Schools and court systems need to work together to tackle the problem Article

Schools and court systems need to work together to tackle the problem with trauncy and increase graduation rate - Article Example In order to prevent truancy one needs to find out the main reason behind truancy. Trujillo (2006) observes there are four primary causes behind truancy - student demographics, family characteristics, personal and psychological factors of the student, and climate and condition of family, school and society (Trujillo, 2006, p.74). Truancy and Dropouts School absenteeism and truancy is not always the same. There are various kinds of absenteeism and not all are grouped under the term truancy. Absence of a student from specific classes or in course of specific lessons or absence under parental consent would not fall under truancy. But, absence without any proper reason can be considered under truancy. If absence without good reason continues then there is a chance that students might incur poor academic results. Sometime bad relations with teachers or friends, involvement in unconstructive activities cause truancy. Once a young student starts believing that they are lagging behind his or her batch mates then the tendency of dropping out also increases rapidly as the latter option is more convenient than competing with others (Reid, 2005, p.59). Truancy and Juvenile Crime Truancy not only affects the young generation of the country but also hampers the growth of the population as well as development of the future generation. The direct and indirect effects of truancy always have an impact on individual, families, school and society in both short as well as long term. Zhang et.al (2007) observes that truancy destroys potential in youths. As a result they are headed for social isolation, criminal activities and education failure. Tendency of chronic absence in the early school days was associated with poor results in examination, isolation from friends’ groups which ultimately caused dropouts in near future. In their review, they also pointed out that, truancy accounted for almost 26% of juvenile crime cases. According to their point of view, truancy can be cons idered as a first sign of trouble and most powerful reason for the delinquent behavior. Students who miss occasional classes were more inclined to get addicted to marijuana than those who never skip. They also mentioned that students who admitted being involved in truancy were, likely to be reported having committed serious crimes, and arrested owing to their involvement in serious assault. Generally when youths were absent from school, the rate of crime increased during the school going years only. Some truants were reported hanging out during school time, cruising in cars, and getting into trouble while skipping school (Zhang et.al, 2007, pp. 246-250). How Truancy Affect Dropout Dropouts from the school is directly associated with truancy. In the beginning of their school days, if students remain absent from school without any proper reason then they eventually consider this as a habit. White and Kelly observe the rates of dropout in USA were 11% among the age group of 18-24 in th e year 2008. They also pointed out the fact that rate of drop out was higher among the low income group which was 10.4% compared to that of the high income group (2.5%) in the same year. Truancy and absenteeism was the main reason behind this increased rate of drop out. Once it becomes a habit, students chose to drop out rather than catching up. In 2007 almost 9 percent students from the age group of 16-24 years dropped

The Fall (of man) in Genesis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Fall (of man) in Genesis - Research Paper Example iew it, it is the â€Å"conflict of conflicts† that swayed the peace of man as he entered a new era where peace between him and fellow man, him and Gods creation was eroded. The conflict between Man and God and its solution is much similar to the conflict that exists in the contemporary society between people, countries and even leaders. As the ebb of peace is enjoyed between each tide of war, man (and countries alike) assesses previous battles, losses and gains, so as to strengthen itself for future conflicts. Seldom do men realize the very origin of conflict may be traced to the Old Testament book of Genesis. It should be understood that not every fall ends up in a war, but the source of all conflict is the result of one fall in particular. The fall of man as depicted in Genesis begins the greatest conflicts known: the conflict of man verses God; the conflict of man verses man; and the conflict of man verse creation. In the book of Genesis, Man was the most privileged work of God’s creation. God created man as the last creature after He had created the earth, a conducive environment for man. As opposed to other beings that were created out of nothingness, man was created from soil, a symbol that he was a special creation on Earth1. Much more, he was created in the image and likeness of God, to signify the close relationship that God established between man and Himself as the most privileged work of creation. This special treatment is also manifested in the nature of the responsibilities that the Lord gave to man as regards the entire work of creation. The Lord asked man to take responsibility of the land, the animals and the environment as he fends for his existence in this work of creation. In principle, man was placed as the overall in the work of creation, a superior being than no other in the Garden of Aden. When God noted that Adam was lonely, he created Eve from his own rib so that she would keep him company and wipe away his loneliness2. The love of God

English Literature Essays Beauty Truth Art

