Learning institutions in America before public education

In the early part of American history, education was not for everyone. The masses usually came from agricultural communities were planting and harvesting crops were more important than education. On the other side of the fence, were the wealthy families, the businessmen, the landed and the politicians who were able to enjoy the benefits of education. The kind of education that the poor got was a few weeks of schooling during winter where teachers were not trained and school houses were decrepit and materials were lacking. The lessons were limited to basic skills to enable the children to write their names and count hens. The public education system that we presently have is a far cry from what has been in the past century. We owe the present form of education we have to Horace Mann, who campaigned for and worked to bring about social reforms and give each American the right to free education. Mann through his enthusiasm and devotion secured within his own state public support for schools. He encouraged businessmen to support building public schools since he believed that educating the masses would lead to greater economic progress. It goes to say that having a literate nation would spell more skilled and competent workers who would be the backbone of the factories at that time. More so, when the masses were given the right to vote, a growing awareness of the government’s obligations to its people came to light, the clamor for free education was strongest at this period. Mann faced a few difficulties in the form of opposition from prominent politicians and wealthy businessman and the clergy for education would be an equalizing factor between the rich and the poor and most especially because public schools would be competing with private and sectarian schools. Horace Mann also advocated public education for the masses as a means of bringing equality to the society. He argued that pubic schools made it possible for all citizens to exercise their right to free education without the encumbrances of religion or financial burdens. The individual could go to school without having to believe in something that is opposed to his cultural background and everyone could at least finish high school without the need to apply for loans or maintain a scholarship. The poor could concentrate on learning and in some ways to prepare for their future. Furthermore, Mann was able to integrate the schools in his state to a system that became the basis for the public education system in the country. He also advocated the establishment of normal schools to train teachers; he was against corporal punishment and instead focused and emphasized better teaching methods. Thus education gained the attention and funding that it never before had, and was established as one of the institutions of society. By the latter part of Mann’s life, the number of elementary and secondary schools had increased dramatically all over the country, but he did not stop there. He went on to work on changing higher educational system wherein the poor had the opportunity to be admitted to colleges until his death. Thus the door to educational advancement and success was opened to the masses. Â   Â  

Paranormal Existences

Paranormal Existence Is someone or something else among us at this moment, in this room, something we can’t even see? Have you ever wondered what else is really out there? Unexplained happenings occur every day. Spirits or ghosts are thought of just being people that have passed away but there has to be more to it. Paranormal activity is defined as experiences that lie outside the range of normal experience or scientific explanation.At some point in everyone’s life they will experience some kind of unexplained activity. Many people ask the question if it actually exists or if it’s all in their head. Scientists often say that these so called â€Å"spirits† do not exist. Only personal experiences can interpret your own feelings about paranormal existences. My story is about a spirit that lived on past their death. One night a couple months ago me and my friends were playing on her wigi board. Her dad had died 5 years earlier due to a horrific car crash.Her f amily had always seen balls roll across the room and other strange things happen without explanation; they always assumed it was him. When we started playing around with the board the first letter of the girl’s dads name showed up and her eyes instantly filled up with tears, like a helpless child left all alone, the second letter was the second letter to his name, the same with the third. By this time my friend was balling, she of course knew it was her father. We continued playing until the last letter of his name showed up.At this moment we heard a vase upstairs shatter into a million pieces, just like the car windshield had done when his helpless body had gone through it, instantly killed. We ran upstairs to find the vase and its contents of flowers spread all over the floor. Then we replaced it with a new vase and reassembled the flowers to how they were. The next morning her mother walked downstairs with a flower in her hand and asked, â€Å"Why did you put a flower nex t to my bed? † That night changed the way I thought about spirits forever.I never thought anything like that could ever happen to me. Anyone who experienced that kind of activity and the intensity in that room could easily say they felt a presence surrounding them. In the moment of that glass shattering was the one of the scariest moments of my life. I will always remember the terror racing through me, my heart pounding, sounding of horse’s strong hooves beating against the track, like thunder rolling in and the suspense leading up to the storm.Saying spirits like this don’t exist is outrageous considering how many people actually experience real activity. Some people don’t want to believe this is real simply because they are scared of it. Many others find it very interesting to study about and explore the possibilities of what else could potentially be out there with us in our everyday lives and something you aren’t even able to see. Everyone has d ifferent views on if paranormal existences are actually real. Mysterious things could happen at any time, and when they do, be prepared.

