioned Corner and Bailey (2008) argue that a doctor-patient relationship is needed for good communication. I felt very inexperienced and accepted the fact that the medical staff knew what they were doing however, I hoped that the doctors would have done something more, even though I understood that the patient had a right to say no to any form of medical treatment that was offered. I was concerned that Mr Jones would die if he did not eat or drink. The other nurses on the ward did not seem to be as anxious to the situation as me. This resulted in me becoming quite distressed over the whole situation, even questioning myself if nursing was for me. I discussed how I felt with my mentor and this left me feeling very positive. My mentor was a very experienced nurse who explained that nurses quite often find themselves in similar situations and most definitely feel the same way as I do. My mentor said that she felt I had done everything that I could have done with the patient and especially how I noticed that the patient was feeling angry and frustrated because he was having difficulties communicating. I found that my lack of confidence as a student nurse left me not knowing what to do if a patient is refusing treatment, eating and drinking. When Mrs Jones came to see her husband during visiting time, she told me that her husband had told her that he felt much happier that he now understood what was going on. Mrs Jones also said that the note pad was a fantastic idea for her husband to write things down and be able to communicate. If the situation arose again with a patient who has mouth or throat cancer, I would certainly ask during handover how well can the patient communicate, to ensure a good environment is created for the healthcare team and the patient. To conclude, I believe that there is nothing else that I could have done to help Mr Jones. However, I do believe that during the handover it would have been beneficial for everyone involved in the care of Mr Jones to be made aware of his difficulties with verbal communication. Nurses certainly need to communicate effectively with patients to provide safe and effective care, taking into consideration that there is difference and diversity and looking at every individual needs. Nurses who work with different cultures have a duty to learn the differences in cultural behaviour and patterns within these groups to prevent a cultural barrier. Listening, along with smiling at appropriate times, showing a positive and genuine interest towards the patient, and have good eye contact will help to prevent barriers in communication. Another important factor is the way in which a nurse positions themselves when talking to a patient. If a patient is sitting, it may be appropriate for a nurse to come down to their level as not to seem to be standing over them, as this could be very disturbing and disrespectful to some patients. Touch and gestures can also go a long way into reassuring a patient. Just by touching a patients arm if they are upset and frightened can mean a lot to a patient. Along with this goes body language and showing respect that will hopefully continue to trust. References Baillie, L., (2009). Developing Practical Adult Nursing Skills. 3rd ed. London: Edward Arnold (Publishers) Ltd. Cancerhelp,(2009).Coping with cancer [online]. Available at: http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/coping-with-cancer/coping-physically/diet/managing/weight/high-calorie-drinks (accessed 13.01.2009) Corner, J., Bailey, C., (2008).Cancer Nursing. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Limited. Daniels, R., Grendell, R., Wilkins, F., (2010). Nursing Fundamentals Caring and Clinical decision making, 2nd ed. USA: Delmar. Gibbs, G., (1988) Learning by Doing: A Guide to Teaching and Learning. London: FEU Guerro, D., (1998) Neuro-Oncology for Nurses. London: Whurr Publishers Hanson, E., (1994). The Cancer Nurses Perspective. Lancaster: Quay Publishing Limited Kenworthy, N., Snowley, G., and Gilling, C., (2002). Common Foundation Studies in Nursing, 3rd ed. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone. Nursing and Midwifery Council, (2008) The NMC code of professional conduct: standards for conduct, performance and ethics. London: Nursing and Midwifery Council. Speech disorder, (2009). Cancer cause speech disorder [online] Available at: http://www.speechdisorder.co.uk/cancer-cause-speech-disorder.html (accessed 13.01.2009) Sully, P., Dallas, J., (2005). Essential Communication skills for Nursing, London: Elsevier Mosby. Sundeen, S., Stuart, G., Rankin, E., and Cohen, S., 1998. Nurse-Client Interaction Implementing the Nursing Process, 6th ed. USA: Sally Schrefer. Thurgood, G.[no date]. Verbal handover reports: what skills are needed? [online]. Available at: http://www.internurse.com/cgi-bin/go.pl/library/article.cgi?uid (Accessed 02/11/2009) Wiggens, L., (2006). Communication in clinical settings. Cheltenham:Nelson Thornes Limited