English Literature Essays Beauty Truth Art Beauty Truth Art In his famous apostrophe to the â€Å"Grecian Urn†, the immortal poet, John Keats, wrote: â€Å"Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say’st, â€Å"Beauty is truth, truth beauty,†Ã¢â‚¬â€that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.† This very famous statement on Beauty and Truth and their interchangeability poses a very important question in the postmodern era. Art and its convention of the ‘Beauty’/‘Beautiful’ has imperceptibly changed over the decades, from something that should reflect the Ideal (and in reality, twice removed from it, as per Plato), or in essence complete and offering pleasure to the senses to something, that expresses the unique consciousness/angst of the creator. Art has thus rediscovered its definition for beauty. If beauty is truth, then it may dare to be grotesque too, for truth may be harsh or horrific. Beauty does not suggest something beautiful in the actual sense of the term, but that, which comes closer to the true expressions of the self and the vision of a generation’s psyche, that is fragmented, kitsch-like, complex and beyond the metanarratives of a suffocating conformity. Beauty has evolved into a freedom for expression. Contemporary art, especially questions the paradigms of aesthetic values, with artists like Chapman Brothers or Justin Novak producing artwork that are clearly meant to provoke reactions and challenge notions of beauty, that had it’s roots in Kant’s â€Å"Critique of Judgment† (1790). It contemplated on the â€Å"pure† aesthetic experience of art consisting of a â€Å"disinterested† observer, pleasing for its own sake and beyond any utility or morality. Now, the very word ‘pleasing’ may have different boundaries and contemporary art is trying to escalate their claims. If Marcel Duchamp made a fountain out of a urinal in 1917, that hurtled the Dadaist movement and that later amplified into a surrealist tendency looking into primitive art for their subconscious inspiration, to reveal the mental process, then the essential motivation behind the whole thing was subversion. If primitivism was motivating a new dimension by which beauty of the mind was revealed, then Picasso completely subjectified art and personal experience into a fourth dimension and created a cubist movement to claim a break down of a canon that no longer held on to techniques, symbols and least of all universal criteria for judging anything. There are many socio-ideological forces behind the same and the destructive World Wars had many reasons to question the notions behind the traditional idea of Beauty, and it addressed the subjective, transcendental and alienated psyche of modern man. Metaphysical hopelessness gave way from absurdity to beauty, while the meaninglessness of this ‘Being’, made beauty seem more akin to grotesque, either by derision or by the light of their tragic truth. What makes the question more intriguing is that, whether contemporary art has found a better form of beauty (constructed to please and create a certain discursive paradigm) in the grotesque, since it frees us from any moral and political/ideological constraints? Can it be linked to greater dimensions of teleological magnitude, or should it be treated as an alternative method of understanding true aesthetic, if not the complete aspect of aesthetic itself? Is grotesque possible without the knowledge of Beauty itself? I shall attempt to answer the following questions that I raised, with a few examples. One must first understand the idea behind perception and the dialogical force that surrounds it. If the world is raised as an illusion in one’s mind then the mind has been symbolically trained to read it as a language. This matrix of complex spontaneity is ‘paradigmatically’ and ‘syntagmatically’ (Roman Jakobson, 1987) being challenged, when Grotesque plays the part of Beauty. The Dystopia arises out of a shattered archetype that must restructure itself to include elements of the grotesque within the beauty, and reach towards the same aesthetic experience: the sublime. But interestingly what produces sublime is shock. But one must not confuse this with the cathartic experience of the ‘Tragic’ pity and terror, but something quite opposite to an ideal communicative situation that all such art produces. Thus this element of mimesis and/or representation of the ideal have given way to an â€Å"infinite subjectivity† (Hegel, Lectures on Fine Art, given in the 1820s), or the abyss of the human mind and condition. But the self is â€Å"interpellated† as per Lacan and later Althusser too estimated the impossibility of a single position from where one can judge, since the self was preconditioned with a lot of â€Å"logocentricism† (Derrida), which are again socio-culturally specific as per Barthes. Thus there is a complete inquiry into art through the artists’ personality or self (or selves). Justin Novak’s â€Å"disfigurine† often conforming to the bourgeoisie values, distort them to such an ironic extent that one cannot miss the counter realism that it offers. Often it serves to offer no alternative reality, but just launches one amidst a grotesque re-examination of old values and with its attendant disillusionment. Once the silent barrier between class and gender is dismantled, the escape is into nothingness – the sublime height of vast unending problems, and this underscores the definite presence and the horrors of undying conformism. If truth is beauty, then Novak’s artworks reveal the finer sides of it by shattering the comfortable and compartmentalized thought processes with which one can objectify art from a safe distance. The grotesque closeness of these truths, give beauty to the mind by releasing it from the shackles of confinement and overpowering illusions. Truth is not universal, but a power to accept the inextricable complexity of human behaviour, mind and his/her interrelationship with their social, cultural and historical environment. With Novak’s work one is left to ponder these very questions. Is Grotesque a rebellion? Or is it an inextricable element of beauty? Grayson Perry’s ceramic works portray this polemic, further, by making them superficially beautiful (as beauty has been notoriously claimed to have been) and underneath it remains the darker motives of an artist who tries to wrest with disturbing truths (or shall one call them home truths, with a larger social back drop to them) that question issues of public/private dialectic. His works that deserve mention here are, â€Å"Coming Out Dress 2000†, â€Å"We’ve Found the Body of your Child 2000†or the â€Å"Boring Cool People 1999† (reminds one of Eliot’s famous lines from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock â€Å"In the room the women come and go, Talking of Michaelangelo†). Not only does he deal with issues like cross-dressing, child abuse and social sterility (about spiritually hollow â€Å"cool† fashionistas or the demanding violence of the utilitarian age), but also, he plays with this abnormal interrelation between beauty and grotesque. He raises questions about taste and the sublime. In short he subverts the notion of beauty with beauty that is skin deep! Grotesque thus becomes Beauty that is kin deep in this works! Reality is a diabolical faà §ade and Perry questions whether hegemony denotes or connotes the medium of taste in art. Thus equating expression with grotesque beauty beyond the limited