Zoe’s Tale PART I Chapter Two

I climbed out onto the roof through my bedroom window and looked back at Hickory. â€Å"Hand me those binoculars,† I said. It did – and then climbed out the window with me. Since you've probably never seen it I'll have you know it's a pretty impressive sight to watch an Obin unfold itself to get through a window. Very graceful, with no real analogue to any human movement you might want to describe. The universe, it has aliens in it. And they are. (Obin: â€Å"it,† not â€Å"he† or â€Å"she.† Because they're hermaphrodites. That means male and female sex organs. Go ahead and have your giggle. I'll wait. Okay, done? Good.) Hickory was on the roof with me; Dickory was outside the house, more or less spotting me in case I should trip or feel suddenly despondent, and then fall or leap off the roof. This is their standard practice when I climb out my window: one with me, one on the ground. And they're obvious about it; when I was a little kid Mom or Dad would see Dickory blow out the door and hang around just below the roof, and then yell up the stairs for me to get back into my room. Having paranoid alien pals has a downside. For the record: I've never fallen off the roof. Well, once. When I was ten. But there were extenuating circumstances. That doesn't count. Anyway, I didn't have to worry about either John or Jane telling me to get back into the house this time. They stopped doing that when I became a teenager. Besides, they were the reason I was up on the roof in the first place. â€Å"There they are,† I said, and pointed for Hickory's benefit. Mom and Dad and my green friend were standing in the middle of our sorghum field, a few hundred meters out. I raised my binoculars and they went from being hash marks to being actual people. Green man had his back to me, but he was saying something, because both Jane and John were looking at him intently. There was a rustle at Jane's feet, and then Babar popped up his head. Mom reached down to scratch him. â€Å"I wonder what he's talking to them about,† I said. â€Å"They're too far away,† Hickory said. I turned to it to make a comment along the lines of no kidding, genius. Then I saw the consciousness collar around its neck and was reminded that in addition to providing Hickory and Dickory with sentience – with their idea of who they were – their collars also gave them expanded senses, which were mostly devoted to keeping me out of trouble. I was also reminded that their consciousness collars were why they were here in the first place. My father – my biological father – created them for the Obin. I was also reminded that they were why I was here, too. Still here, I mean. Alive. But I didn't go down that road of thought. â€Å"I thought those things were useful,† I said, pointing to the collar. Hickory lightly touched the collar. â€Å"The collars do many things,† it said. â€Å"Enabling us to hear a conversation hundreds of meters away, and in the middle of a grain field, is not one of them.† â€Å"So you're useless,† I said. Hickory nodded its head. â€Å"As you say,† it said, in its noncommittal way. â€Å"It's no fun mocking you,† I said. â€Å"I'm sorry,† Hickory said. And the thing of it was, Hickory really was sorry. It's not easy being a funny, sarcastic thing when most of who you were depended on a machine you wore around your neck. Generating one's own prosthetic identity takes more concentration than you might expect. Managing a well-balanced sense of sarcasm above and beyond that is a little much to ask for. I reached over and gave Hickory a hug. It was a funny thing. Hickory and Dickory were here for me; to know me, to learn from me, to protect me, and if need be to die for me. And here I was, feeling protective of them, and feeling a little sad for them, too. My father – my biological father – gave them consciousness, something the Obin had lacked and had been searching for, for the entire history of their species. But he didn't make consciousness easy for them. Hickory accepted my hug and tentatively touched my head; it can be shy when I'm suddenly demonstrative. I took care not to lay it on too thick with the Obin. If I get too emotional it can mess up their consciousness. They're sensitive to when I get overwrought. So I backed up and then looked toward my parents again with the binoculars. Now John was saying something, with one of his patented half-cocked smiles. His smile erased when our visitor started talking again. â€Å"I wonder who he is,† I said. â€Å"He is General Samuel Rybicki,† Hickory said. This got another glance back from me. â€Å"How do you know that?† I said. â€Å"It is our business to know about who visits you and your family,† Hickory said, and touched its collar again. â€Å"We queried him the moment he landed. Information about him is in our database. He is a liaison between your Civil Defense Forces and your Department of Colonization. He coordinates the protection of your new colonies.† â€Å"Huckleberry isn't a new colony,† I said. It wasn't; it had been colonized for fifty or sixty years by the time we arrived. More than enough time to flatten out all the scary bumps new colonies face, and for the human population to become too big for invaders to scrape off the planet. Hopefully. â€Å"What do you think he wants from my parents?† I asked. â€Å"We don't know,† Hickory said. â€Å"He didn't say anything to you while he was waiting for John and Jane to show up?† I said. â€Å"No,† Hickory said. â€Å"He kept to himself.† â€Å"Well, sure,† I said. â€Å"Probably because you scared the crap out of him.