Reggae Icons, Jamaican Culture, and Homophobia Essay -- Essays Papers

Reggae Icons, Jamaican Culture, and Homophobia "The world is in trouble/Anytime Buju Banton come/ Batty boy get up and run/ ah gunshot in ah head man/Tell dem crew†¦ it’s like/ Boom bye bye, in a batty boy head, rude boy nah promote no nasty man, them hafi dead." The average member of the reggae dancehall culture knows the message that this song is sending to its listeners. However, without a translation these lyrics do not mean a thing to someone who is not familiar with this culture and the vocabulary of dancehall artists. Translated the lyrics read: "The world is in trouble/When Buju Banton arrives/Faggots have to run/Or get a bullet in the head /Bang-bang, in a faggot’s head/Homeboys don’t condone nasty men/They must die." These lyrics from the song "Boom Bye Bye" by Buju Banton personify the manner in which the reggae dancehall culture of Jamaica views homosexuals. These lyrics will always be part of dancehall history because of the controversy they started amongst the homosexual North American community, who were offended by Buju Banton’s lyrics. The controversy brought about the question of whether this was a problem due to cultural differences or a hate crime against a group that is considered a minority, homosexuals. This song brings forth issues and different beliefs that are present in the Jamaican culture that contradicts those of the North American culture. The lyrics of dancehall reggae music in Jamaica seem to encourage the taunting and violence towards homosexuals. Of course it is normal for most reggae songs to deal with the social concerns and religious beliefs of Jamaicans because it is a big representation of the Jamaican culture. Homosexuals are looked down upon as outcasts because of their sexuality. Homop... ...ut his culture. I believe anyone, not only musicians, but any artist should be able to express themselves and their beliefs through their work. If it is the norm in your society to believe something is wrong then how can you expect a prominent artist to express himself in a manner that goes against the norm of his society. Personally I believe that he is signing about his culture and no one, no matter what the situation, should be criticized for expressing his or her beliefs. In conclusion the deeply rooted homophobia that is mistakably reflected in Banton’s lyrics and that, more importantly, pervades the Jamaican society, is a very controversial issue. Not only is there the question of whether Banton is correct because he is singing about his culture but despite the fact that he is expressing his beliefs does he have any right to threaten the lives of human beings.

Jonathan Swift Essay

Compare and contrast the ways in which the problem of homelessness and the solution to it are presented in the two texts: ‘A Modest Proposal’ by Jonathan Swift and ‘Stone Cold’ by Robert Swindells.  In this assignment I am going to compare the two texts, which talk about their anger of homelessness. Although the two texts are written 250 years apart where the problem of homelessness was first outlined by Jonathan Swift it is still a big problem today as Robert Swindells outlines in his text. The text written by Robert Swindells, ‘Stone Cold’, shows the cruelty of the DSS, who brush aside the homeless like Link because he hasn’t got a permanent address. This particular problem was outlined by the Robert Swindells, as they made no attempt to help the young homeless people in London. Link says that he may as well be speaking to one of the stone lions in Trafalgar Square, suggesting to the reader it was a complete waste of time. This is linked with ‘A Modest Proposal’, which was written by Jonathan Swift 250 years ago as it states about how uncaring the rich landlords of Ireland are. For example, Who, as they have already devoured most of the Parents, seem to have the best title to the children, which means the landlords have already eaten most of the parents and seem to have the best right to the children, which I feel means the landlords don’t really care about the poor. I also think this is a savage comment. Another problem outlined in the two texts is that of unemployment. In ‘Stone Cold’ Swindells shows the problem of unemployment when Link goes to find a job and is turned down because he doesn’t have a fixed address. So this means anybody without a fixed address cannot get a job. This problem leads to a whole string of problems like: no money, no accommodation, which leads to people begging on the streets to get as much money as they can. In ‘A Modest Proposal’ the problem of unemployment was around 250 years ago as well. How ever the problem 250 years ago was very different as it was mainly the women who were unemployed as they had 3-6 children each as there was no control over getting pregnant. This meant the women had to support the children whatever way she could this usually meant begging.  So in the two texts the problem of unemployment in the end the result seemed to be begging on the streets to survive.  So putting that together I can see that in 250 years when the problem was first outlined by Swift, it is still a major problem today, and there are still uncaring people towards them. In the next section of my assignment I am going to write about the language of the two texts.  If you compare the two texts, you can notice the way in which the two writers spell words and also the punctuation is very different.  If you look at the text for ‘A Modest Proposal’ words are spelt very differently from today, as they did not have a dictionary the writer spelt words, as he wanted to. For example the way Jonathan Swift spelt publick is not the way we would write today. We would spell it public.  The spelling in ‘Stone Cold’ is, however, standardized as we now get our words from a dictionary, so to us it makes perfect sense. Also in ‘Stone Cold’ there is great use of 20th century slang words like, Doggie bag, which is slang for someone’s name I would think. The way the two writers use punctuation is very different.  In ‘A Modest Proposal’ the punctuation is very different to how we use punctuation now. The writer seems to put commas wherever he feels like and also puts capital letters in the middle of a sentence. For example, when they see the Streets, the Roads, and Cabbin-Doors, crowded with beggars of the female Sex. You can see that there is a lot of use of commas where some of them should be full stops. Also if you look towards the end of the sentence you can see that Sex is spelt with a capital at the end of a sentence.  In contrast if you look at the text for ‘Stone Cold’ the writers use of punctuation is very different to that of Jonathan Swift’s ‘A Modest Proposal’, as in ‘Stone Cold’ the writer’s punctuation is standardized into 20th century language.