categories of high or low taste, his avant-garde expressionism becomes a solitary modicum of aesthetic experience, which is new and which is whole (if whole comprises of an aesthetic stance that offers no definite and certain understanding of art’s end but generates a range of teasing/shocking possibilities of that, which is an illusion in itself: Bourgeois ideology). Figure 1: Coming Out Dress, 2000. He poses as Claire, his feminine alter ego. All his works deal with these two sides to his sexuality quite deeply, especially in ‘Transvestite Brides of Christ 2000’ and ‘Contained Anger1999’, respectively, that questions the significance of male-role models. But what is interesting is that Perry is experimenting with representation, rather then pottery, and that is why his artwork combines issues of an innocent observer or rather tries to destroy the comfortable distance with which an observer may guard their subjective spaces. Transvestite to transgression, the Chapman Brothers question the inevitability or orthodox value of canonical (classical) artworks. This travesty or mockery of canonical lofty seriousness is reflected in their works, through devises of defaced and tortured figures, which for them amount to the complete picture of Beauty (of an era that is grotesque, in it’s realization of a past, present and future that cannot bear to sift through the beastly side of socio-cultural conditions, anymore or unlike the others). This becomes a subject behind their sculptures that bursts with mockery, tragedy exploding with grotesque farce. They usher in a new experiment with taste, bad taste and the notions of good taste. Art moves into the realms of public or mass ‘low’ category, which becomes an essential democratic medium for evoking or carrying forward a provocation to rouse the sense of that horrifying answerless void. With the Chapman brothers there is a sadist tone attached to their insult or reiteration of Goya’s influence especially in their recreation of his â€Å"Disasters of War†, which inflict bold horror. But the grandeur of that horror is reduced to a trivial and yet a sardonic sensation taste comes off them. They twist the sensation of violence into an aesthetic ground and arouse a variety of physical and mental demands for perceiving Beauty amidst such a squandering grotesqueness. Beauty here lies in the release from holding back appreciation, awe and complete shock. Violence does not stand-alone and nor does any other human emotion. â€Å"Sex, 2003† is thus desire, decay, diabolical, deliberate, freedom or defeat. Purity is not that far from its pornographic mockery of it and they are interrelated in their apparent verisimilitude. A true representation of kitsch art, their works like Fuckface and Zygotic Acceleration, roused shock as they attempted to portray the sexualisation of children due to the media and increased gender awareness. These treatments nevertheless push questions about morality that grotesque beauty actually challenges. Thus morality and beauty in its aesthetic straight forwardedness seem to flatten out newer boundaries of experiences, which the Chapman brothers challenge through their craftsmanship. Traditional Sculpture, especially in the hands of the Chapman Brothers and Justin Novak or Grayson Perry are objects of anti-canonical parody, grotesque imitations or thought-provoking reverse-discourses. All these postmodern artists are challenging aesthetic experience. All these artworks succumb to one the power of the grotesque that sublimates beauty with its truth, and they make us realize that truth is not about a fixed standard, but accepting the actual absence of it. What makes contemporary art more beastly in its beauty is the power to derive happiness (or sado-masochist satisfaction) out of this grotesqueness. The grotesque shocks but this is a pleasure in itself, because it is the very representation of the consciousness. Theatre and artwork met with experimentalism in the stage by Artaud, who made audience a spectator to cruelty that is harsh, exceptionally brutal and yet beautiful. By shattering estrangement and by creating something that allows no ‘objectivity’ (in the likes of Kant or Brecht) Artaud demands a complete involvement of the senses. Moreover, this is where art threatens to change the soul of the perceiver by its dominating beauty, which horrifies the perceiver with its verity and unique angst. Wittgenstein’s concept of seeing-as, allows contemporary art to shun master narratives completely and standout on their own purely as visual sensations. From British Avant-Garde art that confuses common and the uncommon (like use of mannequin by Chapman Brothers or genitals replaced by the faces in their remake of Goya’s Disasters of Wars series). Grotesquerie is about questioning the status quo, about unflinching self-criticism and about embracing outsiders. From Simon Carroll deconstructing the chronology of ceramic vases with his pastiches like â€Å"Thrown Square Pot2005†, engages the observers mind with complex questions that he poses through the irregular construction of his surfaces. The artists seem to dwell on the apparent hyperreality of contemporary situation, where art has become a vastly reproduced object – fractured beyond identity. Formlessness becomes the beauty without symmetry and deliberate cruelty an aesthetic grotesqueness. Thus the gap between what is apparent and what may actually exists gives the artists ample space to bridge this defined categories with crushing forces of expressions that though grotesque to the shocked senses is ultimately beautiful by virtue of its truth. Works Cited Eliot, T. S â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock†. Eliot, Thomas Stearns. Prufrock and Other Observations. London: The Egoist, Ltd, 1917; Bartleby.com, 1996. www.bartleby.com/198/. [30.01.2007]. ON-LINE ED.: Published May 1996 by Bartleby.com; Copyright Bartleby.com, Inc. (Terms of Use). Hegel, Lectures on Fine Art, (edited by Hotho) â€Å"Aesthetics: Lectures on Fine Art,† Vol. 1.translated by T. M. Knox, 1973. < http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/hegel/works/ae/contents.htm > 30.01.2007. Jakobson, Roman. â€Å"Language in Literature†. Ed. Krystyna Pomorska and Stephen Rudy. Cambridge, MA: Belknap, 1987 Kant, Immanuel: The Critique of Judgement (1790), translated by Meredith, J. Adelaide: ebooks, 2004 Keats, John. Poetical Works. London: Macmillan, 1884; Bartleby.com, 1999http://www.bartleby.com/126/41.html. [29.01.2007]; Online-Ed: First published February 1993; published July 1999 by Bartleby.com; Copyright Bartleby.com, Inc.