† â€Å"He left no feces,† Hickory said. I snorted. â€Å"I sometimes question your alleged lack of humor,† I said. â€Å"I meant he was too intimidated by you to say anything.† â€Å"We assumed that was why you had us stay with him,† Hickory said. â€Å"Well, yeah,† I said. â€Å"But if I knew he was a general, maybe I wouldn't have given him such a hard time.† I pointed to my parents. â€Å"I don't want them getting any grief because I thought it would be fun to mess with this guy's head.† â€Å"I think someone of his rank would not come all this way to be deterred by you,† Hickory said. A list of snappy retorts popped in my head, begging to be used. I ignored them all. â€Å"You think he's here on some serious mission?† I asked. â€Å"He is a general,† Hickory said. â€Å"And he is here.† I looked back through the binoculars again. General Rybicki – as I now knew him – had turned just a bit, and I could see his face a little more clearly. He was talking to Jane, but then turned a bit to say something to Dad. I lingered on Mom for a minute. Her face was locked up tight; whatever was going on, she wasn't very happy about it. Mom turned her head a bit and suddenly she was looking directly at me, like she knew I was watching her. â€Å"How does she do that?† I said. When Jane was Special Forces, she had a body that was even more genetically modified than the ones regular soldiers got. But like Dad, when she left the service, she got put into a normal human body. She's not superhuman anymore. She's just scary observant. Which is close to the same thing. I didn't get away with much of anything growing up. Her attention turned back to General Rybicki, who was addressing her again. I looked up at Hickory. â€Å"What I want to know is why they're talking in the sorghum field,† I said. â€Å"General Rybicki asked your parents if there was someplace they could speak in private,† Hickory said. â€Å"He indicated in particular that he wanted to speak away from Dickory and me.† â€Å"Were you recording when you were with him?† I asked. Hickory and Dickory had recording devices in their collars that recorded sounds, images and emotional data. Those recordings were sent back to other Obin, so they could experience what it's like to have quality time with me. Odd? Yes. Intrusive? Sometimes, but not usually. Unless I start thinking about it, and then I focus on the fact that, why yes, an entire alien race got to experience my puberty through the eyes of Hickory and Dickory. There's nothing like sharing menarche with a billion hermaphrodites. I think it was everyone's first time. â€Å"We were not recording with him,† Hickory said. â€Å"Okay, good,† I said. â€Å"I'm recording now,† Hickory said. â€Å"Oh. Well, I'm not sure you should be,† I said, waving out toward my parents. â€Å"I don't want them getting in trouble.† â€Å"This is allowed under our treaty with your government,† Hickory said. â€Å"We're allowed to record all you allow us to record, and to report everything that we experience. My government knew that General Rybicki had visited the moment Dickory and I sent our data query. If General Rybicki wanted his visit to remain secret, he should have met your parents elsewhere.† I chose not to dwell on the fact that significant portions of my life were subject to treaty negotiation. â€Å"I don't think he knew you were here,† I said. â€Å"He seemed surprised when I sicced you on him.† â€Å"His ignorance of us or of the Obin treaty with the Colonial Union is not our problem,† Hickory said. â€Å"I guess not,† I said, a little out of sorts. â€Å"Would you like me to stop recording?† Hickory asked. I could hear the tremble on the edge of its voice. If I wasn't careful about how I showed my annoyance I could send Hickory into an emotional cascade. Then it'd have what amounted to a temporary nervous breakdown right there on the roof. That'd be no good. He could fall off and snap his snaky little neck. â€Å"It's fine,† I said, and I tried to sound more conciliatory than I really felt. â€Å"It's too late now anyway.† Hickory visibly relaxed; I held in a sigh and gazed down at my shoes. â€Å"They're coming back to the house,† Hickory said, and motioned toward my parents. I followed its hand; my parents and General Rybicki were indeed heading back our way. I thought about going back into the house but then I saw Mom look directly at me, again. Yup, she'd seen me earlier. The chances were pretty good she knew we had been up there all that time. Dad didn't look up the entire walk back. He was already lost in thought. When that happened it was like the world collapsing in around him; he didn't see anything else until he was done dealing with what he was dealing with. I suspected I wouldn't see much of him tonight. As they cleared the sorghum field, General Rybicki stopped and shook Dad's hand; Mom kept herself out of handshaking distance. Then he headed back toward his floater. Babar, who had followed the three of them into the field, broke off toward the general to get in one last petting. He got it after the general got to the floater, then padded back to the house. The floater opened its door to let the general in. The general stopped, looked directly at me, and waved. Before I could think what I was doing, I waved right back. â€Å"That was smart,† I said to myself. The floater, General Rybicki inside, winged off, taking him back where he came from. What do you want with us, General? I thought, and surprised myself by thinking â€Å"us.† But it only made sense. Whatever he wanted with my parents, I was part of it too.