Assessment In The Classroom Essay

The school has a comprehensive, well set out assessment-policy which I have tried to familiarise myself with during my second four week university block away from the school, as I sourced a copy of it during my serial weeks along with a number of other school policy documents both required for (and beyond) the school-policy professional activity exercise. I have found this has helped me get to grips with the procedures within the school and has helped me fit in. Though the school assessment policy document is comprehensive in its description of the responsibility for planning of and approaches to recording and reporting of assessment, and the use of assessment results. It also interestingly, takes time to highlight the importance of using whole class assessment as a means of reflecting and evaluating one’s own teaching practices; something which the PGDE course has stressed is a central part of the modern-day teaching profession. More specifically however, I have also been fortunate enough to witness the effective use of a variety of assessment practices by my teacher in the classroom which I feel has been invaluable in furthering my understanding of styles of assessment and how these work. Indeed while I was aware of many of the features of the school policy document, I feel that to see these in action in the classroom is a process which cannot be communicated in written form. That said, I have been aware of the majority of these as they feature in Assessment is for Learning (AiFL) and Building the Curriculum 5: Assessment (BTC5) policy documents and so this combined with the provision of information in the school assessment policy guide placed me in good stead to look out for these in practice. Two Stars and a Wish The two stars approach was something I was familiar with the workings of through our use of it in assessing our own poster-display work in ULT/ELT seminars. It was however interesting to see how differently children responded in the classroom. Beyond engaging with the terminology far more than my fellow-students (who often mixed up the order) children seem surprisingly keen to improve if they can and focus not only on the two stars element, but also focus (positively) on the wish – seemingly happy to take advice on what to do better next time (again, sometimes more so than my PGDE colleagues)! Self Assessment I feel very positive and encouraged by the use of self assessment by my teacher who has demonstrated how effective this approach can be in identifying both success and problems equally. Indeed self-assessment appears to me, to allow children to feel as though they are playing an active role in the learning process as a whole and not simply a subject of learning and assessment. The thumbs (up, middle or down) approach also seems appealing as it is very efficient in that it allows a simple yet comprehensive snapshot of how pupils rate their own understanding. Further follow-up questioning also seems to be an effective part of the self assessment process. She has also demonstrated however that self-assessment is not limited to the simplistic thumbs or traffic-light colour approach (which was most obvious to me), through her interesting use of a traffic light workbook stamp which children are required to colour-in (green, orange or red) on their own work, before detailing a short reason to justify their choice which provides useful and often specific feedback on teaching which would seem to be a useful tool in the reflection and improvement process. Peer Assessment The use of peer assessment appears prominent in my teacher’s classroom presumably because she so eagerly embraces cooperative learning and thus children are often not only self- assessing their own work but also that of their partner or group. I feel this could be an effective approach to introducing peer assessment of individual work to a class who have not experienced this before – as it may well demonstrate the importance of being polite (but honest) when assessing other pupils work. Formal assessment I was fortunate enough to observe my class being formally assessed on both writing and spelling during my serial placement. Though the need for a comprehensive awareness of assessment is arguably now greater (now that I am giving my own lessons) than was the case during my observation weeks, and it is difficult to discuss something which took place so many weeks ago, I feel I am able to reflect on these early experiences enough to be able to appreciate the key elements of formal assessment. I believe I have an awareness of the principled approaches needed to implement formal assessment. Ultimately I feel my teacher’s competent and varied use of these approaches to assessment (even at this early stage of my placement) has given me the working awareness needed to implement them and also the confidence to begin to take steps towards using a greater range of these in a number of my future lesson plans.