negroes with guns :: essays research papers

-  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  in June of 1961, the NAACP chapter of Monroe, North Carolina decided to picket the town’s swimming pool that was forbidden to Negroes although they formed one quarter of the population -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  the blacks started the picket line and the picket line closed the pool. When the pool closed the racists decided to handle the matter in traditional southern style, they turned to violence -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  the pool remained closed but we continued the line and crowds of many hundreds would come to watch us and shout insults at the pickets -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  on June 23, Williams was driving when a heavy car came up from behind him and tried to force his car off the embankment and over a cliff with a 75 ft. drop off. The bumpers of the two cars were stuck and the cars had to pass right by a highway patrol station, which was a 35 mile and hour zone, but the car was pushing his at 70 miles per hour. Williams started blowing his horn hoping to attract the attention of the patrolmen, but when they saw they just lifted their hands and laughed. He was finally able to rock loose from the other car’s bumper and make a sharp turn into a ditch. He went to the police about it, but they would not do anything because he was black. The police in Monroe never did anything to help blacks -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  the picket lines continued and the whites were getting mad. One day a white person fired a pistol and started screaming, â€Å"kill the niggers†. The black people then showed the whites that they too were armed and then all of the sudden the police decided to help because they realized the whites were outnumbered and outarmed -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  the southeastern regional headquarters of the Ku Klux Klan was also in Monroe -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Williams had been in the Marine Corps and when he got out he knew he wanted to join the NAACP, so he did -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Monroe branch of the NAACP got the reputation of being the most militant branch of the NAACP -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The swimming pool they were fighting over had been built with federal funds, but yet negroes could not use it -  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First the blacks had asked city official to build a pool in the negro community. the city officials said they couldn’t comply with this request because it would be too expensive. Then they asked if two days out of each week the blacks could use the pool.

Divorce and Its Impact on the Family

Introduction A significant and often heated debate has been in progress for years regarding the effect of divorce on the family, and more specifically, on children of different ages. On the one side, there are writers, theorists and scholars who argue that divorce does not affect the children over the long term and on the other side are those who argue that divorce has a negative effect on the children for all their lives. It is indeed impossible to make a clear and definitive conclusion based on the research studies that have been conducted over the years. Each investigator argues strongly for their own conclusions, providing statistical evidence to support those conclusions. Does divorce have a negative impact on children, regardless of age when the divorce occurs? Does divorce have more impact on specific age ranges of children? If divorce has a negative impact on children, then, how long does that impact last? Do adult children of divorced parents find it easier to blame all their failures and pitfalls on their parents' divorce instead of taking responsibility for their own actions through the years? These are the only some of the questions that underlie the problem: What impact does divorce have on the children. Very few definitions are needed regarding this investigation: †¢Children means the children of the parents who get divorced, regardless of age. Thus, â€Å"children† refers to adolescents as well as younger children. When a specific age range is meant, that will be clarified in the text. †¢Divorce means that the couple has gone through the legal process of divorce and are, thus, no longer legally married. †¢Absent father refers to those fathers who do not keep in contact with their children subsequent to a divorce. Also, the absent father does not contribute to the children's support. †¢Custodial parent refers to the parent who has legal primary custody of the children. First a brief overview of what marriage and divorce was throughout history, and what would happen to those children after the divorce was finalized Marriage and Divorce in History The roots of marriage can be traced back to time of the Romans and Greeks. For the Greeks and Romans marriage wasn’t really something of a choice. It was more of a family obligation and a way to help the family gain higher status. Marriage in Roman times was often not at all romantic. Rather, it was an agreement between families. Men would usually marry in their mid-twenties, while women married while they were still in their early teens. As they reached these ages, their parents would consult with friends to find suitable partners that could improve the family’s wealth or class. †(PBS) Women really didn’t have a choice in who they married, they were chosen by their fathers. And even for the men, love wasn’t taken into account because it was up to the parents who they married. The actual marriage in Roman times was very simple. The couple would just have to declare their desire to live with each other in front of both families. Divorce in this time was just as easy as marriage. â€Å"Just as marriage was only a declaration of intent to live together, divorce was just a declaration of a couple’s intent not to live together. All that the law required was that they declare their wish to divorce before seven witnesses. † (PBS) Divorce was a very common thing for the Romans. The only condition was the woman would get her dowry back, and she would move back in with her father. If the wife was divorced because of adultery only half of her dowry was