Admission to the USC Undergraduate Program

I am a keen jet skier and having obtained a degree of proficiency in this highly exciting sport. The bracing sea breeze and the refreshing spray, which play against the skier, are some of the major attractions of this sport. Moreover, this sport has to refresh and rejuvenate its practitioner. This sport taught me the importance of concentrating on what we do. It also taught me prudence and helped me to achieve a calm mind.I decided to interact more with the world that I live in. Hence, I started to study the various changes taking place in the world. In this study, I came to realize that the multinational corporations had brought about the process of globalization. This process was affecting the whole world and even the US and the European Union had come under its influence.Some of the Asian countries like India and China have been showing extraordinary growth in their economies. These economies were developing at a greater pace than that of any other country. I wanted to participate in these astonishing developments. In order to do so, I made several enquiries and went through the syllabus offered by a number of colleges. My intention was to obtain a thorough knowledge regarding globalization and the economic success of some of the Asian countries.In the course of my search, I found out about the University of Southern California, which had been founded in 1880. This university is a private university, which is the best for research. It has several campuses that are famous their academic excellence (About USC).However, in addition to academic excellence, it also promotes community service programs. This work has been praised widely and its alumni are famous, not only for their academic excellence but also for their contribution to society. Its financial independence ensures that it remains unaffected by governmental policies and political interference (About USC). These facts made me very much interested in pursuing an MBA program in this university.Newton Par tMy parents left Armenia in the 1970’s, whilst it was under Soviet Rule. Their new home in the US was very hospitable to them. However, they could not attend college, because of their financial commitments. Most of their waking hours were spent in earning sufficient money to meet their expenses.They were always aware of this drawback in their life. As a result, they used to tell me repeatedly, to take my studies seriously. My performance at school was slightly above average. Therefore, I obtained an average high school diploma. My parents were very disappointed with my mediocre performance in school. They told me that I had to improve my performance.One day, while alone with my thoughts, I started thinking about what had happened to my performance in school. I am very good at logical analysis. Therefore, I thought for a long time and realized that if I did not study with greater diligence, I would end up like my parents. The choice before me was to either work hard at my stud ies or get a very good job or to obtain an ordinary degree and work very hard for the rest of my life, for poor wages. This was a very thought, so I decided to become a very good student in college.On another occasion, during this period, I came across a spider attempting to spin a web. It would try to attach a strand, which would break off. Nevertheless, the spider did not stop its efforts; it patiently and with the same amount of effort, made another attempt. Finally, it succeeded in its hard work. Like Robert Bruce of England, I too realized the value of perseverance. I understood that even if some topic in my studies was difficult to understand, I should keep on trying to understand it.There was another factor that had a strong influence on my attitude towards life. I have a cousin named, Haroutoun Aharonian. He was very good at studies in high school and college. After that he pursued a graduate program in the University of Southern California. He became very good at analyzing stock markets, due to the MBA program that he attended in the University of Southern California’s   Marshall School of Business. One of the largest stock broking firms in Los Angeles has appointed him to a very important post, in their company. The sole reason for this success was the very good teaching standard of that college. This incident taught me that I had to work hard and develop an interest in my chosen field of study. On studying his success story, I decided to follow in his footsteps, and apply for the MBA program in the Marshall School of Business.I want to become an expert in Finance and Business Economics and this school imparts the necessary training and knowledge to achieve this goal. I would also like to keep the choice of joining the Bachelor’s of Arts in Economics. The USC Marshall School of Business offers the latest world class instruction in accounting, finance, entrepreneurship and international business studies (About The Marshall School of Bu siness, 2007).The world has become smaller due to globalization; moreover, some Asian countries are showing highly rapid economic development. Traditional management techniques cannot address these phenomena. It is a course like that provided by the Marshall School of Business, which can properly describe these issues. This is the principal reason for my seeking a transfer to the Marshall School of Business.ReferencesAbout The Marshall School of Business. (2007). Retrieved January 25, 2008, from University of Southern California Marshall School of Business : http://www.marshall.usc.edu/about/About USC. (n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2008, from University of Southern California:

Respond to the discussion about ethics and God (for online class) Essay

Respond to the discussion about ethics and God (for online class) - Essay Example Response to 2nd comment: Aquinas, like me, believed in God. He explained how humans attain satisfaction and happiness through their belief in God. Whereas I discussed how people would differ in their compliance with ethics through a belief in God. What is common between our views is that a belief or disbelief in God makes a difference. Response to 3rd comment: You compliment your own agreement with my stance on the subject when you say that in some people, â€Å"there is no sense for ethics whatsoever†. It is not that they don’t have any sense. Instead, they don’t make use of it. They may not display ethics either because they don’t believe in God, or else, they don’t fear God even if they believe. Here I don’t mean to say that all atheists lack ethics. There are many who are not believers yet have an intrinsic desire to remain decent in their attitude, and hence display ethics. Therefore, ethics is there in every human being, though its disp lay is governed not only by the individual’s belief in God. There are several other factors involved in it like personality traits, genetic traits etc. It is being hard for you to conceive how psychology is related to God because you tend to see God through the eyes of religion. Also, I don’t consider science in contrast with the concept of God, because many things said in the Holy Books are being proved by science. Response to class-mates opinions: 1. You have agreed that ethics is ingrained in humanity, but you don’t consider it to be dependent upon a belief in God. I would like to ask you if a criminal is smart enough to escape worldly punishment, would he abstain from doing wrong then? Irrespective of the fact that ethics is there in him as he is a human, would he have any respect for ethics? Certainly not! Here you may argue that I am speaking of an ideal case in which the criminal is sure that he will not be taken to task for his wrong deed, whereas in act ual, every body knows there is a strict regulatory system in every country. So you should realize that ethics is not just about abstaining from crimes that are largely visible. Even if someone lies, he disregards ethics. So would anyone care not to lie if it benefits without a fear of God? Certainly not! I agree with you when you say that ethics is in-built feature of humanity. I also agree with you when you say that ethics would exist if God does not in people’s perception. However, you need to realize that humans may have little regard for ethics, without a belief in God. 2. You have also said that a society’s legal system is enough to cause human’s to display ethics in their attitude. And also, you have considered such minor requirements of ethics as speaking truth under the umbrella term of â€Å"basic moral obligation†. I agree to you when you say that people would tend not to disregard ethics in public but would disregard it for basics. I also agree to you when you consider ethics as inside every human irrespective of his/her belief in God. Technically, you have constructed sentences in a way that make me say, â€Å"I totally agree with you!† You already seem to agree that people would disregard ethics if they think God does not exist. Because abstaining from bigger crimes and doing smaller ones does not mean that an individual respects ethics. It is just that he/she fears punishment. 3. I agree to you that religions provide their followers with a sound understanding of ethics. However, such understanding may vary