given back. The laws did not mention anything about husbands as they could not be divorced because of an adulterous they have committed. It is assumed that children were left with the father as men were the law in Roman times. Not much is known on what happened to the children after a divorce, whether they are allowed to see their mother or not, if the mothers were allowed to keep the children, or if the child’s best interests were ever a factor for who got to keep them after the divorce. Marriage in African countries was relatively similar to the Greeks and Romans, but with a few changes. Marriage signified a union between two families. â€Å"The death of a husband did not terminate the union of families. Upon a husband’s death a relative would assume his role. † (Simon and Altstein) Marriage was more of a binding contract than anything else. The woman being married didn’t really matter in the long run either as if she died or was unable to bare children, a younger sister would take over her role as the wife â€Å"But the wife wasn’t fully excepted until she gave birth to her first child. (Simon and Altstein) The actual marriage didn’t really require that much, just consent from both parties and their guardians, as well as some form of payment from the husband’s family to the wife’s. This would most likely be cattle. There wasn’t really any ceremony like today; it was more of a series of rituals. Divorce was a simple thing for Africans. Grounds for divorce were; adultery, desertion, insanity for at least seven years, and being imprisoned for more than five years. The children would normally have been given to the father, but in more recent times the child would go with whichever parent was more able to take care of them. If a child was old enough to make up their own mind the court would consider who they wished to live with, but that didn’t always mean the child’s pick would be the one he/she would be given to. In the 1500’s after the Reformation, a change in how marriages and divorces were performed occurred. The peasants were allowed to marry whomever they choose, but the nobles still kept with the arranged marriages to keep their line pure and to improve their power, this would go for royalty as well. Marriage then became a public affair, and it was considered part of the earthly kingdom instead of the heavenly kingdom. This meant that vows would be made in public before the church consummated the marriage. Prior to this the Church was in charge of marriage and divorce but they lost that power with the coming of the Reformation. â€Å"Marital disputes would be tried before a civil court, not a Church court. The Church did not have legal authority over marriage. †(Simon and Altstein) Also laws that prohibited the marriage of clerics, monks, and nuns were also rejected. Divorces were allowed as long as there was just cause. Cause included impotence, sexual incompatibility, abuse and acts of incest. † (Simon and Altstein) The average length of a marriage was only fifteen years at the time, but this was caused more by death, than by divorce. In more recent times a decision was made by the courts of the United Kingdom that they will not longer decide which parent the child should custody of. The parents were to make the decision together and stick with it, only if they can not agree will the court make one, this decision can not be argued. In the United States of America, arriage is â€Å"the legal union of a man and a woman as husband and wife, and a spouse is a husband or wife of the opposite sex. † (Simon and Altstein) Only men and women are allowed to be married to each other, in some states though same-sex civil unions are allowed. The church is where the marriage is held but the state must approve the marriage for it to be final. The laws of marriage vary from state to state. In the United States of America divorce rates are very close or over fifty percent. Divorce varies on the state as well but some form is permitted by every state. Thirty-four states have adopted no-fault divorce in addition to traditional grounds for divorce. † (Simon and Altstein) As for the children, their wishes are considered by all but four states. The effects in which those children concur will be explained later. Literature Review The literature regarding the impact of di vorce on children is voluminous. It is also highly contradictory and heated in terms of debate. Anyone investigating this topic can find research studies to support their own opinions no matter what that opinion is. We begin by offering some data regarding divorce. In the United States, one out of every two marriages will end in divorce (Marano, 2000). Despite this devastating statistic, 90 percent of Americans will marry (Marano, 2000). Of those individuals who divorce their first spouse, 75 percent will remarry, even though their first marriage ended (Marano, 2000). Given that so many divorced individuals simply live with other persons or combine the homes with others without the sanction of legal marriage, the figure for â€Å"remarriages† escalates significantly when these people are included (Marano, 2000). Out of all second marriages, 60 percent end in divorce (Marano, 2000). It is not just in the U. S. that a large proportion of marriages fail. The BBC reported that one in seven marriages (16. 4 percent) end in divorce in the United Kingdom (2000). The divorce rate differs dramatically by location in the UK, for example, in Biggleswade, only 6 percent of marriages end in divorce but in Skelmersdale in Lancashire, 32. 4 percent of marriages end in divorce (BBC, 2000). The divorce rates have risen in most European countries, as well (Bjornberg, nd). The highest rates are found in Denmark, Sweden, Estonia and the United Kingdom (Bjornberg, nd). In the year 2000, there were 45,500 divorces, a new high (Victorian State Conference of Teams, 2001). Anyone who has kept up with public mass media also knows that the divorce rate in China has escalated to as much as 25 percent in recent years. It has become such an issue that the government began debating about a new law that would make adultery a crime and that would put further restrictions on divorce in that country. Most of the research regarding the impact of divorce on children has been conducted in the United States and the United Kingdom. Two of the primary and most discussed studies contradict each other, which has come to be known as the â€Å"Hetherington-Wallerstein debate–a battle of superstars† (Corliss, 2002, p. 40). Hetherington argues that â€Å"75% to 80% of children of divorce function well, with little long-term harm to their adult lives† and Wallerstein argues that â€Å"the damaging effects of divorce on children are cumulative, and the major impact comes in adulthood† (Corliss, 2002, p. 0). Wallerstein first published her findings in a book in 1971; this was then updated in another book entitled The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce: A 25 Year Landmark Study in 2000 (Corliss, 2002). In the most recent book, Wallerstein concluded that divorce leads to depression, juvenile delinquency, poor grades, among other things and that the divorce affects people wel l into adulthood (Corliss, 2002). Hetherington published her findings in a co-authored book (with John Kelly) entitled For Better or For Worse: Divorce Reconsidered (Corliss, 2002). In this book, Hetherington and Kelly argue â€Å"that 75% to 80% of children of divorce are functioning well, with little long-term damage† (Corliss, 2002, p. 40). Hetherington and Kelly tracked nearly 1,400 families and more than 2,500 children, some for three decades and concluded: Within two years of their parents' divorce, the vast majority of children are beginning to function reasonably well again (Corliss, 2002, p. 40). 70 percent of divorced parents are living happier lives than they did before divorce (Corliss, 2002, p. 0). Some women and girls turned out to be more competent, able people than if they had stayed in unhappy family situations (Corliss, 2002, p. 40). In Hetherington's study, 25 percent of the children from divorced families had serious emotional, psychological or social problems (Corliss, 2002). This compares to 10 percent of children from families that remain intact (Corliss, 2002). Still, it is a much smaller proportion than many other studies, includi ng Wallerstein's. Cudina and Obradovic summarized a great deal of the research, most of which concludes that children from divorced families are â€Å"more aggressive and depressive†; â€Å"more prone to anxiety†; and â€Å"of a generally poorer adjustment than children living in intact families† (2001, p. 247). The instability of the marriage also affects boys and girls differently, for instance, â€Å"boys are more often found to be more vulnerable† and â€Å"more aggressive and displayed more behavioural problems than girls† (Cudina and Obradovic, 2001, p. 247). It should be pointed out, however, that the gender differences found have not been consistent. Another finding is that the reaction of children seem to differ according to age when the divorce occurs (Cudina and Obradovic, 2001). For instance, the research suggests that â€Å"emotional response being more intense for children younger than 6, and for those in early adolescence at the time of parental divorce† (Cudina and Obradovic, 2001, p. 247). There is also a substantial amount of research that concludes that â€Å"prolonged parental marital distress could be even more damaging to the child's emotional and social development than parental divorce† (Cudina and Obradovic, 2001, p. 47). Fighting, conflict, violence all combine to make the child feel insecure and unstable as well as fearful (Cudina and Obradovic, 2001). Mitigating factors that affect the impact of divorce on children have been identified as the availability of the noncustodial parent, the relationship between the parents after the divorce, the quality of the parent-child relationships with both par ents, and the degree of economic hardship and stress the child experiences after the divorce (Cudina and Obradovic, 2001). Because the overwhelming majority of research has been conduced in English-speaking countries, Cudina and Obradovic studied the impact of divorce on children in Croatia, a society that is very different in many ways from the United States and other English-speaking nations (Cudina and Obradovic, 2001). Croatia is smaller, has a relatively low GNP and in most ways can be considered a developing nation (Cudina and Obradovic, 2001). The divorce rate in Croatia has increased over the last 30 years, rising from 13. 5 percent in 1962 to 17. percent in 1996 (Cudina and Obradovic, 2001). The Croatian family reflects a myriad of both traditional and modern values (Cudina and Obradovic, 2001). Nonetheless, there is still a stigma attached to divorced individuals in Croatia (Cudina and Obradovic, 2001). Cudina and Obradovic found that Croatian children respond in much the same way as children in other countries – children of divorced parents are more emotionally unstable and more depress ive than children from intact families (Cudina and Obradovic, 2001). The study did not support the premise that children suffer equally negative effects from living in a home where the parents are in conflict as do the children from divorced parents (Cudina and Obradovic, 2001). They study also confirmed that the degree of impact is related to age – younger children showed more emotional distress than did older children (Cudina and Obradovic, 2001). Hyatt reported that the adjustment of the children is primarily dependent on the parents and how they behave after the divorce (1999). Hyatt was reporting a study conducted at Iowa State University and reported in the Journal of Marriage and the Family. Simons, who led the research investigation team, said that â€Å"Even though divorce more than doubles the risk for emotional and behavioral problems in both boys and girls, the good news is that the vast majority of children from divorced families do just fine. . . . What is essential for kids is that they be parented well. If mom and dad continue to persevere in their parenting, are warm and supportive, monitor the kids and are consistent in discipline, the risk for conduct problems is no greater than in two-parent families. This is a more optimistic scenario than is often assert† (Hyatt, 1999). This was also a longitudinal study that involves 600 families and is ongoing (Hyatt, 1999). Theoretical Foundations Attachment theory would seem to be the most appropriate theory to discuss in terms of the effects of divorce on children. Beginning in infancy, the child develops an attachment to the parent through interactions with the parent. According