Slavery - Nazi vs American chattel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Slavery - Nazi vs American chattel - Essay Example ing durable.† Nazi slavery, or American chattel slavery—they were alternative beats of the same wicked heart related to economic exploitation and/or territorial aggrandizement, against the races that were at a highly disadvantageous position. Every detail related to American chattel slavery was practiced as per instructions contained in the manual of instructions as if! The slave-owners annihilated the dignity of the slave first before destroying the spirit totally. â€Å" A slave has no personal rights and is considered the property of another person through birth, purchase, or capture.† (Chattel....)They were the sworn enemies of the blacks from the cradle to the grave. Frederick Douglass ( an American slave) writes, â€Å" I have no accurate knowledge of my age, never having seen any authentic record constraining it. By far the larger part of the slaves know as little of their ages as horses know of theirs, and it is the wish of most masters within my knowledge to keep their slaves thus ignorant.†(p.13) About the exploitation of the black children Douglass records thus: â€Å" Frequently, before the child has reached its twelfth month, its mother is taken from it and hired out on some farm a considerable distance off....and to blunt and destroy the natural affection of the mother for the child.†(p.13) These two examples are sufficient to imagine the shape of things to come in the life of a black. It is nothing but exploitation, more exploitation and exploitation of the worst order!â€Å"Chattel slavery involves outright ownership of the slave by a m aster, but there are forms of partial slavery where an individual is tied to the land, or to another person, by legal obligations, as in serfdom or indentured labor. Historically there have been two basic types of chattel slave. Domestic or house slaves performed menial household duties for their masters and were often counted as a measure of status. Productive or field slaves, who usually held a lower status,

Carl Lungs major accoplishments and how he influenced the New Thought Term Paper

Carl Lungs major accoplishments and how he influenced the New Thought Movement - Term Paper Example the environment around him was full of well-educated people and chances that would offer more opportunities to joy the absorption of knowledge, his childhood was not as cheerful as the other people’s: he did not care about school much, since he discovered the jealousy of other people at himself. Sometimes he skipped the class using sickness as an excuse, and such a solitary attitude later affected him to form his own introspective identity. After graduating the medicine school, he met Freud in 1907 and worked together for the development of psychoanalysis. However, their relationships cooled down in 1910, and Carl started creating his own theory that would clearly explain about the personalities. Basically, Jung’s theories are based upon the relationship between consciousness and unconsciousness, and he stated that the people’s minds are ingeniously controlled by unconsciousness, without the sense of it. After suggesting the new assumptions that can be summarized into several subdivisions such as archetype, introversion and extroversion, and synchronicity, Carl Jung died on June 6, 1961, in Zunich. (Stevens 1994) Carl Jung emphasized that the unconscious determines a person’s personality. He claimed that the unconscious had two layers. The first was the personal unconscious. This is where a person’s individual memories are stored. The Jung term for the personal unconscious is â€Å"a portion of the unconscious corresponding roughly to the Freudian id.† (Zimbardo Pg.391) This is where the important details are stored when they are repressed or forgotten about. The second layer is the collective unconscious. This is an inaccessible layer that contains all learned experiences. The collective unconscious â€Å"involves a reservoir for instinctive memories which exist in all living people. They bound together generations of human history.† (Zimbardo pg. 391) These bounds of history are called archetypes. Jung also said that the collective unconscious is