to Bowlby, an interruption or disruption of the attachment relationship can result in psychopathology (Garelli, 1997). Research indicates that the formation of attachments in infancy and childhood contribute to healthy adulthood (Galston, 1996; Fields, 1996). Research also indicates that when the attachment is disrupted, the child may well suffer both emotional and physical traumas affecting their ability to function today and in their future life (Galston, 1996; Fields, 1996). Divorce is an event that disrupts attachments. Attachment theory asserts that children do develop attachment feelings to people, places and objects. Research concludes that attachments are essential for good mental health. One study in Israel concluded that â€Å"Attachment between parent and child plays a crucial role in the healthy development of the child. Accordingly disturbances in parental bonding will be linked with the development of mental disorders later in life† (Canetti et al, 1997, p. 381). Note that the need for attachment is for all children. Divorce does not necessarily mean that the child's attachment to the noncustodial parent would be eliminated by the divorce. Discussion, Summary and Conclusions As can be seen from the few research studies presented, there is a heated debate and strong controversy regarding the effects of divorce on the family. There is equally strong evidence to support either side of the debate. That leaves the reader with a strong question as to how much divorce actually does affect the future development and adult life of the divorced family. There is no perfect study, which means that every study has its limitations. More studies suggest that children face significant effects when their parents divorce. It does seem, however, that the impact of a divorce on a child would be dependent upon the circumstances and the subsequent behaviors of the parents involved. More studies in recent years are pointing to this premise. If the parents both continue parenting and they parent well, a far smaller proportion of children will experience significant negative effects than what has been said in the past. If the parents continue their fighting and place the child in the middle of that fighting, then, common sense would tell us that the child will have any number of psychological and emotional problems as a result. It is important to note the studies that have compared children of divorced parents to children of parents who stayed married but whose relationship was so unstable. Certainly, living with verbal conflict and loud fighting between the parents has a devastating effect on the child. Living with parents where spousal abuse is prevalent would have tragic effects on the child, worse effects than would a divorce. Even the researchers who conclude that a small percentage of children experience serious problems after a divorce, clearly state that they are no promoting divorce and that children will develop more securely and more positively if the family is kept intact – except when violence and abuse is present. The conclusions, in other words, do not support divorce; they are simply saying the outlook for these children is not as bleak as has been publicized. There is another issue that one must also look at. These kinds of studies rely a great deal on interviews with the survivors of divorce. It is very convenient for many of these adults or older adolescents to blame all the problems in their lives on their parents' divorce. Scapegoating is very prevalent in today's society – people simply do not want to take responsibility for their own lives. The conclusion of this paper must be that: 1. Divorce will have an effect on children – to think otherwise is naive. 2. Children of divorced families do not automatically develop serious emotional and psychological problems. 3. The full effect of divorce on children will depend on how the parents behave after the divorce, the degree of attachment that was in existence prior to the divorce and the child's own mental state/stability at the time of the divorce. REFERENCES BBC. (2000, November 15). The capital of happy ever after. Retrieved April 05, 2007, BBC Web Site: http://news. bbc. co. uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1024000/1024963. stm Bjornberg, Dr. Ull. (nd). Children and their Families/Children and Society. 2002, Retrieved April 05, 2007, Council of EuropeConseil de l'Europe Web Site: http://eurochild. gla. ac. uk/Documents/CoE/Reports/estud/Estud_2. htm Canetti, Laura, Bachar, Eytan, Weisstub, Esti Galili, De-Nour, Atara Kaplan & Shalev, Arieh Y. (1997, Summer). Parental Bonding And Mental Health In Adolescence. Adolescence 32(126), 381 – 395. Corliss, Richard. (2002, January 28). Does Divorce Hurt Kids? Time 159(4), 40 Cudina, Mira & Obradovic, Josip. (2001, Spring). Child's Emotional Well-being and Parental Marriage Stability in Croatia. Journal of Comparative Family Studies 32(2), 247. Field, Tiffany. (1996, Annual). Attachment And Separation In Young Children. Annual Review of Psychology 47, 541-562. Galston, William A. (1996, June). Divorce American style. The Public Interest, 12 – 27. Garelli, Juan Carlos. (1997). Controversial Aspects Of Bowlby's Attachment Theory. Bowlby's Theory of Attachment. Retrieved April 03, 2007, Attachment Research Center at St. John's University Web Site: http://rdz. stjohns. edu/lists/bowlby-l/ Hyatt, Kay. (1999, November 19). Children's Adjustment to Divorce Largely in Hands of Parents. Retrieved April 03 2007, National Council on Family Relations Web Site: http://www. cfr. org/pdf/childr_1. pdf Marano, Hara Estroff. (2000, March). Divorced? Psychology Today 33(2), 56. Simon, R. J. , & Altstein, H. (2003). Marriage and Divorce (pp. 5-7, 29-34). New York: Lexington Books. Victorian State Conference of Teams. (2001, October). Looking forward in Confidence. A Married Couple's Movement: Conference Reports & Proceedings Web Site: http://www. tol-oceania. catholic. org. au/publications_vicconf. htm#Victorian%20State%20Conference Weddings, Marriage & Divorce. (n. d. ). Retrieved April 25, 2007, from http://www. pbs. org/empires/romans/empire/weddings. html

The Gathering

For this essay I'll be dicussing about Indian(Frank) and Danny. The Gathering novel is about how five kids whom chose to fight against evil spreading around Cheshunt. These five kids need to win the battle against the Kraken but to do that they need to discover more about themselves. The warning that Lallindra(Lallie) told Indian to heed was,†only a wound brought into light can be healed. That which is hidden will in darkness fester.† In the novel when Indian was seven Indian's mother left him to look after his little sister Jenny. She was five. He was watching her play on some swings when some older kids came and started calling him names. Indian fought with them and won but while fighting he did not notice his sister had climbed to the top of the slide. She slipped and hit her head, she was in coma for a week and when she woke up Jenny wasn't the same, she used to smile and laugh but now she doesn't smile or look at you. Indian felt he killed her but her body was left behind. He never told his Mother about the truth of that day. Indian feels guilty for not taking care of his little sister and not telling his Mother about the truth of what happened, now Indian does not fight back because he feels he deserve to be hurt he feels its his punishment. Indian's guiltiness is a wound and when he brought it to light by telling his mom what happen, Indian's mom forgave him and does not blame him for what happened to Jenny. Danny Odin was a victim of police sodomy many years ago. Later the saying â€Å"Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely† is aptly used in reference to the story, which involved police officers letting savage dogs loose on Danny to force him to give them information that was false. For a while after that he felt scared that a police could do anything to him and no one could do anything. He went mad for a while and he had to go to a sanitorium. The only reason he could come out was because he told them he made the whole thing up. After that one of the police officers that had attacked him visit Danny's school for a talk to improve citizen-authority relations, at the end of which the officer gave Danny a wink .Danny then realised nothing was going to make it right. Nothing made sense but survival and justice. Right and wrong, it was all lies that people made up. This quote and the opinion expressed in it is somewhat jarring with the rest of the novel's message, as it flatly denies the existence of both good and evil. The theory is, however, later rebuffed by the very same character that put it forward, as it doesn't make sense in the context of the novel thought by Nathanial, â€Å"You could tell he really believed that but there was something wrong about what he was, saying. Something that didn't jell.† And he thought of Lallie's warning to Danny. She had told him not to let the dark flame of the past consume the future. That's about right winning out over wrong.' Danny told Nathanial. Danny has to forget the past. The Gathering is more than novel triumph of good over evil, it is also a novel about self discovery. All the Chain members in The Gathering had expierienced terrible things that they need to over come to win the battle against the dark because everything that happen in Cheshunt is related to everything else because it come from a sort of core. The place where evil bruised earth. The earth that sorrows.

The ABCs of School Visits with an Independent Bookstore

The ABCs of School Visits with an Independent Bookstore If you write for children or young adults, you probably already know that school visits can be an excellent way to supplement your income, get to know your audience, and introduce new readers to your books. But did you know that organizing school visits in partnership with your local independent bookstore can make the experience even easier and more productive? Here are four reasons to consider partnering with your local indie. 1. Especially if youve moved recently or are newly published, you might not have personal connections with the schools and educators in your community. Local bookstores often have existing partnerships with schools, and you can benefit from those connections when you work with a bookstore on organizing your visit. Bookstores can introduce you to teachers, librarians, and parent leaders, and theyre likely to know which schools or even classes might be the best fit for you and your books. This is particularly helpful if you live in an urban area with a lot of different schools near 2. If youre visiting a school, youll want to give students and teachers a way to buy your books, but the purchasing process can be complicated. When youre working in partnership with a bookstore, the store will likely handle a lot of the legwork for you, including coordinating order forms, getting books from the publisher and transporting them to the school, and processing payment. In many cases they will also promote your books to the school and do their best to make sure sales are high. Different stores have different policies, but most will be able to make the sales process much easier for you. This applies even if your books are self-published; many stores are still willing to coordinate sales of self-published books in exchange for a share of the revenue. 3. Schools are chaotic places with a lot of moving parts, and sometimes handling logistics can be as challenging as presenting to students. Many bookstores will send a representative to the school on the day of your visit to help out with all the little details, from troubleshooting tech to assisting you with signing and personalizing books. This leaves you free to focus on your biggest fans- the kids! 4. Partnering with a bookstore on school visits is also a great way to build a relationship with the store itself, which might lead to in-store events in the future. As an added bonus, some school events will include more than one childrens author, which means you might get to know some wonderful new colleagues in the process. Lots of independent bookstores around the country have school visit programs, and even those that dont might be glad to develop one in partnership with you. If youre interested in visiting schools through a bookstore, its always a good idea to send the store an introduction about you, your books, and what your presentation can offer a school. Know that some stores have limited resources and might not be able to work with you right away, but chances are theyll still be happy to keep your contact info on hand. To find a store near you, check out indiebound.org. Author